CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC. (a New Jersey corporation) 2,365,000 Shares of Common Stock (No Par Value) UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC.
(a New Jersey corporation)
2,365,000 Shares of Common Stock
(No Par Value)
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
July 2, 2014
KEEFE, BRUYETTE & WOODS, INC.
as Representative of the several Underwriters
c/o Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.
787 Seventh Avenue
4th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Ladies and Gentlemen:
ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., New Jersey corporation (the “Company”), and the persons listed in Schedule B hereto (the “Selling Shareholders”), confirm their respective agreements with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (“Keefe Bruyette”) 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 Keefe Bruyette is acting as representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to the sale by the Selling Shareholders and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, no par value, of the Company (“Common Stock”) set forth in Schedules A and B hereto. For purposes of clarity, unless the context otherwise requires, the references to the Company in this Agreement refer to both ConnectOne Bancorp Inc. (formerly, Center Bancorp, Inc.) (“ConnectOne”) and ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (the “Predecessor Corporation”). The aforesaid 2,365,000 shares of Common Stock to be purchased by the Underwriters are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities”.
The Company and the Selling Shareholders understand that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representative deems advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-196933), including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectus covering the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A is referred to as “Rule 430A Information.” Each prospectus used before such registration statement became effective, and any prospectus that omitted the Rule 430A Information, that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits and any schedules thereto, if any, and the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act, at the time it became effective and including the Rule 430A Information, as applicable, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein referred to as the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus, including the documents
incorporated by reference therein, in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”).
All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
SECTION 1. Representations and Warranties and Agreements.
(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter and Selling Shareholder as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Time referred to in Section 2(c) hereof, and agrees with each Underwriter and Selling Shareholder, as follows:
(i) Compliance with Registration Requirements. (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, any 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, (B) at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities, and (C) at the date hereof, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 405”). The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act. Each of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has become effective under the 1933 Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has been issued and any post-effective amendment thereto under the 1933 Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.
At the respective times the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto became effective and at the Closing Time, the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any amendments and supplements thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with 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. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued and at the Closing Time, included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will 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.
Each preliminary prospectus and the prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the 1933 Act, complied when so filed in all material respects with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
As of the Applicable Time, neither (x) the Issuer-Represented General Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time (as defined below) and the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below), all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (y) any individual Issuer-Represented Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means 7:30 am (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representative.
“Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case 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).
“Issuer-Represented General Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule C hereto.
“Issuer-Represented Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer-Represented General Free Writing Prospectus.
“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof. For purposes of this definition, information contained in a form of prospectus that is deemed retroactively to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B shall be considered to be included in the Statutory Prospectus as of the actual time that form of prospectus is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b).
Each Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies Keefe Bruyette as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.
The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described in Section 6(b) hereof.
(ii) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement became effective, at the time the Prospectus was issued and at the Closing Time, 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.
(iii) Independent Accountants. (i) BDO USA, LLP and ParenteBeard LLC, the accounting firms that certified the financial statements and supporting schedules of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and (ii) Crowe Horwath, the accounting firm that certified the financial statements and supporting schedules of the Predecessor Corporation included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are in each case, independent registered public accounting firms as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations. With respect to the Company, each of BDO USA, LLP and ParenteBeard LLC is not and has not been in violation of the auditor independence
requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and the related rules and regulations of the Commission; and with respect to the Predecessor Corporation, Crowe Horwath is not and has not been in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(iv) Financial Statements. The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and the Predecessor Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, as applicable, at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and the Predecessor Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, as applicable, for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement and the books and records of the Company and the Predecessor Corporation. No other financial statements or schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement. To the extent applicable, all disclosures contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act, 1934 Act Regulations and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the 1933 Act, as applicable. The pro forma financial statements and the related notes thereto included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein, have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements and have been properly compiled on the bases described therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein.
(v) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein, (A) there has been no 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 (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and (C) except for regular quarterly dividends on the Common Stock and the Company’s Senior Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B, in each case, in amounts per share that are consistent with past practice, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.
(vi) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of New Jersey, is a bank holding company as defined in the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(vii) Good Standing of Subsidiaries. Each of the Company’s subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited liability company, trust company, statutory business trust, limited partnership or bank in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or other power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. The activities of each of the Company’s subsidiaries are permitted of subsidiaries of a bank holding company under applicable law and the rules and regulations of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”) set forth in Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or equity interests, as the case may be, of each such subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock or equity interests of any subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such subsidiary. The only subsidiaries of the Company are the subsidiaries listed on Schedule E hereto.
