Business Combination Agreement, dated as of February 16, 2021, by and among East Stone Acquisition Corporation, Navy Sail International Limited, JHD Technologies Limited, Yellow River MergerCo Limited, JHD Holdings (Cayman) Limited, Yellow River (Cayman) Limited and Double Ventures Holdings Limited
Exhibit 2.1
Execution Version
BUSINESS COMBINATION AGREEMENT
by and among
EAST STONE ACQUISITION CORPORATION,
as Purchaser,
Navy Sail International Limited,
as Purchaser Representative,
JHD TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED,
as Pubco,
YELLOW RIVER MERGERCO LIMITED,
as Merger Sub,
JHD HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED,
as the Company,
Yellow River (Cayman) Limited,
as Primary Seller and Seller Representative,
DOUBLE VENTURES HOLDINGS LIMITED,
as Sponsor
and
THE OTHER SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY WHO BECOME PARTIES HERETO,
as Sellers
Dated as of February 16, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article I MERGER | 3 | |
1.1 | Merger. | 3 |
1.2 | Effective Time. | 3 |
1.3 | Effect of the Merger. | 3 |
1.4 | Organizational Documents of Surviving Company. | 3 |
1.5 | Directors and Officers of the Surviving Corporation. | 3 |
1.6 | Effect of Merger on Issued Securities of the Purchaser. | 3 |
1.7 | Effect of Merger on Merger Sub and Pubco Capital Shares. | 5 |
1.8 | Surrender of Purchaser Certificates. | 5 |
1.9 | Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Purchaser Certificates. | 5 |
1.10 | Tax Consequences. | 5 |
1.11 | Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action. | 5 |
Article II SHARE EXCHANGE | 6 | |
2.1 | Exchange of Company Securities. | 6 |
2.2 | Exchange Consideration. | 6 |
2.3 | Escrow. | 6 |
2.4 | Estimated Closing Statement. | 7 |
2.5 | Exchange Consideration Adjustment | 7 |
2.6 | Earnout | 9 |
2.7 | Surrender of Company Securities and Disbursement of Exchange Shares | 10 |
2.8 | Seller Consent. | 11 |
2.9 | Termination of Certain Agreements. | 11 |
Article III CLOSING | 12 | |
3.1 | Closing. | 12 |
Article IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF the PURCHASER | 12 | |
4.1 | Organization and Standing. | 12 |
4.2 | Authorization; Binding Agreement. | 13 |
4.3 | Governmental Approvals. | 13 |
4.4 | Non-Contravention. | 13 |
4.5 | Capitalization. | 14 |
4.6 | SEC Filings; Purchaser Financials; Internal Controls. | 15 |
4.7 | Absence of Certain Changes. | 16 |
4.8 | Compliance with Laws. | 16 |
4.9 | Actions; Orders; Permits. | 16 |
4.10 | Taxes and Returns. | 17 |
i
4.11 | Employees and Employee Benefit Plans. | 17 |
4.12 | Properties. | 18 |
4.13 | Material Contracts. | 18 |
4.14 | Transactions with Affiliates. | 18 |
4.15 | Investment Company Act; JOBS Act. | 19 |
4.16 | Finders and Brokers. | 19 |
4.17 | Certain Business Practices. | 19 |
4.18 | Insurance. | 20 |
4.19 | Information Supplied. | 20 |
4.20 | Independent Investigation. | 20 |
4.21 | Trust Account. | 21 |
Article V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PUBCO | 21 | |
5.1 | Organization and Standing. | 21 |
5.2 | Authorization; Binding Agreement. | 22 |
5.3 | Governmental Approvals. | 22 |
5.4 | Non-Contravention. | 22 |
5.5 | Capitalization. | 23 |
5.6 | Ownership of Exchange Shares. | 23 |
5.7 | Pubco and Merger Sub Activities. | 23 |
5.8 | Finders and Brokers. | 23 |
5.9 | Investment Company Act. | 23 |
5.10 | Information Supplied. | 24 |
5.11 | Independent Investigation. | 24 |
Article VI REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY | 24 | |
6.1 | Organization and Standing. | 24 |
6.2 | Authorization; Binding Agreement. | 25 |
6.3 | Capitalization. | 25 |
6.4 | Subsidiaries. | 26 |
6.5 | Governmental Approvals. | 27 |
6.6 | Non-Contravention. | 27 |
6.7 | Financial Statements. | 28 |
6.8 | Absence of Certain Changes. | 29 |
6.9 | Compliance with Laws. | 29 |
6.10 | Company Permits. | 29 |
6.11 | Litigation. | 29 |
6.12 | Material Contracts. | 30 |
ii
6.13 | Intellectual Property. | 31 |
6.14 | Taxes and Returns. | 33 |
6.15 | Real Property. | 34 |
6.16 | Personal Property. | 34 |
6.17 | Title to and Sufficiency of Assets. | 35 |
6.18 | Employee Matters. | 35 |
6.19 | Benefit Plans. | 36 |
6.20 | Environmental Matters. | 37 |
6.21 | Transactions with Related Persons. | 38 |
6.22 | Insurance. | 38 |
6.23 | Top Customers and Suppliers. | 39 |
6.24 | Certain Business Practices. | 39 |
6.25 | Investment Company Act. | 40 |
6.26 | Finders and Brokers. | 40 |
6.27 | Information Supplied. | 40 |
6.28 | Independent Investigation. | 40 |
Article VII REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE SELLERS | 41 | |
7.1 | Organization and Standing. | 42 |
7.2 | Authorization; Binding Agreement. | 42 |
7.3 | Ownership. | 42 |
7.4 | Governmental Approvals. | 43 |
7.5 | Non-Contravention. | 43 |
7.6 | No Litigation. | 43 |
7.7 | Investment Representations. | 44 |
7.8 | Finders and Brokers. | 44 |
7.9 | Information Supplied. | 45 |
7.10 | Independent Investigation. | 45 |
Article VIII CONVENANTS | 45 | |
8.1 | Access and Information. | 45 |
8.2 | Conduct of Business of the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub and the Sellers. | 46 |
8.3 | Conduct of Business of the Purchaser. | 49 |
8.4 | PCAOB Financials. | 51 |
8.5 | Purchaser Public Filings. | 52 |
8.6 | No Solicitation. | 52 |
8.7 | No Trading. | 53 |
8.8 | Notification of Certain Matters. | 53 |
iii
8.9 | Efforts. | 53 |
8.10 | Further Assurances. | 55 |
8.11 | The Registration Statement. | 55 |
8.12 | Public Announcements. | 57 |
8.13 | Confidential Information. | 58 |
8.14 | Post-Closing Board of Directors and Executive Officers. | 59 |
8.15 | Indemnification of Directors and Officers; Tail Insurance. | 59 |
8.16 | Trust Account Proceeds. | 60 |
8.17 | PIPE Investment. | 60 |
8.18 | Extension Loan. | 61 |
8.19 | Nasdaq Listing. | 61 |
Article IX CLOSING CONDITIONS | 62 | |
9.1 | Conditions to Each Party’s Obligations. | 62 |
9.2 | Conditions to Obligations of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers. | 63 |
9.3 | Conditions to Obligations of the Purchaser. | 64 |
9.4 | Frustration of Conditions. | 65 |
Article X TERMINATION AND EXPENSES | 66 | |
10.1 | Termination. | 66 |
10.2 | Effect of Termination. | 67 |
10.3 | Fees and Expenses. | 67 |
Article XI WAIVERS AND RELEASES | 68 | |
11.1 | Waiver of Claims Against Trust. | 68 |
11.2 | Release and Covenant Not to Sue. | 69 |
Article XII MISCELLANEOUS | 69 | |
12.1 | Notices. | 69 |
12.2 | Binding Effect; Assignment. | 71 |
12.3 | Third Parties. | 71 |
12.4 | Governing Law; Jurisdiction. | 71 |
12.5 | WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. | 71 |
12.6 | Specific Performance. | 72 |
12.7 | Severability. | 72 |
12.8 | Amendment. | 72 |
12.9 | Waiver. | 72 |
12.10 | Entire Agreement. | 72 |
12.11 | Interpretation. | 73 |
12.12 | Counterparts. | 73 |
iv
12.13 | No Recourse. | 74 |
12.14 | Purchaser Representative. | 74 |
12.15 | Seller Representative. | 75 |
12.16 | Legal Representation. | 77 |
12.17 | Non-Survival of Representations, Warranties. | 77 |
Article XIII DEFINITIONS | 77 | |
13.1 | Certain Definitions. | 77 |
13.2 | Section References. | 88 |
INDEX OF ANNEXES, EXHIBITS AND SCHEDULES
Annex Description
Annex I List of the Sellers
Annex II VIE Shareholders
Exhibit | Description | |
Exhibit A | Form of Lock-Up Agreement | |
Exhibit B | Form of Non-Competition Agreement | |
Exhibit C | Founder Share Letter | |
Exhibit D | Employment Agreement Term Sheets | |
Exhibit E | Form of Amended Pubco Charter | |
Exhibit F | Form of Joinder Agreement |
v
BUSINESS COMBINATION AGREEMENT
This Business Combination Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of February 16, 2021 by and among: (i) East Stone Acquisition Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company (the “Purchaser”), (ii) Navy Sail International Limited, a British Virgin Islands company, as Purchaser Representative, (iii) JHD Technologies Limited, a Cayman Islands company (“Pubco”), (iii) Yellow River MergerCo Limited, a British Virgin Islands company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco (“Merger Sub”), (iv) JHD Holdings (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands company (the “Company”), and (v) Yellow River (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands company (the “Primary Seller”), and each of the holders of the Company’s capital shares that become parties to this Agreement after the date hereof by executing and delivering to the Purchaser, Pubco and the Company a Joinder Agreement (each individually, a “Seller”, and collectively with the Primary Seller, the “Sellers”), and (vi) solely for purposes of Section 10.3 and Articles XII and XIII, as applicable hereof, Double Ventures Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company (the "Sponsor"). Purchaser, Purchaser Representative, Pubco, Merger Sub, the Company, the Sellers, and the Seller Representative are sometimes referred to herein individually as a “Party” and, collectively, as the “Parties”.
RECITALS:
WHEREAS, on the date hereof, the Primary Seller owns 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company;
WHEREAS, the Company, directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, engages in the business of building a nationwide business-to-business fast-moving consumer goods distribution network, with complementary financial services, for retail stores in the PRC's lower tier market;
WHEREAS, the Primary Seller is a holding company for the Company, which in turn owns 99.99% of the issued and outstanding equity interests of JHD Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong company, which in turn holds 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests in each of Pure Value Trading Company (Shanghai) Limited, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise registered in Shanghai, PRC (“Pure Value WFOE”), and Ling Feng Trading Company Limited, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise registered in Qing Dau, PRC (“Ling Feng WFOE” and, each of Ling Feng WFOE and Pure Value WFOE, a “WFOE”);
WHEREAS, certain nominee shareholders, own 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests in Jihuiduo Technology Limited, a company registered in Beijing PRC (“Jihuiduo” or the “VIE Company”), for the benefit of Pure Value WFOE and 64.7% of Guizhou Guinong Science and Technology Holding Co., Ltd.;
WHEREAS, Pubco is a Cayman Islands company incorporated on February 10, 2021 that is owned entirely by Primary Seller, and Merger Sub is a newly incorporated British Virgin Islands company that is wholly-owned by Pubco;
WHEREAS, the Parties desire and intend to effect a business combination transaction whereby (a) the Purchaser will merge with and into Merger Sub, with the Purchaser continuing as the surviving entity (the “Merger”), as a result of which, (1) the Purchaser shall become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco and (ii) each issued and outstanding security of the Purchaser immediately prior to the Effective Time (as defined below) shall no longer be outstanding and shall automatically be cancelled, in exchange for the right of the holder thereof to receive a substantially equivalent security of Pubco, and (b) Pubco will acquire all of the issued and outstanding capital shares of the Company from the Sellers in exchange for ordinary shares of Pubco (the “Share Exchange” and, together with the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents (as defined below), the “Transactions”), all upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with the provisions of applicable law;
WHEREAS, simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Primary Seller has entered into (a) a Lock-Up Agreement with Pubco, the form of which is attached as Exhibit A hereto (each, a “Lock-Up Agreement”), and (b) a Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Agreement in favor of Pubco, the Purchaser and the Company, the form of which is attached as Exhibit B hereto (the “Non-Competition Agreement”), each of which agreements described in clauses (a) and (b) above will become effective as of the Closing;
WHEREAS, simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, each of the Primary Initial Shareholders and Purchaser entered into an amendment to that certain letter agreement, dated February 19, 2020, by and among, Purchaser, Purchaser Representative and the directors, officers or other initial shareholders of Purchaser named therein;
WHEREAS, simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Purchaser’s sponsor, Double Ventures Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company (“Sponsor”), Sherman Xiaoma Lu, Charlie Chunyi Hao, Navy Sail International Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company (collectively with the Sponsor, the “Primary Initial Shareholders”) have entered into a letter agreement with the Purchaser and the Company, (the “Founder Share Letter”), a copy of which is attached as Exhibit C hereto, pursuant to which the Primary Initial Shareholders have agreed to forfeit up to an aggregate of between zero and fifty percent (50%) of the Founder Shares (defined below) owned by the Primary Initial Shareholders, in the event that the Purchaser has less than One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000) in cash and cash equivalents, including funds remaining in the Trust Account (defined below) (after giving effect to the completion and payment of the Redemption (defined below)) and the proceeds of any PIPE Investment (defined below) immediately prior to the Closing, with the full fifty percent (50%) of the Founder Shares being subject to forfeiture if such amount of cash and cash equivalents is Seventy Million Dollars ($70,000,000) or less;
WHEREAS, simultaneously with the Closing, the Company and Pubco shall have received a copy of an Amendment to the Founder Registration Rights Agreement (“Founder Registration Rights Agreement Amendment”), in a form to be mutually agreed between the Company, Pubco and Purchaser, duly executed by the Purchaser and certain holders of the “Registrable Securities” thereunder, including the Primary Initial Shareholders, to, among other matters, have Pubco assume the registration obligations of the Purchaser under the Founder Registration Rights Agreement and have such rights apply to the Pubco Securities;
WHEREAS, after the execution and delivery of this Agreement, Pubco will offer to enter into employment agreements with certain individuals; provided that in the case of Mr. Alan Clingman and Mr. Xiaoma (Sherman) Lu, the terms of such offers are substantially as set forth on Exhibit D,
WHEREAS, the boards of directors of each of the Purchaser, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Company have each (a) determined that the Transactions are fair, advisable and in the best interests of their respective companies and shareholders, and (b) approved this Agreement and the Transactions, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; and
WHEREAS, certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Article XIII hereof.
