Form of Underwriting Agreement

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Underwriting Agreements
EX-1.1 2 a2241968zex-1_1.htm EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

 

Execution Version

 

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.

 

Common Stock, Par Value $0.0001 Per Share

 


 

Underwriting Agreement

 

[ · ], 2020

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street,

New York, New York 10282

 

BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

 

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10179

 

Barclays Capital Inc.

745 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

 

As representatives (the “Representatives”) of the several Underwriters

named in Schedule I hereto

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of [ · ] shares (the “Firm Shares”) and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to [ · ] additional shares (the “Optional Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Stock”), of the Company (the Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof being collectively called the “Shares”).

 

The Company and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, (an affiliate of BofA Securities, Inc., a participating Underwriter, hereafter referred to as “Merrill Lynch”) agree that up to 5% of the Firm Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Reserved Securities”) shall be reserved for sale by the Merrill Lynch to certain persons designated by the Company (the “Invitees”), as part of the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters, subject to the terms of this Agreement, the applicable rules, regulations and interpretations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations.  The Company has solely determined, without any direct or indirect participation by the Underwriters or Merrill Lynch, the Invitees who will

 


 

purchase Reserved Securities (including the amount to be purchased by such persons) sold by Merrill Lynch.  To the extent that such Reserved Securities are not orally confirmed for purchase by Invitees by 11:59 PM. (New York City time) on the first business day after the date of this Agreement, such Reserved Securities may be offered to the public as part of the public offering contemplated hereby.

 

1.  The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

 

(a)                     A registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-239050) (the “Initial Registration Statement”) in respect of the Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered to you, have been declared effective by the Commission in such form; other than a registration statement, if any, increasing the size of the offering (a “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement”), filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), which became effective upon filing, no other document with respect to the Initial Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus included in the Initial Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of the Initial Registration Statement and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, including all exhibits thereto and including the information contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof and deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Act to be part of the Initial Registration Statement at the time it was declared effective, each as amended at the time such part of the Initial Registration Statement became effective or such part of the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, became or hereafter becomes effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Shares that was included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof) is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; such final prospectus, in the form first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; and any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Rule 163B under the Act is hereinafter called a “Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act is hereinafter called a “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);

 

(b)                     (A) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of

 

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the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information (as defined in Section 9(b) of this Agreement);

 

(c)                      For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is [ · ] [a./p.]m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement.  The Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule II(c) hereto, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”), as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of each Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a) of this Agreement) will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of each Time of Delivery will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;

 

(d)                     [Reserved]

 

(e)                      (i) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will, when they become effective, and as of each Time of Delivery, conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, and as of each Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and (ii) the Pricing Prospectus conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Prospectus will, when they are filed with the Commission, and as of each Time of Delivery, conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and as of each Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the representation and warranty in (i) and (ii) shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;

 

(f)                       Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) sustained any loss or interference with its business that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree or (ii) entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of

 

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business) that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise, if any, of stock options or the award, if any, of stock options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance, if any, of stock upon conversion of Company securities as described in the Pricing Prospectus or (iii) and other than as described in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus) or any material change in long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (y) any Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); as used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” shall mean any material adverse change or effect, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change or effect, in or affecting (i) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (ii) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including the issuance and sale of the Shares, or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(g)                      Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple (in the case of real property) to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus or such as would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(h)                     Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries has been (i) duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing (to the extent such concept is applicable) under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing (to the extent such concept is applicable) under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission) has been listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Registration Statement;

 

(i)                         The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus under the heading “Capitalization” in the “Actual” column, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the

 

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Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, except for such liens or encumbrances described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(j)                        The Shares to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable and will conform to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights;

 

(k)                     The issue and sale of the Shares and the compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and the Pricing Prospectus will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, (A) 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 or by which the Company or any of its significant subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its significant subsidiaries is subject, (B) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (C) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its significant subsidiaries or any of their properties, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (C) above, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the approval by FINRA of the underwriting terms and arrangements and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required by the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) or under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters, and such as have been obtained under the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside the United States in which the Reserved Securities were offered;

 

