CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP. (a Delaware corporation) 3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT Dated: November 11, 2010

EX-1.1 2 a10-20988_3ex1d1.htm EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

 

 

 

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP.

 

(a Delaware corporation)

 

3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

 

Dated:  November 11, 2010

 

 

 



 

EXECUTION VERSION

 

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP.

 

(a Delaware corporation)

 

3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

(Par Value $0.0001 Per Share)

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

November 11, 2010

 

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

INCORPORATED

CRAIG-HALLUM CAPITAL GROUP LLC

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

as Representative of the several Underwriters

 

c/o  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) confirms its agreement with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom Merrill Lynch is acting as representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”) set forth in Schedule A hereto (the “Offering”) and (ii) the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of 450,000 additional shares of Common Stock to cover overallotments, if any.  The aforesaid 3,000,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Initial Securities”), including 34,530 shares to be allocated to Andrew J. Littlefair, 6,906 shares to be allocated to James N. Harger, 5,179 shares to be allocated to Barclay F. Corbus and 3,453 shares to be allocated to Mitchell W. Pratt (such shares collectively, the “Affiliate Shares”),  to be purchased by the Underwriters and the 450,000 shares of Common Stock subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities.”The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representative deems advisable after this underwriting agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed and delivered.

 



 

SECTION 1.  Representations and Warranties of the Company.

 

The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time referred to in Section 1(c) hereof and as of the Closing Time referred to in Section 2(c) hereof, and as of each Date of Delivery (if any) referred to in Section 2(b) hereof, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:

 

(a)           The Company has prepared and filed in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and the published rules and regulations thereunder (the “1933 Act Regulations”) adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an “automatic shelf registration statement” on Form S-3 (File No. 333-168433), which registration statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) of the rules and regulations of the Commission (the “Effective Date”), including a base prospectus relating to the Securities (the “Base Prospectus”), and such amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this Agreement. The term “Registration Statement” as used in this Agreement means the registration statement (including all exhibits, financial schedules and all documents and information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the 1933 Act Regulations), as amended and/or supplemented to the date of this Agreement, including the Base Prospectus.  The Registration Statement is effective under the 1933 Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission.  The Company, if required by the 1933 Act Regulations of the Commission, will file the Prospectus (as defined below), with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The term “Prospectus” as used in this Agreement means the final prospectus, including the Base Prospectus, in the form in which it is to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations for use in connection with the Offering. Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus subject to completion, including the Base Prospectus, included in the Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 of the 1933 Act Regulations in connection with the Offering is hereafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus.”  Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and the published rules and regulations thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), on or before the last to occur of the Effective Date, the date of the Preliminary Prospectus, or the date of the Prospectus, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment,” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include (i) the filing of any document under the 1934 Act after the Effective Date, the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the date of the Prospectus, as the case may be, which is incorporated by reference, (ii) the filing of any document with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the 1933 Act Regulations after the Effective Date, the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the date of the Prospectus, as the case may be, which is deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B or Rule 430C under the 1933 Act Regulations, and (iii) in each case any such document so filed and not modified or superseded pursuant to Rule 412 under the 1933 Act Regulations. If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional Securities pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the 1933 Act Regulations (the “462(b) Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the Registration Statement shall also be deemed to include such 462(b) Registration Statement.

 

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(b)           (i) At the time of filing of the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto, if any, for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act or form of prospectus), (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) of the 1933 Act Regulations) made an offer, if any, relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 of the 1933 Act Regulations and (iv) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations).

 

(c)           The conditions to the use of Form S-3 in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities as contemplated hereby have been satisfied. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of the Securities as contemplated hereby complies with, the requirements of Rule 415 of the 1933 Act Regulations (including, without limitation, Rule 415(a)(4) and (a)(5) of the 1933 Act Regulations).

 

(d)           As of the Applicable Time (as defined below), neither (i) any General Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), the Pricing Prospectus (as defined below) and the information included on Schedule B hereto, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), (ii) any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) nor (iii) any bona fide electronic road show (as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) of the 1933 Act Regulations) that has been made available without restriction to any person, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included or will include, any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company through the Representative by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein.

 

As used in this paragraph (d) and elsewhere in this Agreement:

 

Applicable Time” means 8:30 a.m., New York time, on November 11, 2010.

 

General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is identified on Schedule E to this Agreement.

 

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations relating to the Securities in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) of the 1933 Act Regulations.

 

Limited Use Free Writing Prospectuses” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not a General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

 

Pricing Prospectus” means the Preliminary Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof.

 

(e)           No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the Offering has been issued by the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the 1933 Act has been instituted or threatened by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations.

 

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(f)            At the respective times the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), each Registration Statement and any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and did not and will not contain an 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; and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing Time, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and did not and will not contain an 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; provided, however, that the foregoing representations and warranties in this paragraph (f) shall not apply to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company through the Representative by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein.  The Prospectus contains all required information under the 1933 Act with respect to the Securities and the distribution of the Securities.

 

(g)           Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the Offering or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies Merrill Lynch as described in Section 3(e), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified, or include an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company through the Representative by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein.

 

(h)           The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, or at the time such documents became effective, as applicable, complied, in all material respects, with the requirements of the 1934 Act or the 1933 Act, as the case may be, and the 1933 Act Regulations, and did not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, as applicable, and the 1933 Act Regulations and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(i)            With respect to the Offering contemplated hereby, the Company has not offered shares of its Common Stock or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Common Stock in a manner in violation of the 1933 Act; the Company has not distributed any offering material in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities, other than in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) and other materials permitted by the 1933 Act.

