PURCHASE AGREEMENT

This Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of November 10, 2015, by and between Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Redwood Management, LLC, a Florida limited liability company (the “Investor”).

 

 

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Company wishes to sell to the Investor, and the Investor wishes to buy from the Company, up to Thirty Two Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($32,200,000) of the Company's common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the "Common Stock"). The shares of Common Stock to be purchased hereunder are referred to herein as the "Purchase Shares."

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Investor hereby agree as follows:

 

1.1    Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:

“Available Amount” means, initially, Thirty Two Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($32,200,000) in the aggregate, which amount shall be reduced by the Purchase Amount each time the Investor purchases shares of Common Stock pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof.

 

“Bankruptcy Law” means Title 11, U.S. Code, or any similar federal or state law for the relief of debtors.

 

“Business Day” means any day on which the Principal Market is open for trading, including any day on which the Principal Market is open for trading for a period of time less than the customary time.

 

“Closing Sale Price” means, for any security as of any date, the last closing sale price for such security on the Principal Market as reported by the Principal Market.

 

“Confidential Information” means any information disclosed by either party to the other party, either directly or indirectly, in writing, orally or by inspection of tangible objects (including, without limitation, documents, prototypes, samples, plant and equipment), which is designated as "Confidential," "Proprietary" or some similar designation. Information communicated orally shall be considered Confidential Information if such information is confirmed in writing as being Confidential Information within ten (10) Business Days after the initial disclosure. Confidential Information may also include information disclosed to a disclosing party by third

parties. Confidential Information shall not, however, include any information which (i) was publicly known and made generally available in the public domain prior to the time of disclosure by the disclosing party; (ii) becomes publicly known and made generally available after disclosure by the disclosing party to the receiving party through no action or inaction of the receiving party; (iii) is already in the possession of the receiving party at the time of disclosure by the disclosing party as shown by the receiving party’s files and records immediately prior to the time of disclosure; (iv) is obtained by the receiving party from a third party without a breach of such third party’s obligations of confidentiality; (v) is independently developed by the receiving party without use of or reference to the disclosing party’s Confidential Information, as shown by documents and other competent evidence in the receiving party’s possession; or (vi) is required by law to be disclosed by the receiving party, provided that the receiving party gives the disclosing party prompt written notice of such requirement prior to such disclosure and assistance in obtaining an order protecting the information from public disclosure.

 

“Custodian” means any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.

 

“DTC” means The Depository Trust Company, or any successor performing substantially the same function for the Company.

 

“DWAC Shares” means shares of Common Stock that are (i) issued in electronic form, (ii) freely tradable and transferable and without restriction on resale and (iii) timely credited by the Company to the Investor’s or its designee’s specified Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian (DWAC) account with DTC under its Fast Automated Securities Transfer (FAST) Program, or any similar program hereafter adopted by DTC performing substantially the same function.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

  

“Maturity Date” means the first day of the month immediately following the thirty-six (36) month anniversary of the Commencement Date.

 

“PEA Period” means the period commencing at 9:30 a.m., Eastern time, on the twentieth (20^th) Business Day immediately prior to the filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement (as defined herein) or New Registration Statement (as such term is defined in the Registration Rights Agreement), and ending at 9:30 a.m., Eastern time, on the Business Day immediately following, the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement (as defined herein) or New Registration Statement (as such term is defined in the Registration Rights Agreement).

 

“Person” means an individual or entity including but not limited to any limited liability company, a partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, a trust, an unincorporated organization and a government or any department or agency thereof.

 

“Principal Market” means The NASDAQ Capital Market (or any nationally recognized successor thereto); provided, however, that in the event the Company’s Common Stock is ever listed or traded on The NASDAQ Global Market, The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE MKT, the NYSE Arca, the OTC Bulletin Board, or the OTCQX or OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets Group, Inc. (or any nationally recognized successor to any of the foregoing), then the “Principal Market” shall mean such other market or exchange on which the Company’s Common Stock is then listed or traded.

 

“Purchase Amount” means, with respect to any Purchase made hereunder, the portion of the Available Amount to be purchased by the Investor pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof.

 

“Purchase Date” means, with respect to any Purchase made pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, the Business Day on which the Investor receives by 5:30 p.m., Eastern time, of such Business Day a valid Purchase Notice that the Investor is to buy Purchase Shares pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof.

 

“Purchase Price” means, with respect to any Purchase made pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, 80% of the average of the two (2) lowest VWAPs of the Company’s Common Stock during the ten (10) previous Business Days ending on the Business Day immediately preceding such Purchase Date.

 

“Purchase Notice” means, with respect to any Purchase pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, an irrevocable written notice from the Company to the Investor directing the Investor to buy such applicable amount of Purchase Shares at the applicable Purchase Price as specified by the Company therein on the Purchase Date.

 

“Sale Price” means any trade price for the shares of Common Stock on the Principal Market as reported by the Principal Market.

 

“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Securities” means, collectively, the Purchase Shares and the Commitment Shares.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Subsidiary” means any Person the Company wholly-owns or controls, or in which the Company, directly or indirectly, owns a majority of the voting stock or similar voting interest, in each case that would be disclosable pursuant to Item 601(b)(21) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

“Transaction Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement and the schedules and exhibits hereto, the Registration Rights Agreement and the schedules and exhibits thereto, and each of the other agreements, documents, certificates and instruments entered into or furnished by the parties hereto in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby.