(viii) Capitalization. The shares of issued and outstanding capital stock, including the Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Selling Shareholders, have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock, including the Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Selling Shareholders, was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(ix) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(x) Authorization and Description of Securities. The Common Stock conforms to all statements relating thereto contained in the Prospectus and such description conforms to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same; no holder of the Securities will be subject to personal liability for the debts of the Company by reason of being such a holder; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(xi) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws (or equivalent organizational documents) or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except, in the case of clause (ii) above, for such defaults that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Registration Statement (including the issuance and sale of the Securities) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches or defaults or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws (or equivalent organizational documents) of the Company or any subsidiary or any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary or any of their assets, properties or operations. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any subsidiary.
(xii) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, may reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xiii) Absence of Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any subsidiary, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (other than as disclosed therein), or which might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which might reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets thereof or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this
Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective property or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xiv) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement, or the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and filed as required.
(xv) Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures and excluding generally commercially available “off the shelf” software programs licensed pursuant to shrink wrap or “click and accept” licenses), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xvi) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or state securities laws.
(xvii) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has failed to file with applicable regulatory authorities any statement, report, information or form required by any applicable law, regulation or order, except where the failure to be so in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, all such filings were in material compliance with applicable laws when filed and no material deficiencies have been asserted by any regulatory commission, agency or authority with respect to any such filings or submissions.
(xviii) Title to Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (a) are described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (b) do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds properties described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and 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.
(xix) Compliance with Applicable Laws. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries are conducting their respective businesses in compliance in all material respects with all federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws, rules, regulations, decisions, directives and orders applicable to them, (including, without limitation, all regulations and orders of, or agreements with, the FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, all other applicable fair lending laws or other laws relating to discrimination and the Bank Secrecy Act and Title III of the USA Patriot Act), and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written or oral communication from any court, governmental or administrative agency or body, asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries is not in material compliance with any statute, law, rule, regulation, decision, directive or order, except where the asserted failure to comply would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xx) Investment Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is or, after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
(xxi) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement and except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries and (D) there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.
(xxii) Taxes. The Company and each of the subsidiaries has (a) timely filed all material foreign, United States federal, state and local tax returns, information returns, and similar reports that are required to be filed (taking into account valid extensions), and all tax returns are true, correct and complete, (b) paid in full all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, except for any such tax assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and (c) established on the most recent balance sheet reserves that are adequate for the payment of all taxes not yet due and payable.
(xxiii) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate for the conduct of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries and the value of their properties and as are customary in the business in which the Company and its subsidiaries are engaged; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and the Company has no reason to believe that they will not be able to renew their 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.
(xxiv) Statistical and Market Data. The statistical and market related data contained in the General Disclosure Package, Prospectus and Registration Statement are based on or derived from sources which the Company believes are reliable and accurate.
(xxv) Relationship. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other, that is required by the 1933 Act or by the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder to be described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and/or the Prospectus and that is not so described.
(xxvi) Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (E) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement is accurate and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (I) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (II) 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.
(xxvii) Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Company and its subsidiaries employ disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934 Act), which (A) are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms and that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within the Company and its subsidiaries to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure, and (B) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established. Based on the evaluation of the Company’s and each subsidiary’s disclosure controls and procedures described above, the Company is not aware of (1) any significant deficiency in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data or any material weaknesses in internal controls or (2) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls. Since the most recent evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures described above, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls.
(xxviii) Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.
(xxix) Pending Procedures and Examinations. The Registration Statement is not the subject of a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act, and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.
(xxx) Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (A) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (B) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (C) violated or is in
violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder; or (D) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.
(xxxi) No Registration Rights. Other than the Selling Shareholders, no person has the right 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 to be sold by the Company hereunder.
(xxxii) No Stabilization or Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any affiliates of the Company or its subsidiaries, has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.
(xxxiii) No Unauthorized Use of Prospectus. The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of (i) the Closing Time and (ii) completion of the distribution of the Securities, will not distribute any prospectus (as such term is defined in the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations) in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities other than the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or other materials, if any, permitted by the 1933 Act or by the 1933 Act Regulations and approved by Keefe Bruyette.