(l)                         Neither the Company nor any of its significant subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) in violation of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its significant subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii), for such defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(m)                 The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock,” insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, and under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders” insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;

 

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(n)                     Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or such officer or director), would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others;

 

(o)                     The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

 

(p)                     At the time of filing the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Shares, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined under Rule 405 under the Act;

 

(q)                     KPMG LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, are each 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 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;

 

(r)                        The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that (i) has been designed to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, (ii) has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, 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 and (iii) is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;

 

(s)                       Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;

 

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(t)                        The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective;

 

(u)                     This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;

 

(v)                     None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense (or taken any act in furtherance thereof); (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any direct or indirect unlawful payment; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law;

 

(w)                   The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with the requirements of applicable anti-money laundering laws, including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, as amended by the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the anti-money laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened;

 

(x)                     None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or controlled affiliate 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 (“OFAC”), or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, 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, Syria and the Crimea region of Ukraine), 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, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of Sanctions or (ii) 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;

 

(y)                     The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries at the dates indicated and

 

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the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved.  The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein.  The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein.  Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.  All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Act, to the extent applicable;

 

(z)                      The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate rights to all material patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property which could render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, could be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(aa)              (i) To the knowledge of the Company, there has been no material security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure, or other compromise of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data and databases (including the data and information of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third-party data maintained, processed or stored by the Company and its subsidiaries, and any such data processed or stored by third parties on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”); (ii) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have been notified of, and each of them have no knowledge of any event or condition that could result in, any security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure or other compromise to their IT Systems and Data; and (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented appropriate controls, policies, procedures, and technological safeguards to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of their IT Systems and Data reasonably consistent with industry standards and practices, or as required by applicable regulatory standards.  The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in 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 Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except in each case as would

 

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not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(bb)              Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate in all material respects and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources;

 

(cc)                The Company and its subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company believes are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses.  The Company has no reason to believe that it or any of its subsidiaries will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions at a reasonable cost that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(dd)              Other than any taxes the payment of which by the Company or its applicable subsidiary is subject of a good faith dispute by the Company or its applicable subsidiary and with respect to which reserves in conformity with GAAP have been provided on the books of the Company or its applicable subsidiary, the Company and its subsidiaries have paid all material federal, state, local and foreign taxes and filed all material tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof; and except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency that has been, or could reasonably be expected to be asserted against, the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(ee)            No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal vendors, customers or contractors, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(ff)                  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 provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans, to the extent compliance is required as of the date of the Agreement; and

 

(gg)                [Reserved];

 

(hh)              [Reserved];

 

(ii)                      In connection with any offer and sale of Reserved Securities outside the United States, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the same is distributed.  The Company has not offered, or caused Merrill Lynch to offer, Reserved Securities to any person with the specific intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company or any of its affiliates to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with any such

 

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entity or (ii) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any of its affiliates, or their respective businesses or products.

 

2.                          Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price per share of $[ · ], the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2 (provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares), that portion of the number of Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

 

The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to [ · ] Optional Shares, at the purchase price per share set forth in the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of covering sales of shares in excess of the number of Firm Shares, provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares.  Any such election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice from you to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement, setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by you but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless you and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.

 

3.                          Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

4.                          (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in definitive or book-entry form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Representatives, through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives at least forty-eight hours in advance.  The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on [ · ], 2020 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the

 

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Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by the Representatives in the written notice given by the Representatives of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Shares, or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing.  Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery,” such time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery,” and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.