 

“VWAP” means, for or as of any date, the dollar volume-weighted average price for such security on the Principal Market (or, if the Principal Market is not the principal trading market for such security, then on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which such security is then traded) during the period beginning at 9:30:01 a.m., New York time, and ending at 4:00:00 p.m., New York time, as reported by Bloomberg through its “HP” function (set to weighted average) or, if the foregoing does not apply, the dollar volume-weighted average price of such security in the over-the-counter market on the electronic bulletin board for such security during the period beginning at 9:30:01 a.m., New York time, and ending at 4:00:00 p.m., New York time, as reported by Bloomberg, or, if no dollar volume-weighted average price is reported for such security by Bloomberg for such hours, the average of the highest closing bid price and the lowest closing ask price of any of the market makers for such security as reported in the “pink sheets” by OTC Markets Group Inc. (formerly Pink Sheets LLC). If the VWAP cannot be calculated for such security on such date on any of the foregoing bases, the VWAP of such security on such date shall be the fair market value as mutually determined by the Company and the Holder. All such determinations shall be appropriately adjusted for any stock dividend, stock split, stock combination, recapitalization or other similar transaction during such period.

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Company has the right to sell to the Investor, and the Investor has the obligation to purchase from the Company, Purchase Shares as follows:

 

2.1          Commencement of Sales of Common Stock. Upon the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Articles VI and VII hereof (the “Commencement” and the date of satisfaction of such conditions the “Commencement Date”) and thereafter, the Company shall have the right, but not the obligation, to direct the Investor, by its delivery to the Investor of a Purchase Notice from time to time, to purchase Purchase Shares in an amount up to the lesser of (i) One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) or (ii) three hundred percent (300%) of the average daily trading volume of the Company’s Common Stock in the ten (10) Business Days immediately preceding such Purchase Date (each such purchase a “Purchase”), at the Purchase Price on the Purchase Date; provided, however, that the maximum amount of a Purchase may be increased, subject to the Investor’s approval. If the Company delivers any Purchase Notice for a Purchase Amount in excess of the limitations contained in the immediately preceding sentence, such Purchase Notice shall be void ab initio to the extent of the amount by which the number of Purchase Shares set forth in such Purchase Notice exceeds the number of Purchase Shares which the Company is permitted to include in such Purchase Notice in accordance herewith, and the Investor shall have no obligation to purchase such excess Purchase Shares in respect of such Purchase Notice; provided that the Investor shall remain obligated to purchase the number of Purchase Shares which the Company is permitted to include

in such Purchase Notice. The Company may deliver multiple Purchase Notices to the Investor so long as at least ten (10) Business Day have passed since the most recent Purchase was completed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not deliver any Purchase Notices during the PEA Period.

 

2.2           Payment for Purchase Shares. For each Purchase, the Investor shall pay to the Company an amount equal to the Purchase Amount with respect to such Purchase as full payment for such Purchase Shares via wire transfer of immediately available funds on the same Business Day that the Investor receives such Purchase Shares, if such Purchase Shares are received by the Investor before 1:00 p.m., Eastern time, or the next Business Day, if such Purchase Shares are received by the Investor after 1:00 p.m., Eastern time. If the Company or the Transfer Agent shall fail for any reason or for no reason to electronically transfer any Purchase Shares as DWAC Shares in respect of a Purchase within two (2) Business Days following the receipt by the Company of the Purchase Price therefor in compliance with this Section 2.2, and if on or after such Business Day the Investor purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Investor of such Purchase Shares that the Investor anticipated receiving from the Company in respect of such Purchase, then the Company shall, within three (3) Business Days after the Investor’s request, either (i) pay cash to the Investor in an amount equal to the Investor’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased (the “Cover Price”), at which point the Company’s obligation to deliver such Purchase Shares as DWAC Shares shall terminate, or (ii) promptly honor its obligation to deliver to the Investor such Purchase Shares as DWAC Shares and pay cash to the Investor in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of the Cover Price over the total Purchase Price for such Purchase. The Company shall not issue any fraction of a share of Common Stock upon any Purchase. If the issuance would result in the issuance of a fraction of a share of Common Stock, the Company shall round such fraction of a share of Common Stock up or down to the nearest whole share. All payments made under this Agreement shall be made in lawful money of the United States of America or wire transfer of immediately available funds to such account as the Company may from time to time designate by written notice in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Whenever any amount expressed to be due by the terms of this Agreement is due on any day that is not a Business Day, the same shall instead be due on the next succeeding day that is a Business Day.

 

2.3          [Intentionally omitted]

 

2.4          Compliance with Rules of Principal Market.

 

(a)          Exchange Cap. Subject to Section 2.4(b) below, the Company shall not issue or sell any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement, and the Investor shall not purchase or acquire any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement, to the extent that after giving effect thereto, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that would be issued pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that the Company may issue pursuant to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (taking into account all shares of Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any transaction or series of transactions that may be aggregated with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement under applicable rules of The NASDAQ

Stock Market) without (1) breaching the Company’s obligations under the applicable rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market or (2) obtaining stockholder approval under the applicable rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market (the “Exchange Cap”), unless and until the Company elects to solicit stockholder approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the stockholders of the Company have in fact approved the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of The NASDAQ Stock Market, and the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Company. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company may, but shall be under no obligation to, request its stockholders to approve the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; provided, that if stockholder approval is not obtained in accordance with this Section 2.4(a), the Exchange Cap shall be applicable for all purposes of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby at all times during the term of this Agreement (except as set forth in Section 2.4(b) below).

 

(b)        General. The Company shall not issue any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement if such issuance would reasonably be expected to result in (A) a violation of the Securities Act or (B) a breach of the rules and regulations of The NASDAQ Stock Market. The provisions of this Section 2.4 shall be implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms hereof only if necessary to ensure compliance with the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of The NASDAQ Stock Market.