2
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above, which are incorporated in this Agreement as if fully set forth below, and the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
Article I
MERGER
1.1 Merger. At the Effective Time, immediately following the consummation of the Share Exchange, and subject to and upon the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the plan of merger and the articles of merger to be prepared by the Parties (the “Plan of Merger” and the “Articles of Merger” respectively), and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the BVI Act, the Purchaser, as a constituent party for the purpose of the BVI Act, and Merger Sub, as a constituent party for the purpose of the BVI Act, shall consummate the Merger, pursuant to which Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Purchaser with the Purchaser being the surviving entity for the purpose of the BVI Act, following which the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease and the Purchaser shall continue as the surviving company. Purchaser, as the surviving company after the Merger, is hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “Surviving Company” (provided, that references to the Purchaser for periods after the Effective Time shall include the Surviving Corporation).
1.2 Effective Time. The Purchaser and Merger Sub shall cause the Merger to be consummated by filing the Articles of Merger and any other documents required to be filed pursuant to the BVI Act and such other documents as required by the BVI Act with the Registry of Companies of the British Virgin Islands. The Merger shall become effective at the time of the Closing Date when the Plan of Merger is registered by the Registry of Companies of the British Virgin Islands (the “Effective Time”).
1.3 Effect of the Merger. At the Effective Time, the effect of the Merger shall be as provided in this Agreement, the Articles of Merger, and the applicable provisions of the BVI Act. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and subject thereto, at the Effective Time, all the property, rights, privileges, agreements, powers and franchises, debts, Liabilities, duties and obligations of Merger Sub and the Purchaser shall become the property, rights, privileges, agreements, powers and franchises, debts, Liabilities, duties and obligations of the Surviving Company (including all rights and obligations with respect to the Trust Account), which shall include the assumption by the Surviving Company of any and all agreements, covenants, duties and obligations of Merger Sub and the Purchaser set forth in this Agreement to be performed after the Effective Time, and the Surviving Company shall continue its existence as a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Pubco.
1.4 Organizational Documents of Surviving Company. At the Effective Time, the Surviving Company shall adopt new memorandum and articles of association (the “Surviving Company Charter”), which are substantially in the form of the memorandum and articles of association of Merger Sub, as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, as the memorandum and articles of association of the Surviving Company; provided, that at the Effective Time, references therein to the name of the Surviving Company shall be amended to be such name as reasonably determined by the Company.
1.5 Directors and Officers of the Surviving Company. At the Effective Time, the board of directors and executive officers of the Surviving Company shall be such directors and officers of Pubco, as designated by the Company, each to hold office in accordance with the Surviving Company Charter until their respective successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified.
1.6 Effect of Merger on Issued Securities of the Purchaser. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of any Party or the holders of securities of the Purchaser, Pubco or Merger Sub:
(a) Purchaser Units. At the Effective Time, each issued and outstanding Purchaser Unit shall be automatically detached and the holder thereof shall be deemed to hold one Purchaser Ordinary Share, one Purchaser Warrant and one Purchaser Right in accordance with the terms of the applicable Purchaser Unit, which underlying Purchaser Securities shall be converted in accordance with the applicable terms of this Section 1.6 below.
3
(b) Purchaser Ordinary Share. At the Effective Time, each issued and outstanding Purchaser Ordinary Share (other than those described in Section 1.6(e) below) shall be converted automatically into one Pubco Ordinary Share, following which, all Purchaser Ordinary Shares shall cease to be outstanding and shall automatically be canceled and shall cease to exist. The holders of certificates previously evidencing Purchaser Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to have any rights with respect to such shares, except as provided herein or by Law. Each certificate previously evidencing Purchaser Ordinary Shares shall be exchanged for a certificate (if requested) representing the same number of Pubco Ordinary Shares upon the surrender of such certificate in accordance with this Section 1.6(b) and Section 1.7. Each certificate formerly representing Purchaser Ordinary Share (other than those described in Section 1.6(e) below) shall thereafter represent only the right to receive the same number of Pubco Ordinary Shares in accordance with this Section 1.6(b).
(c) Purchaser Warrants. At the Effective Time, each outstanding Purchaser Public Warrant shall be converted into one Pubco Public Warrant and each outstanding Purchaser Private Warrant shall be converted into one Pubco Private Warrant. At the Effective Time, the Purchaser Warrants shall cease to be outstanding and shall automatically be canceled and retired and shall cease to exist. Each of the Pubco Public Warrants shall have, and be subject to, substantially the same terms and conditions set forth in the Purchaser Public Warrants, and each of the Pubco Private Warrants shall have, and be subject to, substantially the same terms and conditions set forth in the Purchaser Private Warrants, except that in each case they shall represent the right to acquire Pubco Ordinary Shares in lieu of Purchaser Ordinary Shares. At or prior to the Effective Time, Pubco shall take all corporate actions necessary to reserve for future issuance and shall maintain such reservation for so long as any of the Pubco Warrants remain outstanding, a sufficient number of Pubco Ordinary Shares for delivery upon the exercise of such Pubco Warrants.
(d) Purchaser Rights. At the Effective Time, each issued and outstanding Purchaser Right shall be automatically converted into the number of Pubco Ordinary Shares that would have been received by the holder thereof if such Purchaser Right had been converted upon the consummation of a Business Combination in accordance with Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, the IPO Prospectus and the Rights Agreement into Purchaser Ordinary Shares, but for such purposes treating it as if such Business Combination had occurred immediately prior to the Effective Time and the Purchaser Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion of the Purchaser Rights had then automatically been converted into Pubco Ordinary Shares in accordance with Section 1.6(b) above. At the Effective Time, the Purchaser Rights shall cease to be outstanding and shall automatically be canceled and retired and shall cease to exist. The holders of certificates previously evidencing Purchaser Rights outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to have any rights with respect to such Purchaser Rights, except as provided herein or by Law. Each certificate formerly representing Purchaser Rights shall thereafter represent only the right to receive Pubco Ordinary Shares as set forth herein.
(e) Cancellation of Capital Shares Owned by the Purchaser. At the Effective Time, if there are any shares of capital stock of the Purchaser that are owned by the Purchaser as treasury shares, such shares shall be canceled and extinguished without any conversion thereof or payment therefor.
(f) Transfers of Ownership. If any certificate for securities of the Purchaser is to be issued in a name other than that in which the certificate surrendered in exchange therefor is registered, it will be a condition of the issuance thereof that the certificate so surrendered will be accompanied by an appropriate instrument of transfer and otherwise in proper form for transfer and that the person requesting such exchange will have paid to the Purchaser or any agent designated by it any transfer or other Taxes required by reason of the issuance of a certificate for securities of the Purchaser in any name other than that of the registered holder of the certificate surrendered, or established to the satisfaction of the Purchaser or any agent designated by it that such tax has been paid or is not payable.
4
(g) No Liability. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 1.6, none of the Surviving Company, Pubco or any other Party hereto shall be liable to any Person for any amount properly paid to a public official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar law.
1.7 Effect of Merger on Merger Sub and Pubco Capital Shares. At the Effective Time, by virtue of or in connection with the Merger and without any action on the part of any Party or any equity holders of the Purchaser, Pubco or Merger Sub: (a) all of the Merger Sub Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be converted into an equal number of ordinary shares of the Surviving Company, with the same rights, powers and privileges as the shares so converted and shall constitute the only outstanding shares of the Surviving Company; and (b) all of the shares of Pubco issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be canceled and extinguished without any conversion thereof or payment therefor.
1.8 Surrender of Purchaser Certificates. All securities issued upon the surrender of Purchaser Securities in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed to have been issued in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such securities, provided that any restrictions on the sale and transfer of Purchaser Securities shall also apply to the Pubco Securities so issued in exchange.
1.9 Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Purchaser Certificates. In the event any certificates shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, Pubco shall issue, in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed certificates, as the case may be, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the holder thereof, such securities, as may be required pursuant to Section 1.6; provided, however, that the Surviving Company may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificates to deliver a bond in such sum as it may reasonably direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the Surviving Company with respect to the certificates alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
1.10 Tax Consequences.
The Parties hereby agree and acknowledge that for U.S. federal income Tax purposes, the Merger and the Share Exchange, taken together, are intended to qualify as an exchange described in Section 351 of the Code. The Parties shall file all Tax and other informational returns on a basis consistent with such characterization unless otherwise required pursuant to a determination within the meaning of Section 1313(a) of the Code. Each of the Parties acknowledge and agree that each (i) has had the opportunity to obtain independent legal and Tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and (ii) is responsible for paying its own Taxes, including any adverse Tax consequences that may result if the Merger and the Share Exchange, taken together, does not qualify under Section 351 of the Code.
1.11 Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action.
If, at any time after the Effective Time, any further action is necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this Agreement and to vest the Surviving Company with full right, title and possession to all assets, property, rights, privileges, powers and franchises of the Purchaser and Merger Sub, the officers and directors of Pubco, the Purchaser and Merger Sub are fully authorized in the name of their respective entities to take, and will take, all such lawful and necessary action, so long as such action is not inconsistent with this Agreement.
5
Article II
SHARE EXCHANGE
2.1 Exchange of Company Securities. At the Closing and subject to and upon the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Sellers (including for the avoidance of doubt, the holders of shares issued upon the conversion of any Company Interim Period Notes that are converted into Company Ordinary Shares at or prior to the Closing) shall sell, transfer, convey, assign and deliver to Pubco, and Pubco shall purchase, acquire and accept from the Sellers, all of the issued and outstanding shares and other equity interests in or of the Company ( the “Purchased Shares”) free and clear of all Liens (other than potential restrictions on resale under applicable securities Laws). At the Closing, the Company will exchange any issued and outstanding Company Convertible Securities, including any unconverted Company Interim Period Notes, for Pubco Convertible Securities, in each case accordance with the terms and conditions of such Company Convertible Securities, and thereupon such Company Convertible Securities shall automatically be terminated.
2.2 Exchange Consideration. Subject to and upon the terms and conditions of this Agreement, in full payment for the Purchased Shares, Pubco shall issue and deliver to the Sellers (including for the avoidance of doubt, the holders of shares issued upon the conversion of any Company Interim Period Notes that are converted into Company Ordinary Shares at or prior to the Closing) an aggregate number of Pubco Ordinary Shares (the “Exchange Shares”) with an aggregate value equal to (the “Exchange Consideration”) (i) One Billion U.S. Dollars ($1,000,000,000), plus (ii) the Closing Cash, minus (iii) the Closing Debt, and minus (iv) the amount of any unpaid Excess Transaction Expenses, with each Pubco Ordinary Share valued at the Redemption Price, subject to the withholding of the Escrow Shares in accordance with Section 2.3; provided, that the Exchange Consideration otherwise deliverable to the Sellers after the Closing is subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2.5. The number of Exchange Shares issued and delivered to the Sellers at the Closing shall be determined in accordance with Section 2.4. Each Seller shall receive its pro rata share of the applicable Exchange Shares, based on the number of Purchased Shares owned by such Seller, divided by the total number of Purchased Shares owned by all Sellers (such percentage being each such Seller’s “Pro Rata Share”).
