Form of Placement Agency Agreement
Exhibit 1.1
PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT
[___], 2024
Nuwellis, Inc.
12988 Valley View Road
Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344
Attention: Nestor Jaramillo, Jr., Chief Executive Officer
Dear Mr. Jaramillo:
This agreement (the “Agreement”) constitutes the agreement between Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC and Maxim Group LLC as placement agents (each, a “Placement Agent” and collectively, the “Placement Agents”) and Nuwellis, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”), pursuant to which the Placement Agents shall serve as the exclusive placement agents for the Company, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis, in connection with the proposed placement (the “Placement”) of (i) shares (the “Shares”) of common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), (ii) warrants (collectively, the “Purchase Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock, and (iii) pre-funded warrants (collectively, the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock (the shares of Common Stock underlying the Purchase Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants, collectively with the Purchase Warrants, the Pre-Funded Warrants, and the Shares, the “Securities”). The terms of the Placement and the Securities shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the purchasers (each, a “Purchaser” and collectively, the “Purchasers”) and nothing herein constitutes that the Placement Agents would have the power or authority to bind the Company or any Purchaser or an obligation for the Company to issue any Securities or complete the Placement. The documents executed and delivered by the Company and the Purchasers in connection with the Placement, including, without limitation, a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), shall be collectively referred to herein as the “Transaction Documents.” The purchase price to the Purchasers for each Common Unit is $____, the purchase price to the Purchasers for each Pre-Funded Unit is $___, the exercise price to the Purchaser for each share of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants is $0.0001, and the exercise price to the Purchasers for each share of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Purchase Warrant is $_____. The Placement Agents may retain other brokers or dealers to act as sub-agents or selected-dealers on its behalf in connection with the Placement. Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Purchase Agreement.
SECTION 1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY; COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY.
A. Representations of the Company. Each of the representations and warranties (together with any related disclosure schedules thereto) and covenants made by the Company to the Purchasers in the Purchase Agreement in connection with the Placement is hereby incorporated herein by reference into this Agreement (as though fully restated herein) and is, as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, hereby made to, and in favor of, the Placement Agents. In addition to the foregoing, the Company represents and warrants that:
1. Securities Law Filings. The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-276562) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), which was filed on January 18, 2024, as amended, and declared effective on [___], 2024 for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act. Following the determination of pricing among the Company and the prospective Purchasers introduced to the Company by Placement Agents, the Company will file with the Commission pursuant to Rules 430B, 430A and 424(b) under the Securities Act, and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Commission promulgated thereunder, a final prospectus relating to the placement of the Securities, their respective pricings and the plan of distribution thereof and will advise the Placement Agents of all further information (financial and other) with respect to the Company required to be set forth therein. Such registration statement, at any given time, including the exhibits thereto filed at such time, as amended at such time, is hereinafter called the “Registration Statement”; such prospectus in the form in which it appears in the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness is hereinafter called the “Preliminary Prospectus”; and the final prospectus, in the form in which it will be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rules 430A and/or 424(b) (including the Preliminary Prospectus as it may be amended or supplemented) is hereinafter called the “Final Prospectus.” The Registration Statement at the time it originally became effective is hereinafter called the “Original Registration Statement.” Any reference in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Original Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”), if any, which were or are filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), at any given time, as the case may be; and any reference in this Agreement to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Original Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act after the date of this Agreement, or the issue date of the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus, as the case may be, deemed to be incorporated therein by reference. All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included,” “described,” “referenced,” “set forth” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus, as the case may be. As used in this paragraph and elsewhere in this Agreement, “Time of Sale Disclosure Package” means the Preliminary Prospectus, the Transaction Documents, the final terms of the Placement provided to the Purchasers (orally or in writing) and any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act (each, an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”), if any, that the parties hereto shall hereafter expressly agree in writing to treat as part of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package. The term “any Prospectus” shall mean, as the context requires, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, and any supplement to either thereof. The Company has not received any notice that the Commission has issued or intends to issue a stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the use of the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or intends to commence a proceeding for any such purpose.
2. Assurances. The Original Registration Statement, as amended, (and any further documents to be filed with the Commission) contains all exhibits and schedules as required by the Securities Act. Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Final Prospectus, as of its date, complied or will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations. The Final Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, did not and will not contain as of the date thereof any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Incorporated Documents, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and none of such documents, when they were filed with the Commission, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein (with respect to Incorporated Documents incorporated by reference in the Final Prospectus), in light of the circumstances under which they were made not misleading. No post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement reflecting any facts or events arising after the date thereof which represent, individually or in the aggregate, a fundamental change in the information set forth therein is required to be filed with the Commission. Except for this Agreement and the Transaction Documents, there are no documents required to be filed with the Commission in connection with the transaction contemplated hereby that (x) have not been filed as required pursuant to the Securities Act or (y) will not be filed within the requisite time period. Except for this Agreement and the Transaction Documents, there are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Final Prospectus, or to be filed as exhibits or schedules to the Registration Statement, which have not been described or filed as required. The foregoing shall not apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agents specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
3. Offering Materials. Neither the Company nor any of its directors and officers has distributed and none of them will distribute, prior to the Closing Date, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities other than the Time of Sale Disclosure Package.