 

2.5          Beneficial Ownership Limitation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Company shall not issue or sell, and the Investor shall not purchase or acquire, any shares of Common Stock under this Agreement which, when aggregated with all other shares of Common Stock then beneficially owned by the Investor and its affiliates (as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 promulgated thereunder), would result in the beneficial ownership by the Investor and its affiliates in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below).  Upon the written or oral request of the Investor, the Company shall promptly (but not later than 24 hours) confirm orally or in writing to the Investor the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding. The Investor and the Company shall each cooperate in good faith in the determinations required hereby and the application hereof. The Investor’s written certification to the Company of the applicability of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the resulting effect thereof hereunder at any time, shall be conclusive with respect to the applicability thereof and such result absent manifest error. The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock issuable upon a Purchase by the Investor. The Investor, upon not less than 61 days’ prior notice to the Corporation, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2.5 provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon a Purchase by the Investor and the provisions of this Section 2.5 shall continue to apply. Any such increase or decrease will not be effective until the 61^st day after such notice is delivered to the Company.

3.1    Representations and Warranties of the Company. Except as set forth in the Disclosure Schedules, which Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof and shall qualify any representation or otherwise made herein to the extent of the disclosure contained in the corresponding section of the Disclosure Schedules, or except as set forth in the SEC Reports, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to the Investor:

(a)Subsidiaries. All of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth on Schedule 3.1(a). The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. If the Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.

(b)Organization and Qualification. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.

(c)Authorization; Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other

than in connection with the Required Approvals. This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

(d)No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not: (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(e)Filings, Consents and Approvals. The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.6 of this Agreement, (ii) the notice and/or application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the issuance and sale of the Securities and the listing of the Securities for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby, and (iii) the filing of Form D with the Commission and such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).

(f)Issuance of the Securities. The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly

and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents.

(g)Capitalization. The capitalization of the Company is as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), which Schedule 3.1(g) shall also include the number of shares of Common Stock owned beneficially, and of record, by Affiliates of the Company as of the date hereof. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), the Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act. No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g) and except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents. The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Investor) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities. There are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.

(h)SEC Reports; Financial Statements. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(h), the Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of

a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has ceased to be an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act, one year has elapsed from the time the Company has filed current Form 10 information with the SEC and has filed all required annual and quarterly reports in the preceding 12 months period. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

(i)Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC Report filed prior to the date hereof: (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option plans. The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information. Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 3.1(i), no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, properties, operations, assets or financial condition, that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Business Day prior to the date that this representation is made.

(j)Litigation. Except as may be disclosed in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an

“Action”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.

(k)Labor Relations. No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good. To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary, is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(l)Compliance. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(m)Regulatory Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.

(n)Title to Assets. The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii) Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP and, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.

(o)Intellectual Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights as described in the SEC Reports as necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(p)Insurance. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(p), the Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount. Neither

the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.

(q)Transactions With Affiliates and Employees. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for: (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.

(r)Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, the Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the end of the period covered by the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act)

of the Company and its Subsidiaries that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries.

(s)Certain Fees. No brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiary to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Investor shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section 3.1(s) that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

(t)Reserved.

(u)Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(v)Registration Rights. No Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.

(w)Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements.

(x)Disclosure. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided the Investor or its agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information. The Company understands and confirms that the Investor will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Investor regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary

in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The press releases disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made and when made, not misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Investor is not making or has not made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.

(y)No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Investor’s representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of (i) the Securities Act which would require the registration of any such securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.

(z)Tax Status. Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries each (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, whether or not shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply. There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of no basis for any such claim.

(aa)No General Solicitation. Neither the Company nor any person acting on behalf of the Company has offered or sold any of the Securities by any form of general solicitation or general advertising. The Company has offered the Securities for sale only to the Investor.

(ab)Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has: (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting

on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.

(ac)Accountants. The Company’s accounting firm is set forth on Schedule 3.1(cc) of the Disclosure Schedules. To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm: (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.

(ad)Reserved.

(ae)No Disagreements with Accountants and Lawyers. There are no disagreements of any kind presently existing, or reasonably anticipated by the Company to arise, between the Company and the accountants and lawyers formerly or presently employed by the Company and the Company is current with respect to any fees owed to its accountants and lawyers which could affect the Company’s ability to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents.

(af)Acknowledgment Regarding Investor’s Purchase of Securities. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Investor is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby. The Company further acknowledges that the Investor is not acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by the Investor or any of its respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Investor’s purchase of the Securities. The Company further represents to the Investor that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.

(ag)Acknowledgment Regarding Investor’s Trading Activity. Anything in this Agreement or elsewhere herein to the contrary notwithstanding (except for Sections 3.2(f) and 4.15 hereof), it is understood and acknowledged by the Company that: (i) the Investor has not been asked by the Company to agree, nor has the Investor agreed, to desist from purchasing or selling, long and/or short, securities of the Company, or “derivative” securities based on securities issued by the Company or to hold the Securities for any specified term, (ii) past or future open market or other transactions by the Investor, specifically including, without limitation, Short Sales or “derivative” transactions, before or after a closing of this or future private placement transactions, may negatively impact the market price of the Company’s publicly-traded securities, (iii) the Investor, and counter-parties in “derivative” transactions to which the Investor is a party, directly or indirectly, may presently have a “short” position in the Common Stock and (iv) the Investor shall not be deemed to have any affiliation with or control over any arm’s length counter-party in any “derivative” transaction. The Company further understands and acknowledges that (y) the Investor may engage in hedging activities at various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, and

(z) such hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing stockholders’ equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging activities are being conducted.  The Company acknowledges that such aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the Transaction Documents.

