Open Market Sale AgreementSM, dated August 6, 2020, by and between the Registrant and Jefferies LLC

EX-1.2 2 ex1-2.htm

 

Exhibit 1.2 

 

OPEN MARKET SALE AGREEMENT^SM

 

August 6, 2020

 

JEFFERIES LLC

520 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell from time to time through Jefferies LLC, as sales agent and/or principal (the “Agent”), shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Shares”), on the terms set forth in this agreement (this “Agreement”).

 

Section 1. DEFINITIONS

 

(a) Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the following respective meanings:

 

“Affiliate” of a Person means another Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such first- mentioned Person. The term “control” (including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with”) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

 

“Agency Period” means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and expiring on the earliest to occur of (x) the date on which the Agent shall have placed the Maximum Program Amount pursuant to this Agreement and (y) the date this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 7.

 

“Commission” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

“Floor Price” means the minimum price set by the Company in the Issuance Notice below which the Agent shall not sell Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice, which may be adjusted by the Company at any time during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice by delivering written notice of such change to the Agent and which in no event shall be less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which may be withheld in the Agent’s sole discretion.

 

^SM “Open Market Sale Agreement” is a service mark of Jefferies LLC

 

 

“Issuance Amount” means the aggregate Sales Price of the Shares to be sold by the Agent pursuant to any Issuance Notice.

 

“Issuance Notice” means a written notice delivered to the Agent by the Company in accordance with this Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A that is executed by its Chief Executive Officer, President or Chief Financial Officer.

 

“Issuance Notice Date” means any Trading Day during the Agency Period that an Issuance Notice is delivered pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).

 

“Issuance Price” means the Sales Price less the Selling Commission.

 

“Maximum Program Amount” means Common Shares with an aggregate Sales Price of the lesser of (a) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares registered under the effective Registration Statements (defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, (b) the number of authorized but unissued Common Shares (less Common Shares issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Company’s authorized capital stock), (c) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares permitted to be sold under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6 thereof, if applicable), or (d) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares for which the Company has filed a Prospectus (defined below).

 

“Person” means an individual or a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, joint stock company, governmental authority or other entity of any kind.

 

“Principal Market” means the Nasdaq Global Market or such other national securities exchange on which the Common Shares, including any Shares, are then listed.

 

“Sales Price” means the actual sale execution price of each Share placed by the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

“Selling Commission” means three percent (3%) of the gross proceeds of Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement, or as otherwise agreed between the Company and the Agent with respect to any Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Settlement Date” means the second business day following each Trading Day during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice on which Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement, when the Company shall deliver to the Agent the amount of Shares sold on such Trading Day and the Agent shall deliver to the Company the Issuance Price received on such sales.

 

 

“Shares” shall mean the Company’s Common Shares issued or issuable pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Trading Day” means any day on which the Principal Market is open for trading.

 

Section 2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

 

The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that as of (1) the date of this Agreement, (2) each Issuance Notice Date, (3) each Settlement Date, (4) each Triggering Event Date and (5) each Time of Sale (each of the times referenced above is referred to herein as a “Representation Date”), except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto) on or before a Representation Date:

 

(a) Registration Statement. The Company has prepared and filed with the Commission shelf registration statements on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222447 (the “First Registration Statement”) and File No. 333-237588 (the “Second Registration Statement”), each of which contains a base prospectus, to be used in connection with the public offering and sale of the Shares. The Company will file in final form a prospectus supplement relating to the public offering and sale of the Shares in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable, with respect to the Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statements, including the financial statements, exhibits and schedules thereto, in the form in which they became or become effective under the Securities Act, including all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference and any information deemed to be a part thereof at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, are herein referred to as the “Registration Statements” (each, a “Registration Statement”), and the prospectuses constituting a part of such registration statements, together with any prospectus supplement filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act relating to a particular issuance of the Shares, including all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act, in each case, as from time to time amended or supplemented, are collectively referred to herein as the “Prospectus,” except that if any revised prospectus is provided to the Agent by the Company for use in connection with the offering of the Shares that is not required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, the term “Prospectus” shall refer to such revised prospectus from and after the time it is first provided to the Agent for such use. Each of the First Registration Statement and the Second Registration Statement, at the time such Registration Statement originally became effective, is herein called an “Original Registration Statement.”

 

If immediately prior to the expiration of the First Registration Statement (the “Renewal Deadline”), the aggregate gross sales price of Shares sold by the Company is less than the Maximum Program Amount and this Agreement has not expired or been terminated, the Company will file, prior to the Renewal Deadline, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, and will cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the issuance and sale of the Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Shares. References herein to the Registration Statements shall include such new shelf registration statement. Upon effectiveness of the new shelf registration statement, the Company will file in final form a prospectus supplement relating to the public offering and sale of the Shares in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

 

 

As used in this Agreement, the terms “amendment” or “supplement” when applied to the Registration Statements or the Prospectus shall be deemed to include the filing by the Company with the Commission of any document under the Exchange Act after the date hereof that is or is deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.

 

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “described,” “included” or “stated” in, or “part of” the Registration Statements or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statements or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include, without limitation, the filing of any document under the Exchange Act which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date. All references in this Agreement to (i) the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, any amendments or supplements to the foregoing, or any free writing prospectus, shall include any copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”) and (ii) the Prospectus shall be deemed to include any “electronic Prospectus” provided for use in connection with the offering of the Shares as contemplated by Section 4(g) of this Agreement. As used herein, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

At the time each Original Registration Statement was filed with the Commission or, if later, at the time the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the “Annual Report”) was filed with the Commission, the Company met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. During the Agency Period, each time the Company files an Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company will meet the then-applicable requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act.

 

(b) Compliance with Registration Requirements. Each Original Registration Statement has been declared effective under the Securities Act. The Company has complied or will comply in all material respects with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information, if any. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.