(xxxiv) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the 1933 Act and Section 21E of the 1934 Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(xxxv) [Reserved].
(xxxvi) Fees. Other than as contemplated by this Agreement, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company or any subsidiary any brokerage or finder’s fee or any other fee, commission or payment as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(xxxvii) ERISA. The Company and each of the subsidiaries or their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined below) are in compliance in all material respects with all presently applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”); no “reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred with respect to any “employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company or any of the subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates would have any liability; the Company and each of the subsidiaries or their ERISA Affiliates have not incurred and do not expect to incur liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” or (ii) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively the “Code”); and each “employee benefit plan” for which the Company and each of its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates would have any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material respects and nothing as occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification. “ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or a subsidiary, any member of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code or Section 400(b) of ERISA of which the Company or such subsidiary is a member.
(xxxviii) Sanctions. Neither the Company nor any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is (a) currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union or other relevant sanctions authorities (collectively, “Sanctions”) or (b) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of such Sanctions (including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria). The Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any person or entity, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.
(xxxix) Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including, without limitation, those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA Patriot Act”), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit, or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xl) Capitalization Requirements. As of the date of this Agreement, the Company’s insured depository institution subsidiary is “well capitalized” (as that term is defined at 12 C.F.R. 6.4(b)(1)), and met or exceeded all applicable regulatory capital requirements. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is, nor is the Company or any of its subsidiaries aware of any facts or circumstances that exist that would cause the Company or any subsidiary to be, (i) not in satisfactory compliance in any material respect with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, as amended (the “Community Reinvestment Act”), and the regulations promulgated thereunder, or to be assigned a rating for Community Reinvestment Act purposes by federal or state bank regulators of lower than “satisfactory,” or (ii) not in satisfactory compliance in any respect with the applicable privacy of customer information requirements contained in any federal and state privacy laws and regulations, including, without limitation, in Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 and regulations promulgated thereunder, as well as the provisions of the information security program adopted by the Bank, pursuant to 12 C.F.R. Part 364.
(xli) Deposit Insurance. Any deposit accounts issued by the insured depositary subsidiary of the Company are insured by the FDIC up to the legal maximum, each such subsidiary has paid all premiums and assessments required by the FDIC and the regulations thereunder and no proceeding for the termination or revocation of such insurance is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xlii) Derivative Securities. Except as has or would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, since January 1, 2011, all material swaps, caps, floors, futures, forward contracts, option agreements (other than employee stock options) and other derivative financial instruments, contracts or arrangements, whether entered into for the account of the Company or one of its subsidiaries or for the account of a customer of the Company or one of its subsidiaries, were entered into in the ordinary course of business and in accordance and in all material respects with applicable laws, rules, regulations and policies of all applicable regulatory agencies and with counterparties believed to be financially responsible at the time. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have duly performed in all material respects all of their obligations thereunder to the extent that such obligations to perform have accrued. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any other party thereto, is in breach of its material obligations under any such agreement or arrangement.
(b) Representations and Warranties by the Selling Shareholders. Each Selling Shareholder severally represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Time, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) Accurate Disclosure. Such Selling Shareholder has reviewed and is familiar with the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and neither the General Disclosure Package, Prospectus nor any amendments or supplements thereto includes any 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; provided, however, that the foregoing representation shall apply only to any untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Selling Shareholder expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); provided that the parties acknowledge and agree that the only written information that the Selling Shareholders have furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) is the following information included in the section entitled “Selling Shareholders” in the
Prospectus: (A) the legal name and address of such Selling Shareholder, (B) the number of Securities beneficially owned by such Selling Shareholder before and after the offering, (C) the number of Securities being offered by such Selling Shareholder, and (D) the other information in the footnotes corresponding to the foregoing information, in each case, that appears in the table under the caption “Selling Shareholders”; such Selling Shareholder is not prompted to sell the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder hereunder by any information concerning the Company or any subsidiary of the Company which is not set forth in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.
(ii) Authorization of Agreements. Such Selling Shareholder has the full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and a Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement in connection herewith (collectively, the “Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement”) and to sell, transfer and deliver the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder hereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement by such Selling Shareholder and the sale and delivery of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder and the consummation by such Selling Shareholder of the transactions contemplated herein and compliance by such Selling Shareholder with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by or on behalf of such Selling Shareholder and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any tax, lien, charge or encumbrance upon the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder or any property or assets of such Selling Shareholder pursuant to any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, license, lease or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling Shareholder is a party or by which such Selling Shareholder is bound, or to which any of the property or assets of such Selling Shareholder is subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or other organizational instrument of such Selling Shareholder, if applicable, or any applicable treaty, law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over such Selling Shareholder or any of its properties.