(ah)Regulation M Compliance.  The Company has not, and no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Company’s placement agent in connection with the placement of the Securities.

(ai)Stock Option Plans. Each stock option granted by the Company under the Company’s stock option plan was granted (i) in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan and (ii) with an exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date such stock option would be considered granted under GAAP and applicable law. No stock option granted under the Company’s stock option plan has been backdated. The Company has not granted, and there is no and has been no Company policy or practice to grant, stock options prior to, or otherwise coordinate the grant of stock options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.

(aj)Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).

(ak)U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon Investor’s request.

(al)Bank Holding Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.

(am)Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.

(an)DTC Eligibility. The Company, through the Transfer Agent, currently participates in the DTC Fast Automated Securities Transfer (FAST) Program and the Common Stock can be transferred electronically to third parties via the DTC Fast Automated Securities Transfer (FAST) Program.

(ao) No Disqualification Events. None of the Company, any of its predecessors, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the offering contemplated hereby, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company's outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, nor any promoter (as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity at the time of sale (each, an “Issuer Covered Person”) is subject to any of the “Bad Actor” disqualifications described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i) to (viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”), except for a Disqualification Event covered by Rule 506(d)(2) or (d)(3) under the Securities Act. The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Issuer Covered Person is subject to a Disqualification Event.

3.2    Representations and Warranties of the Investor. The Investor hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof as follows:

 

(a)          Organization; Authority. The Investor is an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents and performance by the Investor of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of the Investor. Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by the Investor, and when delivered by the Investor in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of the Investor, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance,

injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

(b)    Investment Purpose.  The Investor is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Securities or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, has no present intention of distributing any of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other Persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law (this representation and warranty not limiting the Investor’s right to sell the Securities at any time pursuant to the Registration Statement described herein or otherwise in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  The Investor is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.

 

(c)          Accredited Investor Status. The Investor is an "accredited investor" as that term is defined in Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

(d)          Reliance on Exemptions. The Investor understands that the Securities may be offered and sold to it in reliance on specific exemptions from the registration requirements of United States federal and state securities laws and that the Company is relying in part upon the truth and accuracy of, and the Investor's compliance with, the representations, warranties, agreements, acknowledgments and understandings of the Investor set forth herein in order to determine the availability of such exemptions and the eligibility of the Investor to acquire the Securities.

 

(e)         Information. The Investor understands that its investment in the Securities involves a high degree of risk. The Investor (i) is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities including a total loss thereof, (ii) has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the proposed investment in the Securities and (iii) has had an opportunity to ask questions of and receive answers from the officers of the Company concerning the financial condition and business of the Company and others matters related to an investment in the Securities. Neither such inquiries nor any other due diligence investigations conducted by the Investor or its representatives shall modify, amend or affect the Investor's right to rely on the Company's representations and warranties contained in Section 3.1 above. The Investor has sought such accounting, legal and tax advice as it has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to its acquisition of the Securities.

 

(f)          No Governmental Review. The Investor understands that no U.S. federal or state agency or any other government or governmental agency has passed on or made any recommendation or endorsement of the Securities or the fairness or suitability of an investment in the Securities nor have such authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Securities.

 

(g)          Transfer or Sale. The Investor understands that (i) the Securities may not be offered for sale, sold, assigned or transferred unless (A) registered pursuant to the Securities Act or (B) an exemption exists permitting such Securities to be sold, assigned or transferred without such registration; (ii) any sale of the Securities made in reliance on Rule 144 may be made only in accordance with the terms of Rule 144 and further, if Rule 144 is not applicable, any resale of the Securities under circumstances in which the seller (or the Person through whom the sale is made) may be deemed to be an underwriter (as that term is defined in the Securities Act) may require compliance with some other exemption under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.

 

(h)          Validity; Enforcement. This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered on behalf of the Investor and is a valid and binding agreement of the Investor enforceable against the Investor in accordance with its terms, subject as to enforceability to general principles of equity and to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, liquidation and other similar laws relating to, or affecting generally, the enforcement of applicable creditors' rights and remedies.

  

(i)           No Short Selling. The Investor represents and warrants to the Company that at no time prior to the date of this Agreement has any of the Investor, its agents, representatives or affiliates engaged in or effected, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, any (i) "short sale" (as such term is defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO of the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock or (ii) hedging transaction, which establishes a net short position with respect to the Common Stock.

 

4.1           Filing of Current Report and Registration Statement. The Company agrees that it shall, within one (1) Business Day of the execution of this Agreement, file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act, relating to the transactions contemplated by, and describing the material terms and conditions of, the Transaction Documents (the “Current Report”). The Company shall also file with the SEC, within forty-five (45) calendar days from the date hereof, a new registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) covering only the resale of the Purchase Shares and the Commitment Shares, in accordance with the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement between the Company and the Investor, dated as of the date hereof (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). The Company shall permit the Investor to review and comment upon the final pre-filing draft version of the Current Report at least two (2) Business Days prior to its filing with the SEC, and the Company shall give reasonable consideration to all such comments. The Investor shall use its reasonable best efforts to comment upon the final pre-filing draft version of the Current Report within one (1) Business Day from the date the Investor receives it from the Company.

 

4.2          Blue Sky. The Company shall take all such action, if any, as is reasonably necessary in order to obtain an exemption for or to register or qualify (i) the issuance of the Commitment Shares and the sale of the Purchase Shares to the Investor under this Agreement and (ii) any subsequent resale of all Commitment Shares and all Purchase Shares by the Investor, in each case, under applicable securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the states of the United States in such states as is reasonably requested by the Investor from time to time, and shall provide evidence of any such action so taken to the Investor.