 

 

The Prospectus when filed complied or will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and, if filed with the Commission through its EDGAR, was or will be identical (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the Securities Act) to the copy thereof delivered to the Agent for use in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares. Each Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective, and at any subsequent time that it is deemed to have become effective as to the Agent pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. As of the date of this Agreement, the Prospectus and any free writing prospectus considered together (collectively, the “Time of Sale Information”) did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date and at all subsequent times, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statements or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Agent furnished to the Company in writing by the Agent expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information described in Section 6 below. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statements which have not been described or filed as required. The Registration Statements and the offer and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 under the Securities Act and comply in all material respects with said rule.

 

(c) Ineligible Issuer Status; Free Writing Prospectuses. As of the determination date referenced in Rule 164(h) under the Securities Act, the Company was not, is not or will not be (as applicable) an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Each free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act. Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending, and each such free writing prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Shares did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus that is not superseded or modified. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, furnished to you before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to any free writing prospectus. Other than the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as such) has not prepared, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Shares other than any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act.

 

(d) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, and none of such documents contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

 

(e) Statistical and Market Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

 

(f) Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that complies in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and that has been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

(g) Accounting Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that have been designed to comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), including, but not limited to, internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences and (v) interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s auditors and the audit committee of the board of directors of the Company have been advised of: (A) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (B) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

 

(h) Due Authorization. The Company has full corporate right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; and all corporate action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery by it of this Agreement and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby has been duly and validly taken.

 

(i) This Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

 

(j) Authorization of the Shares. The Shares to be issued and sold by the Company hereunder have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered and paid for as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, will be fully paid and nonassessable and will conform to the descriptions thereof in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights that have not been duly waived.

 

(k) No Registration Rights. Except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, no person has the right to require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statements with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Shares, except for such rights that have been waived.

 

(l) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, (i) there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than the issuance of Common Shares upon exercise of stock options and warrants described as outstanding in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, and the grant of options and other equity-based awards under any stock-based compensation plans of the Company and its subsidiaries that are in existence as of the date hereof and disclosed in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus (“Company Stock Plans”)), short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of capital stock, or any material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position, prospects, shareholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent; and (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole and that is either from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each of clauses (i) through (iii) as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus.

 

(m) Independent Accountants. EisnerAmper LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act.

 

 

(n) Financial Statements. The financial statements (including the related notes thereto) of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby, except in the case of any unaudited financial statements, which are subject to normal year-end adjustments and do not contain certain footnotes as permitted by the applicable rules of the Commission, and any supporting schedules included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein; and the other financial information included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and presents fairly the information shown thereby.

 

(o) eXtensible Business Reporting Language. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

(p) Organization and Good Standing. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing (or their jurisdictional equivalents) under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization, are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, prospects, shareholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

 

 

(q) Capitalization. The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus under the heading “Description of Capital Stock”; all the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable and are not subject to any preemptive or similar rights that have not been duly waived or satisfied; except as described in or expressly contemplated by the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights (including, without limitation, preemptive rights), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible into or exchangeable for, any shares of capital stock or other equity interest in the Company or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, or any contract, commitment, agreement, understanding or arrangement of any kind relating to the issuance of any capital stock of the Company or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, any convertible or exchangeable securities or any rights, warrants or options; the capital stock of the Company conforms in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus; and all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus as owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party.

 

(r) Stock Options. With respect to the outstanding stock options (the “Stock Options”) granted pursuant to the Company Stock Plans, (i) each grant of a Stock Option was duly authorized no later than the date on which the grant of such Stock Option was by its terms to be effective by all necessary corporate action, including, as applicable, approval by the board of directors of the Company (or a duly constituted and authorized committee thereof) and any required shareholder approval by the necessary number of votes or written consents, and the award agreement governing such grant (if any) was duly executed and delivered by each party thereto; (ii) each such grant was made in all material respects in accordance with the terms of the applicable Company Stock Plan, Exchange Act and all applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, including the rules of the Principal Market and any other exchange on which the Company’s securities are traded, to the extent applicable; and (iii) each such grant was properly accounted for in accordance with GAAP in the financial statements (including the related notes) of the Company, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(s) Stock Exchange Listing. The Common Shares (including the Shares) are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and are listed on the Principal Market, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Shares from the Principal Market, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the Principal Market is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. To the Company’s knowledge, it is in compliance with all applicable listing requirements of the Principal Market.

 

(t) No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or bylaws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party, by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (collectively, “Company Contracts”); or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, all third parties that are parties to any Company Contracts are in compliance with the terms, covenants and conditions contained in such Company Contracts, except for any violation that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(u) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party, by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or bylaws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries; or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation or default that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(v) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, license, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), the Principal Market, and under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Agent.

 

(w) Legal Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits or proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject, including any proceeding before the United States Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “FDA”) or comparable federal, state, local or foreign governmental and regulatory authorities (“Governmental Authority”) relating to an alleged failure to comply, or deficiency in compliance, with the requirements of the FDA or other Governmental Authority that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; to the knowledge of the Company, no such investigations, actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus that are not so described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus and (ii) there are no statutes, regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statements or described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus.

 

 

(x) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is no existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(y) Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses for, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks, trade names, service names, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property (1) described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or (2) which, to their knowledge, are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted or as currently proposed in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus to be conducted (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) except in the case of clause (2) where the failure to own, possess or acquire such rights could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus or as could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, to the Company’s knowledge: (i) there are no third parties who have rights to any Intellectual Property, except for Intellectual Property rights which are licensed by the Company from or granted by the Company to its partners, licensors and licensees and customary reversionary rights of third-party licensors with respect to Intellectual Property that is licensed to the Company or one or more of its subsidiaries; and (ii) there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property. Except as could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (A) challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (B) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; or (C) asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus as under development, infringe or violate, any patent, trademark, trade name, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim. Except as could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or any subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect. The product candidates described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus as under development by the Company or any subsidiary fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or any subsidiary.