4. Authorization; Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of each of this Agreement and the Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) or the Company’s shareholders in connection therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals (as defined in the Purchase Agreement). This Agreement has been duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
5. No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby to which it is a party do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any lien, charge, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction upon any of the properties or assets of the Company, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to any required approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as would not reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on: (x) the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document; (y) the results of operations, assets, business, or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company; or (z) the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (x), (y), or (z), a “Material Adverse Effect”).
6. Certificates. Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Placement Agents or to Placement Agent Counsel (as defined below) shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agents as to the matters set forth therein.
7. Reliance. The Company acknowledges that the Placement Agents will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and warranties and hereby consents to such reliance.
8. Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
9. Statistical or Market-Related Data. Any statistical, industry-related and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived.
10. Certain Fees; FINRA Affiliations. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Affiliate (as defined in FINRA Rule 5121) of the Company to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. There are no other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its shareholders that may affect the Placement Agents’ compensation, as determined by FINRA. Other than payments to the Placement Agents for this Placement, the Company has not made and has no agreements, arrangements or understanding to make any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to: (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) any FINRA member participating in the offering as defined in FINRA Rule 5110 (a “Participating Member”); or (iii) any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any Participating Member, within the 180-day period preceding the initial filing of the Registration Statement through the 60-day period after the effective date of the Registration Statement. None of the net proceeds of the Placement will be paid by the Company to any Participating Member or its affiliates, except as specifically authorized herein. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, to the Company’s knowledge, no officer, director or any beneficial owner of 10% or more of the Company’s Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any Participating Member in the Placement. Except for securities purchased on the open market and except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, no Company Affiliate is an owner of stock or other securities of any Participating Member. No Company Affiliate has made a subordinated loan to any Participating Member. No proceeds from the sale of the Securities (excluding placement agent compensation as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus) will be paid to any Participating Member, any persons associated with a Participating Member or an affiliate of a Participating Member. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company has not issued any warrants or other securities or granted any options, directly or indirectly, to the Placement Agents within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Prospectus. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, no person to whom securities of the Company have been privately issued within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Prospectus is a Participating Member, is a person associated with a Participating Member or is an affiliate of a Participating Member. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, no Participating Member in the Placement has a conflict of interest, as defined in FINRA Rule 5121, with the Company. “FINRA member participating in the Placement” includes any associated person of a Participating Member in the Placement, any member of such associated person’s immediate family and any affiliate of a Participating Member in the Placement. When used in this Section 3.1(j) the term “affiliate of a FINRA member” or “affiliated with a FINRA member” means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a FINRA member. The Company will advise the Representative and EGS if it learns that any officer, director or owner of 10% or more of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a Participating Member.
11. Board of Directors. The qualifications of the persons serving as board members and the overall composition of the Board of Directors comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder applicable to the Company and the rules of the market or exchange on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading (the “Trading Market”). In addition, at least a majority of the persons serving on the Board of Directors qualify as “independent” as defined under the rules of the Trading Market.
12. D&O Questionnaires. To the Company’s knowledge, all information contained in the questionnaires most recently completed by each of the Company’s directors and officers is true and correct in all respects and the Company has not become aware of any information which would cause the information disclosed in such questionnaires become inaccurate and incorrect.
B. Covenants of the Company. The Company further covenants and agrees with the Placement Agents as follows:
1. Registration Statement Matters. The Company will advise the Placement Agents promptly after it receives notice thereof of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to the Final Prospectus has been filed and will furnish the Placement Agents with copies thereof. The Company will file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of any Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the Placement. The Company will advise the Placement Agents, promptly after it receives notice thereof (i) of any request by the Commission to amend the Registration Statement or to amend or supplement any Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or any order directed at any Incorporated Document, if any, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus or the Final Prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any amendment or supplement thereto or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the institution or threatened institution of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or a Prospectus or for additional information, (iii) of the issuance by any state securities commission of any proceedings for the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iv) of the mailing and delivery to the Commission for filing of any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus; (v) of the receipt of any comments or request for any additional information from the Commission; and (vi) of the happening of any event during the period described in this Section 4(a) that, in the judgment of the Company, makes any statement of a material fact made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company shall use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or prevention or suspension of such use. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order or order or notice of prevention or suspension at any time, the Company will use its best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment, or will file a new registration statement and use its best efforts to have such new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rules 424(b), 430A, 430B and 430C, as applicable, under the Securities Act, including with respect to the timely filing of documents thereunder, and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under such Rule 424(b) are received in a timely manner by the Commission.
