Form of Underwriting Agreement
Exhibit 1.1
[] Shares
BACKBLAZE, INC.
Class A Common Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
[], 2021
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.,
as Representative of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto
c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
85 Broad Street
New York, New York 10004
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Backblaze, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, to sell to you and the other underwriters named on Schedule I to this Agreement (the Underwriters), for whom you are acting as Representative (the Representative), an aggregate of [] shares (the Firm Shares) of the Companys Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the Common Stock). The respective amounts of the Firm Shares to be purchased by each of the several Underwriters are set forth opposite their names on Schedule I hereto. In addition, the Company proposes to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional [] shares (the Option Shares) of Common Stock from the Company for the purpose of covering over-allotments in connection with the sale of the Firm Shares. The Firm Shares and the Option Shares are collectively called the Shares.
As part of the offering contemplated by this Agreement, the Company and the Underwriters agree that up to [] shares (the Directed Shares) of the Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters shall be reserved for sale by the Underwriters to certain of the Companys directors, officers, employees and other parties associated with the Company (each, individually a Participant and collectively, the Participants), as part of the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters, under the terms of the friends and family directed sales program (the Friends and Family Program), and subject to the terms of this Agreement, the applicable rules, regulations and interpretations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations. Shares to be sold pursuant to the Friends and Family Program shall be sold pursuant to this Agreement at the public offering price. To the extent that any such Directed Shares are not orally confirmed for purchase by a Participant by the end of the first business day after the date of this Agreement, such Directed Shares may be offered to the public as part of the public offering contemplated hereby.
The Company has prepared and filed in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and the published rules and regulations thereunder (the Rules) adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) a Registration Statement (as hereinafter defined) on Form S-1 (No. 333-[]), including a preliminary prospectus relating to the Shares, and such amendments thereof as may have been required to the date of this Agreement. Copies of such Registration Statement (including all amendments thereof) and of the related Preliminary Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) have heretofore been delivered by the Company to you. The term Preliminary Prospectus means any preliminary prospectus included at any time as a part of the Registration Statement or filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Rules. The term Registration Statement as used in this Agreement means the initial registration statement (including all exhibits, financial schedules), as amended at the time and on the date it becomes effective (the Effective Date), including the information (if any) contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and deemed to be part thereof at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A of the Rules. If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional Shares pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Rules (the 462(b) Registration Statement), then any reference herein to the Registration Statement shall also be deemed to include such 462(b) Registration Statement. The term Prospectus as used in this Agreement means the prospectus in the form included in the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness or, if Rule 430A of the Rules is relied on, the term Prospectus shall also include the final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to and within the time limits described in Rule 424(b) of the Rules.
The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Shares, as set forth in and pursuant to the Statutory Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) and the Prospectus, as soon after the Effective Date and the date of this Agreement as the Representative deems advisable. The Company hereby confirms that the Underwriters and dealers have been authorized to distribute or cause to be distributed each Preliminary Prospectus, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) and are authorized to distribute the Prospectus (as from time to time amended or supplemented if the Company furnishes amendments or supplements thereto to the Underwriters).
1. Sale, Purchase, Delivery and Payment for the Shares. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements contained in, and subject to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement:
(a) The Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $[] per share (the Initial Price), the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter under the column Number of Firm Shares to be Purchased from the Company on Schedule I to this Agreement, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 8 hereof.
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(b) The Company hereby grants to the several Underwriters an option to purchase, severally and not jointly, all or any part of the Option Shares at the Initial Price. The number of Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be the same percentage (adjusted by the Representative to eliminate fractions) of the total number of Option Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters as such Underwriter is purchasing of the Firm Shares. Such option may be exercised only to cover over-allotments in the sales of the Firm Shares by the Underwriters and may be exercised in whole or in part at any time on or before 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the business day before the Firm Shares Closing Date (as defined below), and from time to time thereafter within 30 days after the date of this Agreement, in each case upon written, facsimile or telegraphic notice, or verbal or telephonic notice confirmed by written, facsimile or telegraphic notice, by the Representative to the Company no later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the business day before the Firm Shares Closing Date or at least two business days before the Option Shares Closing Date (as defined below), as the case may be, setting forth the number of Option Shares to be purchased and the time and date (if other than the Firm Shares Closing Date) of such purchase.
(c) [Reserved.]
(d) Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, the Firm Shares shall be made at the offices of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004, at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second business day following the date of this Agreement or at such time on such other date, not later than ten (10) business days after the date of this Agreement, as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Representative (such time and date of delivery and payment are called the Firm Shares Closing Date). In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Shares are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price, and delivery of the certificates, for such Option Shares shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, on each date of delivery as specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company (such time and date of delivery and payment are called the Option Shares Closing Date). The Firm Shares Closing Date and any Option Shares Closing Date are called, individually, a Closing Date and, together, the Closing Dates.
(e) Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds, against delivery of the respective certificates to the Representative for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of certificates for the Shares to be purchased by them.
(f) Certificates evidencing the Shares shall be registered in such names and shall be in such denominations as the Representative shall request at least two full business days before the Firm Shares Closing Date or, in the case of Option Shares, on the day of notice of exercise of the option as described in Section 1(b) and shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Representative through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (DTC) for the account of such Underwriter. The Company will cause the certificates representing the Shares to be made available for checking and packaging, at such place as is designated by the Representative, on the full business day before the Firm Shares Closing Date (or the Option Shares Closing Date in the case of the Option Shares).
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2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, as of the Firm Shares Closing Date and as of each Option Shares Closing Date (if any), as follows:
(a) On the Effective Date, the Registration Statement complied, and on the date of the Prospectus, the date any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective, the date any supplement or amendment to the Prospectus is filed with the Commission and each Closing Date, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (and any amendment thereof or supplement thereto) will comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. The Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Date, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any 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; and on the Effective Date and the other dates referred to above neither the Registration Statement nor the Prospectus, nor any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or will omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading. When any Preliminary Prospectus was first filed with the Commission (whether filed as part of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto or pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Rules) and when any amendment thereof or supplement thereto was first filed with the Commission, such Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus as amended or supplemented complied in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the Securities Act and the Rules and did not or will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any 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. If applicable, each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. Notwithstanding the foregoing, none of the representations and warranties in this paragraph 2(a) shall apply to statements in, or omissions from, the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information herein or otherwise furnished in writing by the Representative on behalf of the several Underwriters specifically for use in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be. With respect to the preceding sentence, the Company acknowledges that the only information furnished in writing by the Representative for use in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus consists of the following: the statements appearing in the [] and [] paragraphs under the caption Underwriting in the Prospectus (collectively, the Underwriter Information).
(b) As of the Applicable Time (as hereinafter defined), none of (i) the price to the public and the number of Shares offered and sold, as indicated on the cover page of the Prospectus and the Statutory Prospectus (as hereinafter defined), all considered together (collectively, the General Disclosure Package), (ii) any individual Issuer
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Free Writing Prospectus when considered together with the General Disclosure Package and (iii) any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication (as defined herein), when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state any 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the General Disclosure Package made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as hereinafter defined), including any electronic road show (including without limitation any bona fide electronic road show as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) under the Securities Act) (each, a Road Show) (i) is identified in Schedule II hereto and (iii) complied when issued, and complies, in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
As used in this Section and elsewhere in this Agreement:
Applicable Time means [] [a][p]m (Eastern time) on the date of this Underwriting Agreement.
Statutory Prospectus as of any time means the Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Shares that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time.