 

 

(z) Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus (including, without limitation, those administered by the FDA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or by any other Governmental Authority), except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except where such revocation, modification or nonrenewal would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(aa) Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company owns no real property, and the Company and its subsidiaries have valid rights to lease or otherwise use all items of real and personal property that are material to the respective businesses of the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(bb) Taxes. The Company and its subsidiaries have timely filed all material returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable state, local or foreign law, and have paid all taxes shown thereon or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided; and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, there is no material tax deficiency that has been, or would reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets.

 

(cc) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, will not be required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “Investment Company Act”).

 

(dd) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business in all material respects.

 

(ee) No Stabilization. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any of their respective directors, officers or controlling persons, has taken, directly or indirectly, any action that has constituted or is designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, any stabilization or manipulation of the price any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Common Shares, including any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Shares.

 

 

(ff) Margin Rules. The application of the proceeds received by the Company from the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus will not violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

 

(gg) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(hh) No Undisclosed Relationships. 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 or any other related party, on the other, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus that has not been described as required.

 

(ii) No Contract Termination. The Company has not sent or received any communication regarding termination of, or intent not to renew, any of the contracts or agreements referred to or described in the Prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to, the Registration Statements, and no such termination or non-renewal has been threatened by the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party to any such contract or agreement, which threat of termination or non-renewal has not been rescinded as of the date hereof.

 

(jj) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares is true, complete, correct and compliant with FINRA’s rules, and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant thereto or to conduct rules promulgated by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. is true, complete and correct.

 

 

(kk) Compliance with and Liability under Environmental Laws. (i) The Company and its subsidiaries (A) are, and, during the past five years, were, in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, requirements, decisions, judgments, decrees, orders and the common law relating to pollution or the protection of the environment, natural resources or human health or safety, including those relating to the generation, storage, treatment, use, handling, transportation, Release (as defined below) or threat of Release of Hazardous Materials (as defined below) (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses, (C) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any Release or threat of Release of Hazardous Materials, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice, (D) are not conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation or other corrective action pursuant to any Environmental Law at any location, and (E) are not a party to any order, decree or agreement that imposes any obligation or liability under any Environmental Law; and (ii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, except in the case of each of (i) and (ii) above, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, (A) there are no proceedings that are pending, or that are known by the Company to be contemplated, against the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceedings regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (B) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no facts or issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws, including the Release or threat of Release of Hazardous Materials, that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (C) none of the Company or any of its subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws.

 

(ll) Hazardous Materials. To the knowledge of the Company, there has been no storage, generation, transportation, use, handling, treatment, Release (as defined below) or threat of Release of Hazardous Materials (as those terms are defined below) by, relating to or caused by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or, to the knowledge of the Company and its subsidiaries, any other entity (including any predecessor) for whose acts or omissions the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or would reasonably be expected to be liable) at, on, under or from any property or facility now or, to the knowledge of the Company, previously owned, operated or leased by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, at, on, under or from any other property or facility, in violation of any Environmental Laws or in a manner or amount or to a location that could reasonably be expected to result in any liability under any Environmental Law, except for any violation or liability which could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. “Hazardous Materials” means any material, chemical, substance, waste, pollutant, contaminant, compound, mixture, or constituent thereof, in any form or amount, including petroleum (including crude oil or any fraction thereof) and petroleum products, natural gas liquids, asbestos and asbestos containing materials, naturally occurring radioactive materials, brine, and drilling mud, which is regulated or which can give rise to liability under any Environmental Law. “Release” means any spilling, leaking, seepage, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, disposing, depositing, dispersing, or migrating in, into or through the environment, or in, into, from or through any building or structure.

 

 

(mm) Compliance with ERISA. Except, in each case, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) would have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, the minimum funding standard of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, as applicable, has been satisfied (without taking into account any waiver thereof or extension of any amortization period) and to the knowledge of the Company is reasonably expected to be satisfied in the future (without taking into account any waiver thereof or extension of any amortization period); (iv) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (v) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA) has occurred or to the knowledge of the Company is reasonably expected to occur; (vi) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor to the knowledge of the Company reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the “PBGC”), in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan”, within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA); and (vii) to the knowledge of the Company, there is no pending audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the PBGC or any other governmental agency or any foreign regulatory agency with respect to any Plan. None of the following events has occurred or, to the knowledge of the Company, is reasonably likely to occur: (x) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans by the Company or its subsidiaries in the current fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such contributions made during the Company and its subsidiaries’ most recently completed fiscal year; or (y) an increase that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, in the Company and its subsidiaries’ “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company and its subsidiaries’ most recently completed fiscal year.

 

(nn) Brokers. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the Agent for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares.

 

(oo) No Restrictions on Subsidiaries. Except as prohibited by law, no wholly owned subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such wholly owned subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such wholly owned subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such wholly owned subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.

 

 

(pp) No Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person authorized to act on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law; or (iv) made, offered, agreed to or requested any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit. The Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce, policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.

 

(qq) 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 applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company or any of its subsidiaries conducts 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.

 

(rr) FDA and Healthcare Compliance. Except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, and except where such noncompliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company: (i) is and at all times has been in compliance with all statutes, rules and regulations of the FDA and other Governmental Authority applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, storage, import, export or disposal of any product under development, manufactured or distributed by the Company, including, without limitation, the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et. seq., the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (collectively, “Applicable FDA Laws”); (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, has not received any FDA Form 483, notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from the FDA or any Governmental Authority alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any Applicable FDA Laws or any licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, exemptions, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable FDA Laws (“Authorizations”); (iii) possesses all Authorizations and the Company is in compliance with the terms of such Authorizations; (iv) has not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from the FDA or any Governmental Authority or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in material violation of any Applicable FDA Laws or Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA or any Governmental Authority or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding; (v) has not received notice that the FDA or any Governmental Authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any material Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA or any Governmental Authority is considering such action; and (vi) has filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable FDA Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were materially complete and correct on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission).