 

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(j)            The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations) as of the eligibility determination date for purposes of Rules 164 and 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations with respect to the offering of the Securities contemplated by the Registration Statement.  The Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the Offering other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and other materials, if any, permitted under the 1933 Act and consistent with Section 3(e) below.  The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than a “road show,” as described in Rule 433(d)(8) of the 1933 Act Regulations), if any, in the time and manner required under Rules 163(b)(2) and 433(d) of the 1933 Act Regulations.

 

(k)           The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization, are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power and authority necessary to own, lease and operate their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, (A) have a material adverse effect on the assets, properties, condition (financial or otherwise) or in the earnings, results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as a whole, whether or not in the ordinary course of business, or (B) impair in any material respect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate any transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (any such effect as described in clauses (A) and (B), a “Material Adverse Effect”).

 

(l)            All necessary corporate action has been duly and validly taken by the Company to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Securities by the Company.  This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles.

 

(m)          The Securities, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein and in the Prospectus will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights and will conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  To the Company’s knowledge, no holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability by reason of being such a holder.

 

(n)           The Company has the duly authorized and validly issued outstanding capitalization as of September 30, 2010, as set forth in the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2010.  The certificates evidencing the shares of Common Stock and other securities of the Company are in due and proper legal form and have been duly authorized for issuance by the Company, except that some certificates do not contain the legend required by Section 151(f) of the General Corporation Law of Delaware.  All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly and validly issued and fully paid and nonassessable.  All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in transactions that were either registered under the 1933 Act, or exempt from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act, without violation of preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights.  Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, there are no statutory preemptive or other similar rights to subscribe for or to purchase or acquire any shares of Common Stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any such rights pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation or by-laws or any agreement or instrument to or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or bound other than any that do not apply to the issuance and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement and that will expire at the date hereof.  The Securities to be issued and sold by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, when issued and sold against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and none of them will be issued in violation of any preemptive or

 

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other similar right.  Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Prospectus, there is no outstanding option, warrant or other right calling for the issuance of, and there is no commitment, plan or arrangement to issue, any share of stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any security convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, such stock.  The securities of the Company conform to the descriptions thereof contained in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  All outstanding shares of capital stock of each of the Company’s subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned directly by the Company or by another wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company free and clear of any security interests, liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, other than those described in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(o)           All the outstanding shares of capital stock of each “significant subsidiary” within the meaning of Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X (such a significant subsidiary of the Company, a “Significant Subsidiary”) of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and, except to the extent set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are owned by the Company directly or indirectly through one or more wholly-owned subsidiaries, free and clear of any claim, lien, encumbrance, security interest, restriction upon voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party.

 

(p)           The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the issue and sale of the Securities by the Company and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby will not (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) give rise to a right to terminate or accelerate the due date of any payment due under, or conflict with or result in the breach of any term or provision of, or constitute a default (or an event which with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default) under, or require any consent or waiver under, or result in the execution or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or its subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which either the Company or its subsidiaries or any of their properties or businesses is bound, or any franchise, license, permit, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or violate any provision of the charter or by-laws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except for (i) such consents or waivers which have already been obtained and are in full force and effect, (ii) any such termination or acceleration right, conflict, breach, default, lien or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect or (iii) except as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities.

 

(q)           Except for the registration of the Securities under the 1933 Act, and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the 1934 Act and applicable state or foreign securities laws, FINRA and the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq GM”) in connection with the offering and sale by the Company of the Securities and the listing of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq GM, no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, qualification or registration (each an “Authorization”) with, any court, governmental or non-governmental agency or body, foreign or domestic, which has not been made, obtained or taken and is not in full force and effect, is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the offer or sale of the Securities or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and no event has occurred that allows or results in, or after notice or lapse of time or both would allow or result in, revocation, suspension, termination or invalidation of any such Authorization or any other impairment of the rights of the holder or maker of any such Authorization.  All corporate approvals (including those of stockholders) necessary for the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been obtained and are in effect.

 

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(r)            KPMG LLP, who have certified certain financial statements and related schedules included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”).  Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and as pre-approved in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 10A of the 1934 Act, KPMG LLP has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” (as defined in Section 10A of the 1934 Act).

 

(s)           The financial statements of the Company, together with the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and in the Registration Statement, and any financial statements required by Rule 3-05 and Article 11 of Regulation S-X, included in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus filed with the Commission present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income (loss) and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; and such financial statements and related schedules and notes thereto, and the unaudited financial information filed with the Commission as part of or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), consistently applied throughout the periods involved except as disclosed in the notes thereto.  The selected financial data included in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein as at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified and have been presented on a basis consistent with the consolidated financial statements set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and other financial information.  All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, when considered together, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G under the 1934 Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act Regulations, to the extent applicable.

 

(t)            Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood 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 or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package; and, since such date, there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any Material Adverse Effect, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package.

 