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus means each free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules) prepared by or on behalf of the Company or used or referred to by the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, each Road Show.
(c) The Registration Statement is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 under the Rules, has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are threatened under the Securities Act. Any required filing of any Preliminary Prospectus and/or the Prospectus and any supplement thereto pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules has been or will be made in the manner and within the time period required by such Rule 424(b). Any material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) or Rule 163(b)(2) of the Rules has been or will be made in the manner and within the time period required by such Rules.
(d) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Shares or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representative as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus.
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If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit 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 prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Representative and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(e) The financial statements of the Company (including all notes and schedules thereto) included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders equity and cash flows of the Company for the periods specified; and such financial statements and related schedules and notes thereto, and the unaudited financial information filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement, have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied throughout the periods involved. The summary and selected financial data included in the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein as at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified and have been presented on a basis consistent with the consolidated financial statements set forth in the Prospectus and other financial information. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the Securities Act or the Rules. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus regarding non-GAAP financial measures (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply, in all material respects, with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.
(f) BDO USA LLP (the Auditor), whose reports are filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus, as applicable, is and, during the periods covered by their reports, was, (x) an independent public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the Rules, (y) a registered public accounting firm (as defined in Section 2(a)(12) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act)) and (z) to the knowledge of the Company, not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(g) The Company is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation and has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as is currently being conducted as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, and to own, lease and operate its properties. The Company has no subsidiaries. All of the issued shares of capital stock of, or other ownership interests in, the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and
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non-assessable and are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, mortgage, pledge, security interest, claim, limitation on voting rights, equity, trust or other encumbrance, preferential arrangement, defect or restriction of any kind whatsoever. The Company is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted by it or location of the assets or properties owned, leased or licensed by it requires such qualification, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify individually or in the aggregate would not reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company considered as a whole (a Material Adverse Effect); and to the Companys knowledge, 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.
(h) The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority, and all necessary authorizations, approvals, consents, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental or regulatory bodies or any other person or entity (collectively, the Permits), to own, lease and license its assets and properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of which are valid and in full force and effect, except where the lack of such Permits, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has fulfilled and performed in all material respects all of its obligations with respect to such Permits and no event has occurred that allows, or after notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or results in any other material impairment of the rights of the Company thereunder. Except as may be required under the Securities Act and state and foreign Blue Sky laws, no other Permits are required to enter into, deliver and perform this Agreement and to issue and sell the Shares.
(i) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, (ii) at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Shares and (iii) at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an ineligible issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules, including (but not limited to) the Company in the preceding three years not having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or having been made the subject of a judicial or administrative decree or order as described in Rule 405 of the Rules.
(j) Other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect: (A) the Company owns, has adequate licenses or other rights under, or believes it can develop or acquire on commercially reasonable terms adequate rights to, the patents, patent applications, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property necessary for, and used in the conduct, or the currently proposed conduct, of the business of the Company in the manner described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the
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Prospectus (collectively, the Intellectual Property); (B) there is no pending claim, action, suit, or proceeding by others challenging the validity or enforceability of any patents, trademarks, and copyrights, if any, included within the Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (C) the Company has not received any notice of any claim of infringement, misappropriation or conflict with any asserted rights of others with respect to any of the Companys services, processes or Intellectual Property; (D) to the knowledge of the Company, neither the sale nor use of any of the inventions, services or processes of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus infringe, misappropriate or violate any copyright, trademark, or valid patent claim of any third party; (E) none of the technology employed by the Company has been obtained or is being used by the Company in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company or, to the Companys knowledge, upon any of its officers, directors or employees; (F) to the knowledge of the Company, no third party has any ownership right in or to any Intellectual Property that is owned by the Company; (G) to the knowledge of the Company, there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (H) to the Companys knowledge, there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Companys rights in or to any Intellectual Property owned or used by the Company; and (I) the Company is in compliance with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company, and to the knowledge of the Company all such agreements are in full force and effect.
(k) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect: the Company uses any and all software and other materials distributed under a free, open source, or similar licensing model (including but not limited to the MIT License, Apache License, GNU General Public License, GNU Lesser General Public License and GNU Affero General Public License) (Open Source Software) in compliance with all license terms applicable to such Open Source Software; and (B) the Company does not use or distribute any Open Source Software in any manner that requires (1) the Company to permit reverse engineering by others of any proprietary software code or other technology owned by the Company or (2) any proprietary software code or other technology owned by the Company to be (a) disclosed or distributed to others in source code form, (b) licensed to others for the purpose of making derivative works or (c) redistributed by others at no charge.
(l) Other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect: (A) the Company, to the Companys knowledge, has operated its business in a manner compliant with all United States federal, state, local and non-United States privacy, data security and data protection laws and regulations (including the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act) applicable to the Companys collection, use, transfer, protection, disposal, disclosure, handling, storage and analysis of personal data; (B) the Company is in compliance with internal policies and procedures designed to protect the integrity and security of the personal data collected, handled or stored by or on behalf of the Company in connection with its business; (C) the Company is in compliance with internal policies and procedures designed to comply with any applicable health care laws, rules and
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regulations that govern privacy and data security and take, and has taken reasonably appropriate steps designed to comply with such policies and procedures; (D) the Company has taken reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of its personally identifiable information and protected health information of the Company and any third parties in its possession (Sensitive Company Data); (E) the Companys tangible or digital information technology systems (including computers, screens, servers, workstations, routers, hubs, switches, networks, data communications lines, technical data and hardware), software and telecommunications systems used or held for use by the Company (the Company IT Assets) are adequate and operational for, in accordance with their documentation and functional specifications, the business of the Company as now operated as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (F) the Company has used commercially reasonable efforts to establish, and has established, commercially reasonable disaster recovery and security plans, procedures and facilities for the business consistent with industry standards and practices, including, without limitation, for the Company IT Assets and data held or used by or for the Company; (G) to the Companys knowledge, (i) the Company has not suffered or incurred any security breaches, compromises or incidents with respect to any Company IT Asset or Sensitive Company Data controlled by the Company; and (ii) there has been no unauthorized or illegal use of or access to any Company IT Asset or Sensitive Company Data controlled by the Company by any unauthorized third party; and (H) the Company has not been required under any applicable laws or regulations to notify any individual of any information security breach, compromise or incident involving Sensitive Company Data.
(m) The Company has good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property, and good and marketable title to all other property (which does not include intellectual property, which is addressed exclusively in Section 2(j) above) owned by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company. All real property held under lease by the Company is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company.
(n) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) there has not been any event which could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) the Company has not sustained any loss or interference with its assets, businesses or properties (whether owned or leased) from fire, explosion, earthquake, flood or other calamity, including a health epidemic or pandemic outbreak of infectious disease (including without limitation, a further outbreak or escalation of COVID-19 or any related/mutated form of COVID-19), whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or any court or legislative or other governmental action, order or decree in each case, which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) since the date of the latest balance sheet included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company
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has not (A) issued any securities or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money, except such liabilities or obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (B) entered into any transaction (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company or (C) declared or paid any dividend or made any distribution on any shares of its stock or redeemed, purchased or otherwise acquired or agreed to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock.