 

(b)                     The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(j) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, 885 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022 (the “Closing Location”), and the Shares will be delivered through DTC, all at such Time of Delivery.  A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at [ · ] p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto.  For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

 

5.                          The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:

 

(a)                     To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

 

(b)                                             Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith

 

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the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation (where not otherwise required) or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction (where not otherwise required);

 

(c)                                              Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, to notify you and upon your request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;

 

(d)                                             To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158); provided that the Company will be deemed to have furnished such statement to its securityholders to the extent it is filed on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system;

 

(e)(1)                               During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with or confidentially submit to the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Stock or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled

 

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by delivery of Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, without Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc.’s prior written consent, other than (A) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (B) the shares of Stock to be issued in connection with the private placement transaction as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, (C) any shares of Stock issued by the Company upon the conversion, exchange or exercise of securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Stock, which securities are outstanding on the date hereof, (D) the grant of equity incentives pursuant to plans in effect as of the Closing Date, (E) the filing of any registration statement on Form S-8 (or amendment thereto) and (F) the issuance of shares of Stock as consideration in acquisitions up to a maximum of 10% of the outstanding Stock as of the Closing Date, provided, that any such recipient that receives securities of the Company pursuant to this paragraph (e)(1) shall execute and deliver to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc., on or prior to receipt of such Company securities, a lock-up agreement substantially to the effect set forth in Schedule III.

 

(e)(2)                           If Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc., in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up letter described in Section 8(i) hereof for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Annex II hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver;

 

(g)                                              During a period of three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, to furnish to you copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to you as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of securities of the Company is listed (such financial statements to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries are consolidated in reports furnished to its stockholders generally or to the Commission), unless otherwise publicly available;

 

(h)                                             To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”;

 

(i)                                                 To use its best efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, the Shares on the Exchange;

 

(j)                                                To file with the Commission such information on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K as may be required by Rule 463 under the Act;

 

(k)                                             If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b), the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 3a(c) of the Commission’s Informal and Other Procedures (17 CFR 202.3a); and

 

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(l)                                                 Upon request of any Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to such Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by such Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Shares (the “License”); provided, however, that the License shall be used solely for the purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be assigned or transferred.

 

6.                                                  (a)         The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission; any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives is listed on Schedule II(a) or Schedule II(c) hereto;

 

(b)                                             The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and the Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions under Rule 433 under the Act to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show;

 

(c)                                              The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission;

 

(d)                                             The Company represents and agrees that (i) it has not engaged in, or authorized any other person to engage in, any Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the prior consent of the Representatives with entities that the Company reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Act; and (ii) it has not distributed, or authorized any other person to distribute, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, other than those distributed with the prior consent of the Representatives that are listed on Schedule II(d) hereto; and the Company reconfirms that the Underwriters have been authorized to act on its behalf in engaging in Testing-the-Waters Communications;

 

(e)                                              Each Underwriter represents and agrees that any Testing-the-Waters Communications undertaken by it were with entities that such Underwriter reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Act; and

 

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(f)                                               The Company hereby agrees that it will ensure that the Reserved Securities will be restricted as required by FINRA or the FINRA rules from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation for a period of three months following the date of this Agreement.  Merrill Lynch will notify the Company as to which persons will need to be so restricted.  Should the Company release, or seek to release, from such restrictions any of the Reserved Securities, the Company agrees to reimburse Merrill Lynch for any reasonable expenses (including, without limitation, legal expenses) they incur in connection with such release.

 

7.              The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(b) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey up to an aggregate of $5,000; (iii) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on the Exchange; (iv) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Shares (provided that the reimbursement obligation of such fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters shall not, in the aggregate, exceed $30,000); (v) the cost of preparing stock certificates; (vi) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar; (vii) all costs and expenses of Merrill Lynch, including fees and reimbursements of counsel for Merrill Lynch, in connection with matters related to the Reserved Securities which are designated by the Company for sale  to Invitees; (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section; and (ix) all expenses incurred by the Company in connection with any “roadshow” presentation to potential investors.  It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.

 

8.              The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and such Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

 

(a)                                             The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by

 

15


 

Rule 433; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Pricing Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;

 

(b)                                             Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you such written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;

 

(c)                                              Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect set forth in Annex III;

 

(d)                                             On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, each of KPMG LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you, to the effect set forth in Annex I hereto (the executed copy of the letter delivered prior to the execution of this Agreement is attached as Annex I(a) hereto and a draft of the form of letter to be delivered on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement and as of each Time of Delivery is attached as Annex I(b) hereto);

 

(e)                                              (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus, there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise, if any, of stock options or the award , if any, of stock options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance, if any, of stock upon conversion of Company securities as described in the Pricing Prospectus or (iii) and other than as described in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus) or any material change in long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change or effect, or any development involving a prospective change or effect, in or affecting (x) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, or (y) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including the issuance and sale of the Shares, or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause

 

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(i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(f)                                               On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s debt securities;

 

(g)                                              On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on the Exchange; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

 

(h)                                             The Shares to be sold at such Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the Exchange;

 

(i)                                                       The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each person or entity listed on Schedule III, substantially to the effect set forth in Section 5(e) hereof in form and substance satisfactory to you;

 

(j)                                                The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and

 

(k)                                             The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request.