2. Blue Sky Compliance. The Company will cooperate with the Placement Agents and the Purchasers in endeavoring to qualify the Securities for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions (United States and foreign) as the Placement Agents and the Purchasers may reasonably request and will make such applications, file such documents, and furnish such information as may be reasonably required for that purpose, provided the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or required to file such a consent, and provided further that the Company shall not be required to produce any new disclosure document. The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports and other documents as are or may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long a period as the Placement Agents may reasonably request for distribution of the Securities. The Company will advise the Placement Agents promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Securities for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.
3. Amendments and Supplements to a Prospectus and Other Matters. The Company will comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement, the Incorporated Documents and any Prospectus. If during the period in which a prospectus is required by law to be delivered in connection with the distribution of Securities contemplated by the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”), any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the opinion of the Placement Agents or Placement Agent Counsel, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any Incorporated Document to comply with any law, the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, and furnish at its own expense to the Placement Agents and to dealers, an appropriate amendment to the Registration Statement or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus that is necessary in order to make the statements in the Incorporated Documents and any Prospectus as so amended or supplemented, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or so that the Registration Statement, the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus, as so amended or supplemented, will comply with law. Before amending the Registration Statement or supplementing the Incorporated Documents or any Prospectus in connection with the Placement, the Company will furnish the Placement Agents with a copy of such proposed amendment or supplement and will not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Placement Agents reasonably objects.
4. Copies of any Amendments and Supplements to a Prospectus. The Company will furnish the Placement Agents, without charge, during the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the Closing Date of the Placement, as many copies of any Prospectus or prospectus supplement and any amendments and supplements thereto, as the Placement Agents may reasonably request.
5. Free Writing Prospectus. The Company covenants that it will not, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Placement Agents, make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433 of the Securities Act. In the event that the Placement Agents expressly consent in writing to any such free writing prospectus (a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”), the Company covenants that it shall (i) treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and (ii) comply with the requirements of Rule 164 and 433 of the Securities Act applicable to such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including in respect of timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping.
6. Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent. The Company will maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the shares of Common Stock and a warrant agent for the Purchase Warrants and Pre-Funded Warrants.
7. Earnings Statement. As soon as practicable and in accordance with applicable requirements under the Securities Act, but in any event not later than 18 months after the Closing Date, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Placement Agents an earnings statement, covering a period of at least 12 consecutive months beginning after the Closing Date, that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 under the Securities Act.
8. Periodic Reporting Obligations. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will duly file, on a timely basis, with the Commission and the Trading Market all reports and documents required to be filed under the Exchange Act within the time periods and in the manner required by the Exchange Act.
9. Additional Documents. The Company will enter into any subscription, purchase or other customary agreements as the Placement Agents or the Purchasers reasonably deem necessary or appropriate to consummate the Placement, all of which will be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Placement Agents and the Purchasers. The Company agrees that the Placement Agents may rely upon, and each is a third party beneficiary of, the representations and warranties, and applicable covenants, set forth in any such purchase, subscription or other agreement with Purchasers in the Placement.
10. No Manipulation of Price. Neither the Company, nor to its knowledge, any of its employees, directors or shareholders, has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act, or otherwise stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.
11. Acknowledgment. The Company acknowledges that any advice given by the Placement Agents to the Company is solely for the benefit and use of the Board of Directors of the Company and may not be used, reproduced, disseminated, quoted or referred to, without the Placement Agents’ ‘prior written consent.
12. Publicity. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agents may, subsequent to the Closing (as defined below), make public their involvement with the Placement. The Company agrees that, until 25 days after the final Closing Date, it will not issue press releases or engage in any other publicity, without the Placement Agents’ prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), other than normal and customary releases issued in the ordinary course of the Company’s business. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the Company be prohibited from issuing any press releases or engaging in any other publicity required by law, except that including the name of the Placement Agents therein shall require the prior written consent of the Placement Agents.
13. Reliance on Others. The Company confirms that it will rely on its own counsel and accountants for legal and accounting advice.
14. Research Matters. By entering into this Agreement, the Placement Agents do not provide any promise, either explicitly or implicitly, of favorable or continued research coverage of the Company and the Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agents’ selection as placement agents for the Placement was in no way conditioned, explicitly or implicitly, on the Placement Agents providing favorable or any research coverage of the Company. In accordance with FINRA Rule 2241(b)(2), the parties acknowledge and agree that the Placement Agents have not directly or indirectly offered favorable research, a specific rating or a specific price target, or threatened to change research, a rating or a price target, to the Company or inducement for the receipt of business or compensation. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Placement Agents with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their independent research analysts and research departments may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by the Placement Agents’ investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Placement Agents is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short position in debt or equity securities of the Company.