(o) There is no document, contract or other agreement required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement which is not described or filed as required by the Securities Act or Rules. Each description of a contract, document or other agreement in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus accurately reflects in all material respects the terms of the underlying contract, document or other agreement. Each contract, document or other agreement described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus or listed in the exhibits to the Registration Statement is in full force and effect and is valid and enforceable by and against the Company, in accordance with its terms. Neither the Company nor to the Companys knowledge, any other party is in default in the observance or performance of any term or obligation to be performed by it under any such agreement to which the Company is a party, and no event has occurred which with written notice or lapse of time or both would constitute such a default, in any such case which default or event, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No default exists, and no event has occurred which with written notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default, in the due performance and observance of any term, covenant or condition, by the Company of any other agreement or instrument to which the Company or by which Company or its properties or business may be bound or affected which default or event, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(p) The statistical and market related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate.
(q) The Company is not (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws, (ii) in default under, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time, or both, would constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge, mortgage, pledge, security interest, claim, limitation on voting rights, equity, trust or other encumbrance, preferential arrangement, defect or restriction of any kind whatsoever, upon, any property or assets of the Company pursuant to, any bond, debenture, note, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its properties or assets is subject or (iii) in violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, directive, judgment, decree or order of any judicial, regulatory or other legal or governmental agency or body, foreign or domestic, except (in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above) for violations or defaults that could not (individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(r) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(s) Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the issuance and sale by the Company of the Shares) will give rise to a right to terminate or accelerate the due date of any payment due under, or conflict with or result in the breach of any term or provision of, or constitute a default (or an event which with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default) under, or require any consent or waiver under, or result in the execution or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which either the Company or any of its properties or businesses is bound, or any franchise, license, permit, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or violate any provision of the charter or by-laws of the Company, except for such consents or waivers which have already been obtained and are in full force and effect.
(t) The Company has authorized and outstanding capital stock as set forth under the captions Capitalization and Description of Capital Stock in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. There are no statutory preemptive or other similar rights to subscribe for or to purchase or acquire any shares of Common Stock of the Company or any such rights pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation or by-laws or any agreement or instrument to or by which the Company is a party or bound that have not been complied with or validly waived. The Shares, when issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and none of them will be issued in violation of any preemptive or other similar right. Neither the filing of the Registration Statement nor the offering or sale of the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement gives rise to any rights for or relating to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company that have not been validly waived. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, there is no outstanding option, warrant or other right calling for the issuance of, and there is no commitment, plan or arrangement to issue, any share of stock of the Company or any security convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, such stock. The exercise price of each option to acquire Common Stock, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements (each, a Company Stock Option) is no less than the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined on the date of grant of such Company Stock Option. All grants of Company Stock Options were validly issued and properly approved by the Board of Directors of the Company in material compliance with all applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, including all applicable federal securities laws, and the terms of the plans under which such Company Stock Options were issued and were recorded on the Companys financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and no such grants involved
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any back dating, forward dating, spring loading or similar practices with respect to the effective date of grant. The description of the Company Stock Options and the options or other rights granted thereunder set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus accurately and fairly presents in all material respects the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements and awards. The Common Stock and the Shares conform in all material respects to all statements in relation thereto contained in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(u) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, no holder of any security of the Company has any right, which has not been waived, to have any security owned by such holder included in the Registration Statement or to demand registration of any security owned by such holder for a period of 180 days after the date of this Agreement. Each director and executive officer of the Company has delivered to the Representative his or her enforceable written lock-up agreement in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto. The holders of shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock issued pursuant to the Companys equity incentive plan (such shares of Common Stock or other such securities collectively, the Securities) representing substantially all of the Securities that have not delivered executed lock-up agreements to Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. as of the date hereof are legally bound by market standoff agreements with the Company (Market Standoff Provisions), that impose restrictions with respect to such holders securities during the Lock-Up Period (as defined below) without the consent of the Company that are substantially the same as the those included in the form of lock-up agreement attached as Exhibit A hereto and are enforceable by the Company. Each such Market Standoff Provision is in full force and effect as of the date hereof and shall remain in full force and effect during the Lock-Up Period, except that this provision shall not prevent the Company from effecting such a waiver or amendment to permit a transfer of securities which would be permissible if such securities were subject to the terms of the lock-up agreement in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto.
(v) There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company is a party or of which any property of the Company is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company could individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the knowledge of the Company, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.
(w) All necessary corporate action has been duly and validly taken by the Company and to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company.
(x) The Company is not involved in any labor dispute and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company is not threatened by any such disputes, which singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers or contractors which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not aware of any threatened or pending litigation between the Company and any of its executive officers which, if adversely determined, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and has no reason to believe that such officers will not remain in the employment of the Company.
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(y) Since the date as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, no supplier, customer or distributor of the Company has notified the Company in writing that it intends to discontinue or decrease the rate of business done with the Company, except where such discontinuation or decrease has not resulted in and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) No transaction has occurred between or among the Company and any of its officers or directors, stockholders or five percent stockholders or any affiliate or affiliates of any such officer or director or stockholder or five percent stockholders that is required to be described in and is not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(aa) The Company has not taken, nor will it take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, or which has constituted or which might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Stock or any security of the Company, within the meaning of Regulation M of the Exchange Act, to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Shares.
(bb) The Company has filed all Federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which are required to be filed through the date hereof, which returns are true and correct in all material respects or has received timely extensions thereof, and has paid all taxes shown on such returns and all assessments received by it to the extent that the same are material and have become due, except for such taxes, if any, that are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company and except insofar as the failure to pay such taxes would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. There are no tax audits or investigations pending, which if adversely determined would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; nor are there any material proposed additional tax assessments against the Company or.
(cc) The Shares have been duly authorized for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. A registration statement has been filed on Form 8-A pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, which registration statement complies in all material respects with the Exchange Act. The registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act has been declared effective by the Commission.
(dd) The Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or the listing of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the Nasdaq Global Market is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
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(ee) The books, records and accounts of the Company accurately and fairly reflect, in all material respects, the transactions in, and dispositions of, the assets of, and the results of operations of, the Company. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements 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.
(ff) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act), which are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the Companys principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within the Company and are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.
(gg) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of (i) any material weakness or significant deficiency in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Companys ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data or any material weaknesses in internal controls; or (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a role in the Companys internal controls over financial reporting (it being understood that this subsection shall not require the Company to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as of an earlier date than it would otherwise be required to so comply under applicable law).
(hh) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and as preapproved in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 10A of the Exchange Act, the Auditor has not been engaged by the Company to perform any prohibited activities (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).
(ii) There are no material off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K) that have or are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on the Companys financial condition, revenues or expenses, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
(jj) The Companys Board of Directors has, subject to the exceptions, cure periods and phase in periods specified in the applicable stock exchange rules (Exchange Rules) and validly appointed an audit committee to oversee internal accounting controls whose composition satisfies the requirements of Listing Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq Stock
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Market and the Board of Directors and/or the audit committee has adopted a charter that satisfies the requirements of Listing Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The audit committee has adopted a charter that complies in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Rules and has reviewed the adequacy of its charter within the past twelve months.
(kk) The Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon effectiveness of the Registration Statement, it will be in compliance with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission and corporate governance requirements under applicable Nasdaq Stock Market regulations that are then in effect and with which the Company is required to comply as of the Effective Date, and is actively taking steps to ensure that it will be in compliance with other provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act not currently in effect, upon the effectiveness of such provisions, or which will become applicable to the Company at all times after the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and has no reason to believe that it will not comply with such provisions at the time of effectiveness.
(ll) The Company is insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are customary for comparable companies in the business in which the Company is engaged (as determined in good faith by the Company), or propose to engage after giving effect to the transactions described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus; all policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or the Companys business, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company is in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and the Company does not have 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 at a cost that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.