 

9.                          (a)  The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or

 

17


 

supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “roadshow” as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Act (a “roadshow”), or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.

 

(b)                     In connection with the offer and sale of the Reserved Securities, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Merrill Lynch, its Affiliates and selling agents and each person, if any, who controls Merrill Lynch within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending, investigating or settling any such action or claim), as incurred, (i) arising out of the violation of any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Reserved Securities have been offered, (ii) arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any material prepared by or with the consent of the Company for distribution to Invitees in connection with the offering of the Reserved Securities or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (iii) caused by the failure of any Invitee to pay for and accept delivery of Reserved Securities which have been orally confirmed for purchase by any Invitee by 11:59 P.M. (New York City time) on the date of the Agreement or (iv) related to, or arising out of or in connection with, the offering of the Reserved Securities.

 

(c)                      Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such

 

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expenses are incurred. As used in this Agreement with respect to an Underwriter and an applicable document, “Underwriter Information” shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the third and fourth paragraph under the caption “Underwriting,” and the information contained in the first through third paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting—Price Stabilization and Short Positions.”

 

(d)                     Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (c) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; provided that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9 except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9.  In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation.  No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(e)                      If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) or in connection with any violation of the nature referred to in Section 9(b) hereof, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares.  If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not

 

19


 

permitted by applicable law, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus.  The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission or any violation of the nature referred to in Section 9(b) hereof.  The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e).  The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.  No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

 

(f)                       The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each employee, officer and director of each Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer or other affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.

 

10.                   (a)  If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares which it has agreed to purchase hereunder at a Time of Delivery, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein.  If within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further

 

20


 

period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Shares on such terms.  In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone such Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.

 

(b)                     If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such Time of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

 

(c)                      If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement (or, with respect to the Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Optional Shares) shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

 

11.                   The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

 

12.                   If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason, any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein or the Underwriters decline to purchase the

 

21


 

Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out-of-pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.

 

13.                   In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by you jointly or by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or BofA Securities, Inc. on behalf of you as the representatives.

 

All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives in care of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Registration Department; and BofA Securities Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, attention of Syndicate Department (facsimile: (646) 855-3073), with a copy to ECM Legal (facsimile: (212) 230-8730); and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Chief Legal Officer; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters’ Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company by you upon request; provided, however, that notices under subsection 5(e) shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives at Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Control Room or BofA Securities, Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036, Facsimile: (646) 855-3073, Attention: Syndicate Department with a copy to: Facsimile:  (212) 230-8730  Attention:  ECM Legal. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

 

In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.

 

14.                   This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

 

15.                   Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.  As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

 

22


 

16.                   The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.  The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

 

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

 

18.                   This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would results in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York. The Company agrees that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Company agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.

 

19.                   The Company and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

20.                   This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

 

21.                   Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company is authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriters imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.

 

22.                   Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.

 

(a) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of

 

23


 

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.

 

(b) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter 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.

 

“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).

 

“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).

 

“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.

 

“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.

 

24


 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us six counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and the Company.  It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in a form of Agreement among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company for examination upon request, but without warranty on your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 


 

Accepted as of the date hereof:

 

 

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

BofA Securities, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

Barclays Capital Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

By:

 

 

 

Name:

 

 

Title:

 

 

 

 

 

On behalf of each of the Underwriters

 

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 


 

SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriter

 

Total
Number of
Firm Shares
to be
Purchased

 

Number of
Optional
Shares to
be
Purchased
if
Maximum
Option
Exercised

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

 

 

 

 

 

BofA Securities, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

 

 

 

 

 

Barclays Capital Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

 

 

 

 

 

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Jefferies LLC

 

 

 

 

 

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

 

 

 

 

 

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

 

 

 

 

 

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

BMO Capital Markets Corp.