 

 

(ss) Clinical Studies. The studies, tests and preclinical and clinical trials conducted by or, to the Company’s knowledge, on behalf of the Company that are described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, as applicable, were and, if still ongoing, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with Applicable FDA Laws; the descriptions of the results of such studies, tests and trials contained in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus are, to the Company’s knowledge, accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly present the data derived from such studies, tests and trials; except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of any studies, tests or trials, the results of which the Company believes reasonably call into question the study, test or trial results described or referred to in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus when viewed in the context in which such results are described and the clinical state of development; and, except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any notices or correspondence from the FDA or any Governmental Authority requiring the termination or suspension of any studies, tests or preclinical or clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company that are described in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such trials.

 

(tt) Regulatory Compliance. Other than those FDA and healthcare compliance matters that are addressed in Section 2 (rr) hereof, and except as described in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus, to the knowledge of the Company, all third parties that are collaborating with the Company (i) are in material compliance with all applicable statutes, rules and regulations of the applicable regulatory authorities (collectively, “Applicable Laws”) and (ii) have not received any notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from any regulatory authority alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any Applicable Laws or any licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, exemptions, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws, in either case of (i) or (ii) above, solely related to products being developed in collaboration with the Company.

 

 

(uu) No Conflicts with Sanctions Laws. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or authorized to act on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person”), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”); nor is the Company or any of its subsidiaries located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and the Crimea region of Ukraine, (each, a “Sanctioned Country”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. For the past five years, the Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in and are not now knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.

 

(vv) Compliance with Cuba Act. The Company has complied with, and is and will be in compliance with, the provisions of that certain Florida act relating to disclosure of doing business with Cuba, codified as Section 517.075 of the Florida statutes, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Cuba Act”) or is exempt therefrom.

 

(ww) Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.

 

(i) In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from the Agent of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

(ii) In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and the Agent or a BHC Act Affiliate of the Agent becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against the Agent are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

For purposes of this Agreement, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

 

(xx) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any applicable provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

 

(yy) Cybersecurity. The Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable physical, technical and administrative controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data, including “Personal Data,” used in connection with their businesses. “Personal Data” means (i) a natural person’s name, street address, telephone number, e-mail address, photograph, social security number or tax identification number, driver’s license number, passport number, credit card number, bank information, or customer or account number; (ii) any information which would qualify as “personally identifying information” under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended; (iii) “personal data” as defined by the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679); (iv) any information which would qualify as “protected health information” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (collectively, “HIPAA”); and (v) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person, or his or her family, or permits the collection or analysis of any data related to an identified person’s health or sexual orientation. There have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same. The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.

 

(zz) Compliance with Data Privacy Laws. The Company and its subsidiaries are, and at all prior times were, in material compliance with all applicable state and federal data privacy and security laws and regulations, including without limitation HIPAA, and the Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable actions to prepare to comply with, and since May 25, 2018, have been and currently are in compliance with, GDPR (collectively, the “Privacy Laws”). To ensure compliance with the Privacy Laws, the Company and its subsidiaries have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance in all material respects with their policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling, and analysis of Personal Data (the “Policies”). The Company and its subsidiaries have at all times made all disclosures to users or customers required by Privacy Laws, and none of such disclosures made or contained in any Policy have, to the knowledge of the Company, been inaccurate or in violation of any Privacy Laws in any material respect. The Company further certifies that neither it nor any subsidiary: (i) has received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) is currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation, or other corrective action pursuant to any Privacy Law; or (iii) is a party to any order, decree, or agreement that imposes any obligation or liability under any Privacy Law.

 

 

(aaa) Other Underwriting Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.

 

Any certificate signed by any officer or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and delivered to the Agent or counsel for the Agent in connection with an issuance of Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Agent as to the matters covered thereby on the date of such certificate.

 

The Company acknowledges that the Agent and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(p) hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to the Agent, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

 

Section 3. ISSUANCE AND SALE OF COMMON SHARES

 

(a) Sale of Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company may from time to time seek to sell Shares through the Agent, acting as sales agent, or directly to the Agent, acting as principal, as follows, with an aggregate Sales Price of up to the Maximum Program Amount, based on and in accordance with Issuance Notices as the Company may deliver, during the Agency Period.

 

(b) Mechanics of Issuances.

 

(i) Issuance Notice. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, on any Trading Day during the Agency Period on which the conditions set forth in Section 5(a) and Section 5(b) shall have been satisfied, the Company may exercise its right to request an issuance of Shares by delivering to the Agent an Issuance Notice; provided, however, that (A) in no event may the Company deliver an Issuance Notice to the extent that (I) the sum of (x) the aggregate Sales Price of the requested Issuance Amount, plus (y) the aggregate Sales Price of all Shares issued under all previous Issuance Notices effected pursuant to this Agreement, would exceed the Maximum Program Amount; and (B) prior to delivery of any Issuance Notice, the period set forth for any previous Issuance Notice shall have expired or been terminated. An Issuance Notice shall be considered delivered on the Trading Day that it is received by e-mail to the persons set forth in Schedule A hereto and confirmed by the Company by telephone (including a voicemail message to the persons so identified), with the understanding that, with adequate prior written notice, the Agent may modify the list of such persons from time to time.

 

 

(ii) Agent Efforts. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, upon the receipt of an Issuance Notice, the Agent will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal sales and trading practices to place the Shares with respect to which the Agent has agreed to act as sales agent, subject to, and in accordance with the information specified in, the Issuance Notice, unless the sale of the Shares described therein has been suspended, cancelled or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties to this Agreement may modify an Issuance Notice at any time provided they both agree in writing to any such modification.