15. Subsequent Equity Sales.
i. From the date hereof until ninety (90) days after the Closing Date, the Company shall not (i) issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or proposed issuance of any Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents or (ii) file any registration statement or amendment or supplement thereto, other than the Final Prospectus or filing a registration statement on Form S-8 in connection with any employee benefit plan, in each case without prior written consent of the Placement Agent.
ii. [Reserved].
iii. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this subsection shall not apply in respect of an Exempt Issuance. An “Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) Common Stock or equity awards to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors established for such purpose for services rendered to the Company, (b) securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into Common Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (other than in connection with automatic price resets, stock splits, adjustments or combinations as set forth in such securities) or to extend the term of such securities, and (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the 90-day period following the Closing Date, and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company, an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities.
iv. [Reserved].
16. Lock-Up Agreements. On the Closing Date, the Placement Agents shall have received the executed lock-up agreements, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, from each of the directors and officers of the Company. The Company shall not amend, modify, waive or terminate any provision of any of the Lock-Up Agreements except to extend the term of the lock-up period and shall enforce the provisions of each Lock-Up Agreement in accordance with its terms. If any party to a Lock-Up Agreement breaches any provision of a Lock-Up Agreement, the Company shall promptly use its best efforts to seek specific performance of the terms of such Lock-Up Agreement.
17. FINRA. The Company shall advise the Placement Agents (who shall make an appropriate filing with FINRA) if it is aware that any officer, director, 10% or greater shareholder of the Company or Person that received the Company’s unregistered equity securities in the past 180 days is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member firm prior to the earlier of the termination of this Agreement or the 60-day period after the effective date of the Registration Statement.
18. Trading Market. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to maintain the listing of its Common Stock on the Trading Market for a period of at least two (2) years after the Closing Date.
19. Engagement of Professionals. The Company will retain a nationally recognized, PCAOB registered firm of independent certified public accountants reasonably acceptable to the Placement Agents for a period of at least three years after the Closing Date.
SECTION 2. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PLACEMENT AGENT. Each of the Placement Agents represents and warrants that it (i) is a member in good standing of FINRA, (ii) is registered as a broker/dealer under the Exchange Act, (iii) is licensed as a broker/dealer under the laws of the states applicable to the offers and sales of the Securities by such Placement Agent, (iv) is and will be a body corporate validly existing under the laws of its place of incorporation, and (v) has full power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Placement Agents will immediately notify the Company in writing of any change in their status as such. The Placement Agents covenant that they will use their reasonable best efforts to conduct the Placement hereunder in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement and the requirements of applicable law.
SECTION 3. COMPENSATION. In consideration of the services to be provided for hereunder, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agents or their respective designees their pro rata portion (based on the Securities placed) of the following compensation with respect to the Securities which they are placing:
A. A cash fee (the “Cash Fee”) equal to an aggregate of eight percent (8.0%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Placement. The Cash Fee shall be paid at the closing of the Placement (the “Closing”).
B. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred by the Company in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation: (i) all expenses incident to the issuance, delivery and qualification of the Securities (including all printing and engraving costs); (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Common Stock; (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities; (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors; (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, and all amendments thereto, and this Agreement; (vi) all attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Placement Agents in connection with the Placement up to a maximum of $100,000; (vii) if applicable, the filing fees incident to the review and approval by the FINRA of the Placement Agents’ ‘participation in the offering and distribution of the Securities; (viii) the fees and expenses associated with including the Shares and Warrant Shares on the Trading Market; (ix) all costs and expenses incident to the travel and accommodation of the Company’s and the Placement Agents’ employees on the “roadshow,” if any; and (x) all other fees, costs and expenses referred to in Part II of the Registration Statement. The Company will reimburse the Placement Agents directly upon the Closing from the gross proceeds raised in the Placement.
C. The Placement Agents reserve the right to reduce any item of their compensation or adjust the terms thereof as specified herein in the event that a determination shall be made by FINRA to the effect that such Placement Agents’ ‘aggregate compensation is in excess of FINRA rules or that the terms thereof require adjustment.
SECTION 4. INDEMNIFICATION.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agents, their affiliates and each person controlling the Placement Agents (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act), and the directors, officers, agents and employees of the Placement Agents, their affiliates and each such controlling person (the Placement Agent, and each such entity or person. an “Indemnified Person”) from and against any losses, claims, damages, judgments, assessments, costs and other liabilities (collectively, the “Liabilities”), and shall reimburse each Indemnified Person for all fees and expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of one counsel for all Indemnified Persons, except as otherwise expressly provided herein) (collectively, the “Expenses”) as they are incurred by an Indemnified Person in investigating, preparing, pursuing or defending any action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation (collectively, an “Action”), whether or not any Indemnified Person is a party thereto, (i) caused by, or arising out of or in connection with, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Incorporated Document, or any Prospectus or by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (other than untrue statements or alleged untrue statements in, or omissions or alleged omissions from, information relating to an Indemnified Person furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Indemnified Person expressly for use in the Incorporated Documents) or (ii) otherwise arising out of or in connection with advice or services rendered or to be rendered by any Indemnified Person pursuant to this Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby or any Indemnified Person’s actions or inactions in connection with any such advice, services or transactions; provided, however, that, in the case of clause (ii) only, the Company shall not be responsible for any Liabilities or Expenses of any Indemnified Person that are finally judicially determined to have resulted solely from such Indemnified Person’s (x) gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with any of the advice, actions, inactions or services referred to above or (y) use of any offering materials or information concerning the Company in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities in the Placement which were not authorized for such use by the Company and which use constitutes gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Company also agrees to reimburse each Indemnified Person for all Expenses as they are incurred in connection with enforcing such Indemnified Person’s rights under this Agreement.