 

 

 

 

 

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

TD Securities (USA) LLC

 

 

 

 

 

William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

 

 

 

 

 

Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Stephens Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Academy Securities, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Loop Capital Markets LLC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

SCHEDULE II

 

(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package:

 

Electronic roadshow dated [ · ].

 

(b) Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference:

 

[None]

 

(c) Information other than the Pricing Prospectus that comprise the Pricing Disclosure Package:

 

The initial public offering price per share for the Shares is $[ · ].

The number of Shares purchased by the Underwriters is [ · ].

 

(d)                                                         Written Testing-the-Waters Communications:

 


 

SCHEDULE III

 

[Form of Lock-Up Agreement]

 

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.

 

Lock-Up Agreement

 

June    , 2020

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

BofA Securities, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Barclays Capital Inc.

 

c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street

New York, New York 10282

 

c/o BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

 

c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10179

 

c/o Barclays Capital Inc.

745 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

 

Re:  Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. - Lock-Up Agreement

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned understands that Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“Goldman Sachs”), BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofA”), J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Barclays Capital Inc., as representatives (the “Representatives”), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement on behalf of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to such agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”), with Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), providing for a public offering (the “Public Offering”) of common Stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 (the “Common Stock”), pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

 

In consideration of the agreement by the Underwriters to offer and sell the shares of Common Stock in the Public Offering (the “Shares”), and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned

 


 

agrees that during the period beginning from the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date set forth on the final prospectus used to sell the Shares (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned shall not, and shall not cause or direct any of its affiliates to, (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, lend or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock of the Company (such options, warrants or other securities, collectively, “Derivative Instruments”), including without limitation any such shares or Derivative Instruments now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned (including holding as a custodian) or with respect to which the undersigned has beneficial ownership within the rules and regulations of the SEC, (ii) engage in any hedging or other transaction or arrangement (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale, loan, pledge or other disposition (whether by the undersigned or someone other than the undersigned), or transfer of any of the economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any shares of Common Stock of the Company or Derivative Instruments, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise or (iii) otherwise publicly announce any intention to engage in or cause any action or activity described in clause (i) above or transaction or arrangement described in clause (ii) above. The undersigned represents and warrants that the undersigned is not, and has not caused or directed any of its affiliates to be or become, currently a party to any agreement or arrangement that provides for, is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in any transfer during the Lock-Up Period not permitted by this Lock-Up Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the undersigned agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed or other Shares the undersigned may purchase in the offering.

 

If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) Goldman Sachs and BofA agree that, at least three (3) business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Common Stock, Goldman Sachs and BofA will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (ii) the Company has agreed or will agree in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Goldman Sachs and BofA hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments:

 


 

(i) upon a redemption of units in Star Parent, L.P. (the “Partnership”) in exchange for Common Stock pursuant to the Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of the Partnership, provided that any Common Stock exchanged therefor is subject to the lock-up restrictions set forth herein;

 

(ii) acquired in the Public Offering or in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering, provided that no filing by any party under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) is required to be made or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period as a result of such transfer;

 

(iii) as a bona fide gift or gifts that does not involve a disposition for value (other than with respect to any such gift for which the donor receives (a) equity interest of such donee or (b) such donee’s interests in the donor), provided that (x) the donee or donees thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein and (y) no filing by any party to such transfer under the Exchange Act shall be required or voluntarily made as a result of such bona fide gift (other than a Form 5 or Schedule 13G required by applicable law or regulation);

 