(u)           Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, claim, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or its subsidiaries before or by any court, regulatory body or administrative agency or any other governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, that (i) questions the validity of the capital stock of the Company or this Agreement or any action taken or to be taken by the Company pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement; (ii) is required to be disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is not disclosed or incorporated by reference (and such proceedings, if any, as are summarized in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure and the Prospectus, are accurately summarized in all material respects) or (iii) may have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(v)           Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries (i) is in violation of its charter or by-laws (or analogous governing instrument, as applicable), (ii) is in default in any respect, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its property or assets is subject or (iii) is in violation in any respect of any law, ordinance, governmental rule, regulation or court order, decree or judgment to which it or its property or assets may be subject except, in the case of clauses (i) through (iii) of this paragraph (v), for any violations or defaults which, singularly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(w)          Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries has all requisite corporate, limited liability company or partnership, as applicable, power and authority, and all necessary authorizations, approvals, consents, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental or regulatory bodies or any other person or entity (collectively, the “Permits”), to own, lease and license its assets and properties and conduct its business, all of which are valid and in full force and effect, except where the lack of such Permits, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each of its subsidiaries has fulfilled and performed in all material respects all of its material obligations with respect to such Permits and no event has occurred that allows, or after notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or results in any other material impairment of the rights of the Company thereunder except, in each such case, where such revocation, termination or impairment would not have a Material Adverse Effect.  Except as may be required under the 1933 Act and state and foreign Blue Sky laws and the Regulations of FINRA, no other Permits are required for the Company to enter into, deliver and perform this Agreement and to issue and sell the Securities to be issued and sold by it hereunder.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Permits which, singularly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(x)            The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(y)           Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors or affiliates has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed or intended to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security of the Company, or which caused or resulted in, or which might in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company.

 

(z)            Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries owns or possesses legally enforceable rights to use all patents, patent rights, patent applications, inventions, trademarks, trademark applications, trade names, service marks, copyrights, copyright applications, licenses, domain names, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) and other similar rights and proprietary knowledge (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of its business; and such patents have been (i) duly and properly filed or caused to be filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and any applicable foreign and international patent authorities and (ii) any assignments for all patents and patent applications owned by or licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries that are material to the conduct of the business of the Company or its subsidiaries in the manner in which it has been or is contemplated to be conducted have been properly executed and recorded for each named inventor.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has knowledge of or has received any notice of any (i) infringement, misappropriation or violation by third parties of any such Intellectual Property or (ii) any threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company or its subsidiaries’ rights in or to any such Intellectual Property. 

 

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The Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries has not been adjudged invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property.  There is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others against the Company or any of its subsidiaries that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates any Intellectual Property or other proprietary rights of others.  To the Company’s knowledge, no employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject of any claim or proceeding involving a violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries or actions undertaken by the employee while employed with the Company or any of the Company’s subsidiaries.

 

(aa)         To the knowledge of the Company, no third party is engaging in any activity that infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates any patent, trademark, service mark, trade name, copyright, trade secret, license, know-how or any other intellectual property right or franchise right owned by or licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries, except as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and except for such activities that, singularly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(bb)         With respect to each material agreement governing all rights in and to any patent, trademark, service mark, trade name, copyright, trade secret, license, know-how or any other intellectual property right or franchise right licensed by or licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries: (i) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries has received any notice of indemnification, termination or cancellation under such agreement, received any notice of breach or default under such agreement, which breach has not been cured, or granted to any third party any rights, adverse or otherwise, under such agreement that would constitute a material breach of such agreement; and (ii) none of the Company, its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any other party to such agreement, is in breach or default thereof in any material respect, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time, would constitute such a material breach or default or permit termination, modification or acceleration under such agreement.

 

(cc)         Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries has good and indefeasible title in fee simple to all real property, and good and indefeasible title to all other property owned by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries.  All property held under lease or sublease by the Company and its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases or subleases, as applicable, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as would not have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any subsidiary has any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.

 

(dd)         Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries has (A) issued any securities, except for issuance pursuant to this Agreement or pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, options or warrants referred to in, or incorporated by reference into, the

 

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Registration Statement or Prospectus, or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money, except such liabilities or obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (B) entered into any transaction not in the ordinary course of business that is material to the Company, (C) declared or paid any dividend or made any distribution on any shares of its stock or redeemed, purchased or otherwise acquired or agreed to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock, or (D) experienced a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(ee)         Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is involved in any labor dispute nor, to the knowledge of the Company, is any such dispute threatened, which dispute would have a Material Adverse Effect.  To the Company’s knowledge there is no existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers or contractors which would have a Material Adverse Effect.  There is no threatened or to the Company’s knowledge, any pending litigation between the Company or its subsidiaries and any of its executive officers which, if adversely determined, could have a Material Adverse Effect and the Company has no reason to believe that such officers will not remain in the employment of the Company.

 

(ff)           The Company has fulfilled its obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder with respect to each “plan” as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA and such regulations and published interpretations in which its employees are eligible to participate and each such plan is in compliance in all material respects with the presently applicable provisions of ERISA and such regulations and published interpretations. No “Reportable Event” (as defined in 12 ERISA) has occurred with respect to any “Pension Plan” (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company could have any liability.

 

(gg)         (i) Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries is in compliance with all rules, laws and regulation relating to the use, treatment, storage and disposal of toxic substances and protection of health or the environment (“Environmental Laws”) which are applicable to its business, except where a failure to comply would not have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries has received any notice from any governmental authority or third party of an asserted claim under Environmental Laws, except such claims that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries has received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business and is in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where a failure to comply would not have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus, to the Company’s knowledge, no facts currently exist that will require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to make future material capital expenditures to comply with Environmental Laws; and (v) no property which is or has been owned, leased or occupied by the Company or its subsidiaries has been designated as a Superfund site pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation of Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 9601, et. seq.) (“CERCLA”) or otherwise designated as a contaminated site under applicable state or local law, except where such designation would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been named as a “potentially responsible party” under CERCLA.  In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on the business, operations and properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, in the course of which the Company identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws, or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties).  On the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(hh)         The Company and each of its subsidiaries has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which are required to be filed through the date hereof, except in such jurisdictions where the failure to file would not have a Material Adverse Effect, which returns are true and correct in all material respects, or has received timely extensions thereof, and has paid all taxes shown on such returns and all assessments received by it to the extent that the same are material and have become due.  The Company and its subsidiaries have not engaged in any transaction which is a corporate tax shelter or which could be characterized as such by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority.  The accruals and reserves on the books and records of the Company and its subsidiaries in respect of tax liabilities for any taxable period not yet finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments and related liabilities for any such period, and since December 31, 2009, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any liability for taxes other than in the ordinary course.