(b) Upon receipt by an Indemnified Person of actual notice of an Action against such Indemnified Person with respect to which indemnity may be sought under this Agreement, such Indemnified Person shall promptly notify the Company in writing; provided that failure by any Indemnified Person so to notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from any liability which the Company may have on account of this indemnity or otherwise to such Indemnified Person, except to the extent the Company shall have been prejudiced by such failure. The Company shall, if requested by the Placement Agents, assume the defense of any such Action including the employment of counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agents, which counsel may also be counsel to the Company. Any Indemnified Person shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless: (i) the Company has failed promptly to assume the defense and employ counsel or (ii) the named parties to any such Action (including any impeded parties) include such Indemnified Person and the Company, and such Indemnified Person shall have been advised in the reasonable opinion of counsel that there is an actual conflict of interest that prevents the counsel selected by the Company from representing both the Company (or another client of such counsel) and any Indemnified Person; provided that the Company shall not in such event be responsible hereunder for the fees and expenses of more than one firm of separate counsel for all Indemnified Persons in connection with any Action or related Actions, in addition to any local counsel. The Company shall not be liable for any settlement of any Action effected without its written consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld). In addition, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agents (which shall not be unreasonably withheld), settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any pending or threatened Action in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not such Indemnified Person is a party thereto) unless such settlement, compromise, consent or termination includes an unconditional release of each Indemnified Person from all Liabilities arising out of such Action for which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder. The indemnification required hereby shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as such expense, loss, damage or liability is incurred and is due and payable.
(c) In the event that the foregoing indemnity is unavailable to an Indemnified Person other than in accordance with this Agreement, the Company shall contribute to the Liabilities and Expenses paid or payable by such Indemnified Person in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect (i) the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and to the Placement Agents and any other Indemnified Person, on the other hand, of the matters contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by the immediately preceding clause is not permitted by applicable law, not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Placement Agents and any other Indemnified Person, on the other hand, in connection with the matters as to which such Liabilities or Expenses relate, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations; provided that in no event shall the Company contribute less than the amount necessary to ensure that all Indemnified Persons, in the aggregate, are not liable for any Liabilities and Expenses in excess of the amount of fees actually received by the Placement Agents pursuant to this Agreement. For purposes of this paragraph, the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and to the Placement Agents on the other hand, of the matters contemplated by this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as (a) the total value paid or contemplated to be paid to or received or contemplated to be received by the Company in the transaction or transactions that are within the scope of this Agreement, whether or not any such transaction is consummated, bears to (b) the fees paid to the Placement Agents under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act, as amended, shall be entitled to contribution from a party who was not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation.
(d) The Company also agrees that no Indemnified Person shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with advice or services rendered or to be rendered by any Indemnified Person pursuant to this Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby or any Indemnified Person’s actions or inactions in connection with any such advice, services or transactions except for Liabilities (and related Expenses) of the Company that are finally judicially determined to have resulted solely from such Indemnified Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with any such advice, actions, inactions or services.
(e) The reimbursement, indemnity and contribution obligations of the Company set forth herein shall apply to any modification of this Agreement and shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any termination of, or the completion of any Indemnified Person’s services under or in connection with, this Agreement.
SECTION 5. ENGAGEMENT TERM. The Placement Agents’ engagement hereunder shall become effective on the date hereof and shall continue until the earlier of (i) the Closing Date and (ii) June 27, 2024 (the “Termination Date”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, (i) the provisions concerning confidentiality, indemnification and contribution contained herein, (ii) the Company’s obligations contained in the indemnification provisions will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement, (iii) the Company’s obligation to pay fees actually earned and payable and to reimburse expenses actually incurred and reimbursable pursuant to Section 3 hereof and which are permitted to be reimbursed under the FINRA Rules, and (iv) the Placement Agents’ right to receive fees pursuant to Section 15 hereof, will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the ability of the Placement Agents or their Affiliates to pursue, investigate, analyze, invest in, or engage in investment banking, financial advisory or any other business relationship with Persons (as defined below) other than the Company. As used herein (i) “Persons” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind and (ii) “Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act. All such fees and reimbursements due shall be paid to the Placement Agents on or before the Termination Date (in the event such fees and reimbursements are earned or owed as of the Termination Date) or upon the Closing or any applicable portion thereof (in the event such fees are due pursuant to the terms of Section 3 hereof).