(iii) Good and Marketable Title. Such Selling Shareholder has and will at the Closing Time have good and marketable title to the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder hereunder, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, charge, claim, equity or encumbrance of any kind, other than pursuant to this Agreement.
(iv) Due Execution of Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement. Such Selling Shareholder has duly executed and delivered, in the form heretofore furnished to the Representative, the Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement with Lawrence B. Seidman, as attorney-in-fact (in such capacity, the “Attorney-in-Fact”) and Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, as custodian (the “Custodian”) and the Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement constitute valid and legally binding obligations of such Selling Shareholder enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles.
(v) Absence of Manipulation. Such Selling Shareholder has not taken, and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which would reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.
(vi) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or consent, approval, authorization, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic or foreign, is necessary or required for the performance by such Selling Shareholder of its obligations hereunder or in the Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement, or in connection with the sale and delivery by such Selling Shareholder of the Securities hereunder or the consummation by such Selling Shareholder of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as may have previously been made or obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations or state securities laws.
(vii) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of 90 days from the date of the Prospectus, such Selling Shareholder will not, without the prior written consent of Keefe Bruyette or except as otherwise permitted in the form of lock-up agreement attached as Exhibit C hereto, (i) 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, directly or indirectly, 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 the Securities to be sold hereunder.
(viii) [Reserved.]
(ix) Deliveries of Securities. Upon payment of the purchase price for the Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder pursuant to this Agreement, delivery of such Securities, as directed by the Underwriters, to Cede & Co. (“Cede”) or such other nominee as may be designated by The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), registration of such Securities in the name of Cede or such other nominee, and the crediting of such Securities on the books of DTC to securities accounts (as defined in Section 8-501 of the Uniform Commercial Code as in effect in the State of New York (the “UCC”)) of the Underwriters (assuming that neither DTC nor any such Underwriter has notice of any “adverse claim,” within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the UCC, to any such Securities), (A) DTC shall be a “protected purchaser,” within the meaning of Section 8-303 of the UCC, of such Securities and will acquire its interest in the Securities (including, without limitation, all rights that such Selling Shareholder had or has the power to transfer in such Securities) free and clear of any adverse claim within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC, (B) under Section 8-501 of the UCC, the Underwriters will acquire a valid security entitlement in respect of such Securities and (C) no action (whether framed in conversion, replevin, constructive trust, equitable lien or other theory) based on any “adverse claim,” within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC, to such Securities may be validly asserted against the Underwriters with respect to such security entitlement; for purposes of this representation, such Selling Shareholder may assume that when such payment, delivery and crediting occur, (x) such Securities will have been registered in the name of Cede or another nominee designated by DTC, in each case on the Company’s share registry in accordance with its certificate of incorporation, bylaws and applicable law, (y) DTC will be registered as a “clearing corporation,” within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC and (z) appropriate entries to the accounts of the several Underwriters on the records of DTC will have been made pursuant to the UCC.
(x) No Association with NASD. Neither such Selling Shareholder nor any of his, her or its affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or has any other association with (within the meaning of Article I, Section 1(m) of the By-laws of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.), any member firm of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
(xi) Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectuses. Each Selling Shareholder represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of Keefe Bruyette, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (any such “free writing prospectus” of any Selling Shareholder in connection with the offer of the Securities, a “Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus”), and it has not used, referred to, or distributed, and will not use, refer to or distribute, any such Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus. Any Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus consented to by the Representative is hereinafter referred to as a Selling Shareholder Permitted Free Writing Prospectus. Such Selling Shareholder represents that it has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations applicable to any Selling Shareholder Permitted Free Writing Prospectus of such Selling Shareholder, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.
(c) Officer’s Certificates. 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; and any certificate signed by or on behalf of any Selling Shareholder as such and delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be deemed a representation and warranty by such Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing
(a) Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, each Selling Shareholder, severally and not jointly, agrees to sell to each Underwriter, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from each Selling Shareholder, at the price per share set forth in Schedule D, the number of Securities that bears the same proportion to the number of Securities to be sold by such Selling Shareholder as the number of Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Securities, subject to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representative in its sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional securities.