 

(ii)           The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are generally deemed customary in the businesses in which they are engaged or propose to engage after giving effect to the transactions described in the Prospectus, all of which insurance is in full force and effect.  The Company and each of its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and neither the Company nor any subsidiary of the Company has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been denied any material insurance policy or coverage for which it has applied.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries insure risk of loss through any captive insurance, risk retention group, reciprocal group or by means of any fund or pool of assets specifically set aside for contingent liabilities other than as described in the General Disclosure Package.

 

(jj)           The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 of the 1934 Act Regulations) that complies with the requirements of the 1934 Act and has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.  Except as described in the General Disclosure Package, during the period from January 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010, there has been (A) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (B) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.  The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is overseen by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”) in accordance with the 1934 Act Regulations.  The Company has not publicly disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or to the Board of Directors a significant deficiency, material weakness, change in internal control over financial reporting or fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal control over financial reporting (each an “Internal Control Event”), any violation of, or failure to comply with, the U.S. securities laws, or any matter which, if determined adversely, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(kk)         The minute books of the Company and each of its subsidiaries that would be a Significant Subsidiary have been made available upon request to the Underwriters and counsel for the Underwriters, and such books (i) contain a complete summary of all meetings and actions of the board of directors (including each committee of the Board of Directors) and stockholders of the Company (or analogous governing bodies and interest holders, as applicable), and each of its Significant Subsidiaries since the time of their respective incorporation or organization through at least the date of the latest of such meeting and action, provided that the summary of the latest of such meeting or action may consist of notes in draft form, and (ii) accurately in all material respects reflect all transactions referred to in such minutes.

 

(ll)           There is no document, contract or other agreement required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement that is not described or filed as required by the 1933 Act.  Each description of a contract, document or other agreement in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus accurately reflects in all material respects the terms of the underlying contract, document or other agreement.  Except as disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus, each contract, document or other agreement described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or listed as an exhibit to a document incorporated by reference is in full force and effect and is valid and enforceable by and against the Company or its subsidiaries, as the case may be, in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or other similar laws relating to the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, and general equitable principles relating to the availability of remedies, and except as rights of indemnity or contribution may be limited by federal or state securities laws and the public policy underlying such laws.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, if a subsidiary is a party, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in default in the observance or performance of any term or obligation to be performed by it under any such agreement, and no event has occurred which with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute such a default, in any such case which default or event, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect.  No default exists, and no event has occurred which with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default, in the due performance and observance of any term, covenant or condition, by the Company or a subsidiary, if a subsidiary is a party thereto, of any other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or its properties or business or a subsidiary or the subsidiary’s properties or business may be bound or affected which default or event, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(mm)       No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the current or prior directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, which is required to be described in, or incorporated by reference into, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus that is not so described, or so incorporated.

 

(nn)         No person has the right to subscribe for securities of the Company, exercise any preemptive rights or to require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the 1933 Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Securities, other than such rights as have been duly and validly waived or complied with and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

 

(oo)         The Company is in compliance with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

 

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(pp)         None of the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company including, without limitation, any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company or its subsidiaries, has, directly or indirectly, while acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds; (iii) violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended; or (iv) made any other unlawful payment.

 

(qq)         Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries owns any “margin securities” as that term is defined in Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”), and none of the proceeds of the sale of the Securities will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any margin security, for the purpose of reducing or retiring any indebtedness which was originally incurred to purchase or carry any margin security or for any other purpose which might cause any of the Securities to be considered a “purpose credit” within the meanings of Regulations T, U or X of the Federal Reserve Board.

 

(rr)           Other than any contracts or agreements between the Company and the Underwriters, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the Underwriters for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.

 

(ss)         No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the 1933 Act and Section 21E of the 1934 Act) contained in either the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(tt)           The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 and Section 15(d) of the 1934 Act.  The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the 1934 Act and is listed on the Nasdaq GM.  The Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the 1934 Act or the listing of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq GM, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the Nasdaq GM is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.  The Securities to be sold hereunder will have been (prior to the date that the first shares are sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement), approved for listing, subject only to official notice of issuance, on the Nasdaq GM.

 

(uu)         The Company maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the 1934 Act Regulations) to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure; the Company is otherwise in compliance in all material respects with all applicable effective provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”).

 

(vv)         There are no transactions, arrangements or other relationships between and/or among the Company, any of its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations) and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structured finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity that could reasonably be expected to materially affect the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for their capital resources required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein, which have not been described as required.

 

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(ww)       The Company does not, directly or indirectly, including through any subsidiary, have any outstanding personal loans or other credit extended to or for any of its directors or executive officers.

 

(xx)          The statistical and market related data included in, or incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate.

 

(yy)         Neither the Company nor any subsidiary nor any of their affiliates (within the meaning of Conduct Rule 2720(f)(1) of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the “NASD”)) directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is an associated person (within the meaning of Article I, Section 1(ee) of the By-Laws of FINRA) of, any member firm of FINRA.

 

(zz)          No approval of the stockholders of the Company under the Nasdaq Listing Rules is required for the Company to issue and deliver to the Underwriters the Securities, including such as may be required pursuant to Rule 5635 of the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

 

(aaa)       The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the USA PATRIOT Act, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions to which it is subject, the 1933 Act Regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(bbb)      Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

 

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

 

SECTION 2.  Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.