2.3 Escrow.
(a) At or prior to the Closing, Pubco, the Purchaser Representative, the Seller Representative and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (or such other escrow agent mutually acceptable to the Purchaser and the Company), as escrow agent (the “Escrow Agent”), shall enter into an Escrow Agreement, effective as of the Effective Time, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Purchaser and the Company (the “Escrow Agreement”), pursuant to which Pubco shall cause to be delivered to the Escrow Agent a number of Exchange Shares (each valued at the Redemption Price) equal in value to ten percent (10%) of the Exchange Consideration otherwise issuable to the Sellers at the Closing based on the Estimated Closing Statement (together with any equity securities paid as dividends or distributions with respect to such shares or into which such shares are exchanged or converted, the “Escrow Shares”) to be held, along with any other dividends, distributions or other income on the foregoing (the "Other Escrow Property", together with the Escrow Shares, the “Escrow Property”), in a segregated escrow account (the “Escrow Account”) and disbursed in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Escrow Agreement. The Escrow Shares shall also serve as a security for, and a source of payment of, the obligations of the Sellers under Section 2.6. Unless otherwise required by Law, all distributions made from the Escrow Account shall be treated by the Parties as an adjustment to the Exchange Consideration received by the Seller pursuant to Article II hereof. Until and unless the Escrow Shares are forfeited in accordance with Section 2.6 below, the Sellers shall be deemed to be the owner of the Escrow Shares during the time such Escrow Shares are held in the Escrow Account, subject to the retention of any dividends, distributions and other earnings thereon in the Escrow Account until disbursed therefrom in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and the Escrow Agreement.
6
(b) The Escrow Property shall be held in the Escrow Account and will be subject to release in accordance with Section 2.6 below. Each Seller by execution of this Agreement acknowledges that such Seller’s right to receive the Escrow Shares and the other Escrow Property is contingent on the performance of Pubco and its Subsidiaries during the Earnout Period as set forth in Section 2.6.
2.4 Estimated Closing Statement. Not later than three (3) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver to the Purchaser a statement certified by the Company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer (the “Estimated Closing Statement”) setting forth (a) an estimated consolidated balance sheet of the Target Companies as of the Reference Time, prepared in good faith and in accordance with the Accounting Principles, (b) a good faith calculation of the Company’s estimate of Closing Cash, Closing Debt and Excess Transaction Expenses, in each case, as of the Reference Time and along with reasonably detailed calculations, and (c) the resulting estimated Exchange Consideration and Exchange Shares to be issued by Pubco at the Closing (the “Exchange Consideration Shares”) using the formula in Section 2.2 based on such estimates of Closing Cash, Closing Debt and Transaction Expenses, which Estimated Closing Statement shall be subject to the review by the Purchaser. Promptly after delivering the Estimated Closing Statement to the Purchaser, the Company will meet with the Purchaser to review and discuss the Estimated Closing Statement and the Company will consider in good faith the Purchaser’s comments to the Estimated Closing Statement and make any appropriate adjustments to the Estimated Closing Statement prior to the Closing, as mutually approved by the Company and the Purchaser both acting reasonably and in good faith, which adjusted Estimated Closing Statement shall thereafter become the Estimated Closing Statement for all purposes of this Agreement; provided that, to the extent that the Company and the Purchaser are unable to reach an agreement prior to the Closing Date, the Estimated Closing Statement as delivered by the Company shall be final (the amount of estimated Exchange Consideration as finally determined, the "Estimated Exchange Consideration"). The Estimated Closing Statement and the determinations contained therein shall be prepared in accordance with the Accounting Principles and otherwise in accordance with this Agreement. The Estimated Closing Statement will also include with respect to (i) Closing Debt, the amount owed to each creditor of any of the Target Companies and, with respect to any Closing Debt that the Purchaser and the Company agree to satisfy at the Closing, payment instructions, together with payoff and lien release letters from each Target Company’s creditors in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser, and (ii) Excess Transaction Expenses, the amount owed to each payee thereof and payment instructions therefor.
2.5 Exchange Consideration Adjustment
(a) Within ninety (90) days after the Closing Date, the Chairman of Pubco’s Board of Directors (the “Chairman”) shall deliver to the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative a statement (the “Closing Statement”) setting forth (i) a consolidated balance sheet of the Target Companies as of the Reference Time and (ii) a good faith calculation of the Closing Cash, Closing Debt and Excess Transaction Expenses, in each case, as of the Reference Time, and (iii) the resulting Exchange Consideration and the number of Exchange Shares (each valued at the Redemption Price) that should have been delivered by Pubco at the Closing in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement based on such Closing Cash, Closing Debt, Excess Transaction Expenses. The Closing Statement shall be prepared, and the Closing Cash, Closing Debt, and Excess Transaction Expenses and the resulting Exchange Consideration and Exchange Shares shall be determined in accordance with the Accounting Principles and otherwise in accordance with this Agreement.
7
(b) After delivery of the Closing Statement, each of the Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative, and their respective Representatives on their behalves, shall be permitted reasonable access to the books, records, working papers, files, facilities and personnel of the Target Companies relating to the preparation of the Closing Statement. The Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative, and their respective Representatives on their behalves, may make inquiries of the Chairman and related Pubco and Company personnel and advisors regarding questions concerning or disagreements with the Closing Statement arising in the course of their review thereof, and Pubco and the Company shall provide reasonable cooperation in connection therewith. If either the Seller Representative or the Purchaser Representative (each, a “Representative Party”) has any objections to the Closing Statement, such Representative Party shall deliver to the Chairman and the other Representative Party a statement setting forth its objections thereto (in reasonable detail) (an “Objection Statement”). If an Objection Statement is not delivered by a Representative Party within thirty (30) days following the date of delivery of the Closing Statement, then such Representative Party will have waived its right to contest the Closing Statement, all determinations and calculations set forth therein, and the resulting Exchange Consideration and Exchange Consideration Shares set forth therein. If an Objection Statement is delivered within such thirty (30) day period, then the Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative shall negotiate in good faith to resolve any such objections for a period of twenty (20) days thereafter. If the Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative do not reach a final resolution within such twenty (20) day period, then upon the written request of either Representative Party (the date of receipt of such notice by the other Party, the “Independent Expert Notice Date”), the Representative Parties will refer the dispute to the Independent Expert for final resolution of the dispute in accordance with Section 2.5(c) For purposes hereof, the “Independent Expert” means a mutually acceptable independent (i.e., no prior material business relationship with any party for the prior two (2) years) accounting firm appointed by the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative, (which appointment will be made no later than ten (10) days after the Independent Expert Notice Date); provided, that if the Independent Expert does not accept its appointment or if the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative cannot agree on the Independent Expert, in either case within twenty (20) days after the Independent Expert Notice Date, either Representative Party may require, by written notice to the other Representative Party, that the Independent Expert be selected by the New York City Regional Office of the AAA in accordance with the AAA’s procedures. The parties agree that the Independent Expert will be deemed to be independent even though a Party or its Affiliates may, in the future, designate the Independent Expert to resolve disputes of the types described in this Section 2.5(b). The Parties acknowledge that any information provided pursuant to this Section 2.5(b) will be subject to the confidentiality obligations of Section 8.13.
(c) If a dispute with respect to the Closing Statement is submitted in accordance with this Section 2.5 to the Independent Expert for final resolution, the Parties will follow the procedures set forth in this Section 2.5(c). Each of the Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative agrees to execute, if requested by the Independent Expert, a reasonable engagement letter with respect to the determination to be made by the Independent Expert. All fees and expenses of the Independent Expert will be borne by Pubco. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, all other costs and expenses incurred by the Seller Representative in connection with resolving any dispute hereunder before the Independent Expert will be borne by the Seller Representative, and all other costs and expenses incurred by the Purchaser Representative in connection with resolving any dispute hereunder before the Independent Expert will be borne by Pubco. The Independent Expert will determine only those issues still in dispute as of the Independent Expert Notice Date and the Independent Expert’s determination will be based solely upon and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The determination by the Independent Expert will be based solely on presentations with respect to such disputed items by the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative to the Independent Expert and not on the Independent Expert’s independent review; provided, that such presentations will be deemed to include any work papers, records, accounts or similar materials delivered to the Independent Expert by a Representative Party in connection with such presentations and any materials delivered to the Independent Expert in response to requests by the Independent Expert. Each of the Seller Representative and the Purchaser Representative will use their reasonable efforts to make their respective presentations as promptly as practicable following submission to the Independent Expert of the disputed items, and each such Representative Party will be entitled, as part of its presentation, to respond to the presentation of the other Representative Party and any questions and requests of the Independent Expert. In deciding any matter, the Independent Expert will be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, including this Section 2.5. It is the intent of the parties hereto that the activities of the Independent Expert in connection herewith are not (and should not be considered to be or treated as) an arbitration proceeding or similar arbitral process and that no formal arbitration rules should be followed (including rules with respect to procedures and discovery). The Seller and the Purchaser Representative will request that the Independent Expert’s determination be made within forty-five (45) days after its engagement, or as soon thereafter as possible, will be set forth in a written statement delivered to the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative and will be final, conclusive, non-appealable and binding for all purposes hereunder (other than for fraud or manifest error).
8
(d) If it is finally determined in accordance with this Section 2.5 that the number of Exchange Shares that should have been delivered by Pubco at the Closing in accordance with the requirements of this Agreement (the “Finally Determined Exchange Shares”) is:
(i) greater than the number of Exchange Shares set forth in the Estimated Closing Statement (the “Estimated Exchange Shares”), then within five (5) Business Days after such final determination, Pubco shall issue to the Sellers an additional number of Pubco Ordinary Shares equal to (x) the Finally Determined Exchange Shares, minus (y) the Estimated Exchange Shares, divided by the Redemption Price; or
(ii) less than the Estimated Exchange Shares, then within five (5) Business Days after such final determination, the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative will provide joint written instructions to the Escrow Agent to transfer and deliver to Pubco the Escrow Shares or other Escrow Property with a value (with each Escrow Share that is an Exchange Share valued at the Redemption Price) equal to the product of (I) (x) Estimated Exchange Shares, minus (y) the Finally Determined Exchange Shares, multiplied by (II) the Redemption Price, up to a maximum amount equal to the Escrow Property.
Any Pubco Ordinary Shares issued under clause (d)(i) hereof will be considered additional Exchange Shares for purposes of this Agreement and, “Restricted Securities” under the Lock-Up Agreement. Pubco will cancel any Escrow Shares and any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon that it receives under clause (d)(ii) hereof promptly after its receipt thereof. For the avoidance of doubt and without duplication of the other provisions of this Agreement, the number of Escrow Shares or Pubco Ordinary Shares to be delivered under this Section 2.5 shall be equitably adjusted for share splits, share dividends, combinations, recapitalizations and the like with respect to Pubco Ordinary Shares after the Closing.
2.6 Earnout.
(a) After the Closing, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Sellers shall have the contingent right to receive additional consideration from Pubco based on the performance of Pubco and its Subsidiaries, including the Company, during the period commencing on the first day of the first fiscal quarter following Closing (but in any event no earlier than October 1, 2021) and ending on the twelve (12) month anniversary of such date (the “Earnout Year”) if the requirements as set forth in this Section 2.6 are met.
9
(b) The Sellers shall be entitled to receive from Pubco, if and when earned, as additional consideration for the purchase of the Purchased Shares, the Earned Escrow Shares together with the Other Escrow Property. To the extent that the amount of the Earned Escrowed Shares is less than the Escrow Share Number, then the amount of Escrow Shares equal to such difference will be forfeited by the Sellers and released to Pubco for cancellation along with any accrued but unpaid dividends payable in respect of such Escrow Shares. To the extent that any Other Escrow Property is released to the Sellers, it shall be allocated among the Sellers in accordance with their pro rata interests in the Earned Escrow Shares. Further, to the extent that any portion of the Escrow Shares consist of equity securities other than Exchange Shares, any distribution from the Escrow Shares under this Section 2.6 shall be made in proportional amounts among the different types of securities.
(c) As soon as practicable (but in any event within ten (10) Business Days) after Pubco’s filing of consolidated financial statements for Pubco and its Subsidiaries with the SEC for the period ending on the last day of the Earnout Year, the Chairman will prepare and deliver to the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative a written statement (an “Earnout Statement”) that sets forth the Chairman's determination in accordance with the terms of this Section 2.6 of (i) the revenue for the Earnout Year based on such financial statements, and (ii) the Escrow Property that the Sellers and Pubco (as applicable) are entitled to receive pursuant to Section 2.6(b). The Earnout Statement shall be final, conclusive, non-appealable and binding for all purposes hereunder (other than for fraud or manifest error).
(d) Pubco and the Seller Representative will provide written instructions to the Escrow Agent within ten (10) Business Days of their receipt of a final Earnout Statement to release the Escrow Property in accordance with the final Earnout Statement.
(e) Following the Closing (including during the Earnout Year), Pubco and its Subsidiaries, including the Target Companies, will be entitled to operate their respective businesses based upon the business requirements of Pubco and its Subsidiaries. Each of Pubco and its Subsidiaries, including the Target Companies will be permitted, following the Closing (including during the Earnout Year), to make changes at its sole discretion to its operations, organization, personnel, accounting practices and other aspects of its business, including actions that may have an impact on the revenue, the share price of Pubco Ordinary Shares and the ability of the Sellers to earn the Escrow Shares, and the Sellers will not have any right to claim the loss of all or any portion of any Escrow Shares or other damages as a result of such decisions.
(f) For purposes of this Section 2.6, the following definitions shall apply:
(i) "Earned Escrow Shares" means the result of the following equation: Escrow Share Number * (Revenue / Earnout Target).