(b) Payment. Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of, the Securities shall be made at the offices of Day Pitney LLP, One Jefferson Road, Parsippany, New Jersey, 07054, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company and the Selling Shareholders, at 9:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on the third business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 or Section 11), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representative, the Company and the Selling Shareholders (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called the “Closing Time”).
Payment shall be made to the Selling Shareholders by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Custodian pursuant to each Selling Shareholder’s Power of Attorney and Custody Agreement, as the case may be, against delivery to the Representative for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of 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 Securities which it has agreed to purchase. Keefe Bruyette, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Securities to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.
(c) Denominations; Registration. The Securities 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.
SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430A, and will notify the Representative immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement 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 any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary 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 promptly effect the filings necessary pursuant to 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.
(b) Filing of Amendments. The Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement (including any filing under Rule 462(b)), or any amendment, supplement or revision to either any preliminary prospectus (including the prospectus included in the Registration
Statement at the time it became effective) or to the Prospectus, whether pursuant to the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or otherwise, 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.
(c) Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed 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) 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 as originally filed 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 or the 1934 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 any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser, or if it shall be necessary, in the opinion of such counsel, at any such time to amend the 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 or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement or the Prospectus comply with such requirements, and the Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement 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 has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Representative and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(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 later of the effective date of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement; 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. In each jurisdiction in which the Securities have been so qualified, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification in
effect for a period of not less than one year from the effective date of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The Company will also supply the Underwriters with such information as is necessary for the determination of the legality of the Securities for investment under the laws of such jurisdiction as the Underwriters may request.
(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 securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.
(h) Listing. The Company will use its best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Securities on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”).
(i) [Reserved.]
(j) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act or the 1934 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 Prospectus. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of 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, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative is hereinafter referred to as an “Issuer Permitted Free Writing Prospectus” and, collectively with any Selling Shareholder Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, the “Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.” 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, 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 (including any costs associated with electronic delivery of these materials), (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, (x) the filing fees incident to the review by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the “NASD”) of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (xi) the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with the review by the NASD of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (xii) the fees and expenses of the Custodian and the Attorney-in-Fact and expenses associated with communications with and collection of documents from each Selling Shareholder, (xiii) all costs and
expenses of the Underwriters, (xiv) the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Selling Shareholders (not to exceed $35,000) and (xv) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its respective obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section 4(a); provided, however, that the Company’s obligations to pay the expenses described in items (xi), (xii) and (xiii) above is capped at a total of $100,000, and any expenses in excess of that amount will be paid by the Selling Shareholders.
(b) Expenses of the Selling Shareholders. The Selling Shareholders, jointly and severally, will pay all expenses incident to the performance of their respective obligations under, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including (i) any stamp duties, capital duties and stock transfer taxes, if any, payable upon the sale of the Securities to the Underwriters, and their transfer between the Underwriters pursuant to an agreement between such Underwriters, and (ii) except as otherwise provided in Section 4(a)(xiii), the fees and disbursements of their respective counsel, accountants and other advisors, if any.
(c) 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, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.
(d) Allocation of Expenses. The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement that the Company and the Selling Shareholders may make or have made 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 and the Selling Shareholders contained in Section 1 hereof or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or on behalf of any Selling Shareholder 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. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and at the Closing Time no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefor 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 430A Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) (or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and declared effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A).
(b) Opinion of Counsel for Company. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the opinion, dated as of the Closing Time, of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters 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 the Selling Shareholders. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the opinion, dated as of the Closing Time, of (i) Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, counsel for the Selling Shareholders (with the exception of LSBK06-8, L.L.C.), and (ii) Cohen, Norris, Wolmer, Ray, Telepman & Cohen, counsel for LSBK06-8, L.L.C., in each case, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit B hereto and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request.
(d) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the opinion, dated as of the Closing Time, of Day Pitney, LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters. In giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York and the federal law of the United States, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to the Representative. Such counsel may also state that, insofar as such opinion involves
factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper, upon certificates of officers of the Company and its subsidiaries and certificates of public officials.
(e) Officers’ Certificate. At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus as of the execution of this Agreement or the Applicable Time, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings or business 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 the Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1(a) hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the 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 the 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 the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission.
(f) Certificate of Selling Shareholders. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a certificate of an Attorney-in-Fact on behalf of each Selling Shareholder, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that (i) the representations and warranties of each Selling Shareholder contained in Section 1(b) hereof are true and correct in all respects with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time and (ii) each Selling Shareholder has complied in all material respects with all agreements and all conditions on its part to be performed under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Time.