 

(a)           Initial Securities.  On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price per share set forth in Schedule D, that proportion of the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule C opposite the name of the Company, which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representative in its sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional securities.

 

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(b)           Option Securities.  In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional 450,000 shares of Common Stock, as set forth in Schedule C, at the price per share set forth in Schedule D, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities.  The option hereby granted will expire 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part from time to time only for the purpose of covering overallotments which may be made in connection with the offering and distribution of the Initial Securities upon notice by Merrill Lynch to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities.  Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by Merrill Lynch, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time, as hereinafter defined.  If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject in each case to such adjustments as Merrill Lynch  in its discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

 

(c)           Payment.  Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, the Initial Securities shall be made at the offices of Morrison & Foerster LLP, 425 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94105, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 10:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on November 16, 2010 (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).

 

In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, such Option Securities shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company.

 

Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representative for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of certificates for the Securities to be purchased by them.  It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representative, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase.  Merrill Lynch, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

 

(d)           Denominations; Registration.  Certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representative may request in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.  The certificates for the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, will be made available for examination and packaging by the Representative in The City of New York not later than 10:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on the business day prior to the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.

 

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SECTION 3.  Covenants of the Company.  The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

 

(a)           Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests; Payment of Filing Fees.  The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B and will notify the Representative immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Securities shall become effective, or any supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or the filing of a new registration statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or such new registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.  The Company will effect the filings required under Rule 424(b), in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus.  The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and, if any stop order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.  The Company shall pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the 1933 Act Regulations without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the 1933 Act Regulations (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of a prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)).

 

(b)           Filing of Amendments and 1934 Act Documents.  The Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Securities or any amendment, supplement or revision to either any preliminary prospectus (including any prospectus included in the Registration Statement or amendment thereto at the time it became effective) or to the Prospectus, whether pursuant to the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or otherwise, and the Company will furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall object.  The Company has given the Representative notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the execution of this Agreement; the Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to make any such filing from the execution of this Agreement to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing and will not file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall object.

 

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(c)           Delivery of Registration Statements.  The Company has furnished or will deliver upon request to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representative, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters.  The copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

(d)           Delivery of Prospectuses.  The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act.  The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request.  The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

(e)           Continued Compliance with Securities Laws.  The Company will comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Prospectus.  If at any time when a prospectus is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order that the Prospectus will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if it shall be necessary, in the opinion of such counsel, at any such time to amend the Registration Statement or to file a new registration statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3(b), such amendment, supplement or new registration statement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to comply with such requirements, the Company will use its best efforts to have such amendment or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable (if it is not an automatic shelf registration statement with respect to the Securities) and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment, supplement or new registration statement as the Underwriters may reasonably request.  If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement (or any other registration statement relating to the Securities) or the Pricing Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify Merrill Lynch and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.  If the General Disclosure Package is being used to solicit offers to buy the Securities at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur as a result of which, in the

 

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judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Representative, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, or to make the statements therein not conflict with the information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement then on file and not superseded or modified, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package to comply with any law, the Company promptly will either (i) prepare, file with the Commission (if required) and furnish to the Underwriters and any dealers an appropriate amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or (ii) prepare and file with the Commission an appropriate filing under the 1934 Act which shall be incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package so that the General Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, be misleading or conflict with the Registration Statement then on file, or so that the General Disclosure Package will comply with law.

 

(f)            Blue Sky Qualifications.  The Company will use its best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representative may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect for a period of not less than one year from the date hereof; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.

 

(g)           Rule 158.  The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.

 

(h)           Use of Proceeds.  The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”

 

(i)            Listing.  The Company will use its best efforts to effect the listing of the Securities on the Nasdaq GM.

 

(j)            Restriction on Sale of Securities.  During a period of 60 days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.  The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (C) any shares of Common Stock issued or options to purchase Common Stock granted pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (D) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any non-employee director stock plan.

 

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(k)           Reporting Requirements.  The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

 

(l)            Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses.  The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations, required to be filed with the Commission.  Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative or by the Company and the Representative, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”  The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.

 

SECTION 4.  Payment of Expenses.

 

(a)           Expenses.  The Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, any Agreement among Underwriters and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any supplement thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show and (x)  the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Securities on the Nasdaq GM.

 

(b)           Termination of Agreement.  If this Agreement is terminated by the Representative in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, Section 9(a)(i) or Section 11 hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.

 

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(c)                                  Allocation of Expenses.  The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement that the Company may make for the sharing of such costs and expenses.

 

SECTION 5.  Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations.  The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 1 hereof or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:

 

(a)                                  Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Filing of Prospectus; Payment of Filing Fee.  The Registration Statement has become effective and at Closing Time no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefore initiated or threatened by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of counsel to the Underwriters.  A prospectus containing the Rule 430B Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) (or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and become effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430B).  The Company shall have paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time period required by Rule 456(1)(i) of the 1933 Act Regulations without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the 1933 Act Regulations and, if applicable, shall have updated the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of a prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b).

 

(b)                                 Opinion of Counsel for Company.  At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Morrison & Foerster, LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters substantially to the effect set forth in Exhibit A hereto and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request.

 

(c)                                  Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters.  At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Baker Botts L.L.P., counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters.

 

(d)                                 Officers’ Certificate.  At Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representative shall have received a certificate of the President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1 hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing Time, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to Closing Time, and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated by the Commission.

 

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(e)                                  Accountant’s Comfort Letters.

 

(i)                                     At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received from KPMG LLP a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information of the Company and its subsidiaries, including pro forma financial statements, contained in the Registration Statement and the Preliminary Prospectus; provided that the cut-off date for the procedures performed by such accountants and described in such letter shall be a date not more than five days prior to the date of such letter.