(mm) Each approval, consent, order, authorization, designation, declaration or filing of, by or with any regulatory, administrative or other governmental body necessary in connection with the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated required to be obtained or performed by the Company (except such additional steps as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or may be necessary to qualify the Shares for public offering by the Underwriters under the state securities or Blue Sky laws) has been obtained or made and is in full force and effect.
(nn) There are no affiliations with FINRA among the Companys officers, directors or, to the knowledge of the Company, any five percent or greater stockholder of the Company, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or otherwise disclosed in writing to the Representative.
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(oo) All of the information provided to the Underwriters or to counsel for the Underwriters by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares is true, complete, correct and compliant in all material respects with FINRAs rules, and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules or Listing Rules under the Nasdaq Stock Market is true, complete, correct and compliant in all material respects.
(pp) (i) The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all rules, laws and regulation relating to the use, treatment, storage and disposal of toxic substances and protection of health or the environment (Environmental Law) which are applicable to its business; (ii) the Company has not received any written notice from any governmental authority or third party of an asserted claim under Environmental Laws; (iii) The Company has received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business and is in compliance in all material respects with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval; (iv) to the Companys knowledge, no facts currently exist that will require the Company to make future material capital expenditures to comply with Environmental Laws; and (v) to the Companys knowledge, no property which is or has been owned, leased or occupied by the Company has been designated as a Superfund site pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation of Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 9601, et. seq.) (CERCLA) or otherwise designated as a contaminated site under applicable state or local law. The Company has not been named as a potentially responsible party under CERCLA.
(qq) In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on the business, operations and properties of the Company, in the course of which the Company identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws, or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(rr) The Company (i) is in compliance, in all material respects, with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, treaties, statutes and codes promulgated by any and all governmental authorities (including pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act) relating to the protection of human health and safety in the workplace (Occupational Laws); (ii) has received all material permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Occupational Laws to conduct its business as currently conducted; and (iii) is in compliance, in all material respects, with all terms and conditions of any such permits, licenses or approvals. No action, proceeding, revocation proceeding, writ, injunction or claim is pending or, to the Companys knowledge, threatened against the Company relating to Occupational Laws, and the Company does not have knowledge of any facts, circumstances or developments relating to its operations or cost accounting practices that could reasonably be expected to form the basis for or give rise to such actions, suits, investigations or proceedings.
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(ss) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, will not be an required to register as an investment company or an entity controlled by an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act).
(tt) Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company has, directly or indirectly, (i) used any corporate funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any anti-bribery laws, including but not limited to, any applicable law, rule or regulation of any locality, including but not limited to any law, rule or regulation promulgated to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, signed December 17, 1997, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or any other applicable law, rule or regulation of similar purpose and scope or anti-corruption law; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit. The Company has instituted, maintained and enforced, and will continue to maintain and enforce, policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.
(uu) The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Anti-Money Laundering Laws) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(vv) (i) Neither the Company, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, employee, agent or affiliate of the Company , or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company is (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a specially designated national or blocked person), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majestys Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, Sanctions), nor is (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or the target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, the Crimea region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria (each, a Sanctioned Country).
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(ii) The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or the target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.
(iii) For the past five years, the Company has not engaged in and are not now engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.
(iv) The Company has implemented and maintains in effect policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance by the Company, and the Company, and its respective directors, officers and employees, and to the knowledge of the Company, the agents of the Company, are in compliance with all applicable Sanctions, and are not knowingly engaged in any activity that would reasonably be expected to result in the Company being designated as the subject or target of Sanctions.
(ww) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has not sold or issued any shares of Common Stock during the six-month period preceding the date of the Prospectus, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulations D or S of, the Securities Act, other than shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock options plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company has not sold or issued any securities that would be integrated with the offering of the Shares contemplated by this Agreement pursuant to the Securities Act, the Rules or any interpretations thereof by the Commission.
(xx) (i) Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), for which the Company or any member of its Controlled Group (defined as any entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Company within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA or any entity that would be regarded as a single employer with the Company under Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code would have any liability (each, a Plan) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to, ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with
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respect to any Plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no Plan has failed (whether or not waived), or is reasonably expected to fail, to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code) applicable to such Plan; (iv) no Plan is, or is reasonably expected to be, in at risk status (within the meaning of Section 303(i) of ERISA) and no Plan that is a multiemployer plan within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA is in endangered status or critical status (within the meaning of Sections 304 and 305 of ERISA); (v) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (vi) no reportable event (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA and the regulations promulgated thereunder) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (vii) each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified, and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification; (viii) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a multiemployer plan, within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA); and (ix) none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans by the Company or its Controlled Group affiliates in the current fiscal year of the Company and its Controlled Group affiliates compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Companys and its Controlled Group affiliates most recently completed fiscal year; or (B) a material increase in the Companys accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 715-60) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Companys most recently completed fiscal year, except in each case with respect to the events or conditions set forth in (i) through (ix) hereof, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(yy) None of the Company, its directors or its officers has distributed nor will distribute prior to the later of (i) the Firm Shares Closing Date, or the Option Shares Closing Date, and (ii) completion of the distribution of the Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Registration Statement and other materials, if any, permitted by the Securities Act and consistent with Section 3(d) below.
(zz) Since the date of the preliminary prospectus included in the Registration Statement filed with the Commission on [], 2021 (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any Person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication (as defined herein)) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act (an Emerging Growth Company). Testing-the-Waters Communication means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) or Rule 163(b) of the Securities Act.
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(aaa) Since September 17, 2021, the Company (a) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representative made in reliance on Section 5(d) to the Securities Act with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act, or, in the case of Testing-the-Waters Communications made in reliance on Rule 163B, with entities that the Company reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 163B under the 1933 Act and (b) has not authorized anyone other than the Representative to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representative has been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications (as defined herein). Written Testing-the-Waters Communication means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(bbb) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(ccc) Other than as contemplated by this Agreement, the Company has not incurred any liability for any finders or brokers fee or agents commission in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(ddd) There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus that have not been described as required.
(eee) Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in each of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
(fff) There are (and prior to the Firm Shares Closing Date and as of each Option Shares Closing Date (if any), will be) no debt securities, convertible securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Company that are rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act.
(ggg) The Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any banking or lending affiliate of any Underwriter and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.
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(hhh) The Company represents and warrants that (i) the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses comply in all material respects, and any further amendments or supplements thereto will comply in all material respects, with any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, are distributed in connection with the Friends and Family Program, and that (ii) no authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration or qualification of or with any government, governmental instrumentality or court, other than such as have been obtained, is necessary under the securities laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the Directed Shares are offered outside the United States. The Company has not offered, or caused the underwriters to offer, Shares to any person pursuant to the Friends and Family Program with the specific intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer or suppliers level or type of business with the Company, or (ii) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or its products.
3. Conditions of the Underwriters Obligations. The obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement are several and not joint. The respective obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Shares are subject to each of the following terms and conditions:
(a) Notification that the Registration Statement has become effective shall have been received by the Representative, and the Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 4(a) of this Agreement and any material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with such rule.
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules), shall have been or shall be in effect and no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect and no proceedings for such purpose shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission, and any requests for additional information on the part of the Commission (to be included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the satisfaction of the Commission and the Representative. If the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 430A, Rule 430A information previously omitted from the effective Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A shall have been transmitted to the Commission for filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the prescribed time period and the Company shall have provided evidence satisfactory to the Representative of such timely filing, or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been promptly filed and declared effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A.