(g) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received from Crowe Horwath LLP, BDO USA, LLP and ParenteBeard LLC, in each case, a letter dated such date, in form and substance reasonably 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 contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(h) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received from Crowe Horwath LLP, BDO USA, LLP and ParenteBeard LLC, in each case, a letter, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Time.
(i) Approval of Listing. The Common Stock (including the Securities) is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the 1934 Act and is listed on NASDAQ, and 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 delisting the Common Stock from NASDAQ, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or NASDAQ is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
(j) No Objection. FINRA shall have confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements with respect to the offering of the Securities.
(k) 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 each of the Selling Shareholders listed on Schedule B hereto.
(l) Delivery of Prospectus. The Company shall have complied with the provisions hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses, in electronic or printed format, on the New York business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement.
(m) No Termination Event. On or after the date hereof, there shall not have occurred any of the events, circumstances or occurrences set forth in Section 9(a).
(n) Additional Documents. At the Closing Time, counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably 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 and the Selling Shareholders in connection with the issuance and/or sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.
(o) Termination of Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representative by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to the Closing Time 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.
SECTION 6. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of Underwriters and Selling Shareholders. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act) (“Affiliates”), its selling agents, 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 (the foregoing indemnified parties are hereinafter referred to as the “Underwriter Indemnified Parties”) and each Selling Shareholder and each person, if any, who controls any Selling Shareholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act (the foregoing indemnified parties are hereinafter referred to as the “Selling Shareholder Indemnified Parties”) to the extent and in the manner set forth in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) below 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 430A 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-Represented 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 and the Selling Shareholder, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; and
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by Keefe Bruyette or Lawrence B. Seidman, as the case may be), reasonably incurred 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 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 the Representative or by any Selling Shareholder, in each case, expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); provided that the parties
acknowledge and agree that the only written information that (i) the Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus and Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) is the information included in the following subsections of the section entitled “Underwriting” in the Prospectus: (1) the fourth paragraph under the “Underwriting” section, (2) “Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids”, (3) “Passive Market Making”, (4) “Affiliations”, and (5) “Selling Restrictions”; and (ii) the Selling Shareholders have furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, or any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) is the following information included in the section entitled “Selling Shareholders” in the Prospectus: (A) the legal name and address of such Selling Shareholder, (B) the number of Securities beneficially owned by such Selling Shareholder before and after the offering, (C) the number of Securities being offered by such Selling Shareholder, and (D) the other information in the footnotes corresponding to the foregoing information, in each case, that appears in the table under the caption “Selling Shareholders.”
Each Selling Shareholder, severally and jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter Indemnified Party and the Company Indemnified Parties (as defined below) against (i) any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to which such Underwriter becomes subject, under the 1933 Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, liability, claim, damage and expense arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus of such Selling Shareholder (as a result of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained therein or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or otherwise); and (iii) 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 such Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus; provided that (subject to 6(d) below) such settlement is effected with the prior written consent of such Selling Shareholder, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; and (iv) any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by Keefe Bruyette or the Company, as the case may be), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commended or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such Selling Shareholder Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent that such expense is not paid under clause (ii) or (iii) above; provided, however, that the indemnity provided for in clause (i) of this paragraph shall apply only to the extent that any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information that the Selling Shareholders furnished to the Company or the Representative specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing), as the case may be; provided that the parties acknowledge and agree that the only written information that the Selling Shareholders have furnished to the Company or the Representative specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing) is the following information included in the section entitled “Selling Shareholders” in the Prospectus: (A) the legal name and address of such Selling Shareholder, (B) the number of Securities beneficially owned by such Selling Shareholder before and after the offering, (C) the number of Securities being offered by such Selling Shareholder, and (D) the other information in the footnotes corresponding to the foregoing information, in each case, that appears in the table under the caption “Selling Shareholders”. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the aggregate liability of the Selling Shareholders under this Section 6, under Section 7 and in respect of any claim of any inaccuracy in or breach of any of the representations or warranties of the Selling Shareholders contained in Section 1(b) shall be limited to an amount equal to the aggregate amount of proceeds received by all Selling Shareholders (less underwriting discounts and commissions) from the sale of the Securities by all Selling Shareholders under this Agreement.