(ii) "Earnout Target" means an amount equal to One Hundred Forty Million U.S. Dollars ($140,000,000).
(iii) "Escrow Share Number" means the number of Escrow Shares.
(iv) "Revenue" means the consolidated revenue of Pubco and its Subsidiaries for the Earnout Year, as set forth in Pubco's filings with the SEC; provided that in no event shall the Revenue exceed the Earnout Target.
2.7 Surrender of Company Securities and Disbursement of Exchange Shares
(a) At the Closing, Pubco shall cause the Exchange Shares (less the Escrow Shares) to be issued and delivered to the Sellers in exchange for their Company Securities in accordance with Section 2.2 and the Estimated Closing Statement.
10
(b) At the Closing, the Sellers will deliver to Pubco its Company Securities, including any certificates representing Company Ordinary Shares (“Company Certificates”), along with applicable share power or transfer forms reasonably acceptable to Pubco. In the event that any Company Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, in lieu of delivery of a Company Certificate to Pubco, the Sellers may instead deliver to Pubco an affidavit of lost certificate and indemnity of loss in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Pubco (a “Lost Certificate Affidavit”), which at the reasonable discretion of Pubco may include a requirement that the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed Company Certificate deliver a bond in such sum as Pubco may reasonably direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against Pubco or the Company with respect to the Company Ordinary Shares represented by such Company Certificate alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no fraction of a Pubco Ordinary Share will be issued by Pubco by virtue of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, and each Person who would otherwise be entitled to a fraction of a Pubco Ordinary Share (after aggregating all fractional Pubco Ordinary Shares that would otherwise be received by such Person) shall instead have the number of Pubco Ordinary Shares issued to such Person rounded down in the aggregate to the nearest whole Pubco Ordinary Share.
2.8 Seller Consent. Each Seller, hereby approves, authorizes and consents to the Company’s execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents to which the Company is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound, the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. Each Seller acknowledges and agrees that the consent set forth herein is intended and shall constitute such consent of such Seller as may be required (and shall, if applicable, operate as a written shareholder resolution of the Company) pursuant to the Company Organizational Documents, any other agreement in respect of the Company to which such Seller is a party or bound and all applicable Laws.
2.9 Termination of Certain Agreements.
Without limiting the provisions of Section 11.2, the Company and each Seller hereby agree that, effective at the Closing, (a) any shareholders, voting or similar agreement among the Company and any of the Sellers or among the Sellers with respect to the Company’s capital shares, and (b) any registration rights agreement between the Company and its shareholders, in each case of clauses (a) and (b), shall automatically, and without any further action by any of the Parties, terminate in full and become null and void and of no further force and effect. Further, the Sellers and the Company hereby waive any obligations of the parties under the Company’s Organizational Documents or any agreement described in clause (a) above with respect to the Transactions, and any failure of the parties to comply with the terms thereof in connection with the Transactions.
11
2.10 Company Equity Awards.
(a) At the Closing, each Primary Seller Option that is outstanding immediately prior to the Closing (whether vested or unvested), has an exercise price per share less than the fair market value of Primary Seller Ordinary Shares of Primary Seller at the Closing, and is held by an individual who, after the Closing, will be an “employee” of Pubco or an Affiliate of Pubco within the meaning of General Instruction A(1)(a)(1) of Form S-8 shall be substituted with a Substitute Option (as defined below) issued under Pubco’s equity incentive plan (i) in a manner that is in compliance with Section 424 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder in the case of a Primary Seller Option that is intended to be an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code, and in a manner that is in compliance with Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder (without regard to whether the Primary Seller Option is subject to taxation under U.S. Tax law), and (ii) that shall entitle its holder to acquire, on substantially the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the Primary Seller Option for which the Substitute Option was substituted, (A) a number of Pubco Ordinary Shares that is equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole Pubco Ordinary Share) of (1) the number of Primary Seller Ordinary Shares subject to such Primary Seller Option immediately prior to the Closing, multiplied by (2) the Equity Award Exchange Ratio, (B) with a per share exercise price applicable to such Substitute Option equal to the quotient (rounded up to the next whole cent) arrived at by dividing (1) the per share exercise price of each Primary Seller Option for which a Substitute Option was substituted by (2) the Equity Award Exchange Ratio (each, a “Substitute Option”).
(b) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.10, the Primary Seller will take all actions necessary or appropriate so that at the Effective Time, all Primary Seller Options will be cancelled.
Article III
CLOSING
3.1 Closing.
Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Article X, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Closing”) shall take place at the offices of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, LLP (“EGS”), 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105, on the second (2nd) Business Day after all the Closing conditions to this Agreement have been satisfied or waived at 10:00 a.m. local time, or at such other date, time or place as the Purchaser, Pubco and the Company may agree (the date and time at which the Closing is actually held being the “Closing Date”).
Article IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF the PURCHASER
Except as set forth in (i) the disclosure schedules delivered by the Purchaser to the Company, Pubco and the Sellers on the date hereof (the “Purchaser Disclosure Schedules”), the Section numbers of which are numbered to correspond to the Section numbers of this Agreement to which they refer, or (ii) the SEC Reports that are available on the SEC’s website through EDGAR, the Purchaser represents and warrants to the Company, Pubco and the Sellers, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
4.1 Organization and Standing.
(a) The Purchaser is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands.
(b) The Purchaser has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted.
(c) The Purchaser is duly qualified or licensed and in good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which the character of the property owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or licensing necessary.
(d) The Purchaser has heretofore made available to the Company accurate and complete copies of its Organizational Documents, each as currently in effect. The Purchaser is not in violation of any provision of its Organizational Documents in any material respect.
12
4.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement.
The Purchaser has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, subject to obtaining the Required Shareholder Approval. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby (a) have been duly and validly authorized by the board of directors of the Purchaser and (b) other than the Required Shareholder Approval, no other corporate proceedings, other than as set forth elsewhere in the Agreement, on the part of the Purchaser are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The Purchaser’s board of directors, at a duly called and held meeting, has unanimously (i) determined that this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, including (or, where permitted, by resolutions passed in writing) the Merger, are advisable, fair to and in the best interests of the Purchaser and the Purchaser’s shareholders in accordance with the BVI Act, (ii) approved and adopted this Agreement, (iii) recommended that the Purchaser’s shareholders vote in favor of the approval of this Agreement, the Merger, and the other Shareholder Approval Matters in accordance with the BVI Act (the “Purchaser Recommendation”) and (iv) directed that this Agreement and the Shareholder Approval Matters be submitted to the Purchaser shareholders for their approval. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which the Purchaser is a party shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by the Purchaser and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and such Ancillary Documents by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable against the Purchaser in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforceability thereof may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and moratorium laws and other laws of general application affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles of equity (collectively, the “Enforceability Exceptions”).
4.3 Governmental Approvals.
No Consent of or with any Governmental Authority, on the part of the Purchaser is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Purchaser of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or the consummation by the Purchaser of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, other than (a) pursuant to Antitrust Laws, (b) such filings as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, (c) any filings required with Nasdaq or the SEC with respect to the Transactions, (d) applicable requirements, if any, of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and/ or any state “blue sky” securities Laws, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and (e) where the failure to obtain or make such Consents or to make such filings or notifications, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
4.4 Non-Contravention.
Except as set forth in Section 4.4 of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules, the execution and delivery by the Purchaser of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, the consummation by the Purchaser of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and compliance by the Purchaser with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not (a) conflict with or violate any provision of the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, (b) subject to obtaining the Consents from Governmental Authorities referred to in Section 4.3 hereof, and the waiting periods referred to therein having expired, and any condition precedent to such Consent or waiver having been satisfied, conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Consent applicable to the Purchaser or any of its properties or assets, or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of, (iv) accelerate the performance required by the Purchaser under, (v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) upon any of the properties or assets of the Purchaser under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party Consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of, any Purchaser Material Contract, except for any deviations from any of the foregoing clauses (a), (b) or (c) that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
13
4.5 Capitalization.
(a) The Purchaser is authorized to issue an unlimited number of Purchaser Ordinary Shares, no par value per share, and unlimited number of preferred shares in classes A, B, C, D and E, no par value per share. As of the date of this Agreement, the issued and outstanding Purchaser Securities are set forth hereto in Section 4.5(a) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules. There are no issued or outstanding preferred shares of the Purchaser. All outstanding shares of Purchaser Securities are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to or issued in violation of any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of the law of BVI, the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents or any Contract to which the Purchaser is a party. None of the outstanding Purchaser Securities has been issued in violation of any applicable securities Laws. Prior to giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Purchaser does not have any Subsidiaries or own any equity interests in any other Person.
(b) Except as set forth in Sections 4.5(a) and 4.5(b) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedule, there are no (i) outstanding options, warrants, puts, calls, convertible or exchangeable securities, “phantom” share rights, share appreciation rights, share-based units, preemptive or similar rights, (ii) bonds, debentures, notes or other Indebtedness having general voting rights or that are convertible or exchangeable into securities having such rights or (iii) subscriptions or other rights, agreements, arrangements, Contracts or commitments of any character (other than this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents), (A) relating to the issued or unissued securities of the Purchaser or (B) obligating the Purchaser to issue, transfer, deliver or sell or cause to be issued, transferred, delivered, sold or repurchased any options or shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for any capital shares, or (C) obligating the Purchaser to grant, extend or enter into any such option, warrant, call, subscription or other right, agreement, arrangement or commitment for such capital shares. Other than the Redemption or as expressly set forth in this Agreement, there are no outstanding obligations of the Purchaser to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of the Purchaser or to provide funds to make any investment (in the form of a loan or capital contribution) in any Person. Except as set forth in Sections 4.5(b) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules, there are no shareholders agreements, voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which the Purchaser is a party with respect to the voting of any shares of the Purchaser.
(c) All Indebtedness of the Purchaser as of the date of this Agreement is disclosed on Section 4.5(c) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules. No Indebtedness of the Purchaser contains any restriction upon: (i) the prepayment of any of such Indebtedness, (ii) the incurrence of Indebtedness by the Purchaser or (iii) the ability of the Purchaser to grant any Lien on its properties or assets.
(d) Since the date of formation of the Purchaser, and except as contemplated by this Agreement, the Purchaser has not declared or paid any distribution or dividend in respect of its shares and has not repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any of its shares, and the Purchaser’s board of directors has not authorized any of the foregoing.
14
4.6 SEC Filings; Purchaser Financials; Internal Controls.
(a) The Purchaser, since the IPO, has filed all forms, reports, schedules, statements, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents required to be filed or furnished by the Purchaser with the SEC under the Securities Act and/or the Exchange Act, together with any amendments, restatements or supplements thereto, and will file all such forms, reports, schedules, statements and other documents required to be filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement. Except to the extent available on the SEC’s web site through EDGAR, the Purchaser has delivered to the Company copies in the form filed with the SEC of all of the following: (i) the Purchaser’s annual reports on Form 10-K for each fiscal year of the Purchaser beginning with the first year the Purchaser was required to file such a form, (ii) the Purchaser’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for each fiscal quarter that the Purchaser filed such reports to disclose its quarterly financial results in each of the fiscal years of the Purchaser referred to in clause (i) above, (iii) all other forms, reports, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents (other than preliminary materials) filed by the Purchaser with the SEC since the beginning of the first fiscal year referred to in clause (i) above (the forms, reports, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above, whether or not available through EDGAR, are, collectively, the “SEC Reports”) and (iv) all certifications and statements required by (A) Rules 13a-14 or 15d-14 under the Exchange Act, and (B) 18 U.S.C. §1350 (Section 906 of SOX) with respect to any report referred to in clause (i) above (collectively, the “Public Certifications”). The SEC Reports (x) were prepared in all material respects in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations thereunder and (y) did not, as of their respective effective dates (in the case of SEC Reports that are registration statements filed pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act) and at the time they were filed with the SEC (in the case of all other SEC Reports) contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Public Certifications are each true as of their respective dates of filing. As used in this Section 4.6, the term “file” shall be broadly construed to include any manner permitted by SEC rules and regulations in which a document or information is furnished, supplied or otherwise made available to the SEC.
(b) As of the date of this Agreement, (A) the Purchaser Units, the Purchaser Ordinary Shares, the Purchaser Rights and the Purchaser Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq, (B) the Purchaser has not received any written deficiency notice from Nasdaq relating to the continued listing requirements of such Purchaser Securities, (C) there are no Actions pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened against the Purchaser by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with respect to any intention by such entity to suspend, prohibit or terminate the quoting of such Purchaser Securities on Nasdaq and (D) such Purchaser Securities are in compliance with all of the applicable corporate governance rules of Nasdaq.
(c) The financial statements and notes of the Purchaser contained or incorporated by reference in the SEC Reports (the “Purchaser Financials”), fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash flows of the Purchaser at the respective dates of and for the periods referred to in such financial statements, all in accordance with (i) GAAP methodologies applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and (ii) Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, as applicable (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto and for the omission of notes and audit adjustments in the case of unaudited quarterly financial statements to the extent permitted by Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, as applicable), and (iii) audited in accordance with PCAOB standards.