 

4.3           Listing/DTC. The Company shall promptly secure the listing of all of the Purchase Shares and Commitment Shares to be issued to the Investor hereunder on the Principal Market (subject to official notice of issuance) and upon each other national securities exchange or automated quotation system, if any, upon which the Common Stock is then listed, and shall use commercially reasonable best efforts to maintain, so long as any shares of Common Stock shall be so listed, such listing of all such Securities from time to time issuable hereunder. The Company shall use commercially reasonable best efforts to maintain the listing of the Common Stock on the Principal Market and shall comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules and regulations of the Principal Market. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall take any action that would reasonably be expected to result in the delisting or suspension of the Common Stock on the Principal Market. The Company shall promptly, and in no event later than the following Business Day, provide to the Investor copies of any notices it receives from any Person regarding the continued eligibility of the Common Stock for listing on the Principal Market. The Company shall pay all fees and expenses in connection with satisfying its obligations under this Section 4.3. The Company shall take all action necessary to ensure that its Common Stock can be transferred electronically as DWAC Shares.

 

4.4          Prohibition of Short Sales and Hedging Transactions. The Investor agrees that beginning on the date of this Agreement and ending on the date of termination of this Agreement as provided in Article IX, the Investor and its agents, representatives and affiliates shall not in any manner whatsoever enter into or effect, directly or indirectly, any (i) “short sale” (as such term is defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO of the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock or (ii) hedging transaction, which establishes a net short position with respect to the Common Stock.

 

4.5          Issuance of Commitment Shares. In consideration for the Investor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company shall cause to be issued to the Investor an aggregate of 2,640,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Commitment Shares”). The Commitment Shares will be issued in four tranches of 500,000 shares each and one tranche of 640,000 shares, at an interval of every 15 calendar days starting from the later of (i) the effectiveness date of the Registration Statement or (ii) the date the Company’s shareholders approve the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, all of the Commitment Shares shall be fully earned as of the date of this Agreement, whether or not the Commencement shall occur or any Purchase Shares are purchased by the Investor under this Agreement and irrespective of any subsequent termination of this Agreement.

 

4.6          Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity. The Company shall by 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) on the Business Day immediately following the date hereof, issue a press release

disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby. From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Investor that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to the Investor by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Company and the Investor shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor the Investor shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of the Investor, or without the prior consent of the Investor, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication. The Company shall not, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries and its and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents, not to, provide the Investor with any material, nonpublic information regarding the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from and after the date hereof without the express prior written consent of the Investor. If the Investor has, or believes it has, received any such material, nonpublic information regarding the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates or agents, it may provide the Company with written notice thereof. The Company shall, within one (1) Business Day of receipt of such notice, make public disclosure of such material, nonpublic information. In the event of a breach of the foregoing covenant by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of its or their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents, in addition to any other remedy provided herein or in the Transaction Documents, the Investor shall have the right to make a public disclosure, in the form of a press release, public advertisement or otherwise, of such material, nonpublic information without the prior approval by the Company, its Subsidiaries, or any of its or their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates or agents. The Investor shall not have any liability to the Company, its Subsidiaries, or any of its or their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates, stockholders or agents for any such disclosure. To the extent that the Company delivers any material, nonpublic information to the Investor without the Investor’s consent, the Company hereby covenants and agrees that the Investor shall not have any duty of confidentiality to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates or agent with respect to, or a duty to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates or agent not to trade on the basis of, such material, nonpublic information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of the Investor in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading Market, without the prior written consent of the Investor, except: (a) as required by federal securities law in connection with the filing of final Transaction Documents with the Commission and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Investor with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b).

 

4.7         Purchase Records. The Investor and the Company shall each maintain records showing the remaining Available Amount at any given time and the dates and Purchase Amounts for each Purchase or shall use such other method, reasonably satisfactory to the Investor and the Company.

 

4.8         Taxes. The Company shall pay any and all transfer, stamp or similar taxes that may be payable with respect to the issuance and delivery of any shares of Common Stock to the Investor made under this Agreement.

4.9          Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds from the offering as described in the Registration Statement or the SEC Documents.

 

4.10          Other Transactions. The Company shall not enter into, announce or recommend to its stockholders any agreement, plan, arrangement or transaction in or of which the terms thereof would restrict, materially delay, conflict with or impair the ability or right of the Company to perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents, including, without limitation, the obligation of the Company to deliver the Purchase Shares and the Commitment Shares to the Investor in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents.

 

4.11          Integration. From and after the date of this Agreement, neither the Company, nor or any of its affiliates will, and the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to ensure that no Person acting on their behalf will, directly or indirectly, make any offers or sales of any security or solicit any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would (i) require registration of the offer and sale of any of the Securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with other offerings by the Company in a manner that would require stockholder approval pursuant to the rules of the Principal Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated, unless in the case of this clause (ii), stockholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction in accordance with the rules of such Principal Market.

4.12    Indemnification. Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.12, the Company will indemnify the Investor and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls the Investor (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, an “Investor Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Investor Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Investor Parties in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Investor Party, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (unless such action is based upon a breach of such Investor Party’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Investor Party may have with any such stockholder or any violations by such Investor Party of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Investor

Party which constitutes fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or malfeasance). If any action shall be brought against any Investor Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Investor Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Investor Party. Any Investor Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Investor Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel, a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Investor Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel. The Company will not be liable to any Investor Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by an Investor Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Investor Party’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by such Investor Party in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents. The indemnification required by this Section 4.12 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Investor Party against the Company or others and any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.