(c) The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement and in the certificates delivered pursuant to Section 3(d) shall be true and correct when made and on and as of each Closing Date as if made on such date. The Company shall have performed all covenants and agreements and satisfied all the conditions contained in this Agreement required to be performed or satisfied by them at or before such Closing Date.
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(d) The Representative shall have received on each Closing Date a certificate, addressed to the Representative and dated such Closing Date, signed on behalf of the Company by the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of the Company to the effect that: (i) the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company in this Agreement were true and correct when made and are true and correct as of such Closing Date; (ii) the Company has performed all covenants and agreements and satisfied all conditions contained herein; (iii) they have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, and any individual Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and, in their opinion, (A) as of the Effective Date the Registration Statement and Prospectus did not include, and as of the Applicable Time, neither (i) the General Disclosure Package, nor (ii) any individual Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and (B) since the Effective Date no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or otherwise required an amendment to the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus; (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and, to their knowledge, no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending under the Securities Act and (v) there has not occurred any material adverse change in the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company.
(e) The Representative shall have received: (i) simultaneously with the execution of this Agreement a signed letter from the Auditor addressed to the Representative and dated the date of this Agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and (ii) on each Closing Date, a signed letter from the Auditor addressed to the Representative and dated the date of such Closing Date(s), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants comfort letters to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, provided, that such letter delivered on the Firm Shares Closing Date and as of each Option Shares Closing Date (if any), shall use a cut-off date no more than two business days prior to the Firm Shares Closing Date and each Option Shares Closing Date (if any).
(f) The Representative shall have received on and as of (i) the date hereof and (ii) each Closing Date, a certificate of the chief financial officer of the Company confirming certain financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.
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(g) The Representative shall have received on each Closing Date from Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP, counsel for the Company, an opinion and negative assurance letter, addressed to the Representative and dated such Closing Date in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.
(h) The Representative shall have received on each Closing Date from White & Case LLP, counsel for the Representative, an opinion and negative assurance letter, addressed to the Representative and dated such Closing Date in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.
(i) All proceedings taken in connection with the sale of the Firm Shares and the Option Shares as herein contemplated shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative, and their counsel.
(j) The Representative shall have received copies of the Lock-up Agreements executed by each applicable entity and person requested by the Representative prior to the execution of this Agreement. In the event that the Representative, in its sole discretion, agrees to release or waive any restriction set forth in a Lock-up Agreement for an officer or director of the Company, and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of such release or waiver (which release or waiver shall be substantially in the form found at Exhibit A-1 hereto, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit A-2 hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.
(k) The Shares shall have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, subject only to official notice of issuance.
(l) The Representative shall be reasonably satisfied that since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) there shall not have been any material change in the capital stock of the Company or any material change in the indebtedness (other than in the ordinary course of business) of the Company, (ii) except as set forth or contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, no material oral or written agreement or other transaction shall have been entered into by the Company that is not in the ordinary course of business or that could reasonably be expected to result in a material reduction in the future earnings of the Company, (iii) no loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company shall have been sustained that had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (iv) no legal or governmental action, suit or proceeding affecting the Company or any of its properties that is material to the Company or that affects or could reasonably be expected to affect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall have been instituted or threatened and (v) there shall not have been any material change in the
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assets, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company considered as a whole that makes it impractical or inadvisable in the Representatives judgment to proceed with the purchase or offering of the Shares as contemplated hereby.
(m) On or before the Firm Shares Closing Date, FINRA shall have confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and agreements in connection with the offering of the Shares.
(n) No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Firm Shares Closing Date or an Option Shares Closing Date (if any), prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date or an Option Shares Closing Date (if any), prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares.
(o) The Representative shall have received on or prior to each Closing Date satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company in its jurisdiction of organization and its good standing as a foreign entity in such other jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions.
(p) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Representative such further certificates or documents (including a Secretarys Certificate) as the Representative shall have reasonably requested.
4. Covenants and other Agreements of the Company and the Underwriters.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees as follows:
(i) The Company will use its best efforts to cause the Registration Statement, if not effective at the time of execution of this Agreement, and any amendments thereto, to become effective as promptly as possible. The Company shall prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representative and file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commissions close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by the Rules. The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses in the time and manner required under Rules 433(d) or 163(b)(2), as the case may be.
(ii) The Company shall promptly advise the Representative in writing (A) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall have become effective or any supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (B) of any request by the Commission for any amendment of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for any additional information, (C) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary
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prospectus or any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules, or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose and (D) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company shall not file any amendment of the Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus unless the Company has furnished the Representative a copy for its review prior to filing and shall not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representative reasonably objects. The Company shall use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order and, if issued, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
(iii) If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Shares (or, in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules) is required to be delivered under the Securities Act and any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the Rules, the Company promptly shall prepare and file with the Commission, subject to the second sentence of paragraph (ii) of this Section 4(a), an amendment or supplement which shall correct such statement or omission or an amendment which shall effect such compliance.
(iv) If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or would omit 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 prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(v) The Company shall make generally available to its security holders and to the Representative as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days after the end of the 12-month period beginning at the end of the fiscal quarter of the Company during which the Effective Date occurs (or 90 days if such 12-month period coincides with the Companys fiscal year), an earning statement (which need not be audited) of the Company, covering such 12-month period, which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 158 of the Rules.
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(vi) The Company shall furnish to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement (including all exhibits thereto and amendments thereof) and to each other Underwriter a copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and all amendments thereof and, so long as delivery of a prospectus by an Underwriter or dealer may be required by the Securities Act or the Rules, as many copies of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments thereof and supplements thereto as the Representative may reasonably request. If applicable, the copies of the Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and Prospectus and each amendment and supplement thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(vii) The Company shall cooperate with the Representative and their counsel in endeavoring to qualify the Shares for offer and sale in connection with the offering under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may designate and shall maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith, as a condition thereof, to qualify as a foreign corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction or subject itself to taxation as doing business in any jurisdiction.
(viii) The Company, during the period when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules) is required to be delivered under the Securities Act and the Rules or the Exchange Act, will file all reports and other documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15 of the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
(ix) Without the prior written consent of the Representative, for a period of 180 days after the date of this Agreement (the Lock-Up Period), the Company shall not issue, sell or register with the Commission (other than on Form S-8 or on any successor form), or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any equity securities of the Company (or any securities convertible into, exercisable for or exchangeable for equity securities of the Company), except for (i) the issuance of the Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement, (ii) the issuance of shares or other equity awards pursuant to the Companys existing equity compensation plans as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (iii) the entry into an agreement providing for the issuance by the Company of shares or any security convertible into or exercisable for shares in connection with the acquisition by the Company of the securities, business, technology, property or other assets of another person or entity or pursuant to an employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection with such acquisition, and the issuance of any such securities pursuant to any such agreement, representing in the aggregate no more than 5% of the Companys issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as of the date of this Agreement, which may be sold on an arms-length basis, only to unaffiliated third-parties, so long as recipients of such securities agree to be bound by a lock-up agreement in substantially the form attached as Exhibit A hereto, (iv) the entry
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into any agreement providing for the issuance of shares or any security convertible into or exercisable for shares in connection with joint ventures, commercial relationships or other strategic transactions, and the issuance of any such securities pursuant to any such agreement, representing in the aggregate no more than 5% of the Companys issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as of the date of this Agreement, which may be sold on an arms-length basis, only to unaffiliated third-parties, so long as recipients of such securities agree to be bound by a lock-up agreement in substantially the form attached as Exhibit A hereto, and (v) the issuance of shares pursuant to the conversion of convertible notes issued in a private placement to investors in August 2021, as described in the Registration Statement.