SECTION 6. PLACEMENT AGENT INFORMATION. The Company agrees that any information or advice rendered by the Placement Agents in connection with this engagement is for the confidential use of the Company only in their evaluation of the Placement and, except as otherwise required by law, the Company will not disclose or otherwise refer to the advice or information in any manner without the Placement Agents’ prior written consent.
SECTION 7. NO FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP. This Agreement does not create, and shall not be construed as creating rights enforceable by any person or entity not a party hereto, except those entitled hereto by virtue of Section 4 hereof. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agents are not and shall not be construed as a fiduciary of the Company and shall have no duties or liabilities to the equity holders or the creditors of the Company or any other person by virtue of this Agreement or the retention of such Placement Agents hereunder, all of which are hereby expressly waived.
SECTION 8. CLOSING. The Closing shall occur at the offices of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, located at 1633 Broadway, New York, New York 10019 (“Placement Agent Counsel”) (or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Placement Agents and the Company, including remotely via electronic transmission). Subject to the terms and conditions hereof and of the Purchase Agreement, at the Closing, payment of the purchase price for the Securities sold on the Closing Date shall be made by Federal Funds wire transfer, against delivery of such Securities, and such Securities shall be registered in such name or names and shall be in such denominations, as the Placement Agents may request at least one business day before the Closing Date. Deliveries of the documents with respect to the purchase of the Securities, if any, shall be made at the offices of Placement Agent Counsel. All actions taken at the Closing shall be deemed to have occurred simultaneously. The obligations of the Placement Agents, and the closing of the sale of the Securities hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein and in the Purchase Agreement, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions, except as otherwise disclosed to and acknowledged and waived by the Placement Agents to the Company:
A. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and any request for additional information on the part of the Commission (to be included in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Placement Agents. Any filings required to be made by the Company in connection with the Placement shall have been timely filed with the Commission.
B. The Placement Agents shall not have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or prior to the Closing Date that the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or any amendment thereto contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the reasonable opinion of Placement Agent Counsel, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the reasonable opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
C. All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form, execution, delivery and validity of each of this Agreement, the Securities, the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to Placement Agent Counsel, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
D. The Placement Agents shall have received from outside counsel to the Company such counsel’s written opinion (including negative assurance), addressed to the Placement Agents and dated as of the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agents and the Placement Agent Counsel.
E. On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date, the Placement Agents shall have received a certificate of the chief financial officer of the Company addressed to the Placement Agents and in form and substance satisfactory in all respects to the Placement Agents and Placement Agent Counsel.
F. On the Closing Date, Placement Agents shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer of the Company, dated, as applicable, as of the date of such Closing, to the effect that, as of the date of this Agreement and as of the applicable date;
(i) the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and in the Purchase Agreement were and are accurate in all material respects, except for such changes as are contemplated by this Agreement and except as to representations and warranties that were expressly limited to a state of facts existing at a time prior to the applicable Closing Date, and that, as of the applicable date, the obligations to be performed by the Company hereunder on or prior thereto have been fully performed in all material respects;
(ii) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the use of the Final Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened under the Securities Act; no order having the effect of ceasing or suspending the distribution of the Securities or any other securities of the Company has been issued by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange in the United States and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange in the United States;
(iii) when the Registration Statement became effective, at the time of sale, and at all times subsequent thereto up to the delivery of such certificate, the Registration Statement and the Incorporated Documents, if any, when such documents became effective or were filed with the Commission, and any Prospectus, contained all material information required to be included therein by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be, and in all material respects conformed to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be, and the Registration Statement and the Incorporated Documents, if any, and any Prospectus, did not and do not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (provided, however, that the preceding representations and warranties contained in this paragraph (iii) shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Placement Agents expressly for use therein) and, since the effective date of the Registration Statement, there has occurred no event required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder to be set forth in the Incorporated Documents which has not been so set forth; and
(iv) subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Incorporated Documents, if any, and the Final Prospectus, there has not been: (a) any Material Adverse Change (as defined below); (b) any transaction that is material to the Company taken as a whole, except transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business; (c) any obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company taken as a whole, incurred by the Company, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business; (d) any material change in the capital stock (except changes thereto resulting from the exercise of outstanding stock options or warrants) or outstanding indebtedness of the Company; (e) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company; or (f) any loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company which has been sustained or will have been sustained which has a Material Adverse Effect.
G. On the Closing Date, Placement Agents shall have received a certificate of the secretary of the Company, dated, as applicable, as of the date of such Closing, certifying to the organizational documents, good standing in the state of incorporation of the Company and board resolutions relating to the Placement of the Securities from the Company.
H. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries (i) shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, terrorist act or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, (ii) since such date there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, and (iii) since such date there shall not have been any new or renewed inquiries by the Commission, FINRA or any other regulatory body regarding the Company, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i), (ii) or (iii), is, in the judgment of the Placement Agents, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Preliminary Prospectus, Time of Sale Disclosure Package and Final Prospectus.