 

5.1    Prior to the Commitment Date, the Company shall issue irrevocable instructions to the Transfer Agent substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A to issue the Commitment Shares in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (the “Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions”). The certificate(s) representing the Commitment Shares, except as set forth below, shall bear the following restrictive legend (the “Restrictive Legend”):

 

 

5.2     On the earlier of (i) the Commencement Date and (ii) such time that the Investor shall request, provided all conditions of Rule 144 under the Securities Act are met, the Company shall, no later than one (1) Business Day following the delivery by the Investor to the Company or the Transfer Agent of one or more legended certificates representing the Commitment Shares (which certificates the Investor shall promptly deliver on or prior to the first to occur of the events described in clauses (i) and (ii) of this sentence), as directed by the Investor, issue and deliver (or cause to be issued and delivered) to the Investor, as requested by the Investor, either: (A) a certificate representing such Commitment Shares that is free from all restrictive and other legends or (B) a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Commitment Shares represented by the certificate(s) so delivered by the Investor as DWAC Shares. The Company shall take all actions to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of the immediately preceding sentence, including, without limitation, delivering all such legal opinions, consents, certificates, resolutions and instructions to the Transfer Agent, and any successor transfer agent of the Company, as may be requested from time to time by the Investor or necessary or desirable to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of the immediately preceding sentence. On the Commencement Date, the Company shall issue to the Transfer Agent, and any subsequent transfer agent, (i) irrevocable instructions in the form substantially similar to those used by the Investor in substantially similar transactions (the “Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions”) and (ii) the notice of effectiveness of the Registration Statement in the form attached as an exhibit to the Registration Rights Agreement (the “Notice of Effectiveness of Registration Statement”), in each case to issue the Commitment Shares and the Purchase Shares in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. All Purchase Shares to be issued from and after Commencement to or for the benefit of the Investor pursuant to this Agreement shall be issued only as DWAC Shares. The Company represents and warrants to the Investor that, while this Agreement is effective, no instruction other than the Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions and the Notice of Effectiveness of Registration Statement referred to in this Section 5.2 will be given by the Company to the Transfer Agent with respect to the Commitment Shares or the Purchase Shares from and after Commencement, and the Commitment Shares and the Purchase Shares covered by the Registration Statement shall otherwise be freely transferable on the books and records of the Company. The Company agrees that if the Company fails to fully comply with the provisions of this Section 5.2 within five (5) Business Days of the Investor providing the deliveries referred to above, the Company shall, at the Investor’s written instruction, purchase such shares of Common Stock containing the Restrictive Legend from the Investor at the greater of the (i) Purchase Price paid for such shares of Common Stock (as applicable) and (ii) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the date of the Investor’s written instruction.

6.1    The right of the Company hereunder to commence sales of the Purchase Shares on the Commencement Date is subject to the satisfaction of each of the following conditions:

 

(a)          the Investor shall have executed each of the Transaction Documents and delivered the same to the Company;

 

(b)       the Registration Statement covering the resale of the Commitment Shares and Purchase Shares shall have been declared effective under the Securities Act by the SEC and no stop order with respect to the Registration Statement shall be pending or threatened by the SEC;

(c)     obtaining stockholder approval under the applicable rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market; and

 

(d)       the representations and warranties of the Investor shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof and as of the Commencement Date as though made at that time.

7.1    The obligation of the Investor to buy Purchase Shares under this Agreement is subject to the satisfaction of each of the following conditions on or prior to the Commencement Date and, once such conditions have been initially satisfied, there shall not be any ongoing obligation to satisfy such conditions after the Commencement has occurred:

 

(a)          The Company shall have executed each of the Transaction Documents and delivered the same to the Investor;

 

(b)         The Company shall have issued or caused to be issued to the Investor (i) one or more certificates representing the Commitment Shares free from all restrictive and other legends or (ii) a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Commitment Shares as DWAC Shares, in each case in accordance with Section 5.2;

 

(c)          The Common Stock shall be listed or quoted on the Principal Market, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been within the last 365 days suspended by the SEC or the Principal Market, and all Securities to be issued by the Company to the Investor pursuant to this Agreement shall have been approved for listing or quotation on the Principal Market in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Principal Market, subject only to official notice of issuance;

  

(d)          The representations and warranties of the Company shall be true and correct in all material respects (except to the extent that any of such representations and warranties is already qualified as to materiality in Section 3.1 above, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct without further qualification) as of the date hereof and as of the Commencement Date as though made at that time (except for representations and warranties that speak as of a specific date, which shall be true and correct as of such date) and the Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied with the covenants,

agreements and conditions required by the Transaction Documents to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to the Commencement Date.

 

(e)           As of the Commencement Date, the Company shall have reserved out of its authorized and unissued Common Stock, 30,000,000 shares of Common Stock solely for the purpose of effecting purchases of Purchase Shares hereunder;

 

(f)          The Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions and the Notice of Effectiveness of Registration Statement each shall have been delivered to and acknowledged in writing by the Company and the Company's Transfer Agent (or any successor transfer agent);

 

(g)           The Registration Statement covering the resale of the Commitment Shares and Purchase Shares shall have been declared effective under the Securities Act by the SEC and no stop order with respect to the Registration Statement shall be pending or threatened by the SEC. The Company shall have prepared and filed with the SEC, not later than one (1) Business Day after the effective date of the Registration Statement, a final and complete prospectus (the preliminary form of which shall be included in the Registration Statement) and shall have delivered to the Investor a true and complete copy thereof. Such prospectus shall be current and available for the resale of all of the Securities by the Investor. All reports, schedules, registrations, forms, statements, information and other documents required to have been filed by the Company with the SEC at or prior to the Commencement Date pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act shall have been filed with the SEC within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings under the Exchange Act;