(x) During the Lock-Up Period, the Company shall (a) enforce the Market Standoff Provisions and any similar transfer restrictions contained in any agreement between the Company and any of its securityholders, including, without limitation, through the issuance of stop transfer instructions to the Companys transfer agent with respect to any transaction that would constitute a breach of, or default under, the transfer restrictions, except that this provision shall not prevent the Company from effecting such a waiver or amendment to permit a transfer of securities that would be permissible under the terms of the lock-up agreement in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto, and (b) not amend or waive any such transfer restrictions with respect to any such holder without the prior written consent of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.
(xi) On or before completion of this offering, the Company shall make all filings required under applicable securities laws and by the Nasdaq Global Market (including any required registration under the Exchange Act).
(xii) Prior to the Closing Date, the Company will issue no press release or other communications directly or indirectly and hold no press conference with respect to the Company, the condition, financial or otherwise, or the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of any of them, or the offering of the Shares without the prior written consent of the Representative unless in the judgment of the Company and its counsel, and after notification to the Representative, such press release or communication is required by law.
(xiii) The Company will maintain, at its expense, a transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock.
(xiv) The Company will use its best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Common Stock (including the Shares) on the Nasdaq Global Market.
(xv) The Company will apply the net proceeds from the offering of the Shares in the manner set forth under Use of Proceeds in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(xvi) The Company will promptly notify the Representative if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (a) completion of the distribution of the Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act and (b) completion of the 180-day restricted period referred to in Section 4(a)(ix) hereof.
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(xvii) If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.
(xviii) The Company will deliver to the Representative, on the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as the Representative may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing certification.
(xix) The Company will comply with all applicable securities laws and other applicable laws, rules and regulations in each jurisdiction in which the Directed Shares are offered in connection with the Friends and Family Program.
(xx) The Company will ensure that the Directed Shares will be restricted, to the extent required by FINRA or FINRA rules, from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation for a period of three months following the date of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement. The Representative will notify the Company as to which Participants will need to be so restricted. The Company shall direct the transfer agent to place stop transfer restrictions upon such securities for such period of time.
(b) The Company agrees to pay, or reimburse if paid by the Representative, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, all costs and expenses incident to the public offering of the Shares and the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement including those relating to: (i) the Companys expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction, filing and distribution of the Registration Statement including all exhibits thereto, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, all amendments and supplements thereto, and the printing, filing and distribution of this Agreement; (ii) the preparation and delivery of certificates for the Shares to the Underwriters; (iii) the registration or qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various jurisdictions referred to in Section 4(a)(vi), including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such registration and qualification and the preparation, printing, distribution and shipment of preliminary and supplementary Blue Sky memoranda; (iv) the furnishing (including costs of shipping and mailing) to the Representative and to the Underwriters of copies of each Preliminary Prospectus, the
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Prospectus and all amendments or supplements to the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and of the several documents required by this Section to be so furnished, as may be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares by the Underwriters or by dealers to whom Shares may be sold; (v) the filing fees of FINRA in connection with its review of the terms of the public offering and reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such review; provided that the amount payable by the Company pursuant to this clause (v) and clause (iii) above shall not exceed $50,000 in the aggregate; (vi) inclusion of the Shares for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market; (vii) all transfer taxes, if any, with respect to the sale and delivery of the Shares by the Company to the Underwriters; (vii) all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Representative under this Agreement (excluding the fees and expenses of the Underwriters outside attorneys, except for the reimbursable fees described in clause (v) hereto); and (viii) payments to counsel for costs incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Friends and Family Program and payment of any stamp duties, similar taxes or duties or other taxes, if any, incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Friends and Family Program.
(c) The Company acknowledges and agrees that each of the Underwriters has acted and is acting solely in the capacity of a principal in an arms length transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, with respect to the offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor, agent or fiduciary to the Company or any other person. Additionally, the Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters have not and will not advise the Company or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Company has consulted with its own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Underwriters shall have no responsibility or liability to the Company or any other person with respect thereto, whether arising prior to or after the date hereof. Any review by the Underwriters of the Company, the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions have been and will be performed solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary duty to the Company or any other person in connection with any such transaction or the process leading thereto.
(d) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representative, it, its directors or officers has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing
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Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. The Company represents that is has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions set forth in Rule 433 of the Rules to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any Road Show.
5. Indemnification.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities, joint or several (including any reasonable investigation, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted), to which they, or any of them, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other Federal or state law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any issuer-information filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules, any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or in any Blue Sky application or other information or other documents executed by the Company filed in any state or other jurisdiction to qualify any or all of the Shares under the securities laws thereof (any such application, document or information being hereinafter referred to as a Blue Sky Application) or arise out of or are based upon any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, with respect to the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that such indemnity shall not inure to the benefit of any Underwriter (or any person controlling such Underwriter) on account of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities arising from the sale of the Shares to any person by such Underwriter if such untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission was made in such preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Statutory Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or such amendment or supplement thereto, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or in any Blue Sky Application in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.
The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Representative, its officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any Representative within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages, expenses and liabilities (including any reasonable investigation, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted) (i) arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any material prepared by or with the consent of the Company
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for distribution to Participants in connection with the Friends and Family Program or arising out of or based upon any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) arising out of or based upon the failure of any Participant to pay for and accept delivery of Directed Shares otherwise reserved for such Participant pursuant to the Friends and Family Program, and (iii) related to, arising out of, or in connection with the Friends and Family Program, other than losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or expenses relating thereto) that are finally judicially determined to have resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of the Representative.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, each director of the Company, and each officer of the Company who signs the Registration Statement, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, with respect to the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any such amendment thereof or supplement thereto in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; provided, however, that the obligation of each Underwriter to indemnify the Company (including any controlling person, director or officer thereof) shall be limited to the amount of the underwriting discount and commissions applicable to the Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter hereunder.
(c) Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action, suit or proceeding against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, suit or proceeding, enclosing a copy of all papers served. No indemnification provided for in Section 5(a) or 5(b) shall be available to any party who shall fail to give notice as provided in this Section 5(c) if the party to whom notice was not given was unaware of the proceeding to which such notice would have related and was prejudiced by the failure to give such notice but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party of any such action, suit or proceeding shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under this Section. In case any such action, suit or proceeding shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the
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commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof and the approval by the indemnified party of such counsel, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses, except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof. The indemnified party shall have the right to employ its counsel in any such action, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment of counsel by such indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying parties, (ii) the indemnified party shall have been advised by counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying parties shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (iii) the indemnifying parties shall not have employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after notice of the commencement thereof, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying parties.
(d) The indemnifying party under this Section 5 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is a party or could be named and indemnity was or would be sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent (a) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability for claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding and (b) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
6. Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in Section 5(a) or 5(b) is due in accordance with its terms but for any reason is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect to any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses (including any investigation, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claims asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by any person entitled hereunder to contribution from any person who may be liable for contribution) incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement or, if such allocation is not permitted by applicable law, in
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such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions, which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The Company, and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6, no Underwriter (except as may be provided in the Agreement Among Underwriters) shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions applicable to the Shares purchased by such Underwriter. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 6, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company including any person who, with his or her consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to become a director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. Any party entitled to contribution will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action, suit or proceeding against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made against another party or parties under this Section 6, notify such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission so to notify such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought shall not relieve the party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have hereunder or otherwise than under this Section 6. No party shall be liable for contribution with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim settled without its written consent. Such Underwriters obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 6 are several in proportion to its respective underwriting commitments and not joint.