(iv) to any member or members of the undersigned’s immediate family or to any trust or limited family partnership for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, provided that (a) the transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, (b) the transfer does not involve a disposition for value (other than with respect to any such transfer for which the transferor receives (1) equity interest of such transferee or (2) such transferee’s interests in the transferor), (c) no filing by any party to such transfer under the Exchange Act (other than a Form 5 or Schedule 13G required by applicable law or regulation) or other public announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership shall be required or voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period as a result of such transfer, and (d) if any public reports or filings (including filings under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act) not prohibited by clause (c) of this paragraph are required to be made during the Lock-Up Period (1) the undersigned shall provide Goldman Sachs and BofA prior written notice informing them of such report or filing and (2) such report or filing shall disclose the nature of the transfer and that such transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein;

 

(v) as a distribution or transfer to general partners, limited partners, members, stockholders or affiliates (as defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of the undersigned or any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, investment fund or other entity which controls or manages or is controlled or managed by the undersigned or to entities under common control or management with the undersigned and/or immediate family member of the undersigned, provided that (a) each transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, (b) no filing by any party under the Exchange Act (other than a Form 5 or Schedule 13G required by applicable law or regulation) or other public announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership shall be required or voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period as a result of such transfer, and (c) if any public reports or filings (including filings under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act) not prohibited by clause (c) of this paragraph is required to be made during the

 


 

Lock-Up Period (1) the undersigned shall provide Goldman Sachs and BofA prior written notice informing them of such report or filing and (2) such report or filing shall disclose the nature of the transfer and that such transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein;

 

(vi) by will, other testamentary document or intestate succession, provided that (a) each transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein and (b) any filing under the Exchange Act, or any announcement by the Company or the undersigned relating to such transfer, shall disclose the nature of the transfer and that such transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein;

 

(vii) if such transfer occurs pursuant to statutes governing the effects of a qualified domestic order or divorce settlement, provided that any filing under the Exchange Act, or any announcement by the Company or the undersigned relating to such transfer, shall briefly note the applicable circumstances that cause this clause to apply and explain that the filing or announcement relates solely to transfers or distributions falling within this clause;

 

(viii) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (iii) through (vii) above, provided that (a) the transferee agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein and (b) the undersigned complies with the applicable requirements of clauses (iii) through (vii) above with respect to public reports or filings under the Exchange Act;

 

(ix) as a result of the operation of law or pursuant to an order of a court or regulatory agency or to comply with any regulations related to the undersigned’s ownership of the shares of Common Stock of the Company or Derivative instruments;

 

(x) to the Company or an affiliated entity pursuant to any contractual arrangement that provides for the forfeiture of the undersigned’s securities in connection with the termination of the undersigned’s employment or other service relationship with the Company or an affiliated entity or the undersigned’s failure to meet certain conditions set out upon receipt of such securities;

 

(xi) to the Company or an affiliated entity as the result of a conversion, exercise or exchange of any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to any employee benefit plans described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case, at the time of effectiveness, as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), provided that (a) any shares of Common Stock received upon such conversion, exercise or exchange shall be subject to the restrictions set forth herein and (b) if required, any public report or filing under the Exchange Act, to the extent permitted under such rules and regulations, shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that such report or filing relates to the conversion, exercise or exchange of any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to an employee benefit plan;

 

(xii) to the Company or an affiliated entity as a forfeiture to satisfy tax withholding requirements pursuant to any employee benefit plans described in the Registration

 


 

Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case, at the time of effectiveness, as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), provided that, if required, any public report or filing under the Exchange Act, to the extent permitted under such rules and regulations, shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that such report or filing relates to a forfeiture to satisfy tax withholding requirements pursuant to existing employee benefit plans;

 

(xiii) pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer for all or substantially all of the outstanding shares of the Common Stock, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction involving a change of control (as defined below) of the Company; provided, that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the undersigned’s securities shall remain subject to the restrictions set forth herein;

 

[(xiv) pursuant to any pledge, hypothecation or other granting of a security interest in shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments to one or more lending institutions as collateral or security for or in connection with any margin loan or other loans, advances or extensions of credit entered by the undersigned or any of its affiliates or any refinancing thereof and any subsequent transfers of such shares of such securities pursuant to any foreclosures in connection therewith; provided that the amount of the undersigned’s Common Stock and Derivative Instruments subject to any pledges, hypothecations or other grants of security interests pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited, in the aggregate, to 25% of the undersigned’s Common Stock and Derivative Instruments measured as of completion of the Public Offering (1)];