 

(h)         No Event of Default has occurred, or any event which, after notice and/or lapse of time, would become an Event of Default has occurred;

 

(i)          All federal, state and local governmental laws, rules and regulations applicable to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and necessary for the execution, delivery and performance of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby in accordance with the terms thereof shall have been complied with, and all consents, authorizations and orders of, and all filings and registrations with, all federal, state and local courts or governmental agencies and all federal, state and local regulatory or self-regulatory agencies necessary for the execution, delivery and performance of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby in accordance with the terms thereof shall have been obtained or made, including, without limitation, in each case those required under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws or applicable rules and regulations of the Principal Market, or otherwise required by the SEC, the Principal Market or any state securities regulators;

 

(j)          No statute, regulation, order, decree, writ, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, threatened or endorsed by any federal, state, local or

foreign court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction which prohibits the consummation of or which would materially modify or delay any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents; and

 

(k)          No action, suit or proceeding before any federal, state, local or foreign arbitrator or any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction shall have been commenced or threatened, and no inquiry or investigation by any federal, state, local or foreign governmental authority of competent jurisdiction shall have been commenced or threatened, against the Company, or any of the officers, directors or affiliates of the Company, seeking to restrain, prevent or change the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, or seeking material damages in connection with such transactions.

 

8.1    An "Event of Default" shall be deemed to have occurred at any time as any of the following events occurs:

 

(a)          the effectiveness of a registration statement registering the resale of the Securities lapses for any reason (including, without limitation, the issuance of a stop order or similar order) or such registration statement (or the prospectus forming a part thereof) is unavailable to the Investor for resale of any or all of the Securities to be issued to the Investor under the Transaction Documents, and such lapse or unavailability continues for a period of ten (10) consecutive Business Days or for more than an aggregate of thirty (30) Business Days in any 365-day period, but excluding a lapse or unavailability where (i) the Company terminates a registration statement after the Investor has confirmed in writing that all of the Securities covered thereby have been resold or (ii) the Company supersedes one registration statement with another registration statement, including (without limitation) by terminating a prior registration statement when it is effectively replaced with a new registration statement covering Securities (provided in the case of this clause (ii) that all of the Securities covered by the superseded (or terminated) registration statement that have not theretofore been resold are included in the superseding (or new) registration statement);

 

(b)          the suspension of the Common Stock from trading on the Principal Market for a period of three (3) consecutive Business Days, provided that the Company may not direct the Investor to purchase any shares of Common Stock during any such suspension;

 

(c)          the delisting of the Common Stock from The NASDAQ Capital Market, provided, however, that the Common Stock is not immediately thereafter trading on the New York Stock Exchange, The NASDAQ Global Market, The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the NYSE MKT, the NYSE Arca, the OTC Bulletin Board or OTC Markets (or nationally recognized successor to any of the foregoing);

 

(d)          the failure for any reason by the Transfer Agent to issue Purchase Shares to the Investor within three (3) Business Days after the applicable Purchase Date on which the Investor is entitled to receive such Securities;

 

(e)          the Company breaches any representation, warranty, covenant or other term or condition under any Transaction Document if such breach would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and except, in the case of a breach of a covenant which is reasonably curable, only if such breach continues for a period of at least five (5) Business Days;

 

(f)           if any Person commences a proceeding against the Company pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law;

 

(g)          if the Company, pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law, (i) commences a voluntary case, (ii) consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case, (iii) consents to the appointment of a Custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property, or (iv) makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors or is generally unable to pay its debts as the same become due;

(h)          a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that (i) is for relief against the Company in an involuntary case, (ii) appoints a Custodian of the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or (iii) orders the liquidation of the Company or any Subsidiary;

 

(i)           if at any time the Company is not eligible to transfer its Common Stock electronically as DWAC Shares; or

 

(j)           if at any time after the Commencement Date, the Exchange Cap is reached (to the extent such Exchange Cap is applicable pursuant to Section 2.4 hereof).

 

8.2    In addition to any other rights and remedies under applicable law and this Agreement, so long as an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, or if any event which, after notice and/or lapse of time, would become an Event of Default, has occurred and is continuing, the Company shall not deliver to the Investor any Purchase Notice.

 

 

9.1    This Agreement may be terminated only as follows:

 

(a)          If pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law, the Company commences a voluntary case or any Person commences a proceeding against the Company, a Custodian is appointed for the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or the Company makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors (any of which would be an Event of Default as described in Sections 8.1(f), 8.1(g) and 8.1(h) hereof), this

Agreement shall automatically terminate without any liability or payment to the Company (except as set forth below) without further action or notice by any Person.

 

(b)          In the event that the Commencement shall not have occurred on or before May 15, 2016, due to the failure to satisfy the conditions set forth in Articles VI and VII above with respect to the Commencement, this Agreement may be terminated by either party at the close of business on such date or thereafter without liability of such party to the other party (except as set forth below); provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.1(b) shall not be available to any party if such party is then in breach of any covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement or any representation or warranty of such party contained in this Agreement fails to be true and correct such that the conditions set forth in Section 6.1(c) or Section 7.1(e), as applicable, could not then be satisfied.

 

(c)          At any time after the Commencement Date, the Company shall have the option to terminate this Agreement for any reason or for no reason by delivering notice (a “Company Termination Notice”) to the Investor electing to terminate this Agreement without any liability whatsoever of any party to any other party under this Agreement (except as set forth below). The Company Termination Notice shall not be effective until one (1) Business Day after it has been received by the Investor.