7. Termination.
(a) This Agreement may be terminated with respect to the Shares to be purchased on a Closing Date by the Representative by notifying the Company at any time at or before a Closing Date in the absolute discretion of the Representative if: (i) there has occurred any material adverse change in the securities markets or any event, act or occurrence that has materially disrupted, or in the opinion of the Representative, will in the future materially disrupt, the securities markets or there shall be such a material adverse change in general financial, political or economic conditions or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, inadvisable or impracticable to
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market the Shares or enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares; (ii) there has occurred any outbreak or material escalation of hostilities or acts of terrorism or other calamity or crisis, including a health epidemic or pandemic outbreak of infectious disease (including COVID-19 to the extent that there is a material worsening of such outbreak that actually occurs after the date hereof in the markets in which the Company operates), the effect of which on the financial markets of the United States is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, inadvisable or impracticable to market the Shares or enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares; (iii) trading in the Shares or any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or trading generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE American or the Nasdaq Stock Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA, or any other governmental or regulatory authority; (iv) a banking moratorium has been declared by any state or Federal authority; or (v) in the judgment of the Representative, there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any event having a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to any of its provisions, the Company shall not be under any liability to any Underwriter, and no Underwriter shall be under any liability to the Company, except that (y) if this Agreement is terminated by the Representative or the Underwriters because of any failure, refusal or inability on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and disbursements of their counsel) incurred by them in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Shares or in contemplation of performing their obligations hereunder and (z) no Underwriter who shall have failed or refused to purchase the Shares agreed to be purchased by it under this Agreement, without some reason sufficient hereunder to justify cancellation or termination of its obligations under this Agreement, shall be relieved of liability to the Company or to the other Underwriters for damages occasioned by its failure or refusal.
8. Substitution of Underwriters. If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase on any Closing Date the Shares agreed to be purchased hereunder on such Closing Date, the Representative shall have the right, within 36 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein. If, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 36-hour period, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to the Underwriters to purchase such Shares on such terms. If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representative and the Company as provided above, the aggregate number of Shares which remains unpurchased on such Closing Date does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares that all the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such date, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such date and, in addition, to
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require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default. In any such case, either the Representative or the Company shall have the right to postpone the applicable Closing Date for a period of not more than seven days in order to effect any necessary changes and arrangements (including any necessary amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any other documents), and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in the opinion of the Company and the Underwriters and their counsel may thereby be made necessary.
If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representative and the Company as provided above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds 10% of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such date, then this Agreement, or, with respect to a Closing Date which occurs after the First Closing Date, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company, as the case may be, to sell the Option Shares to be purchased and sold on such date, shall terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter to the Company, and without liability on the part of the Company, except as provided in Sections 4(b), 5, 6 and 7. The provisions of this Section 8 shall not in any way affect the liability of any defaulting Underwriter to the Company or the nondefaulting Underwriters arising out of such default. The term Underwriter as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section 8 with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.
9. Miscellaneous. The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and other statements of the Company, and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or the Company or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons referred to in Sections 5 and 6 hereof, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares. In addition, the provisions of Sections 4(b), 5, 6 and 7 shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.
This Agreement has been and is made for the benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors and assigns, and, to the extent expressed herein, for the benefit of persons controlling any of the Underwriters, or the Company, and directors and officers of the Company, and their respective successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. The term successors and assigns shall not include any purchaser of Shares from any Underwriter merely because of such purchase.
All notices and communications hereunder shall be in writing and mailed or delivered or by telephone or telegraph if subsequently confirmed in writing, (a) if to the Representative, c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 Attention: Equity Capital Markets, with a copy to Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 Attention: General Counsel, and to White & Case LLP, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 and (b) if to the Company, to its agent for service as such agents address appears on the cover page of the Registration Statement with a copy to Backblaze, Inc., 500 Ben Franklin Court, San Mateo, California 94401, Attention: Tom MacMitchell, with a copy to Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP, One Bush Plaza, Suite 1200, San Francisco, California 94104, Attention: Jeffrey R. Vetter.
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This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. Electronic signatures complying with the New York Electronic Signatures and Records Act (N.Y. State Tech. §§ 301-309), as amended from time to time, or other applicable law will be deemed original signatures for purposes of this Agreement. Transmission by telecopy, electronic mail or other transmission method of an executed counterpart of this Agreement will constitute due and sufficient delivery of such counterpart.
Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement among us.
[Signature page follows]
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Very truly yours, | ||
BACKBLAZE, INC. | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
Confirmed: | ||
OPPENHEIMER & CO. INC. | ||
| ||
Acting severally on behalf of itself and as representative of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I annexed hereto. | ||
By OPPENHEIMER & CO. INC. | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
SCHEDULE I
Name | Number of Firm Shares to Be Purchased | Number of Option Shares to be Purchased | ||||||
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. | ||||||||
[] | ||||||||
[] | ||||||||
|
|
|
| |||||
Total |
Sch I - 1
SCHEDULE II
Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses
[None.]
Sch III - 1
Exhibit A
FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT
October , 2021
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
as Representative of the Several Underwriters
c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
85 Broad Street
New York, New York 10004
Re: | Public Offering of Backblaze, Inc. |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned, an executive officer, director or holder of common stock, par value $0.0001 (Common Stock), or rights to acquire Common Stock, of Backblaze, Inc. (the Company) understands that you, as Representative of the several Underwriters, propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the Underwriting Agreement) with the Company, providing for the public offering (the Public Offering) by the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement (the Underwriters), of shares of Class A Common Stock of the Company (the Shares). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.
