Form of Lock-Up Agreement

Exhibit 10.4

FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

THIS LOCK-UP AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of February 17, 2021 by and among (i) CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III, a Delaware corporation (together with its successors, “Acquiror”), (ii) AEye, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and (iii) the undersigned (“Holder”). Any capitalized term used but not defined in this Agreement will have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Merger Agreement (as defined below).

WHEREAS, on or about the date of this Agreement, Acquiror, Meliora Merger Sub, Inc. a Delaware corporation and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Acquiror (“Merger Sub”), and the Company are entering into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other matters, upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby (the “Closing”), Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acquiror (the “Merger”), and as a result of which all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company immediately prior to the Closing shall no longer be outstanding and shall automatically be cancelled and shall cease to exist, in exchange for the right to receive newly issued shares of Acquiror Class A Common Stock, all upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL;

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Holder is a holder of Company Capital Stock, Company Options, Company RSUs and/or Company Warrants in such amounts and classes or series as set forth underneath Holder’s name on the signature page hereto; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties desire to enter into this Agreement, pursuant to which the Acquiror Class A Common Stock, Assumed Options, Assumed RSUs and Assumed Warrants to be received by Holder as consideration in the Merger, including any Acquiror Class A Common Stock underlying the Assumed Options, Assumed RSUs or Assumed Warrants, and further including any other securities held by the Holder which are convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of Acquiror Common Stock (all such securities, together with any securities paid as dividends or distributions with respect to such securities or into which such securities are exchanged or converted, but not including any shares issued in connection with the PIPE Subscription Agreements, the “Restricted Securities”) shall become subject to limitations on disposition as set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above, which are incorporated in this Agreement as if fully set forth below, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereby agree as follows:

1. Lock-Up Provisions.

(a) Holder hereby agrees not to, without the prior written consent of Acquiror in accordance with Section 2(h), during the period (the “Lock-Up Period”) commencing from the Closing and ending on the earlier of (A) the one (1) year anniversary of the date of the Closing and (B) subsequent to the Closing, (x) if the last reported sale price of Acquiror Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Closing or (y) the date on which Acquiror consummates a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization, or other similar transaction that results in all of Acquiror’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Acquiror Class A Common Stock for cash, securities or other property: (i) sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, with respect to any Restricted Securities owned by Holder, (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Restricted Securities owned by Holder, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iii) publicly announce any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii) (any of the foregoing described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Prohibited Transfer”). The foregoing sentence shall not apply to the transfer of any or all of the Restricted Securities owned by Holder (I) to Holder’s officers or directors, any current or future affiliate or family member of any of Holder’s officers or directors, or to any member(s), officers, directors or employees of Holder or any of its current or future affiliates, (II) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of such individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such individual’s immediate family, any current or future affiliate of such individual or to a charitable organization, (III) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such individual, (IV) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, or (V) in the event of Acquiror’s liquidation prior to the Closing (each, a “Permitted Transferee”); provided, however, that in the case of clauses (I) through (IV) it shall be a condition to such transfer that the Permitted Transferee executes and delivers to Acquiror and the Company an agreement, in substantially the same form of this Agreement, stating that the Permitted Transferee is receiving and holding the Restricted Securities subject to the provisions of this Agreement applicable to Holder, and there shall be no further transfer of such Restricted Securities except in accordance with this Agreement. Holder further agrees to execute such agreements as may be reasonably requested by Acquiror or the Company that are consistent with the foregoing or that are necessary to give further effect thereto.

(b) If any Prohibited Transfer is made or attempted contrary to the provisions of this Agreement, such purported Prohibited Transfer shall be null and void ab initio, and Acquiror shall refuse to recognize any such purported transferee of the Restricted Securities as one of its equity holders for any purpose. In order to enforce this Section 1, Acquiror may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to the Restricted Securities of Holder (and Permitted Transferees and assigns thereof) until the end of the Lock-Up Period.

(c) During the Lock-Up Period, each certificate evidencing any Restricted Securities shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend in substantially the following form, in addition to any other applicable legends:

“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER SET FORTH IN A LOCK-UP AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF February 17, 2021, BY AND AMONG THE ISSUER OF SUCH SECURITIES (THE “ISSUER”), THE ISSUER’S SECURITY HOLDER NAMED THEREIN AND CERTAIN OTHER PARTIES NAMED THEREIN, AS AMENDED. A COPY OF SUCH LOCK-UP AGREEMENT WILL BE FURNISHED WITHOUT CHARGE BY THE ISSUER TO THE HOLDER HEREOF UPON WRITTEN REQUEST.”

Promptly upon the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, Acquiror will make reasonable best efforts to remove such legend from the certificates evidencing the Restricted Securities.

(d) For the avoidance of any doubt, Holder shall retain all of its rights as a stockholder of Acquiror during the Lock-Up Period, including the right to vote any Restricted Securities.

(e) Holder hereby acknowledges and agrees that, upon the Effective Time, each of Holder’s Company Options, Company RSUs and/or Company Warrants outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested or unvested, shall automatically and without any required action on the part of Holder or any other beneficiary thereof, shall be converted into Assumed Options, Assumed RSUs and/or Assumed Warrants in accordance with Sections 2.5(c), 2.5(d) or 2.5(e) of the Merger Agreement, as applicable, and without any right or claim to any further equity or other compensation with respect to such Company Options, Company RSUs and/or Company Warrants.

2. Miscellaneous.

(a) Termination of Merger Agreement. This Agreement shall be binding upon Holder upon Holder’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, but this Agreement shall only become effective upon the Closing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event that the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms prior to the Closing, this Agreement and all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall automatically terminate and be of no further force or effect.