I. The Common Stock is registered under the Exchange Act and, as of the Closing Date, the Shares and the shares of Common Stock underlying the Purchase Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants shall be listed and admitted and authorized for trading on the Trading Market or other applicable U.S. national exchange, or an application for such listing shall have been submitted to the Trading Market, and satisfactory evidence of such action shall have been provided to the Placement Agents. The Company shall have taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting or suspending from trading the Common Stock from the Trading Market or other applicable U.S. national exchange, nor, except as disclosed in the Preliminary Prospectus, Time of Sale Disclosure Package and Final Prospectus, has the Company received any information suggesting that the Commission or the Trading Market or other U.S. applicable national exchange is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
J. No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or materially and adversely affect or potentially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued as of the Closing Date which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or materially and adversely affect or potentially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company.
K. The Company shall have prepared and intend to file with the Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K with respect to the Placement prior to the deadline for filing such Current Report on Form 8-K.
L. FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms and arrangements of this Agreement. In addition, the Company shall, if requested by the Placement Agent, make or authorize Placement Agent Counsel to make on the Company’s behalf, any filing with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 with respect to the Placement and pay all filing fees required in connection therewith.
M. On the date hereof, the Placement Agents shall have received, and the Company shall have caused to be delivered to the Placement Agents, a letter from the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, addressed to the Placement Agents, dated as of the date hereof, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agents. The letter shall not disclose any change in the condition (financial or other), earnings, operations, business or prospects of the Company from that set forth in the Registration Statement and the Preliminary Prospectus, which, in the Placement Agents’ sole judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in the Placement Agents’ sole judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the Placement of the Securities as contemplated by such Registration Statement and Preliminary Prospectus. On the Closing Date, the Placement Agents shall have received from the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, a letter dated as of the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agents, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to this subsection, except that the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than two business days prior to such Closing Date.
N. On the date hereof, the Placement Agents shall have received the executed lock-up agreement from each of the Company’s directors and officers.
O. On the Closing Date, the Company shall provide the duly executed warrant agency agreement executed by and between the Company and the warrant agent.
P. Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Placement Agents such further information, certificates and documents as the Placement Agents may reasonably request.
Q. On the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or shall cause to be delivered the Purchase Warrants and Pre-Funded Warrants registered in such name or names and in such denominations as the Placement Agents may request at least one business day before the Closing Date.
R. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date, in the Placement Agents’ sole judgment after consultation with the Company, there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Effect or any material adverse change or development involving a prospective material adverse change in the condition or the business activities, financial or otherwise, of the Company from the latest dates as of which such condition is set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus (“Material Adverse Change”).
If any of the conditions specified in this Section 8 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement, or if any of the certificates, opinions, written statements or letters furnished to the Placement Agents or to Placement Agent Counsel pursuant to this Section 8 shall not be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Placement Agents and to Placement Agent Counsel, all obligations of the Placement Agents hereunder may be cancelled by the Placement Agents at, or at any time prior to, the consummation of the Closing. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or orally. Any such oral notice shall be confirmed promptly thereafter in writing.
SECTION 9. RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. The parties hereto acknowledge that there is an ongoing right of first refusal in favor of the Placement Agents, as set forth in that certain placement agency agreement by and between the Company and the Placement Agents, dated October 12, 2023, which shall remain in place until April 17, 2024, and that nothing in this Agreement is intended to, nor shall be deemed to supersede, amend or obviate such right of first refusal.
SECTION 10. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely in such State, without regard to the conflicts of laws principles thereof. This Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the prior written consent of the other party. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Any right to trial by jury with respect to any dispute arising under this Agreement or any transaction or conduct in connection herewith is waived. Any dispute arising under this Agreement may be brought into the courts of the State of New York or into the federal court located in New York, New York and, by execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company hereby accepts for itself and in respect of its property, generally and unconditionally, the jurisdiction of aforesaid courts. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by delivering a copy thereof via overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law. The Company agrees that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the Company is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment. If either party shall commence an action or proceeding to enforce any provisions of a Transaction Document, then the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding. This paragraph shall survive any termination of this Agreement, in whole or in part.
SECTION 11. ENTIRE AGREEMENT/MISC. This Agreement (including the attached Indemnification Provisions) embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, relating to the subject matter hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, the Engagement Agreement, dated December 27, 2023 (“Engagement Agreement”), by and between the Company and the Placement Agents, shall continue to be effective and the terms therein, including, without limitation, Sections 5 with respect to any future offerings, shall continue to survive and be enforceable by the Placement Agents in accordance with its terms. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such determination will not affect such provision in any other respect or any other provision of this Agreement, which will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement may not be amended or otherwise modified or waived except by an instrument in writing signed by the Placement Agents and the Company. The representations, warranties, agreements and covenants contained herein shall survive the Closing and delivery of the Securities. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or a .pdf format file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or .pdf signature page were an original thereof.