 

(d)          This Agreement shall automatically terminate on the date that the Company sells and the Investor purchases the full Available Amount as provided herein, without any action or notice on the part of any party and without any liability whatsoever of any party to any other party under this Agreement (except as set forth below).

 

(e)          If, for any reason or for no reason, the full Available Amount has not been purchased in accordance with Article II of this Agreement by the Maturity Date, this Agreement shall automatically terminate on the Maturity Date, without any action or notice on the part of any party and without any liability whatsoever of any party to any other party under this Agreement (except as set forth below).

 

Except as set forth in Sections 9.1(a) (in respect of an Event of Default under Sections 8.1(f), 8.1(g) and 8.1(h)), 9.1(d) and 9.1(e), any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Article IX shall be effected by written notice from the Company to the Investor, or the Investor to the Company, as the case may be, setting forth the basis for the termination hereof. The representations and warranties and covenants of the Company and the Investor contained in Articles III, IV,  and V hereof, the indemnification provisions set forth in Section 4.12 hereof and the agreements and covenants set forth in Articles VIII, IX and X shall survive the Commencement and any termination of this Agreement. No termination of this Agreement shall (i) affect the Company’s or the Investor’s rights or obligations under (A) this Agreement with respect to pending Purchases and the Company and the Investor shall complete their respective obligations with respect to any pending Purchases under this Agreement and (B) the Registration Rights Agreement, which shall survive any such termination, or (ii) be deemed to release the Company or the Investor from

any liability for intentional misrepresentation or willful breach of any of the Transaction Documents.

10.1    Fees and Expenses. Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents or any other writing to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement; provided that on the date hereof the Company shall pay the Investor an aggregate of $25,000 for their legal fees. The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees (including, without limitation, any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company), stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Investor.

10.2    Entire Agreement. The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.

10.3    Notices. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Business Day, (b) the next Business Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Business Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Business Day, (c) the second (2^nd) Business Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The addresses for such communications shall be:

 

 

 

  

 

 

or at such other address and/or facsimile number and/or to the attention of such other Person as the recipient party has specified by written notice given to each other party three (3) Business Days prior to the effectiveness of such change. Written confirmation of receipt (A) given by the recipient of such notice, consent or other communication, (B) mechanically or electronically generated by the sender's facsimile machine or email account containing the time, date, and recipient facsimile number or email address, as applicable, and an image of the first page of such transmission or (C) provided by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service, shall be rebuttable evidence of

personal service, receipt by facsimile or receipt from a nationally recognized overnight delivery service in accordance with clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above, respectively.

10.4    Amendments; Waivers. No provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived by the parties from and after the date that is one (1) Business Day immediately preceding the initial filing of the Registration Statement with the SEC. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence, (i) no provision of this Agreement may be amended other than by a written instrument signed by both parties hereto and (ii) no provision of this Agreement may be waived other than in a written instrument signed by the party against whom enforcement of such waiver is sought. No failure or delay in the exercise of any power, right or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such power, right or privilege preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right, power or privilege.

10.5    Headings. The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.

10.6    Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns. The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Investor, including by merger or consolidation. The Investor may not assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement.

10.8    No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.12 and this Section 10.8.

10.9    Governing Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and

sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action, suit or proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.12, the prevailing party in such action, suit or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.

10.10    Survival. The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive each closing and the delivery of the Securities.

10.11    Execution. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.

10.12    Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.

10.13    Rescission and Withdrawal Right. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in (and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction Documents, whenever the Investor exercises a right, election, demand or option under a Transaction Document and the Company does not timely perform its related obligations within the periods therein provided, then the Investor may rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in part without prejudice to its future actions and rights.

10.14    Replacement of Securities. If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction. The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Securities.

10.15    Remedies. In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, the Investor and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents. The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.

10.16    Payment Set Aside. To the extent that the Company makes a payment or payments to the Investor pursuant to any Transaction Document or the Investor enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other Person under any law (including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.

10.17    Usury. To the extent it may lawfully do so, the Company hereby agrees not to insist upon or plead or in any manner whatsoever claim, and will resist any and all efforts to be compelled to take the benefit or advantage of, usury laws wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, in connection with any claim, action or proceeding that may be brought by the investor in order to enforce any right or remedy under any Transaction Document. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in any Transaction Document, it is expressly agreed and provided that the total liability of the Company under the Transaction Documents for payments in the nature of interest shall not exceed the maximum lawful rate authorized under applicable law (the “Maximum Rate”), and, without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall any rate of interest or default interest, or both of them, when aggregated with any other sums in the nature of interest that the Company may be obligated to pay under the Transaction Documents exceed such Maximum Rate. It is agreed that if the maximum contract rate of interest allowed by law and applicable to the Transaction Documents is increased or decreased by statute or any official governmental action subsequent to the date hereof, the new maximum contract rate of interest allowed by law will be the Maximum Rate applicable to the Transaction Documents from the effective date thereof forward, unless such application is precluded by applicable law. If under any circumstances whatsoever, interest in excess of the Maximum Rate is paid by the Company to the Investor with respect to indebtedness evidenced by the Transaction Documents, such excess shall be applied by the investor to the unpaid principal balance of any such indebtedness or be refunded to the Company, the manner of handling such excess to be at the Investor’s election.

10.18    Liquidated Damages. The Company’s obligations to pay any partial liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid partial liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been canceled.

10.19    Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc.    If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.

10.20    Construction. The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

10.21    WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.

By: /s/ Victor Lee

Name: Victor Lee

Title: Chief Executive Officer

By: /s/ John DeNobile

Name: John DeNobile

Title: Manager