 

(iii) Method of Offer and Sale. The Shares may be offered and sold (A) in privately negotiated transactions with the consent of the Company; (B) as block transactions; or (C) by any other method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the Principal Market or sales made into any other existing trading market of the Common Shares. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to require either party to agree to the method of offer and sale specified in the preceding sentence, and (except as specified in clauses (A) and (B) above) the method of placement of any Shares by the Agent shall be at the Agent’s discretion.

 

(iv) Confirmation to the Company. If acting as sales agent hereunder, the Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day next following the Trading Day on which it has placed Shares hereunder setting forth the number of shares sold on such Trading Day, the corresponding Sales Price and the Issuance Price payable to the Company in respect thereof.

 

(v) Settlement. Each issuance of Shares will be settled on the applicable Settlement Date for such issuance of Shares and, subject to the provisions of Section 5, on or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Shares being sold by crediting the Agent or its designee’s account at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian (DWAC) System, or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto and, upon receipt of such Shares, which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form, the Agent will deliver, by wire transfer of immediately available funds, the related Issuance Price in same day funds delivered to an account designated by the Company prior to the Settlement Date. The Company may sell Shares to the Agent as principal at a price agreed upon at each relevant time Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement (each, a “Time of Sale”).

 

(vi) Suspension or Termination of Sales. Consistent with standard market settlement practices, the Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party hereto in writing or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable email), suspend any sale of Shares, and the period set forth in an Issuance Notice shall immediately terminate; provided, however, that (A) such suspension and termination shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Shares placed or sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice; (B) if the Company suspends or terminates any sale of Shares after the Agent confirms such sale to the Company, the Company shall still be obligated to comply with Section 3(b)(v) with respect to such Shares; and (C) if the Company defaults in its obligation to deliver Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that it will hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense (including, without limitation, penalties, interest and reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, in performing its obligations under this Agreement, the Agent may borrow Common Shares from stock lenders in the event that the Company has not delivered Shares to settle sales as required by subsection (v) above, and may use the Shares to settle or close out such borrowings. The Company agrees that no such notice shall be effective against the Agent unless it is made to the persons identified in writing by the Agent pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).

 

 

(vii) No Guarantee of Placement, Etc. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (A) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in placing Shares; (B) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other Person if it does not sell Shares; and (C) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Agent and the Company.

 

(viii) Material Non-Public Information. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company shall not deliver any Issuance Notice to the Agent, and the Agent shall not be obligated to place any Shares, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information.

 

(c) Fees. As compensation for services rendered, the Company shall pay to the Agent, on the applicable Settlement Date, the Selling Commission for the applicable Issuance Amount (including with respect to any suspended or terminated sale pursuant to Section 3(b)(vi)) by the Agent deducting the Selling Commission from the applicable Issuance Amount.

 

(d) Expenses. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including without limitation (i) all expenses incident to the issuance and delivery of the Shares (including all printing and engraving costs); (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Shares; (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares; (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors; (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statements (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and this Agreement; (vi) all filing fees, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Company or the Agent in connection with qualifying or registering (or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any part of the Shares for offer and sale under the state securities or blue sky laws or the provincial securities laws of Canada, and, if requested by the Agent, preparing and printing a “Blue Sky Survey” or memorandum and a “Canadian wrapper,” and any supplements thereto, advising the Agent of such qualifications, registrations, determinations and exemptions; (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agent’s counsel, including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Agent in connection with, determining compliance of the sales of Shares with FINRA’s rules and FINRA review, if any, and approval of the Agent’s participation in the offering and distribution of the Shares; (viii) the filing fees incident to FINRA review, if any; (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show, 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 with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives, employees and officers of the Company and of the Agent and any such consultants, and the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show; and (x) the fees and expenses associated with listing the Shares on the Principal Market. The fees and disbursements of Agent’s counsel pursuant to subsections (vi) and (vii) above shall not exceed (A) $50,000 in connection with the execution of this Agreement and the establishment of the program contemplated hereby and (B) $15,000 in connection with each Triggering Event Date (as defined below) on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 4(o).

 

 

Section 4. ADDITIONAL COVENANTS

 

The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent as follows, in addition to any other covenants and agreements made elsewhere in this Agreement:

 

(a) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statements and the Prospectus. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will, during the Agency Period: (i) file on a timely basis with the Commission and the Principal Market all reports and documents required to be filed under the Exchange Act; and (ii) either (A) include in its Quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, a summary detailing, for the relevant reporting period, (1) the number of Shares sold through the Agent pursuant to this Agreement and (2) the net proceeds received by the Company from such sales or (B) prepare a prospectus supplement containing, or include in such other filing permitted by the Securities Act or Exchange Act (each an “Interim Prospectus Supplement”), such summary information and, at least once a quarter and subject to this Section 4, file such Interim Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (and within the time periods required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430B under the Securities Act).

 

(b) Certain Notifications and Required Actions. After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise the Agent in writing of: (i) the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission; (ii) the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to any Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or any free writing prospectus; (iii) of the time and date that any post-effective amendment to any Registration Statement becomes effective; and (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any free writing prospectus or the Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Common Shares from any securities exchange upon which they are listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with all applicable provisions of Rule 424(b), Rule 433 and Rule 430B under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission.

 

 

(c) Amendments and Supplements to the Prospectus and Other Securities Act Matters. If any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus so that the Prospectus does not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) to a purchaser, not misleading, or if in the opinion of the Agent or counsel for the Agent it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, the Company agrees (subject to Section 4 (d) and Section 4 (e) hereof) to promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish at its own expense to the Agent, amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) to a purchaser, not misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law. Neither the Agent’s consent to, nor delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Company’s obligations under Section 4 (d) and Section 4 (e) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to file such amendment or supplement if there is no pending Issuance Notice and the Company believes that it is in its best interest not to file such amendment or supplement; provided, however, that if the Company subsequently chooses to deliver an Issuance Notice to the Agent, the Company agrees to file such amendment or supplement prior to the delivery of such Issuance Notice.