 

(ii)                                  At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received from KPMG LLP, chartered accountants, a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of I.M.W. Industries Group contained in the Registration Statement and the Preliminary Prospectus.

 

(f)                                    Bring-down Comfort Letter.

 

(i)                                     At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received from KPMG LLP a letter, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to Section 5(e)(i), except that such letter shall address the Prospectus and the date referred to in the proviso in Section 5(e)(i) hereof shall be a date not more than three business days prior to Closing Time.

 

(ii)                                  At Closing Time, the Representative shall have received from KPMG LLP, chartered accountants, a letter, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to Section 5(e)(ii), except that such letter shall also address the Prospectus.

 

(g)                                 Approval of Listing.  At Closing Time, the Securities shall have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq GM, subject only to official notice of issuance.

 

(h)                                 No Objection.  If required by the regulations of FINRA, FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements as described in the Pricing Prospectus.

 

(i)                                     Lock-up Agreements.  At the date of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule F hereto.

 

(j)                                     Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities.  In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company and any subsidiary of the Company hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representative shall have received:

 

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(i)                                     Officers’ Certificate.  A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.

 

(ii)                                  Opinion of Counsel for Company.  The favorable opinion of Morrison & Foerster, LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(b) hereof.

 

(iii)                               Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters.  The favorable opinion of Baker Botts L.L.P., counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof.

 

(iv)                              Bring-down Comfort Letter.

 

(A)                              A letter from KPMG LLP, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representative pursuant to Section 5(f)(i) hereof, except that the date in the proviso in Section 5(e)(i) hereof shall be a date not more than five days prior to such Date of Delivery.

 

(B)                                A letter from KPMG LLP, chartered accountants, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representative pursuant to Section 5(f)(ii) hereof.

 

(k)                                  Additional Documents.  At Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.

 

(l)                                     Termination of Agreement.  If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement, or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities on a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities, may be terminated by the Representative by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such  termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 and except that Sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 shall survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.

 

(m)                               Affiliate Purchaser Letters.  The Representative shall have received from each of Andrew J. Littlefair, James N. Harger, Barclay F. Corbus and Mitchell W. Pratt a letter agreement in the form of Exhibit C hereto.

 

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SECTION 6.  Indemnification.

 

(a)                                  Indemnification of Underwriters.  The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) of  the 1933 Act Regulations (each, an “Affiliate”), its selling agents, directors, officers, employees and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:

 

(i)                                     against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

 

(ii)                                  against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;

 

(iii)                               against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of one counsel chosen by Merrill Lynch, in addition to local counsel, if any), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or asserted, based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;

 

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Merrill Lynch expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information, or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).

 

(b)                                 Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers.  Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section 6, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430B Information or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through Merrill Lynch expressly for use therein.

 

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(c)                                  Actions Against Parties; Notification.  Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement.  In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by Merrill Lynch, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company.  An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party.  In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances.  No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(d)                                 Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this Section 6, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of such request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnifying party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement, unless such failure to reimburse the indemnified party is based on a dispute with a good faith basis as to either the obligation of such indemnifying party arising under this Section 6 to indemnify the indemnified party or the amount of such obligation and such indemnifying party shall have notified the indemnified party of such good faith dispute prior to the date of such settlement.

 

SECTION 7.  Contribution.  If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.

 

The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.

 

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The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7.  The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

 

No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.  The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.

 

SECTION 8.  Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive.  All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.

 

SECTION 9.  Termination of Agreement.

 

(a)                                  Termination; General.  The Representative may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to Closing Time (i) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) or General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the

 

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international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the Nasdaq GM, or if trading generally on the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, any other governmental authority or FINRA, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by any state or federal authority.

 

(b)                                 Liabilities.  If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

 

SECTION 10.  Default by One or More of the Underwriters.  If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representative shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:

 

(i)                                     if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or

 

(ii)                                  if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.

 

No action taken pursuant to this Section 10 shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

 

In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either (i) the Representative or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements.  As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.

 

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SECTION 11.  Default by the Company.  If the Company shall fail at Closing Time or at the Date of Delivery to sell the number of Securities that it is obligated to sell hereunder, then this Agreement shall terminate without any liability on the part of any nondefaulting party; provided, however, that the provisions of Sections 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8 shall remain in full force and effect.  No action taken pursuant to this Section 11 shall relieve the Company from liability, if any, in respect of such default.

 

SECTION 12.  Notices.  All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication.  Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to the Representative at One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Syndicate Department (Facsimile: 646 ###-###-####), with a copy to One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Attention: ECM Legal (Facsimile: 212 ###-###-####); and notices to the Company shall be directed to it at 3020 Old Ranch Parkway, Suite 400, Seal Beach, California 90740, attention of Harrison Clay, Esq.

 

SECTION 13.  No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of each of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

 

SECTION 14.  Integration.  This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

SECTION 15.  Parties.  This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors.  Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained.  This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation.  No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.

 

27



 

SECTION 16.  Trial by Jury.  The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.  The parties hereby consent to (i) nonexclusive jurisdiction in the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, (ii) nonexclusive personal service with respect thereto, and (iii) personal jurisdiction, service and venue in any court in which any claim arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement is brought by any third party against the Underwriters or any indemnified party.  Each of the parties (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its limited partners and affiliates) waives all right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement.  The parties agree that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the parties and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the parties is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment.

 

SECTION 17.  GOVERNING LAW.  THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

 

SECTION 18.  TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.

 

SECTION 19.  Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

 

SECTION 20.  Effect of Headings.  The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

 

SECTION 21.  Amendments.  No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.