15
(d) Except as and to the extent reflected or reserved against in the Purchaser Financials, the Purchaser has not incurred any Liabilities or obligations of the type required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP that is not adequately reflected or reserved on or provided for in the Purchaser Financials, other than Liabilities of the type required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP that have been incurred since the Purchaser’s formation in the ordinary course of business. The Purchaser does not maintain any “off-balance sheet arrangement” within the meaning of Item 303 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act. As of the date of this Agreement, no financial statements other than those of the Purchaser are required by GAAP to be included in the financial statements of the Purchaser.
(e) Since the IPO, the Purchaser has not received from its independent auditors any written notification of any (i) “significant deficiency” in the internal controls over financial reporting of the Purchaser, (ii) “material weakness” in the internal controls over financial reporting of the Purchaser or (iii) fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees of the Purchaser who have a significant role in the internal controls over financial reporting of the Purchaser.
(f) Except as not required in reliance on exemptions from various reporting requirements by virtue of the Purchaser’s status as an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, since the IPO, (i) the Purchaser has established and maintained a system of internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Purchaser’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Purchaser’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and (ii) the Purchaser has established and maintained disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) designed to ensure that material information relating to the Purchaser is made known to the Purchaser’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within the Purchaser, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are being prepared.
(g) The Purchaser has not taken any action prohibited by Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
4.7 Absence of Certain Changes. As of the date of this Agreement, the Purchaser has, (a) since its formation, conducted no business other than its formation, the public offering of its securities (and the related private offerings), public reporting and its search for an initial Business Combination as described in the IPO Prospectus (including the investigation of the Target Companies and the negotiation and execution of this Agreement) and related activities and (b) since December 31, 2020, not been subject to a Material Adverse Effect.
4.8 Compliance with Laws. The Purchaser is, and has since its formation been, in compliance with all Laws applicable to it and the conduct of its business except for such noncompliance which would not reasonably be expected to be material to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser has not received written notice alleging any violation of applicable Law in any material respect by the Purchaser.
4.9 Actions; Orders; Permits. There is no pending or, to the Knowledge Purchaser, threatened Action to which the Purchaser is subject which would result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser. There is no material Action that the Purchaser has pending against any other Person. The Purchaser is not subject to any material Orders of any Governmental Authority, nor are any such Orders pending. The Purchaser holds all material Permits necessary to lawfully conduct its business as presently conducted, and to own, lease and operate its assets and properties, all of which are in full force and effect, except where the failure to hold such Consent or for such Consent to be in full force and effect would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
16
4.10 Taxes.
(a) The Purchaser has or will have timely filed, or caused to be timely filed, all material Tax Returns required to be filed by it, which Tax Returns are true, accurate, correct and complete in all material respects, and has paid, collected or withheld, or caused to be paid, collected or withheld, all material Taxes required to be paid, collected or withheld, other than such Taxes for which adequate reserves in the Purchaser Financials have been established in accordance with GAAP. Section 4.10(a) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules sets forth each jurisdiction where the Purchaser files or is required to file a Tax Return.
(b) There are no claims, assessments. audits, examinations, investigations or other Actions pending against the Purchaser in respect of any material Tax, and the Purchaser has not been notified in writing of any material proposed Tax claims or assessments against the Purchaser (other than, in each case, claims or assessments for which adequate reserves in the Purchaser Financials have been established in accordance with GAAP).
(c) There are no Liens with respect to any Taxes upon any of the Purchaser’s assets, other than Permitted Liens. The Purchaser has no outstanding waivers or extensions of any applicable statute of limitations to assess any material amount of Taxes.
(d) There are no outstanding requests by the Purchaser for any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return or within which to pay any Taxes shown to be due on any Tax Return.
(e) The Purchaser is not, and never has been, a member of any consolidated, combined, unitary or affiliated group of corporations for any Tax purposes.
(f) Since the date of its formation, the Purchaser has not (i) changed any Tax accounting methods, policies or procedures except as required by a change in Law, (ii) made, revoked, or amended any material Tax election, (iii) filed any amended Tax Returns or claim for refund or (iv) entered into any closing agreement affecting or otherwise settled or compromised any material Tax Liability or refund.
(g) The Purchase is not, and never has been (including as a successor) treated as a domestic corporation (as such term is defined in Section 7701 of the Code) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Purchaser is, and though the Closing, will be regarded as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes as defined in Section ###-###-####-2(b) of the Treasury Regulations.
(h) The Purchaser is not, (nor does it hold an interest in a company that is) treated as either: (i) a “controlled foreign corporation” as defined in Section 957 of the Code (or any similar provision of state, local or foreign Law); or (ii) a “passive foreign investment company” within the meaning of Section 1297 of the Code.
(i) The Purchaser is not, nor has it ever been, a “United States real property holding corporation” within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code. The Purchaser does not own any “United States real property interest” within the meaning of Section 897 of the Code or “United States property” within the meaning of Section 956 of the Code.
4.11 Employees and Employee Benefit Plans.
The Purchaser does not (a) have any paid employees or (b) maintain, sponsor, contribute to or otherwise have any Liability under, any Benefit Plans. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents nor the consummation of the Transactions will (i) result in any payment or benefit (including severance, unemployment compensation, golden parachute, bonus or otherwise) becoming due to any director, officer or employee of the Purchaser; or (b) result in the acceleration of the time of payment or vesting of any such payment or benefit.
17
4.12 Properties.
The Purchaser does not own, license or otherwise have any right, title or interest in any material Intellectual Property. The Purchaser does not own or lease any material real property or Personal Property.
4.13 Material Contracts.
(a) Section 4.13(a) of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules set forth each Contract other than this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents, by which the Purchaser is a party or by which any of its properties or assets may be bound, subject or affected, which (i) creates or imposes a Liability greater than $25,000, (ii) may not be cancelled by the Purchaser on less than sixty (60) days’ prior notice without payment of a material penalty or termination fee or (iii) prohibits, prevents, restricts or impairs in any material respect any business practice of the Purchaser as its business is currently conducted, any acquisition of material property by the Purchaser, or restricts in any material respect the ability of the Purchaser from engaging in business as currently conducted by it or from competing with any other Person (each, a “Purchaser Material Contract”). All Purchaser Material Contracts have been made available to the Company other than those that are exhibits to the SEC Reports.
(b) With respect to each Purchaser Material Contract: (i) the Purchaser Material Contract was entered into at arms’ length and in the ordinary course of business; (ii) the Purchaser Material Contract is legal, valid, binding and enforceable in all respects against the Purchaser and, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, the other parties thereto, and is in full force and effect (except, in each case, as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions); (iii) the Purchaser is not in breach or default in any material respect, and, to the Purchaser's Knowledge, no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a breach or default by the Purchaser, or permit termination or acceleration by the other party, under such Purchaser Material Contract; and (iv) to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, no other party to any Purchaser Material Contract is in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a breach or default by such other party, or permit termination or acceleration by the Purchaser under any Purchaser Material Contract, (v) the Purchaser has not received written or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, oral notice by any party to any Purchaser Material Contract to terminate such Company Material Contract or amend the terms thereof, other than modifications in the ordinary course of business that do not adversely affect the Purchaser, in any material respect; and (vi) the Purchaser has not waived any material rights under any Purchaser Material Contract.
4.14 Transactions with Affiliates.
Section 4.14 of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules sets forth a true, correct and complete list of the Contracts and arrangements that are in existence as of the date of this Agreement under which there are any existing or future Liabilities or obligations between the Purchaser, on the one hand, and any (a) present or former director, officer, employee, manager, direct equityholder or Affiliate of the Purchaser, or any immediate family member of any of the foregoing, or (b) record or beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of the Purchaser’s outstanding capital stock as of the date hereof, on the other hand.
18
4.15 Investment Company Act; JOBS Act.
The Purchaser is not an “investment company” or a Person directly or indirectly “controlled” by or acting on behalf of a person subject to registration and regulation as an “investment company”, in each case within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The Purchaser constitutes an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the JOBS Act.
4.16 Finders and Brokers.
Except as set forth in Section 4.16 of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules, no broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission from the Purchaser, Pubco, the Target Companies, the Sellers or any of their respective Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of the Purchaser. Section of the Section 4.16 Purchaser Disclosure Schedules shall set forth, as of the date of this Agreement, the amounts of any such fees or commissions that are due or would, upon the Closing, be due.
4.17 Certain Business Practices.
(a) Neither the Purchaser, nor any of its Representatives acting on its behalf, has (i) used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees, to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns or violated any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or any other local or foreign anti-corruption or bribery Law, (iii) made any other unlawful payment or (iv) since the formation of the Purchaser, directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any unlawful gift or similar benefit in any material amount to any customer, supplier, governmental employee or other Person who is or may be in a position to help or hinder the Purchaser or assist it in connection with any actual or proposed transaction.
(b) The operations of the Purchaser are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with money laundering statutes in all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority, and no Action involving the Purchaser with respect to the any of the foregoing is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened.
(c) None of the Purchaser or any of its directors or officers, or, to the Knowledge of Purchaser, any other Representative acting on behalf of the Purchaser is currently (i) identified on the specially designated nationals or other blocked person list or otherwise currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”), the U.S. Department of State, or other applicable Governmental Authority; (ii) organized, resident, or located in, or a national of a comprehensively sanctioned country (currently, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea region of Ukraine); or (iii) in the aggregate, fifty (50) percent or greater owned, directly or indirectly, or otherwise controlled, by a person identified in (i) or (ii); and the Purchaser has not, directly or indirectly, used any funds, or loaned, contributed or otherwise made available such funds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, in connection with any sales or operations in any other country sanctioned by OFAC or for the purpose of financing the activities of any Person currently subject to, or otherwise in violation of, any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC or the U.S. Department of State in the last five (5) fiscal years.
19
4.18 Insurance.
Section 4.18 of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules lists all insurance policies (by policy number, insurer, coverage period, coverage amount, annual premium and type of policy) held by the Purchaser relating to the Purchaser or its business, properties, assets, directors, officers and employees, copies of which have been provided to the Company. All premiums due and payable under all such insurance policies have been timely paid and the Purchaser is otherwise in material compliance with the terms of such insurance policies. All such insurance policies are in full force and effect, and to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, there is no threatened termination of, or material premium increase with respect to, any of such insurance policies. There have been no insurance claims made by the Purchaser. The Purchaser has reported to its insurers all claims and pending circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a claim, except where such failure to report such a claim would not be reasonably likely to be material to the Purchaser.
4.19 Information Supplied.
None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Purchaser expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any current report on Form 8-K, and any exhibits thereto or any other report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Purchaser’s or Pubco’s shareholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Purchaser expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Filing and the Closing Press Release will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser makes no representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of Pubco, the Target Companies, the Sellers or any of their respective Affiliates.
4.20 Independent Investigation.
The Purchaser has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Target Companies, Pubco and Merger Sub and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Target Companies, Pubco and Merger Sub for such purpose. The Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Company, the Sellers, Pubco and Merger Sub set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules) and in any certificate delivered to the Purchaser pursuant hereto, and the information provided by or on behalf of the Company, the Sellers, Pubco and Merger Sub for the Registration Statement; and (b) none of the Company and the Sellers or their respective Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Target Companies, the Sellers, or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules) or in any certificate delivered to the Purchaser pursuant hereto.
20
4.21 Trust Account.
As of December 31, 2020, the Purchaser had an amount of assets in the Trust Account equal to approximately One Hundred Thirty-Eight Million Eight Hundred Thirty Three Thousand and Nine Hundred Seventy Three Dollars ($138,833,973). The funds held in the Trust Account are invested in U.S. government securities or money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act and held in trust pursuant to the Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreement is in full force and effect and is a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser and the Trustee, enforceable in accordance with its terms. The Trust Agreement has not been terminated, repudiated, rescinded, amended, supplemented or modified, in any respect, and no such termination, repudiation, rescission, amendment, supplement or modification is contemplated. There are no separate Contracts, side letters or other arrangements or understandings (whether written or unwritten, express or implied) that would cause the description of the Trust Agreement in the SEC Reports to be inaccurate in any material respect or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, that would entitle any Person (other than (i) in respect of deferred underwriting commissions set forth in Section 4.21 of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules or Taxes, (ii) the holders of Purchaser Securities prior to the Effective Time who shall have elected to redeem their Purchaser Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents or in connection with an amendment thereof to extend the Purchaser’s deadline to consummate a Business Combination or (iii) if the Purchaser fails to complete a Business Combination within the allotted time period and liquidates the Trust Account, subject to the terms of the Trust Agreement, the Purchaser in limited amounts to permit the Purchaser to pay the expenses of the Trust Account’s liquidation and dissolution, and then the Purchaser’s public shareholders) to any portion of the funds in the Trust Account. Prior to the Closing, none of the funds held in the Trust Account have been released, except to pay Taxes from any interest income earned in the Trust Account, and to redeem Purchaser Ordinary Shares pursuant to the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, or in connection with an amendment thereof to extend the Purchaser’s deadline to consummate a Business Combination. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no Actions pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened with respect to the Trust Account.