(b) Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers and Selling Shareholders. 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 (the foregoing indemnified parties are hereinafter referred to as the “Company Indemnified Parties”), and each Selling Shareholder Indemnified Party against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, 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 430A Information, or any preliminary prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented 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 the Representative expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information or such preliminary prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); provided that the parties acknowledge and agree that the only written information that the Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus and Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) is the information included in the following subsections of the section entitled “Underwriting” in the Prospectus: (1) the fourth paragraph under the “Underwriting” section, (2) “Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids”, (3) “Passive Market Making”, (4) “Affiliations”, and (5) “Selling Restrictions”.
(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 Underwriter Indemnified Parties shall be selected by Keefe Bruyette, counsel to the Selling Shareholder Indemnified Parties shall be selected by Lawrence B. Seidman, and counsel to the Company Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Company, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the Company Indemnified Parties shall be selected by the Company and counsel to the Selling Shareholder Indemnified Parties shall be selected by Lawrence B. Seidman. 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 each group of affected indemnified parties (i.e., the Underwriter Indemnified Parties, the Company Indemnified Parties and the Selling Shareholder Indemnified Parties, as applicable) 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. 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 required herein, such 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 the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
(e) Other Agreements with Respect to Indemnification. The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement among the Company and the Selling Shareholders with respect to indemnification.
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, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party under Section 6 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 and the Selling Shareholders 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 and the Selling Shareholders 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 and the Selling Shareholders 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 Selling Shareholders, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.
The relative fault of the Company and the Selling Shareholders, 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 the Selling Shareholders on the one hand, or by the Underwriters on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The Company, the Selling Shareholders 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 (but subject to the limitations contained) 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 underwriting commissions received by such Underwriter in connection with the offering of the Securities underwritten by it and distributed 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.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Selling Shareholder shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the proceeds of the offering of the Securities (after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions) received by such Selling Shareholder exceeds the amount of any damages which such Selling Shareholder has otherwise been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. The Selling Shareholders’ obligations to contribute as provided in this Section 7 are joint and several in proportion to the gross proceeds received by them respectively from the sale of the Securities under this Agreement and shall be subject to the limitations on aggregate liability set forth in the last sentence of Section 6(a).
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, 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, and each person, if any, who controls a Selling Shareholder 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 such Selling Shareholder. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.
The provisions of this Section shall not affect any agreement among the Company and the Selling Shareholders with respect to contribution.
SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the Selling Shareholders submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of any (i) 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 by or on behalf of the Company or any Selling Shareholder or any person controlling the Company or any Selling Shareholders, 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 and the Selling Shareholders, at any time at or prior to the 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 preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings or business 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 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, including without limitation as a result of terrorist activities, 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 NASDAQ, or if trading generally on the New York Stock Exchange or on NASDAQ 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, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or with respect to Clearstream or Euroclear Systems in Europe, or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal, New York or New Jersey authorities.
(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 the Closing Time 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:
(a) 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
(b) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.
No action taken pursuant to this Section 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, either (i) the Representative or (ii) the Company and any Selling Shareholder shall have the right to postpone the Closing Time 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.
SECTION 11. Default by one or more of the Selling Shareholders. If a Selling Shareholder shall fail at the Closing Time to sell and deliver the number of Securities which such Selling Shareholder or Selling Shareholders are obligated to sell hereunder, and the remaining Selling Shareholders do not exercise the right hereby granted to increase, pro rata or otherwise, the number of Securities to be sold by them hereunder to the total number to be sold by all Selling Shareholders as set forth in Schedule B hereto, then the Underwriters may, at the option of the Representative, by notice from the Representative to the Company, terminate this Agreement without any liability of any non-defaulting party except that the provisions of Sections 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8 shall remain in full force and effect or (b) elect to purchase the Securities which the non-defaulting Selling Shareholders have agreed to sell hereunder. No action taken pursuant to this Section 11 shall relieve any Selling Shareholder so defaulting from liability, if any, in respect of such default.
In the event of a default by any Selling Shareholder as referred to in this Section 11, each of the Representative, the Company and the non-defaulting Selling Shareholders shall have the right to postpone the Closing Time for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required change in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements.