 

(d) Agent’s Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing any Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including any amendment or supplement through incorporation of any report filed under the Exchange Act), the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the time of filing or use of the proposed amendment or supplement, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement. The Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without the Agent’s prior written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably delayed, withheld or conditioned. The Company shall file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.

 

(e) Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company, and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto without the Agent’s prior written consent. The Company shall furnish to the Agent, without charge, as many copies of any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by or referred to by the Company, as the Agent may reasonably request. If at any time when a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares (but in any event if at any time through and including the date of this Agreement) there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statements 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 such time, not misleading, the Company shall promptly amend or supplement such free writing prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict or so that the statements in such free writing prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at such time, not misleading, as the case may be; provided, however, that prior to amending or supplementing any such free writing prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of such proposed amended or supplemented free writing prospectus, and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any such amended or supplemented free writing prospectus without the Agent’s prior written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably delayed, withheld or conditioned.

 

 

(f) Filing of Agent Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall not take any action that would result in the Agent or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Agent that the Agent otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

 

(g) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. After the date of this Agreement through the last time that a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares, the Company shall furnish to the Agent, without charge, in connection with sales of the Shares, copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, and copies of the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto in the form in which it is filed with the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act or Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, both in such quantities as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time. If requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause to be prepared and delivered, at its expense, to the Agent an “electronic Prospectus” to be used by the Agent in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares. As used herein, the term “electronic Prospectus” means a form of Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, that meets each of the following conditions: (i) it shall be encoded in an electronic format, satisfactory to the Agent, that may be transmitted electronically by the Agent to offerees and purchasers of the Shares; (ii) it shall disclose the same information as the paper Prospectus, except to the extent that graphic and image material cannot be disseminated electronically, in which case such graphic and image material shall be replaced in the electronic Prospectus with a fair and accurate narrative description or tabular representation of such material, as appropriate; and (iii) it shall be in or convertible into a paper format or an electronic format, reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, that will allow investors to store and have continuously ready access to the Prospectus at any future time, without charge to investors (other than any fee charged for subscription to the Internet as a whole and for on-line time). The Company hereby confirms that it has included or will include in the Prospectus filed pursuant to EDGAR or otherwise with the Commission and in each Registration Statement at the time each such Registration Statement was declared effective an undertaking that, upon receipt of a request by an investor or his or her representative, the Company shall transmit or cause to be transmitted promptly, without charge, a paper copy of the Prospectus.

 

 

(h) Future Reports to the Agent. During the Agency Period, the Company will furnish to the Agent, at 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Attention: Global Head of Syndicate: (i) as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, copies of the Annual Report of the Company containing the balance sheet of the Company as of the close of such fiscal year and statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the year then ended and the opinion thereon of the Company’s independent public or certified public accountants; (ii) as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, copies of each proxy statement, Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K or other report filed by the Company with the Commission, FINRA or any securities exchange; and (iii) as soon as available, copies of any report or communication of the Company furnished or made available generally to holders of its capital stock; provided, however, that the requirements of this Section 4(h) shall be satisfied to the extent that such reports, statement, communications, financial statements or other documents are available on EDGAR.

 

(i) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company shall cooperate with the Agent and counsel for the Agent to qualify or register the Shares for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) the state securities or blue sky laws or Canadian provincial securities laws (or other foreign laws) of those jurisdictions designated by the Agent, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation. The Company will advise the Agent promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Shares for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.

 

(j) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Agent as soon as practical an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company commencing after the date of this Agreement that will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

(k) Listing; Reservation of Shares. (i) The Company will maintain the listing of the Shares on the Principal Market; and (ii) the Company will reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, Common Shares for the purpose of enabling the Company to satisfy its obligations under this Agreement.

 

(l) Transfer Agent. The Company shall engage and maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Shares.

 

(m) Due Diligence. During the term of this Agreement, the Company will reasonably cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during normal business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time.

 

 

(n) Representations and Warranties. The Company acknowledges that each delivery of an Issuance Notice and each delivery of Shares on a Settlement Date shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation to the Agent that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or made pursuant to this Agreement are true and correct as of the date of such Issuance Notice or of such Settlement Date, as the case may be, as though made at and as of each such date, except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto); and (ii) an undertaking that the Company will advise the Agent if any of such representations and warranties will not be true and correct as of the Settlement Date for the Shares relating to such Issuance Notice, as though made at and as of each such date (except that such representations and warranties shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statements and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented relating to such Shares).

 

(o) Deliverables at Triggering Event Dates; Certificates. The Company agrees that on or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and, during the term of this Agreement after the date of the first Issuance Notice, upon:

 

(i) the filing of the Prospectus or the amendment or supplement of any Registration Statement or Prospectus (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Shares or a prospectus filed pursuant to Section 4(a)(ii)(B)), by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker or supplement, but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statements or Prospectus;

 

(ii) the filing with the Commission of an Annual Report on Form 10-K or a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (including any Form 10-K/A or Form 10-Q/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q), in each case, of the Company; or

 

(iii) the filing with the Commission of a Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company containing amended financial information (other than information “furnished” pursuant to Item 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) that is material to the offering of securities of the Company in the Agent’s reasonable discretion;

 

(any such event, a “Triggering Event Date”), the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iii) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company is material) with a certificate as of the Triggering Event Date, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statements and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented, (A) confirming that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct on the date of such certificate as if made on such date, (B) confirming that the Company has performed all of its obligations hereunder to be performed on or prior to the date of such certificate and as to the matters set forth in Section 5(a)(iii) hereof, and (C) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 4(o) shall be waived for any Triggering Event Date occurring at a time when no Issuance Notice is pending or a suspension is in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers instructions for the sale of Shares hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Triggering Event Date) and the next occurring Triggering Event Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Shares following a Triggering Event Date when a suspension was in effect and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 4(o), then before the Company delivers the instructions for the sale of Shares or the Agent sells any Shares pursuant to such instructions, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate in conformity with this Section 4(o) dated as of the date that the instructions for the sale of Shares are issued.