Article V
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PUBCO
Pubco represents and warrants to the Purchaser, the Company and the Sellers, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
5.1 Organization and Standing.
(a) Pubco is an exempted company duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the Cayman Islands and Merger Sub is a company duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands.
(b) Each of Pubco and Merger Sub has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted.
(c) Each of Pubco and Merger Sub is duly qualified or licensed and in good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which the character of the property owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or licensing necessary.
(d) Pubco has heretofore made available to the Purchaser and the Company accurate and complete copies of the Organizational Documents of Pubco and Merger Sub, each as currently in effect. Neither Pubco nor Merger Sub is in violation of any provision of its Organizational Documents in any material respect.
21
5.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement.
Subject to filing the Amended Pubco Charter, each of Pubco and Merger Sub has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, and, subject to the approval by the director and members of Merger Sub of the Plan of Merger and the approval by the director of Merger Sub of the Articles of Merger, to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly and validly authorized by the board of directors and shareholders of Pubco and Merger Sub and no other corporate proceedings, other than as expressly set forth elsewhere in the Agreement (including the filing of the Amended Pubco Charter and approval of the Plan of Merger and Articles of Merger), on the part of Pubco or Merger Sub are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which Pubco or Merger Sub is a party has been or shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by such Party and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and such Ancillary Documents by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the valid and binding obligation of such Party, enforceable against such Party in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions.
5.3 Governmental Approvals.
No Consent of or with any Governmental Authority, on the part of Pubco or Merger Sub is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by such Party of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or the consummation by such Party of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, other than (a) pursuant to Antitrust Laws, (b) such filings as are expressly contemplated by this Agreement, including the Amended Pubco Charter, (c) any filings required with Nasdaq or the SEC with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (d) applicable requirements, if any, of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and/ or any state “blue sky” securities Laws, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and (e) where the failure to obtain or make such Consents or to make such filings or notifications, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on Pubco.
5.4 Non-Contravention.
The execution and delivery by Pubco and Merger Sub of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, the consummation by such Party of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and compliance by such Party with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not (a) subject to the filing of the Amended Pubco Charter, conflict with or violate any provision of such Party’s Organizational Documents, (b) subject to the approval of the Plan of Merger and Articles of Merger, and obtaining the Consents from Governmental Authorities referred to in Section 5.4 hereof, and the waiting periods referred to therein having expired, and any condition precedent to such Consent or waiver having been satisfied, conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Consent applicable to such Party or any of its properties or assets, or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of, (iv) accelerate the performance required by such Party under, (v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) upon any of the properties or assets of such Party under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party Consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of, any material Contract of such Party, except for any deviations from any of the foregoing clauses (a), (b) or (c) that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on Pubco.
22
5.5 Capitalization.
As of the date hereof, (i) the authorized share capital of Pubco is US$50,000, divided into 50,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value US$0.001 per share, of which one (1) ordinary share in the capital of Pubco is issued and outstanding, and owned by Primary Seller, and (ii) Merger Sub is authorized to issue up to 50,000 ordinary shares with a par value US$0.001 each, of a single class, of which 1 share is issued and outstanding, and owned by Pubco. Prior to giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, other than Merger Sub, Pubco does not have any Subsidiaries or own any equity interests in any other Person. Pubco qualifies as a foreign private issuer pursuant to Rule 3b-4 of the Exchange Act.
5.6 Ownership of Exchange Shares.
(i) All Exchange Shares to be issued and delivered in accordance with Article II to the Sellers shall be, upon issuance and delivery of such Exchange Shares, duly authorized and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable, free and clear of all Liens, and (ii) upon issuance and delivery of such Exchange Shares the Sellers shall have good and valid title to the Exchange Shares, in each case of clauses (i) and (ii), other than restrictions arising from applicable securities Laws, the Lock-Up Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement and any Liens incurred by the Sellers, and (iii) the issuance and sale of such Exchange Shares pursuant hereto will not be subject to or give rise to any preemptive rights or rights of first refusal.
5.7 Pubco and Merger Sub Activities.
Since their formation, Pubco and Merger Sub have not engaged in any business activities other than as contemplated by this Agreement, do not own directly or indirectly any ownership, equity, profits or voting interest in any Person (other than Pubco’s 100% ownership of Merger Sub) and have no assets or Liabilities except those incurred in connection with this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents to which they are a party and the Transactions, and, other than their respective Organizational Documents, this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents to which they are a party, Pubco and Merger Sub are not party to or bound by any Contract.
5.8 Finders and Brokers.
No broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission from the Purchaser, Pubco, the Target Companies or any of their respective Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of Pubco or Merger Sub.
5.9 Investment Company Act.
Pubco is not an “investment company” or, a Person directly or indirectly controlled by or acting on behalf of a person subject to registration and regulation as an “investment company”, in each case within the meanings of the Investment Company Act.
23
5.10 Information Supplied.
None of the information supplied or to be supplied by Pubco or Merger Sub expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any Current Report on Form 8-K or 6-K, and any exhibits thereto or any other report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Purchaser’s or Pubco’s shareholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by Pubco or Merger Sub expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Filing and the Closing Press Release will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither Pubco nor Merger Sub makes any representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of the Purchaser, the Target Companies, the Sellers or any of their respective Affiliates.
5.11 Independent Investigation.
Each of Pubco and Merger Sub has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Target Companies and the Purchaser and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Target Companies and the Purchaser for such purpose. Each of Pubco and Merger Sub acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Company, the Sellers and the Purchaser set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules and the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) and in any certificate delivered to Pubco or Merger Sub pursuant hereto, and the information provided by or on behalf of the Company, the Sellers or the Purchaser for the Registration Statement; and (b) none of the Company, the Sellers, the Purchaser or their respective Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Target Companies, the Sellers, the Purchaser or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules and the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) or in any certificate delivered to Pubco or Merger Sub pursuant hereto.
Article VI
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except as set forth in the disclosure schedules delivered by the Company to the Purchaser on the date hereof (the “Company Disclosure Schedules”), the Section numbers of which are numbered to correspond to the Section numbers of this Agreement to which they refer (such Sections of the Company Disclosure Schedules to qualify the correspondingly numbered representation or warranty if specified therein and such other representation or warranty where its relevance as an exception to, or disclosure for purposes of, such other representation or warranty is reasonably apparent on the face of such disclosure), the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
6.1 Organization and Standing.
(a) The Company is a company duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of Cayman Islands and has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted.
(b) Each other Target Company is a corporation or other entity duly formed, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of its jurisdiction of organization and has all requisite corporate or other entity power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted.
24
(c) Each Target Company is duly qualified or licensed and in good standing (to the extent that such concept applies) in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated or registered and in each other jurisdiction where it does business or operates to the extent that the character of the property owned, or leased or operated by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or licensing necessary except where the failure to be so qualified or licensed or in good standing in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated or registered and in each other jurisdiction where it does business or operates to the extent that the character of the property owned, or leased or operated by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or licensing necessary.
(d) The Company has provided to the Purchaser accurate and complete copies of the Organizational Documents of each Target Company, each as amended to date and as currently in effect. No Target Company is in violation of any provision of its Organizational Documents.
6.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement.
The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is or is required to be a party, to perform the Company’s obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which the Company is or is required to be a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, (a) have been duly and validly authorized by the board of directors and shareholders of the Company in accordance with the Company’s Organizational Documents, the Cayman Act and any other applicable Law and (b) no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which the Company is or is required to be a party shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by the Company and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and any such Ancillary Document by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions.
6.3 Capitalization.
(a) As of the date of this Agreement, (i) the authorized share capital of the Company is US$50,000, divided into 50,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value US$0.001 per share and (ii) one ordinary share of par value US$0.001 is issued and outstanding and owned by Primary Seller, and there are no other issued or outstanding equity interests of the Company. The Sellers are the legal (registered) owners of all of the issued and outstanding Company Ordinary Shares, all of which Company Ordinary Shares are owned by the Sellers free and clear of any Liens other than those imposed under the Company Organizational Documents and applicable securities Laws. After giving effect to the Share Exchange and Subscription, Pubco shall own all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of the Company free and clear of any Liens other than those imposed under the Company Organizational Documents and applicable securities Laws. All of the outstanding shares and other equity interests of the Company have been duly authorized, are fully paid and non-assessable and not in violation of any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of the Cayman Act, any other applicable Law, the Company’s Organizational Documents or any Contract to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or its securities are bound. The Company does not, directly or indirectly, hold any of its shares or other equity interests in treasury.
25
(b) No Target Company currently has, and no Target Company has had, since its formation, any stock option or other equity incentive plans. Except as may be issued in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, there are no Company Convertible Securities or preemptive rights or rights of first refusal or first offer, nor are there any Contracts, commitments, arrangements or restrictions to which the Company or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any of their respective shareholders are a party or bound relating to any equity securities of the Company, whether or not outstanding. There are no outstanding or authorized equity appreciation, phantom equity or similar rights with respect to the Company. There are no voting trusts, proxies, shareholder agreements or any other written agreements or understandings with respect to the voting of the Company’s equity interests. Except as set forth in the Company’s Organizational Documents, there are no outstanding contractual obligations of the Company to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any of its equity interests or securities, nor has the Company granted any registration rights to any Person with respect to its equity securities. All of the issued and outstanding securities of the Company have been granted, offered, sold and issued in compliance with all applicable securities Laws. As a result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, no equity interests of the Company are issuable and no rights in connection with any interests, warrants, rights, options or other securities of the Company accelerate or otherwise become triggered (whether as to vesting, exercisability, convertibility or otherwise).
(c) Since the Balance Sheet Date, the Company has not declared or paid any distribution or dividend in respect of its equity interests and has not repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any equity interests of the Company, and the board of directors of the Company has not authorized any of the foregoing.
6.4 Subsidiaries.
(a) Section 6.4 of the Company Disclosure Schedules sets forth the name of each Subsidiary of the Company, and with respect to each Subsidiary (a) its jurisdiction of organization, (b) its authorized shares or other equity interests (if applicable), and (c) the registered capital of each Subsidiary and the record holders thereof. All of the outstanding equity securities of each Subsidiary of the Company are duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (if applicable), and were offered, sold and delivered in compliance with all applicable securities Laws, and owned by one or more of the Target Companies free and clear of all Liens (other than those, if any, imposed by such Subsidiary’s Organizational Documents and applicable securities Laws). There are no Contracts to which the Company or any of its Affiliates is a party or bound with respect to the voting (including voting trusts or proxies) of the equity interests of any Subsidiary of the Company other than the Organizational Documents of any such Subsidiary. There are no outstanding or authorized options, warrants, rights, agreements, subscriptions, convertible securities or commitments to which any Subsidiary of the Company is a party or which are binding upon any Subsidiary of the Company providing for the issuance or redemption of any equity interests of any Subsidiary of the Company. There are no outstanding equity appreciation, phantom equity, profit participation or similar rights granted by any Subsidiary of the Company. No Subsidiary of the Company has any limitation, whether by Contract, Order or applicable Law, on its ability to make any distributions or dividends to its equity holders or repay any debt owed to another Target Company. Except for the equity interests of the Subsidiaries listed on Section 6.4 of the Company Disclosure Schedules, the Company does not own or have any rights to acquire, directly or indirectly, any equity interests of, or otherwise Control, any Person. No Target Company is a participant in any joint venture, partnership or similar arrangement. There are no outstanding contractual obligations of a Target Company to provide funds to, or make any investment (in the form of a loan or capital contribution or otherwise) in, any other Person.
26
(b) The capital and organizational structure of each Target Company organized or registered in the PRC (each, a “PRC Target Company”) are valid and in full compliance with the applicable PRC Laws. The registered capital of each PRC Target Company has been fully paid up in accordance with the schedule of payment stipulated in its articles of association, approval documents, certificates of approval and legal person business license (collectively, the “PRC Establishment Documents”) and in compliance with applicable PRC Laws, and there is no outstanding capital contribution commitment. The PRC Establishment Documents of each PRC Target Company has been duly approved and filed in accordance with the laws of the PRC and are valid and enforceable. The business scope specified in the PRC Establishment Documents of the PRC Target Companies complies in all material respects with the requirements of all applicable PRC Laws, and the operation and conduct of business by, and the term of operation of the PRC Target Companies in accordance with the PRC Establishment Documents is in compliance in all material respects with applicable PRC Laws.
6.5 Governmental Approvals.
No Consent of or with any Governmental Authority on the part of any Target Company is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby other than (a) such filings as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, (b) pursuant to Antitrust Laws, (c) any filings required with Nasdaq or the SEC with respect to the Transactions, (d) applicable requirements, if any, of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and/ or any state “blue sky” securities Laws, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and (e) those Consents, the failure of which to obtain prior to the Closing, would not individually or in the aggregate reasonably be expected to be material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, or the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents to which it is or required to be a party or otherwise bound.