 

(xv) pursuant to a transfer of shares of Common Stock and/or Derivative Instruments to charitable organization transferees or recipients (including any direct or indirect member or partner of the undersigned that receives such shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments pursuant to a distribution in-kind to such member or partner and is subject to restrictions requiring such shares of Common Stock and/or Derivative Instruments to be transferred only to charitable organizations pursuant to clause (iii) above) in an aggregate amount, together with any such transfers pursuant to any substantially similar lock-up agreement with the Representatives, not to exceed 1.00% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock immediately following the Public Offering, provided, that no public reports or filings shall be required or voluntarily made regarding such transfer (other than a Form 5 required by applicable law or regulation, which shall disclose the nature of the transfer and that such transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein) during the Lock-Up Period; or

 

(xvi) with the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs and BofA on behalf of the Underwriters.

 

For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin. For the purposes of clause (xiii) above, “change of control” shall mean the consummation of any

 


(1)  To be included in lock-up agreements of entities.

 


 

bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, purchase, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of the Company (or of the surviving entity).

 

In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, this Lock-Up Agreement shall not restrict the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock; provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of shares of Common Stock during the Lock-up Period and (ii) none of the Company, the undersigned or any other party shall effect any public filing, report or other public announcement regarding the establishment of the trading plan.

 

[In the event that, during the Lock-Up Period, Goldman Sachs and BofA release or waive, in full or in part, any prohibition set forth in this Lock-Up Agreement in respect of securities held by any Significant Holder (as defined below) (a “Triggering Release”), the same percentage of securities of the undersigned subject to this Agreement as the percentage of securities being released in the Triggering Release represents with respect to the securities held directly or indirectly by such Significant Holder (calculated as a percentage of the total outstanding securities subject to this Agreement held directly or indirectly by such Significant Holder) at the time of the request of the Triggering Release shall be automatically and concurrently released from this Lock-Up Agreement to the same extent. For the purposes of the foregoing, a “Significant Holder” shall mean any person or entity that beneficially owns 1% or more of the total outstanding shares of Common Stock at the time of such Triggering Release. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply (1) if the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not involving a disposition for value and the transferee agrees in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this Lock-Up Agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of transfer, (2) if the release or waiver is effected in connection with an underwritten public offering that is wholly or partially a secondary offering of Common Stock (an “Underwritten Sale”) conducted in compliance with the registration rights agreement, to be entered into in connection with the Public Offering, among the Company and the other parties thereto, such early release shall only apply with respect to the undersigned’s participation in such Underwritten Sale or (3) if the release or waiver is granted to a Significant Holder in an amount, individually or in the aggregate with any prior releases or waivers, of no more than 1% of the total outstanding shares of Common Stock at the time of such release or waiver. Goldman Sachs and BofA shall notify the undersigned within two business days of the occurrence of a Triggering Release.(2)]

 

The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock of the Company except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

 

If (1) the Registration Statement related to the Public Offering is withdrawn, (2) if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold

 


(2)  To be included in lock-up agreements of entities and their affiliates.

 


 

thereunder, (3) Goldman Sachs and BofA on behalf of the Underwriters advise the Company, or the Company advises Goldman Sachs and BofA, in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that they have determined not to proceed with the Public Offering, or (4) the Public Offering has not been consummated on or before September 30, 2020, then the undersigned shall be released from all obligations hereunder.

 

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns. This agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com or www.echosign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

 

This Lock-Up Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Lock-Up Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

 


 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exact Name of Stockholder/Director/Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authorized Signature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title

 


 

ANNEX I

 

[Reserved]

 


 

ANNEX II

 

[Form of Press Release]

 

[Company]
[Date]

 

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc., the lead book-running managers in the Company’s recent public sale of       shares of common stock, are [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to     shares of the Company’s common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company.   The [waiver] [release] will take effect on      ,          20    , and the shares may be sold on or after such date.

 

This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 


 

ANNEX III

 

Form of Opinion of Counsel for the Company