 

28



 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

 

 

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Richard R. Wheeler

 

 

 

Name: Richard R. Wheeler

 

 

 

Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,

 

 

 

as of the date first above written:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

 

 

 

INCORPORATED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Parker A. Weil

 

 

 

 

Name: Parker A. Weil

 

 

 

 

Title: Managing Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For itself and as Representative of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.

 

 

 

 

Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement

 



 

SCHEDULE A

 

Name of Underwriter

 

Number of
Initial
Securities

 

 

 

 

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

 

2,400,000

 

Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC

 

600,000

 

Total

 

3,000,000

 

 



 

SCHEDULE B

 

1.                                       The initial public offering price per share for the Securities (excluding Affiliate Shares) is $13.25.

 

2.                                       The purchase price per share for the Affiliate Shares is $14.48, which is the consolidated closing bid price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on November 10, 2010.

 

3.                                       The number of shares of the Initial Securities purchased by the Underwriters is 3,000,000.

 



 

SCHEDULE C

 

 

 

Number of Initial
Securities to be Sold

 

Maximum Number of Option
Securities to Be Sold

 

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP.

 

3,000,000

 

450,000

 

Total

 

3,000,000

 

450,000

 

 



 

SCHEDULE D

 

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP.
3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock
(Par Value $0.0001 Per Share)

 

1.             The initial public offering price per share for the Securities (excluding Affiliate Shares), determined as provided in said Section 2, shall be $13.25.

 

2.             The purchase price per share for the Securities (excluding Affiliate Shares) to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $12.455, being an amount equal to the initial public offering price set forth above less $0.795 per share; provided that the purchase price per share for any Option Securities purchased upon the exercise of the overallotment option described in Section 2(b) shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities.

 

3.             The purchase price per share for the Affiliate Shares to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $14.48, which is the consolidated closing bid price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on November 10, 2010; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, to the extent Andrew J. Littlefair does not purchase 34,530 Affiliate Shares, James N. Harger does not purchase 6,906 Affiliate Shares, Barclay F. Corbus does not purchase 5,179 Affiliate Shares or Mitchell W. Pratt does not purchase 3,453 Affiliate Shares, any Affiliate Shares not purchased by Andrew J. Littlefair, James N. Harger, Barclay F. Corbus or Mitchell W. Pratt shall be offered to the public as part of the public offering contemplated hereby, in which case the purchase price per share for such Affiliate Shares to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $12.455.

 



 

SCHEDULE E

 

None.

 



 

SCHEDULE F

 

Andrew J. Littlefair

Mitchell W. Pratt

Barclay F. Corbus

James N. Harger

Richard R. Wheeler

 



 

Exhibit A

 

FORM OF OPINION OF COMPANY’S COUNSEL
TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(b)

 

1.           The Company is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the requisite corporate power and authority to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  The Company is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in the State of California.  Dallas Clean Energy, LLC is a limited liability company duly formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the requisite limited liability company power and authority to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  Dallas Clean Energy, LLC is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing as a foreign limited liability company in the State of Texas.

 

2.           Each of Clean Energy and Clean Energy Construction is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of California and has the requisite corporate power and authority to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  Clean Energy is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in the State of Texas.  Each of Clean Energy Finance, LLC and Clean Energy LNG, LLC is a limited liability company duly formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of California and has the requisite limited liability company power and authority to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  Clean Energy LNG, LLC is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing as a foreign limited liability company in the State of Texas.

 

3.           The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company was as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled “Actual” under the caption “Capitalization” as of the date stated therein.

 

4.           The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, and validly executed and delivered by the Company.

 

5.           The Securities have been duly authorized, and upon delivery to the Underwriters against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.  The issuance of the Securities is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights.

 

6.           The execution, delivery and performance of the Underwriting Agreement, the consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Underwriting Agreement and in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and the performance by the Company of its terms do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or lapse of time or both, (A) constitute a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, or constitute a material default, under any contract, undertaking, indenture or other agreement filed or incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 or described in, or filed with, or incorporated by reference as an exhibit to, any Current Report on Form 8-K or any Form 10-Q, filed by the Company with the Commission on or after January 1, 2010 through the date hereof, (B) violate the Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws of the Company, or (C) violate any applicable law, judgment, order, decree, statute, rule or regulation of any court or any judicial, regulatory or other legal or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company, except in each of clause (A) and (C) for such conflicts, violations, breaches or defaults that, singly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Exhibit A-1



 

7.           The information in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Description of Capital Stock—Common Stock,” “Business—Tax Incentives”  “Business—Background on Clean Air Regulation,” and “Business—Government Regulation and Environmental Matters,” and in the Registration Statement under Item 15, to the extent that it constitutes matters of law, summaries of legal matters, or the Company’s charter and by-laws or legal proceedings, fairly summarizes such matters in all material respects.  The Securities conform in all material respects with the description thereof in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock—Common Stock.”

 

8.           The Registration Statement has become effective under the 1933 Act; any required filing of each prospectus relating to the Securities (including the Prospectus) pursuant to Rule 424(b) has been made in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reference to Rule 424(b)(8)); any required filing of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations has been made in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 433(d); and, to our knowledge, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereof has been issued and no proceedings therefor have been initiated or threatened by the Commission under the Act.

 

9.           The Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereof, excluding the documents incorporated by reference therein, as of their respective initial effective or issue dates (including without limitation each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) (other than the financial statements and other financial information included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which we express no opinion), complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act.

 

10.         The documents incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (other than the financial statements and supporting schedules included therein or omitted therefrom, as to which we express no opinion), when they were filed with the Commission, complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

 

11.         To our knowledge, no contract, agreement, indenture or other instrument is required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement that is not so described or filed as required.