6.6 Non-Contravention.
The execution and delivery by the Company (or any other Target Company, as applicable) of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which any Target Company is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound, and the consummation by any Target Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and compliance by any Target Company with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not (a) conflict with or violate any provision of any Target Company’s Organizational Documents, (b) subject to obtaining the Consents from Governmental Authorities referred to in Section 6.5 hereof, the waiting periods referred to therein having expired, and any condition precedent to such Consent or waiver having been satisfied, conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Consent applicable to any Target Company or any of its properties or assets, or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of, (iv) accelerate the performance required by any Target Company under, (v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) upon any of the properties or assets of any Target Company under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party Consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any Company Material Contract, except in cases of clauses (b) and (c), as would not individually or in the aggregate reasonably be expected to be material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, or the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents to which it is or required to be a party or otherwise bound.
27
6.7 Financial Statements.
(a) As used herein, the term “Company Financials” means the pro forma audited consolidated financial statements of Pure Value WFOE (including, in each case, any related notes thereto), consisting of the consolidated audited balance sheets of Pure Value WFOE as of December 31, 2019 (the “Balance Sheet Date”) and the related consolidated income statements, changes in shareholder equity and statements of cash flows for the years then ended. True and correct copies of the Company Financials have been provided to the Purchaser. The Company Financials (i) were prepared based upon the books and records of the Target Companies as of the times and for the periods referred to therein, (ii) were prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP, consistently applied throughout and among the periods involved (except that the unaudited financial statements exclude the footnote disclosures and other presentation items required for PRC GAAP and exclude year-end adjustments which will not be material in amount), and (iii) fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Target Companies as of the respective dates thereof and the consolidated results of the operations and cash flows of the Target Companies for the periods indicated.
(b) Each Target Company maintains books and records reflecting its assets and Liabilities and maintains proper and adequate internal accounting controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that (i) such Target Company does not maintain any off-the-book accounts and that such Target Company’s assets are used only in accordance with such Target Company’s management directives, (ii) transactions are executed with management’s authorization, (iii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the financial statements of such Target Company and to maintain accountability for such Target Company’s assets, (iv) access to such Target Company’s assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s authorization, and (v) adequate procedures are implemented to effect the collection of accounts, notes and other receivables on a timely basis. All of the financial books and records of the Target Companies are complete and accurate in all material respects and have been maintained in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and in accordance with applicable Laws. No Target Company has been subject to or involved in any material fraud that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal controls over financial reporting of any Target Company. Since January 1, 2018, no Target Company or its Representatives has received any written complaint, allegation, assertion or claim regarding the accounting or auditing practices, procedures, methodologies or methods of any Target Company or its internal accounting controls, including any material written complaint, allegation, assertion or claim that any Target Company has engaged in questionable accounting or auditing practices.
(c) The Target Companies do not have any material Indebtedness other than the Indebtedness set forth on Section 6.7(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedules, and in such amounts (including principal and any accrued but unpaid interest or other obligations with respect to such Indebtedness), as set forth on Section 6.7(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedules. Except as disclosed on Section 6.7(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedules, no Indebtedness of any Target Company contains any restriction upon (i) the prepayment of any of such Indebtedness, (ii) the incurrence of Indebtedness by any Target Company, or (iii) the ability of the Target Companies to grant any Lien on their respective properties or assets.
(d) No Target Company is subject to any Liabilities or obligations (whether or not required to be reflected on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP), including any off-balance sheet obligations or any “variable interest entities” (within the meaning Accounting Standards Codification 810), except for those that are either (i) adequately reflected or reserved on or provided for in the consolidated balance sheet of the Target Companies as of the Balance Sheet Date contained in the Company Financials or (ii) not material and that were incurred after the Balance Sheet Date in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (other than Liabilities for breach of any Contract or violation of any Law).
(e) All financial projections with respect to the Target Companies that were delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchaser or Pubco or their respective Representatives were prepared in good faith using assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable.
28
6.8 Absence of Certain Changes.
Except for actions expressly contemplated by this Agreement, since the Balance Sheet Date, each Target Company: (a) has conducted its business only in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (b) has not been subject to a Material Adverse Effect and (c) has not taken any action or committed or agreed to take any action that would be prohibited by Section 8.2 (without giving effect to Schedule 8.2 ) if such action were taken on or after the date hereof without the consent of the Purchaser.
6.9 Compliance with Laws.
No Target Company is or, since January 1, 2018, has been in material conflict or material non-compliance with, or in material default or violation of, nor has any Target Company received, since January 1, 2018, any written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of any material conflict or non-compliance with, or material default or violation of, any applicable Laws by which it is or was bound
6.10 Company Permits.
Each Target Company (and its employees who are legally required to be licensed by a Governmental Authority in order to perform his or her duties with respect to his or her employment with any Target Company), holds all Permits necessary to lawfully conduct in all material respects its business as presently conducted, and to own, lease and operate its assets and properties (collectively, the “Company Permits”). The Company has made available to the Purchaser true, correct and complete copies of all material Company Permits. All of the Company Permits are in full force and effect, and no suspension or cancellation of any of the Company Permits is pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened. No Target Company is in violation in any material respect of the terms of any Company Permit, and, since January 1, 2018, no Target Company has received any written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of any Actions relating to the revocation or modification of any material Company Permit.
6.11 Litigation.
As of the date of this Agreement, there is no (a) Action of any nature currently pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened (and no such Action has been brought or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened since January 1, 2018); or (b) Order now pending or outstanding or that was rendered by a Governmental Authority since January 1, 2018, in either case of (a) or (b) by or against any Target Company, its current or former directors, officers or equity holders (provided, that any litigation involving the directors, officers or equity holders of a Target Company must be related to the Target Company’s business, equity securities or assets), its business, equity securities or assets. The items listed on Section 6.11 of the Company Disclosure Schedules, if finally determined adverse to the Target Companies, will not have, either individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect upon any Target Company. Since January 1, 2018, none of the current or former officers, senior management or directors of any Target Company have been charged with, indicted for, arrested for, or convicted of any felony or any crime involving fraud.
29
6.12 Material Contracts.
(a) Section 6.12(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true, correct and complete list of, and the Company has made available to the Purchaser (including written summaries of oral Contracts), true, correct and complete copies of, each Contract to which any Target Company is a party or by which any Target Company, or any of its properties or assets are bound (each Contract required to be set forth on Section 6.12(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, a “Company Material Contract”) that:
(i) contains covenants that limit in any material respect the ability of any Target Company (A) to compete in any line of business or with any Person or in any geographic area or to sell, or provide any service or product or solicit any Person, including any non-competition covenants, employee and customer non-solicit covenants, exclusivity restrictions, rights of first refusal or most-favored pricing clauses or (B) to purchase or acquire an interest in any other Person;
(ii) relates to the formation, creation, operation, management or control of any joint venture, profit-sharing, partnership, limited liability company or other similar agreement or arrangement;
(iii) involves any exchange traded, over the counter or other swap, cap, floor, collar, futures contract, forward contract, option or other derivative financial instrument or Contract, based on any commodity, security, instrument, asset, rate or index of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether tangible or intangible, including currencies, interest rates, foreign currency and indices other than those entered into in the ordinary course of business of the Target Companies on behalf of a customers or any ordinary course transactions that are settled on a daily basis;
(iv) evidences Indebtedness (whether incurred, assumed, guaranteed or secured by any asset) of any Target Company having an outstanding principal amount in excess of $100,000 (other than those incurred in the ordinary course of business of the Target Companies on behalf of a customers or any ordinary course transactions that are settled on a daily basis);
(v) involves the acquisition or disposition, directly or indirectly (by merger or otherwise), of assets with an aggregate value in excess of $250,000 (other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) or shares or other equity interests of any Target Company or another Person;
(vi) relates to any merger, consolidation or other business combination with any other Person or the acquisition or disposition of any other entity or its business or material assets or the sale of any Target Company, its business or material assets;
(vii) by its terms, individually or with all related Contracts, calls for aggregate payments or receipts by the Target Companies under such Contract or Contracts of at least $250,000 per year or $500,000 in the aggregate;
(viii) is with any Top Customer or Top Vendor;
(ix) obligates the Target Companies to provide continuing indemnification or a guarantee of obligations of a third party after the date hereof in excess of $250,000;
(x) is between any (A) Target Company and (B) any directors, officers or employees of a Target Company (other than at-will employment, assignment of Intellectual Property or confidentiality arrangements with employees entered into in the ordinary course of business, including all non-competition, severance and indemnification agreements), or any Related Person;
(xi) obligates the Target Companies to make any capital commitment or expenditure in excess of $250,000 (including pursuant to any joint venture);
(xii) relates to a material settlement of any Action entered into within three (3) years prior to the date of this Agreement or under which any Target Company has outstanding obligations (other than customary confidentiality or non-disparagement obligations);
30
(xiii) provides another Person (other than another Target Company or any manager, director or officer of any Target Company) with a power of attorney; or
(xiv) that will be required to be filed with the Registration Statement under applicable SEC requirements or would otherwise be required to be filed by the Company as an exhibit for a Form S-1 pursuant to Items 601(b)(1), (2), (4), (9) or (10) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act as if the Company was the registrant.
(b) With respect to each Company Material Contract: (i) such Company Material Contract is valid and binding and enforceable in all respects against the Target Company party thereto and, to the Knowledge of the Company, each other party thereto, and is in full force and effect (except, in each case, as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions); (ii) no target Company is in breach or default, in any material respect, under such Material Contract, (ii) to the Knowledge of the Company, no other party to such Company Material Contract is in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a material breach or default by such other party, or permit termination or acceleration by any Target Company, under such Company Material Contract; (iii) no Target Company has received written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of termination by any party to any such Company Material Contract to terminate such Company Material Contract or amend the terms thereof, other than modifications in the ordinary course of business that do not adversely affect the Target Companies, taken as a whole, in any material respect; and (iv) no Target Company has waived any material rights under any such Company Material Contract.
6.13 Intellectual Property.
(a) Section 6.13(a)(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedules sets forth: all Patents and Patent applications, trademark and service mark registrations and applications, copyright registrations and applications and domain name registrations owned by a Target Company (“Company Registered IP”), specifying as to each item, as applicable: (A) the title of the item, (B) the owner of the item, (C) the jurisdictions in which the item is issued or registered or in which an application for issuance or registration has been filed and (D) the issuance, registration or application numbers and dates. Section 6.13(a)(ii) of the Company Disclosure Schedules sets forth all Intellectual Property licenses, sublicenses and other agreements or permissions that are material to the Target Companies' businesses as currently conducted (other than “shrink wrap,” “click wrap,” and “off the shelf” software agreements and other agreements for Software commercially available to the public generally with license, maintenance, support and other fees of less than $20,000 per year), under which a Target Company is a licensee or otherwise is authorized to use or practice any material Intellectual Property ("Company IP Licenses"). The Target Companies own, free and clear of all Liens (other than Permitted Liens), all Company IP. Except as set forth on Section 6.13(a)(iii) of the Company Disclosure Schedules, all Company Registered IP is owned exclusively by the applicable Target Company without obligation to pay royalties, licensing fees or other fees, or otherwise account to any third party with respect to such Company Registered IP.
31
(b) To the Knowledge of the Company, each Target Company has a valid and enforceable license to use all material Intellectual Property that is the subject of the Company IP Licenses applicable to such Target Company (except, in each case, as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions). To the Knowledge of the Company, the Company IP Licenses include all of the licenses, sublicenses and other agreements or permissions for material Intellectual Property necessary to operate the Target Companies as presently conducted. Each Target Company has performed all material obligations imposed on it in the Company IP Licenses, and such Target Company is not in breach or default thereunder in any material respect, and to the Company's Knowledge, nor has any event occurred that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a material default by any Target Company thereunder. To the Knowledge of the Company, all registrations for material Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks and domain names that are owned by any Target Company are valid and in force.
(c) To the Company's Knowledge, no Action is pending or threatened against a Target Company that challenges the validity, enforceability, ownership, or right to use, sell, license or sublicense any material Intellectual Property currently owned, licensed, used or held for use by the Target Companies, except for any Action relating to applications for registration of Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights. During the past three (3) years, no Target Company has received any written claim that is currently pending, asserting that any infringement, misappropriation, violation, dilution or unauthorized use of the Intellectual Property of any other Person in any material respects is or may be occurring or has or may have occurred, as a consequence of the business activities of any Target Company. There are no Orders to which any Target Company is a party that (i) restrict the rights of a Target Company to use, transfer, license or enforce any material Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company, (ii) restrict the conduct of the business of a Target Company in any material respect in order to accommodate a third Person’s Intellectual Property, or (iii) grant any third Person any right with respect to any Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company. To the Knowledge of the Company, no Target Company is currently infringing, or has, in the past, three (3) years infringed, misappropriated or violated any Intellectual Property of any other Person in any material respect as a result of the ownership, use or license of any material Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company To the Company’s Knowledge, no third party is infringing upon, has misappropriated or is otherwise violating any Intellectual Property owned by any Target Company and material to the Target Companies’ businesses as currently conducted (“Company IP”) in any material respect.
(d) All employees and independent contractors of a Target Company who develop material Intellectual Property for such Target Company have assigned to the Target Company such material Intellectual Property arising from the services performed for a Target Company by such Persons. To the Knowledge of the Company, no current or former officers, employees or independent contractors of a Target Company have claimed in writing any ownership interest in any material Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company. The Company has made available to the Purchaser true and complete copies of templates of written Contracts used by the Target Companies under which employees and independent contractors assigned their material Intellectual Property developed for a Target Company to a Target Company. Each Target Company has taken commercially reasonable security measures for the purposes of protecting the secrecy and confidentiality of the material Trade Secrets included in Company IP.