 

 

(p) Legal Opinions. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4 (o) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, a negative assurances letter and the written legal opinion of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, counsel to the Company, Covington & Burling LLP, counsel to the Agent, and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, intellectual property counsel to the Company, each dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statements and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented. In lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings, in the discretion of the Agent, the Company may furnish a reliance letter from such counsel to the Agent, permitting the Agent to rely on a previously delivered opinion letter, modified as appropriate for any passage of time or Triggering Event Date (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statements and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of such Triggering Event Date).

 

(q) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4 (o) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause EisnerAmper LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm who has audited the financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements, to furnish the Agent a comfort letter, dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel; provided, however, that any such comfort letter will only be required on the Triggering Event Date specified to the extent that it contains financial statements filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act and incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into a Prospectus. If requested by the Agent, the Company shall also cause a comfort letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event requiring the filing of a Current Report on Form 8-K containing material amended financial information of the Company, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The Company shall be required to furnish no more than one comfort letter hereunder per calendar quarter.

 

(r) Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date, the Company shall furnish the Agent a certificate executed by the Secretary of the Company, signing in such capacity, dated the date of delivery (i) certifying that attached thereto are true and complete copies of the resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement), which authorization shall be in full force and effect on and as of the date of such certificate, (ii) certifying and attesting to the office, incumbency, due authority and specimen signatures of each Person who executed this Agreement for or on behalf of the Company, and (iii) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request.

 

 

(s) Agent’s Own Account; Clients’ Account. The Company consents to the Agent trading, in compliance with applicable law, in the Common Shares for the Agent’s own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of the Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(t) Investment Limitation. The Company shall not invest or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Shares in such a manner as would require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

 

(u) No Stabilization or Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M. The Company will not take, and will ensure that no affiliate of the Company will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares or any reference security with respect to the Shares, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or otherwise, and the Company will, and shall cause each of its Affiliates to, comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

(v) Notice of Other Sale. Without the written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares (other than Shares hereunder), warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares, during the period beginning on the third Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Issuance Notice is delivered to the Agent hereunder and ending on the third Trading Day immediately following the Settlement Date with respect to Shares sold pursuant to such Issuance Notice; and will not directly or indirectly enter into any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares (other than the Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Shares prior to the termination of this Agreement; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s (i) issuance of Common Shares or options to purchase Common Shares, or issuance of Common Shares upon the exercise of options, or the grant of other equity awards pursuant to any Company Stock Plan, (ii) issuance of Common Shares upon the exercise of warrants described as outstanding in the Registration Statements and the Prospectus and (iii) issuance of Common Shares in connection with mergers or acquisitions of business, entities, property or other assets, joint ventures or strategic alliances, provided that the aggregate number of Common Shares issued under this subsection (iii) pursuant to any such arrangement shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately prior to giving effect to such issuance.

 

 

Section 5. CONDITIONS TO DELIVERY OF ISSUANCE NOTICES AND TO SETTLEMENT

 

(a) Conditions Precedent to the Right of the Company to Deliver an Issuance Notice and the Obligation of the Agent to Sell Shares. The right of the Company to deliver an Issuance Notice hereunder is subject to the satisfaction, on the date of delivery of such Issuance Notice, and the obligation of the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice is subject to the satisfaction, on each Trading Day during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance, of each of the following conditions:

 

	(i)	Accuracy of the Company’s Representations and Warranties; Performance by the Company. The Company shall have delivered the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(o) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 4(o). The Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to such date, including, but not limited to, the covenants contained in Section 4(p), Section 4(q) and Section 4(r).
	(ii)	No Injunction. No statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated or endorsed by any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby that prohibits or directly and materially adversely affects any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and no proceeding shall have been commenced that may have the effect of prohibiting or materially adversely affecting any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
	(iii)	Material Adverse Changes. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, (A) in the judgment of the Agent there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Effect; and (B) there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined for purposes of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.

 

 

(iv)

No Suspension of Trading in or Delisting of Common Shares; Other Events. The trading of the Common Shares (including without limitation the Shares) shall not have been suspended by the Commission, the Principal Market or FINRA and the Common Shares (including without limitation the Shares) shall have been approved for listing or quotation on and shall not have been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market, the New York Stock Exchange or any of their constituent markets. There shall not have occurred (and be continuing in the case of occurrences under clauses (A) and (B) below) any of the following: (A) trading or quotation in any of the Company’s securities shall have been suspended or limited by the Commission or by the Principal Market or trading in securities generally on either the Principal Market shall have been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges by the Commission or the FINRA; (B) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of federal or New York, authorities; or (C) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States’ or international political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the Agent is material and adverse and makes it impracticable to market the Shares in the manner and on the terms described in the Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities.

 

(b) Documents Required to be Delivered on each Issuance Notice Date. The Agent’s obligation to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares hereunder shall additionally be conditioned upon the delivery to the Agent on or before the Issuance Notice Date of a certificate in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, executed by the Chief Executive Officer, President or Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to the effect that all conditions to the delivery of such Issuance Notice shall have been satisfied as at the date of such certificate (which certificate shall not be required if the foregoing representations shall be set forth in the Issuance Notice).