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 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., 787 Seventh Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10019, attention of Syndicate Desk; notices to the Company shall be directed to it at ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., 2455 Morris Avenue, Union, New Jersey, 07083, attention of Corporate Secretary; and notices to the Selling Shareholders shall be directed to Seidman and Associates, L.L.C., 100 Misty Lane, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054, attention of Lawrence B. Seidman, with a copy to Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, 65 East 55th Street, New York, New York 10022, attention of Michael R. Neidell.
SECTION 13. Parties. This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholders 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 the Selling Shareholders 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 the Selling Shareholders 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.
SECTION 14. No Fiduciaries. The Company and each Selling Shareholder acknowledges and agrees that (i) 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 and the Selling Shareholders, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (ii) 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, any Selling Shareholder, or the Company’s shareholders, creditors, employees or any other third party, (iii) no
Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or any Selling Shareholder 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 or any such Selling Shareholder on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company or any Selling Shareholder with respect to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company or any Selling Shareholder, and (v) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company and each Selling Shareholder has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
SECTION 15. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. All actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be heard and determined exclusively in any New Jersey state court or in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The parties hereto hereby (a) submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any New Jersey state court and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey for the purpose of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement brought by any party hereto, and (b) irrevocably waive, and agree not to assert by way of motion, defense, or otherwise, in any such action, suit or proceeding, any claim that it is not subject personally to the jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that its property is exempt or immune from attachment or execution, that the action, suit or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, that the venue of the action, suit or proceeding is improper, or that this Agreement may not be enforced in or by any of the above-named courts. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a judgment in any such dispute may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law.
SECTION 16. General Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The exchange of copies of this Agreement and of signature pages by facsimile or other electronic means shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original signature pages to this Agreement for all purposes. This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit. The Article and Section headings herein and the Table of Contents are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company and the Attorney-in-Fact for the Selling Shareholders a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholders in accordance with its terms.
| Very truly yours, | |||
| CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC. | |||
| By: | /s/ | ||
| Name: | |||
| Title: | |||
| By: | THE SELLING SHAREHOLDERS | ||
| named in Schedule B, acting separately | |||
| By: | /s/ | ||
| Name: Lawrence B. Seidman | |||
| As Attorney-in-Fact acting on behalf of the Selling Shareholders named in Schedule B hereto | |||
| CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED, | ||
| as of the date first above written: | ||
| Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ | |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
For itself and as Representative of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.
SCHEDULE A
| Name of Underwriter | Number of Securities | |||
| Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Inc. | 2,365,000 | |||
| Total | 2,365,000 | |||
| Schedule A - 1 |
SCHEDULE B
| Selling Shareholders | Number of Securities to be Sold | |
| Lawrence B. Seidman | 77,743 | |
| Seidman and Associates, L.L.C. | 446,729 | |
| Seidman Investment Partnership, L.P. | 394,807 | |
| Seidman Investment Partnership II, L.P. | 410,086 | |
| LSBK06-08, L.L.C. | 232,936 | |
| Broad Park Investors, L.L.C. | 312,307 | |
| CBPS, LLC | 239,764 | |
| 2514 Multi-Strategy Fund L.P. | 82,667 | |
| Chewy Gooey Cookies, L.P. | 167,961 | |
| Total | 2,365,000 |
| Schedule B - 1 |
SCHEDULE C
Issuer-Represented General Free Writing Prospectus
[Filed with the SEC on July 1, 2014]
| Schedule C - 1 |
SCHEDULE D
CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC.
2,365,000 Shares of Common Stock
(No Par Value Per Share)
1. The initial public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $18.75.
2. The purchase price per share for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $18.5633, being an amount equal to the initial public offering price set forth above less $0.1867 per share.
| Schedule D - 1 |
SCHEDULE E
| 1. | ConnectOne Bank |
| 2. | Center Bancorp Statutory Trust II |
| 3. | Union Investment Co. |
| 4. | Center Financial Group, LLC |
| 5. | Center Advertising Corporation |
| 6. | Morris Property Company, LLC |
| 7. | Twin Bridge Investment Co. |
| 8. | Volosin Holdings, LLC |
| 9. | Twin Bridge Capital Corporation |
| 10. | NJCB Investment Company, Inc. |
| 11. | CNOB Investment Company, Inc. |
| 12. | CNOB Investment Preferred Funding Corp, Inc. |
| 13. | NJCB Spec-1, LLC |
| 14. | Greenbrook Consulting, LLC |
| 15. | ConectOne Bank owns 49% interest in Greenbrook Title Agency, LLC |
| Schedule E - 1 |