In consideration of the Underwriters agreement to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to proceed with the Public Offering of the Shares, and for other good and valuable consideration receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby agrees for the benefit of the Company, you and the other Underwriters that, without the prior written consent of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, during the period ending 180 days (the Lock-Up Period) after the date of the prospectus (the Public Offering Date) relating to the Public Offering (the Prospectus), directly or indirectly (1) offer, pledge, assign, encumber, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock owned either of record or beneficially (as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) by the undersigned on the date hereof or hereafter acquired or (2) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing. In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of the Prospectus, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer Shares without the prior written consent of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., provided that (1) in the cases of clauses (i) through (vi), (ix) and (x) below, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. receive a signed lock-up agreement consistent with the terms of this Letter Agreement for the balance of the Lock-Up Period from each donee, trustee, distributee, or transferee, as the case may be, (2) in the cases of clauses (i) through (v) below, any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) in the cases of clauses (i) through (iv) below, such transfers are not required to be reported with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) on Form 4 in accordance with Section 16 of the Exchange Act, (4) in the cases of clauses (v) through (ix) below, any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto the circumstances of and the reason for the transfer, (5) in the cases of clauses (vii) and (viii) below, any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the disposition was solely to the Company and (6) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers during the Lock-Up Period:
(i) | as a bona fide gift or gifts; or |
(ii) | to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this Letter Agreement, immediate family shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); |
(iii) | as a distribution to general or limited partners, limited liability company members, stockholders or other equity holders of the undersigned; |
(iv) | to the undersigneds affiliates or to any investment fund or other entity that, directly or indirectly, controls or manages, is controlled or managed by, or is under common control or management with, the undersigned; |
(v) | by will or intestate succession upon the death of the undersigned; |
(vi) | pursuant to a court of regulatory agency order, a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement; |
(vii) | to the Company in connection with the exercise of options, warrants or other rights to acquire shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock of the Company by way of net exercise and/or to cover withholding tax obligations in connection with such exercise pursuant to an employee benefit plan, option, warrant or other right disclosed in the Prospectus, provided that any such shares of the Common Stock issued upon exercise of such option, warrant or other right shall be subject to the restrictions set forth herein; |
(viii) | to the Company pursuant to agreements under which the Company has exercised its option to repurchase such shares or has exercised a right of first refusal with respect to transfers of such shares upon termination of service of the undersigned, so long as such agreement or right of first refusal is disclosed in the Prospectus; |
(ix) | pursuant to the automatic conversion of outstanding shares of preferred stock of the Company into shares of the Common Stock of the Company in connection with the Public Offering disclosed in the Prospectus, provided that the shares of the Common Stock received upon such conversion shall be subject to the restrictions set forth herein; or |
(x) | After completion of the Public Offering, to a bona fide third party pursuant to a merger, consolidation, tender offer or other similar transaction made to all holders of shares of the Common Stock and involving a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company and approved by the Companys board of directors; provided that, in the event that such Change of Control is not completed, the undersigneds Shares shall remain subject to the restrictions contained herein, provided further that any shares of the Common Stock not transferred in such merger, consolidation, tender offer or other transaction shall remain subject to the restrictions contained herein. Change of Control shall mean the transfer (whether by tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to a person or group of affiliated persons (other than an underwriter pursuant to the Public Offering), of the Companys voting securities if, after such transfer, such person or group of affiliated persons would hold more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Company (or the surviving entity). |
Furthermore, the undersigned may sell shares of Common Stock of the Company purchased by the undersigned from the underwriters in the Public Offering (other than any issuer-directed shares of Common Stock purchased in the Public Offering by an officer or director of the Company) or on the open market following the Public Offering if and only if (i) such sales are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Commission, or otherwise and (ii) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such sales during the Lock-Up Period.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, commencing at the opening of trading on the second Trading Day (as defined below) after the Companys public announcement of its earnings (which for this purpose shall not include flash numbers or preliminary, partial earnings) for the first quarter that ends following the Public Offering Date (such second Trading Day, the Initial Earnings-Related Release Date), if (a) the undersigned is an employee, consultant or independent contractor of the Company (excluding directors, officers, founders, and greater than 10% stockholders of the Company), and the last reported closing price of the Class A Common Stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market is greater than or equal to the initial public offering price per share set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus for any 10 out of 15 consecutive Trading Days ending on or after the Initial Earnings-Related Release Date, then 20% of the undersigneds Common Stock or shares of Common Stock underlying lock-up securities as of the date of the Prospectus will be automatically released from such restrictions and (b) if the undersigned is a
director, officer, founder, or greater than 10% stockholder of the Company, and the last reported closing price of the Class A Common Stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market is at least 15% greater than the initial public offering price per share set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus for any 10 out of 15 consecutive Trading Days ending on or after the Initial Earnings-Related Release Date, then 15% of the undersigneds Common Stock or shares of Common Stock underlying lock-up securities as of the date of the Prospectus will be automatically released from such restrictions (an Early Lock-Up Expiration) (for purposes of this paragraph (a), a Trading Day is a day on which the Nasdaq Stock Market, as applicable, is open for the buying and selling of securities); provided that, for any such Early Lock-Up Expiration, the Company shall notify Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and shall announce the Early Lock-Up Expiration by press release through a major news service at least two business days prior to the effective date of the Early Lock-Up Expiration, and notwithstanding anything above to the contrary, any such Early Lock-Up Expiration shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. For the avoidance of doubt, the Lock-Up Period shall be deemed to be terminated for the securities that are released from the prohibitions under this Letter Agreement pursuant to this paragraph.
The prohibitions of this Letter Agreement shall not apply to (a) any shares of Common Stock underlying stock options held by the undersigned that would otherwise expire during the Lock-Up Period, or that would have expired prior to the date hereof, had such stock options not been previously exercised by the undersigned and (b) any shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of convertible notes.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, nothing in this Letter Agreement shall prevent the undersigned from establishing a 10b5-l trading plan that complies with Rule 10b5-l under the Exchange Act (10b5-l Trading Plan) or from amending an existing 10b5-l Trading Plan (subject to compliance with the Companys insider trading policy) so long as there are no sales of Lock-Up Securities under such plan during the Lock-Up Period, except as otherwise permitted by the Early Lock-Up Expiration; and provided that the establishment of a 10b5-1 Trading Plan or the amendment of a 10b5-l Trading Plan, in either case, providing for sales of Lock-Up Securities shall only be permitted if (i) the establishment or amendment of such plan is not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Commission or otherwise during the Lock-Up Period, and (ii) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding the establishment or amendment of such plan during the Lock-Up Period, provided, however, that the undersigned shall be permitted to reference in a required Section 16 filing that any such sale was effected pursuant to a 10b5-1 trading plan.
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. agrees that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a proposed transfer of shares of Common Stock by the undersigned, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver and (ii) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this Letter Agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company, and any duly appointed transfer agent for the registration or transfer of the securities described herein, are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Letter Agreement.
The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Letter Agreement. All authority herein conferred or agreed to be conferred and any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the successors, assigns, heirs or personal representatives of the undersigned.
The undersigned understands that, if (i) the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective on or before March 31, 2022, (ii) the Company withdraws the registration statement relating to the Public Offering, or (iii) the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Common Stock to be sold thereunder, the undersigned shall be released form all obligations under this Letter Agreement.
The undersigned, whether or not participating in the Public Offering, understands that the Underwriters are entering into the Underwriting Agreement and proceeding with the Public Offering in reliance upon this Letter Agreement.
This Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.
Very truly yours, | ||
Signature: | ||
Print Name: |
Exhibit A-1
[Form of Waiver of Lock-up]
[Oppenheimer Letterhead]
Backblaze, Inc.
Public Offering of Common Stock
[ ], 20[ ]
[Name and Address of
Officer or Director
Requesting Waiver]
Dear Mr./Ms. [Name]:
This letter is being delivered to you in connection with the offering by Backblaze, Inc. (the Company) of [] shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value (the Common Stock), of the Company and the lock-up agreement dated [], 2021 (the Lock-up Agreement), executed by you in connection with such offering, and your request for a [waiver] [release] dated [ ], 20[ ], with respect to [] shares of Common Stock (the Shares).
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. hereby agrees to [waive] [release] the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-up Agreement, but only with respect to the Shares, effective [ ], 20[ ][date to be three business days from date of letter]; provided, however, that such [waiver] [release] is conditioned on the Company announcing the impending [waiver] [release] by press release through a major news service at least two business days before effectiveness of such [waiver] [release]. This letter will serve as notice to the Company of the impending [waiver] [release].
Except as expressly [waived] [released] hereby, the Lock-up Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
Yours very truly, | ||
OPPENHEIMER & CO. INC. | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
cc: | [Company contact] |
Exhibit A-2
[Form of Lock Up Waiver/Release Company Press Release]
Backblaze, Inc.
[Date]
Backblaze, Inc. (the Company) announced today that Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., the lead book-running manager in the Companys recent public sale of [] shares of Class A common stock, is [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to [] shares of the Companys Class A common stock held by [ ], an [officer/director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on [ ], 20[ ], and the related shares may be sold on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.