 

(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statements, the Prospectus or the Time of Sale Information, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

 

Section 6. INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION

 

(a) Indemnification of the Agent. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, 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; (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any free writing prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act 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; or (iii) any act or failure to act or any alleged act or failure to act by the Agent in connection with, or relating in any manner to, the Common Shares or the offering contemplated hereby, and which is included as part of or referred to in any loss, claim, damage, liability or action arising out of or based upon any matter covered by clause (i) or (ii) above, provided that the Company shall not be liable under this clause (iii) to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction shall have determined by a final judgment that such loss, claim, damage, liability or action resulted directly from any such acts or failures to act undertaken or omitted to be taken by the Agent through its bad faith or willful misconduct, and to reimburse the Agent and each such officer, employee and controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Agent) as such expenses are reasonably incurred by the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statements, any such free writing prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the first sentence in the ninth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 6(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.

 

(b) Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 6 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 6, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 6 or to the extent it is not prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect, jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 6 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Agent (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Section 6(a) above), (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are incurred.

 

 

(c) Settlements. The indemnifying party under this Section 6 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 6(b) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request; and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding.

 

(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section 6 is for any reason held to be unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, from the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement; or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total gross proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total commissions received by the Agent. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, 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, on the one hand, or the Agent, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

 

The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 6(b), any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in Section 6(b) with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this Section 6(d); provided, however, that no additional notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been given under Section 6(b) for purposes of indemnification.

 

The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6(d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 6(d).

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6(d), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the agent fees received by the Agent in connection with the offering contemplated hereby. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 6(d), each officer and employee of the Agent and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Agent, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company with the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.

 

Section 7. TERMINATION & SURVIVAL

 

(a) Term. Subject to the provisions of this Section 7, the term of this Agreement shall continue from the date of this Agreement until the end of the Agency Period, unless earlier terminated by the parties to this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.

 

(b) Termination; Survival Following Termination.

 

(i)

Either party may terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the Agency Period, by giving written notice as required by this Agreement, upon five (5) Trading Days’ notice to the other party; provided that, (A) if the Company terminates this Agreement after the Agent confirms to the Company any sale of Shares, the Company shall remain obligated to comply with Section 3(b)(v) with respect to such Shares and (B) Section 2, Section 6, Section 7 and Section 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement. If termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Shares, such sale shall nevertheless settle in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

 

(ii)

In addition to the survival provision of Section 7(b)(i), the respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, of its officers and of the Agent set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent or the Company or any of its or their partners, officers or directors or any controlling person, as the case may be, and, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, will survive delivery of and payment for the Shares sold hereunder and any termination of this Agreement.

 

Section 8. MISCELLANEOUS

 

(a) Press Releases and Disclosure. The Company may issue a press release describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby as soon as practicable following the date of this Agreement, and may file with the Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K, with this Agreement attached as an exhibit thereto, describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Company shall consult with the Agent prior to making such disclosures, and the parties hereto shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosures that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto. No party hereto shall issue thereafter any press release or like public statement (including, without limitation, any disclosure required in reports filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act) related to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby without the prior written approval of the other party hereto, except as may be necessary or appropriate in the reasonable opinion of the party seeking to make disclosure to comply with the requirements of applicable law or stock exchange rules. If any such press release or like public statement is so required, the party making such disclosure shall consult with the other party prior to making such disclosure, and the parties shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosure that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto.

 

(b) No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the determination of any fees, are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Company and the Agent, (ii) when acting as a principal under this Agreement, the Agent is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (iii) the Agent has not assumed nor will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and the Agent does not have any obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Agent and its respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (v) the Agent has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

 

 

(c) Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Agent’s research analysts and research departments are required to and should be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and as such the Agent’s research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company understands that the Agent is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(d) Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:

 

If to the Agent:

 

Jefferies LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Facsimile: (646) 786-5719
Attention: General Counsel

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Covington & Burling LLP

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, New York 10018

Attention: Donald Murray

 

If to the Company:

 

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc.
500 River Ridge Drive
Norwood, MA 02062

Email: ***@***

Attention: Sean Moran

Chief Financial Officer

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Lowenstein Sandler LLP
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020
Facsimile: (973) 507-2476
Attention: Steven M. Skolnick

 

 

Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others in accordance with this Section 8(d).

 

(e) Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 6, and in each case their respective successors, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term “successors” shall not include any purchaser of the Shares as such from the Agent merely by reason of such purchase.

 

(f) Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Article, Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

 

(g) Governing Law Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

 

(h) 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, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument, and may be delivered by facsimile transmission or by electronic delivery of a portable document format (PDF) file. 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 are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

 

[Signature Page Immediately Follows]

 

 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms

 

	Very truly yours,
	CORBUS PHARMACEUTICALS HOLDINGS, INC.
	By:	/s/ Yuval Cohen, PhD
	Name:	Yuval Cohen, PhD.
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer

 

The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Agent in New York, New York as of the date first above written.

 

JEFFERIES LLC
By:	/s/ Dustin Tyner
Name:	Dustin Tyner
Title:	Managing Director

 

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

ISSUANCE NOTICE

 

[Date]

 

Jefferies LLC

520 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10022

 

Attn: [__________]

 

Reference is made to the Open Market Sale Agreement between Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) and Jefferies LLC (the “Agent”) dated as of August 6, 2020. The Company confirms that all conditions to the delivery of this Issuance Notice are satisfied as of the date hereof.

 

Date of Delivery of Issuance Notice (determined pursuant to Section 3(b)(i)): _______________________

 

Issuance Amount (equal to the total Sales Price for such Shares):
		$
Number of days in selling period:
First date of selling period:
Last date of selling period:
Settlement Date(s) if other than standard T+2 settlement:

 

Floor Price Limitation (in no event less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which consent may be withheld in the Agent’s sole discretion): $ ____ per share

 

Comments: _____________________________________________________________________________________

 

	By:
	Name:
	Title:

 

 

Schedule A

 

Notice Parties

 

The Company

 

Sean Moran

 

The Agent

 

Dustin Tyner

 

Mike Magarro

 

Don Lynaugh