 

12.         No authorization, approval or consent of any U.S. federal, Delaware or California court or governmental authority or agency having jurisdiction over the Company is required for the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act and such as may be required under state securities or blue sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters.

 

In addition, we have participated in conferences with your representatives and with representatives of the Company and its accountants concerning the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the General Disclosure Package, and have considered the matters required to be stated therein and the statements contained therein.

 

The purpose of our professional engagement was not to establish or confirm factual matters set forth in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, and we have neither verified, nor undertaken to verify independently the accuracy, completeness or fairness of any such factual matters.  Moreover, many of the determinations required to be made in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the General Disclosure Package involve matters of a non-legal nature.

 

Exhibit A-2



 

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, on the basis of the information we gained in the course of performing the services referred to above, nothing has come to our attention that leads us to believe that:  (i) the Registration Statement, at the time it became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (ii) the Prospectus, at its issue date or as of the date hereof, included or includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (iii) the documents and information comprising the General Disclosure Package, taken as a whole as of the Applicable Time, included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that we are not passing upon and do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus  (other than as stated in paragraph 7 above), and we have not been requested to and do not make any comment in this paragraph with respect to the financial statements and other financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package.  We are also not passing upon, and do not assume any responsibility for, ascertaining whether or when any of the information contained in the General Disclosure Package was conveyed to any purchaser of the Securities.

 

Exhibit A-3



 

Exhibit B

 

[Form of lock-up from directors, officers or other stockholders pursuant to Section 5(i)]

 

November 11, 2010

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
 Incorporated,

as Representative of the several
Underwriters to be named in the
within-mentioned Underwriting Agreement

 

c/o  Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

One Bryant Park
New York, New York 10036

 

Re:                               Proposed Public Offering by Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

In order to induce the several underwriters (collectively, the “Underwriters”), for whom Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) is acting as representative, to enter in to a certain purchase agent agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), with respect to the public offering of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), the undersigned hereby agrees that for a period (the “lock-up period”) of sixty (60) days following the date of the final prospectus filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with such public offering, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch, directly or indirectly, (i) offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock or any such securities which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time (such shares or securities, the “Beneficially Owned Shares”)), (ii) enter into any swap, hedge or other agreement or arrangement that transfers in whole or in part, the economic risk of ownership of any Beneficially Owned Shares, Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, or (iii) engage in any short selling of any Beneficially Owned Shares, Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.  The foregoing restrictions shall not apply to the transfer of any or all of the Beneficially Owned Shares by the undersigned, either during the undersigned’s lifetime or on death, by gift, will or intestate succession to the immediate family of the undersigned or to a trust the beneficiaries of which are exclusively the undersigned and/or a member or members of his immediate family; provided, however, that in any such case, it shall be a condition to such transfer that (1) the transferee executes and delivers to Merrill Lynch an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding the Beneficially Owned Shares subject to the provisions of this letter agreement, and there shall be no further transfer of such Shares, except in accordance with this letter agreement, (2) such transfer is not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or otherwise and (3) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfer.

 

Furthermore, the undersigned may sell shares of Common Stock purchased by the undersigned on the open market following the public offering if and only if (1) such sales are not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, or otherwise and (2) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such sales.

 

Exhibit B-1



 

In addition, the restrictions in the foregoing paragraphs shall not apply to transactions made in accordance with any 10b5-1 Sales Plan adopted by the undersigned prior to the date hereof.

 

Anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, and except as provided in the third paragraph hereof, any person to whom shares of Common Stock, securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or Beneficially Owned Shares are transferred from the undersigned shall be bound by the terms of this letter agreement, unless such transfer is made with the prior written consent of Merrill Lynch.  The undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective by December 9, 2010 or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof that survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Common Stock to be sold thereunder, the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this letter agreement.

 

In addition, the undersigned hereby waives, from the date hereof until the expiration of the sixty (60) day period following the date of the Company’s final prospectus in connection with the public offering referenced herein, any and all rights, if any, to request or demand registration pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock that are registered in the name of the undersigned or that are Beneficially Owned Shares.  In order to enable the aforesaid covenants to be enforced, the undersigned hereby consents to the placing of legends and/or stop transfer orders with the transfer agent of the Common Stock with respect to any shares of Common Stock, securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or Beneficially Owned Shares.

 

 

 

Name of Signatory

 

 

 

By:

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

Exhibit B-2



 

Exhibit C

 

LETTER AGREEMENT FOR AFFILIATE PURCHASE

 

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED

As Representative of the several Underwriters

 

c/o Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

 

November 16, 2010

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

This letter is being delivered to you in connection with the proposed Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) among Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (the “Company”) and the Underwriters relating to an underwritten public offering (the “Offering”) of 3,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”).  Capitalized terms used herein have the meanings given them in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Offering, the Underwriters agree, severally, to sell to the undersigned, and the undersigned agrees to purchase from the Underwriters, at a price of $14.48 per share of Common Stock (which is the consolidated closing bid price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on November 10, 2010), [For Andrew Littlefair, insert 34,530] [For James N. Harger, insert 6,906] [For Barclay F. Corbus, insert 5,179] [For Mitchell W. Pratt, insert 3,453] shares of Common Stock (the “Affiliate Shares”).

 

The undersigned further represents that he is not an “affiliate” (as defined in NASD Rule 2720) of a “member” of FINRA or an “associated person of a member” (each term as defined in Article I of the Bylaws of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).

 

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will proceed with the Offering in reliance on this letter agreement.

 

Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

 

 

Yours very truly,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

 

Exhibit C-1