SECTION 12. CONFIDENTIALITY. The Placement Agents (i) will keep the Confidential Information (as such term is defined below) confidential and will not (except as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, regulation or legal process (“Legal Requirement”), without the Company’s prior written consent, disclose to any person any Confidential Information, and (ii) will not use any Confidential Information other than in connection with the Placement. The Placement Agents further agree, severally and not jointly, to disclose the Confidential Information only to their Representatives (as such term is defined below) who need to know the Confidential Information for the purpose of the Placement, and who are informed by the Placement Agents of the confidential nature of the Confidential Information. The term “Confidential Information” shall mean, all confidential, proprietary and non-public information (whether written, oral or electronic communications) furnished by the Company to a Placement Agents or their Representatives (as defined below) in connection with such Placement Agents’ evaluation of the Placement. The term “Confidential Information” will not, however, include information which (i) is or becomes publicly available other than as a result of a disclosure by any of the Placement Agents or their Representatives in violation of this Agreement, (ii) is or becomes available to any of the Placement Agents or any of their Representatives on a non-confidential basis from a third-party, (iii) is known to any of the Placement Agents or any of their Representatives prior to disclosure by the Company or any of their Representatives, or (iv) is or has been independently developed by any of the Placement Agents and/or the Representatives without use of any Confidential Information furnished to it by the Company. The term “Representatives” shall mean the directors, board committees, officers, employees, financial advisors, attorneys and accountants of each of the Placement Agents. This provision shall be in full force until the earlier of (a) the date that the Confidential Information ceases to be confidential and (b) two (2) years from the date hereof. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, in the event that any of the Placement Agents or any of their respective Representatives are required by Legal Requirement to disclose any of the Confidential Information, such Placement Agents and their respective Representatives will furnish only that portion of the Confidential Information which such Placement Agents or their respective Representative, as applicable, is required to disclose by Legal Requirement as advised by counsel, and will use reasonable efforts to obtain reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded the Confidential Information so disclosed.
SECTION 13. NOTICES. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is sent to the email address specified on the signature pages attached hereto prior to 6:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a business day, (b) the next business day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is sent to the email address on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a business day or later than 6:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any business day, (c) the third business day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. internationally recognized air courier service, or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages hereto.
SECTION 14. PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS. The Company agrees that the Placement Agents shall, from and after any Closing, have the right to reference the Placement and the Placement Agents’ role in connection therewith in the Placement Agents’ marketing materials and on its website and to place advertisements in financial and other newspapers and journals, in each case at its own expense.
SECTION 15. FEE TAIL. The Placement Agents shall be entitled to the cash fees calculated in the manner described in Section 3 hereto with respect to any private or public offering or other financing or capital raising transaction of any kind consummated within six (6) months from the Closing Date with an investor whom the Placement Agents have, directly or indirectly, introduced to the Company during the term of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 15 shall not apply to any sale of equity securities to DaVita, Inc., a Delaware corporation (or any of its affiliates), Fresenius Medical Care North America, Innovative Renal Care, LLC, Sanderling Renal Services, Inc. or OrbiMed Advisors, LLC.
SECTION 16. SUCCESSORS. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 4 hereof, and to their respective successors, and personal representative, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
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Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth our agreement by signing and returning to the Placement Agents the enclosed copy of this Agreement.
Very truly yours, | |||
LAKE STREET CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC | |||
By: | |||
Name: Michael Townley | |||
Title: Head of Investment Banking | |||
Address for notice: | |||
920 Second Avenue South, Suite 700 | |||
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 | |||
Attention: Michael Townley, Head of Investment Banking | |||
Email: ***@*** |
MAXIM GROUP LLC | |||
By: | |||
Name: Clifford A. Teller | |||
Title: Co-President | |||
Address for notice: | |||
300 Park Ave., 16th Floor | |||
New York, NY 10022 | |||
Attention: Clifford A. Teller | |||
Email: ***@*** |
With a copy to: | |||
Sullivan & Worcester LLP | |||
1633 Broadway | |||
New York, New York 10019 | |||
Attention: David Danovitch, Esq. and Aaron Schleicher, Esq. | |||
Email: ***@*** | |||
and ***@*** |
[Signature Page to Placement Agency Agreement
Between Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC, Maxim Group LLC and Nuwellis, Inc.]
Accepted and Agreed to as of
the date first written above:
NUWELLIS, INC. | |||
By: | |||
Name: Nestor Jaramillo, Jr. | |||
Title: Chief Executive Officer | |||
Address for notice: | |||
12988 Valley View Road | |||
Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344 |
With a copy to: | |||
Honigman, LLP | |||
650 Trade Centre Way, Suite 200 | |||
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49002 | |||
Attention: Phillip D. Torrence | |||
Email: ***@*** | |||
[Signature Page to Placement Agency Agreement
Between Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC, Maxim Group LLC and Nuwellis, Inc.]
Exhibit A
Form of Lock-Up Agreement