(b) Binding Effect; Assignment. This Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective permitted successors and assigns. This Agreement and all obligations of each party are personal to such party and may not be transferred or delegated by any party at any time without the prior written consent of the other parties in accordance with Section 2(h), except in accordance with the procedures set forth for transfers of Restricted Securities to Permitted Transferees in the second sentence of Section 1(a).

(c) Third Parties. Except for the rights of the Sponsor (or its assignee) as provided in Section 2(h), nothing contained in this Agreement or in any instrument or document executed by any party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall create any rights in, or be deemed to have been executed for the benefit of, any person or entity that is not a party hereto or thereto or a successor or permitted assign of such a party.

(d) Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Waiver of Jury Trial. Sections 10.7 and 10.14 of the Merger Agreement shall apply to this Agreement mutatis mutandis.

(e) Interpretation. The titles and subtitles used in this Agreement are for convenience only and are not to be considered in construing or interpreting this Agreement. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (i) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa; (ii) “including” (and with correlative meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding or succeeding such term and shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “without limitation”; (iii) the words “herein,” “hereto,” and “hereby” and other words of similar import shall be deemed in each case to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section or other subdivision of this Agreement; and (iv) the term “or” means “and/or”. The parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.

(f) Notices. All notices, consents, waivers and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered (i) in person, (ii) by email during normal business hours, (iii) by FedEx, UPS or other nationally recognized overnight courier service or (iv) after posting in the United States mail having been sent registered or certified mail return receipt requested, postage prepaid, and otherwise on the next Business Day, addressed as follows (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified by like notice):

(g) Amendments and Waivers. This Agreement may be amended or modified only with the written consent of Acquiror, the Company and Holder. The observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance, and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of the party against whom enforcement of such waiver is sought. No failure or delay by a party in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition, or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be or construed as a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition, or provision.

(h) Authorization on Behalf of Acquiror. The parties acknowledge and agree that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, any and all determinations, actions or other authorizations under this Agreement on behalf of Acquiror from and after the Closing, including enforcing Acquiror’s rights and remedies under this Agreement, or providing any waivers or amendments with respect to this Agreement or the provisions hereof, shall solely be made, taken and authorized by, or as directed by, Acquiror’s sponsor, CF Finance Holdings III, LLC (the “Sponsor”). Without limiting the foregoing, in the event that Holder or Holder’s Affiliate serves as a director, officer, employee or other authorized agent of Acquiror or any of its current or future Affiliates, Holder and/or Holder’s Affiliate shall have no authority, express or implied, to act or make any determination on behalf of Acquiror or any of its current or future Affiliates in connection with this Agreement or any dispute or Action with respect hereto.

(i) Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified or deleted, as to the jurisdiction involved, only to the extent necessary to render the same valid, legal and enforceable, and the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby nor shall the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision be affected thereby in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties will substitute for any invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision a suitable and equitable provision that carries out, so far as may be valid, legal and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision.

(j) Specific Performance. Holder acknowledges that its obligations under this Agreement are unique, recognizes and affirms that in the event of a breach of this Agreement by Holder, money damages will be inadequate and Acquiror and the Company will have no adequate remedy at law, and agrees that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by Holder in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, each of Acquiror and the Company shall be entitled to an injunction or restraining order to prevent breaches of this Agreement by Holder and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof, without the requirement to post any bond or other security or to prove that money damages would be inadequate, this being in addition to any other right or remedy to which such party may be entitled under this Agreement, at law or in equity.

(k) Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the full and entire understanding and agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and any other written or oral agreement relating to the subject matter hereof existing between the parties is expressly canceled; provided, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not affect the rights and obligations of the parties under the Merger Agreement or any Ancillary Agreements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Acquiror and the Company or any of the obligations of Holder under any other agreement between Holder and Acquiror or the Company or any certificate or instrument executed by Holder in favor of Acquiror or the Company, and nothing in any other agreement, certificate or instrument shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Acquiror or the Company or any of the obligations of Holder under this Agreement.

(l) Other Agreements. Acquiror and the Company represent and warrant that this Agreement is in substantially the same form and substance (including with respect to the types and percentage of holdings of securities subject to this Agreement, the time periods for the transfer restrictions, and carve-outs from the transfer restrictions, which shall in each case be identical) to all other letter agreements to be executed by and between any other holder of Company Capital Stock and Acquiror and the Company related to restrictions on transfer similar to those set forth in this Agreement (the “Other Agreements”), and each of the Acquiror and the Company hereby agree that it will not change, amend or modify any of the terms of the Other Agreements in a manner beneficial to any other holder of Company Capital Stock without similarly changing, amending or modifying such terms of this Agreement.

(m) Pro-Rata Release. If, prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period set forth in this Agreement, the restrictions on transfer in any Other Agreement are waived, terminated or suspended, in whole or in part, permanently or for a limited period of time, then this Agreement shall be deemed to be automatically modified without any further action so that the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Agreement are also waived, terminated or suspended on the same terms and for the same percentage of Restricted Securities of the Holder. The Company shall, upon any such automatic modification of this Agreement, notify the Holder of such modification in writing as promptly as reasonably practicable and in any event at least 12 hours prior to the open of trading markets on the date such waiver, termination or suspension is to take effect.

(n) Further Assurances. From time to time, at another party’s request and without further consideration (but at the requesting party’s reasonable cost and expense), each party shall execute and deliver such additional documents and take all such further action as may be reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(o) Counterparts; Facsimile. This Agreement may also be executed and delivered by facsimile signature or by email in portable document format in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow.] 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

Holder:

[Signature Page to Lock-Up Agreement (Project Meliora)]