(e) To the Knowledge of the Company, during the past three (3) years, (i) no Person has obtained unauthorized access in any material respects to third party personal information and data regarding individuals that are protected by applicable data privacy Law, in the possession of a Target Company, and (ii) nor has there been any other material compromise of the security, confidentiality or integrity of such information or data. Each Target Company has complied in all material respects with all applicable Laws relating to privacy, personal data protection, and the collection, processing and use of such personal information and its own privacy policies and guidelines.
32
(f) The consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in the material breach, material modification, cancellation, termination, suspension of, or acceleration of any payments by a Target Company under, or release of source code for Software included in Company IP because of (i) any Contract providing for the license by a Target Company to a third party of material Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company, or (ii) any Company IP License. Following the Closing, the Company shall be permitted to exercise, directly or indirectly through its Subsidiaries, all of the Target Companies material rights under such Contracts or Company IP Licenses to the same extent that the Target Companies would have been able to exercise had the transactions contemplated by this Agreement not occurred, without the payment of any additional amounts or consideration other than ongoing fees, royalties or payments which the Target Companies would otherwise be required to pay in the absence of such transactions.
6.14 Taxes and Returns.
(a) Each Target Company has or will have timely filed, or caused to be timely filed, all material Tax Returns required to be filed by it (taking into account all available extensions), which Tax Returns are true, accurate, correct and complete in all material respects, and has paid, collected or withheld, or caused to be paid, collected or withheld, all material Taxes required to be paid, collected or withheld, other than such Taxes for which adequate reserves in the Company Financials have been established.
(b) There is no current pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Action against a Target Company by a Governmental Authority in a jurisdiction where the Target Company does not file Tax Returns that it is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction.
(c) No Target Company is being audited by any Tax authority or has been notified in writing or, to the Knowledge of the Company, orally by any Tax authority that any such audit is contemplated or pending. There are no claims, assessments, audits, examinations, investigations or other Actions pending against a Target Company in respect of any material Tax, and no Target Company has been notified in writing of any material proposed Tax claims or assessments against it (other than, in each case, claims or assessments for which adequate reserves in the Company Financials have been established).
(d) There are no Liens with respect to any Taxes upon any Target Company’s assets, other than Permitted Liens.
(e) Each Target Company has collected or withheld all material Taxes currently required to be collected or withheld by it, and all such Taxes have been paid to the appropriate Governmental Authorities or set aside in appropriate accounts for future payment when due.
(f) No Target Company has any outstanding waivers or extensions of any applicable statute of limitations to assess any material amount of Taxes. There are no outstanding requests by a Target Company for any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return or within which to pay any Taxes shown to be due on any Tax Return.
(g) No Target Company has participated in, or sold, distributed or otherwise promoted, any “reportable transaction,” as defined in U.S. Treasury Regulation section 1.6011-4.
(h) No Target Company has any Liability for the Taxes of another Person (other than another Target Company) (i) as a transferee or successor, or (ii) by contract, indemnity or otherwise (excluding commercial agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which was not the sharing of Taxes). No Target Company is a party to or bound by any Tax indemnity agreement, Tax sharing agreement or Tax allocation agreement or similar agreement, arrangement or practice (excluding commercial agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which was not the sharing of Taxes) with respect to Taxes (including advance pricing agreement, closing agreement or other agreement relating to Taxes with any Governmental Authority) that will be binding on such Target Company with respect to any period following the Closing Date.
33
(i) No Target Company: (i) has constituted either a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” (within the meaning of Section 355(a)(1)(A) of the Code) in a distribution of securities (to any Person or entity that is not a member of the consolidated group of which the Company is the common parent corporation) qualifying for, or intended to qualify for, Tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Code (A) within the two-year period ending on the date hereof or (B) in a distribution which could otherwise constitute part of a “plan” or “series of related transactions” (within the meaning of Section 355(e) of the Code) in conjunction with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; or (ii) is or has ever been (A) a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code, or (B) a member of any consolidated, combined, unitary or affiliated group of corporations for any Tax purposes other than a group of which the Company is or was the common parent corporation.
(j) No Target Company is treated as a domestic corporation (as such term is defined in Section 7701 of the Code) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
6.15 Real Property.
Section 6.15 of the Company Disclosure Schedules contains a complete and accurate list of all premises currently leased or subleased by a Target Company for the operation of the business of a Target Company, and of all current leases, lease guarantees, agreements and documents related thereto as of the date of this Agreement, including all amendments, terminations and modifications thereof or waivers thereto (collectively, the “Company Real Property Leases”), as well as the current annual rent and term under each Company Real Property Lease. The Company has provided to the Purchaser a true and complete copy of each of the Company Real Property Leases, and in the case of any oral Company Real Property Lease, a written summary of the material terms of such Company Real Property Lease. The Company Real Property Leases are valid, binding and enforceable against the Target Company party thereto and, to the Knowledge of the Company, each other party thereto, in accordance with their terms and are in full force and effect (except, in each case, as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions). To the Knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred which (whether with or without notice, lapse of time or both or the happening or occurrence of any other event) would constitute a default on the part of a Target Company or any other party under any of the Company Real Property Leases, and no Target Company has received notice of any such condition. No Target Company owns or has ever owned any real property or any interest in real property (other than the leasehold interests in the Company Real Property Leases).
6.16 Personal Property.
Each item of Personal Property which is currently owned, used or leased by a Target Company with a book value or fair market value of greater than $50,000) is in good operating condition and repair (reasonable wear and tear excepted consistent with the age of such items), and is suitable for its intended use in the business of the Target Companies. The operation of each Target Company’s business as it is now conducted is not dependent upon the right to use the Personal Property of Persons other than a Target Company, except for such Personal Property that is owned, leased or licensed by, or otherwise contracted to, a Target Company.
34
6.17 Title to and Sufficiency of Assets.
Each Target Company has good and marketable title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to use, all of its assets, and with respect to assets owned by Target Companies, free and clear of all Liens other than (a) Permitted Liens, (b) the rights of lessors under leasehold interests, (c) Liens specifically identified on the Balance Sheet and (d) Liens set forth on Section 6.17 of the Company Disclosure Schedules. The assets (including Intellectual Property rights and contractual rights) of the Target Companies constitute all of the assets, rights and properties that are used in the operation of the businesses of the Target Companies as it is now conducted or that are used or held by the Target Companies for use in the operation of the businesses of the Target Companies, and taken together, are adequate and sufficient for the operation of the businesses of the Target Companies as currently conducted.
6.18 Employee Matters.
(a) No Target Company is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract covering any group of employees, labor organization or other representative of any of the employees of any Target Company and the Company has no Knowledge of any activities or proceedings of any labor union or other party to organize or represent such employees. There has not occurred or, to the Knowledge of the Company, been threatened any strike, slow-down, picketing, work-stoppage, or other similar labor activity with respect to any such employees. Section 6.18(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedules sets forth all unresolved labor controversies (including unresolved grievances and age or other discrimination claims), if any, that are pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened between any Target Company and Persons employed by or providing services as independent contractors to a Target Company. No current officer or employee of a Target Company has, to the Company's Knowledge, provided any Target Company written or oral notice of his or her plan to terminate his or her employment with any Target Company.
(b) Each Target Company (i) is and has been in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws respecting employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment, health and safety and wages and hours, and other Laws relating to discrimination, disability, labor relations, hours of work, payment of wages and overtime wages, pay equity, immigration, workers compensation, working conditions, employee scheduling, occupational safety and health, family and medical leave, and employee terminations, and has not received written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice that there is any pending Action involving unfair labor practices against a Target Company, (ii) is not liable for any material past due arrears of wages or any material penalty for failure to comply with any of the foregoing, and (iii) is not liable for any material payment to any Governmental Authority with respect to unemployment compensation benefits, social security or other benefits or obligations for employees, independent contractors or consultants (other than routine payments to be made in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice). There are no material Actions pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against a Target Company brought by or on behalf of any applicant for employment, any current or former employee, any Person alleging to be a current or former employee, or any Governmental Authority, relating to any such Law or regulation, or alleging breach of any express or implied contract of employment, wrongful termination of employment, or alleging any other discriminatory, wrongful or tortious conduct in connection with the employment relationship.
(c) Section 6.18(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedules sets forth a complete and accurate list as of the date hereof of all employees (with names redacted) of the Target Companies showing for each as of such date (i) the employee’s staff identification number, job title or description, employer, location, salary level (including any bonus, commission, deferred compensation or other remuneration payable (other than any such arrangements under which payments are at the discretion of the Target Companies)), (ii) any bonus, commission or other remuneration other than salary paid during the calendar year ended December 31, 2020, and (iii) any wages, salary, bonus, commission or other compensation due and owing to each employee during or for the calendar year ending December 31, 2021. The Target Companies have paid in full to all their employees all wages, salaries, commission, bonuses and other compensation due to their employees, including overtime compensation, and no Target Company has any obligation or Liability (whether or not contingent) with respect to severance payments to any such employees under the terms of any written or, to the Company’s Knowledge, oral agreement, or commitment or any applicable Law, custom, trade or practice. Each Target Company employee has entered into the Company’s standard form of employee non-disclosure, inventions and restrictive covenants agreement with a Target Company (whether pursuant to a separate agreement or incorporated as part of such employee’s overall employment agreement), a copy of which has been made available to the Purchaser by the Company.
35
(d) Section 6.18(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedules contains a list of all independent contractors (including consultants) currently engaged by any Target Company, along with the position, the entity engaging such independent contractor, date of retention and rate of remuneration. . All of such independent contractors are a party to a written Contract with a Target Company. Each such independent contractor has entered into customary covenants regarding confidentiality, non-competition and assignment of inventions and copyrights in such Person’s agreement with a Target Company. For the purposes of applicable Law, including the Code, all independent contractors who are currently, or within the last three (3) years have been, engaged by a Target Company are bona fide independent contractors and not employees of a Target Company. Each independent contractor's engagement is terminable on fewer than thirty (30) days’ notice, without any obligation of any Target Company to pay severance or a termination fee.
6.19 Benefit Plans.
(a) Set forth on Section 6.19(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedules is a true and complete list of each material Foreign Plan of a Target Company (each, a “Company Benefit Plan”). No Target Company maintains or contributes to (or has an obligation to contribute to) any Benefit Plan, whether or not subject to ERISA, which is not a Foreign Plan.
(b) With respect to each material Company Benefit Plan which covers any current or former officer, director, consultant or employee (or beneficiary thereof) of a Target Company, the Company has made available to the Purchaser accurate and complete copies, if applicable, of: (i) all current plan documents and related trust agreements or annuity Contracts (including any amendments, modifications or supplements thereto), and written descriptions of any material Company Benefit Plans which are not in writing; (ii) the most recent annual and periodic accounting of plan assets; (iii) the most recent actuarial valuation; and (iv) all material communications since January 1, 2018 with any Governmental Authority concerning any matter that is still pending or for which a Target Company has any outstanding material Liability or obligation.
(c) With respect to each Company Benefit Plan: (i) such Company Benefit Plan has been administered and enforced in all material respects in accordance with its terms and the requirements of all applicable Laws, and has been maintained, where required, in good standing in all material respects with applicable regulatory authorities and Governmental Authorities; (ii) no breach of fiduciary duty that would result in a material Liability to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, has occurred; (iii) no Action is pending, or to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened (other than routine claims for benefits arising in the ordinary course of administration) that would result in a material Liability to the Target Companies, taken as a whole; and (iv) all contributions, premiums and other payments (including any special contribution, interest or penalty) required to be made with respect to a Company Benefit have been timely made. No Target Company has incurred any material obligation in connection with the termination of, or withdrawal from, any Company Benefit Plan.
(d) To the extent applicable, the present value of the accrued benefit liabilities (whether or not vested) under each Company Benefit Plan, determined as of the end of the Company’s most recently ended fiscal year on the basis of reasonable actuarial assumptions did not materially exceed the current value of the assets of such Company Benefit Plan allocable to such benefit liabilities.
36
(e) The consummation of the Transactions will not: (i) entitle any individual to severance pay, unemployment compensation or other benefits or compensation under any Company Benefit Plan or under any applicable Law; or (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of any compensation due, or in respect of, any director, employee or independent contractor of a Target Company.
(f) Except to the extent required by applicable Law, no Target Company provides material health or life insurance benefits to any former or retired employee or is obligated to provide such benefits to any active employee following such employee’s retirement or other termination of employment or service.
6.20 Environmental Matters.
(a) Each Target Company is and has been in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws, including obtaining, maintaining in good standing, and complying in all material respects with all material Permits required for its business and operations by Environmental Laws (“Environmental Permits”), and no Action is pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened to revoke, modify, or terminate any such Environmental Permit.
(b) No Target Company is the subject of any outstanding Order or Contract with any Governmental Authority in respect of any (i) Environmental Laws, (ii) Remedial Action, or (iii) Release or threatened Release of a Hazardous Material in each case that would give rise to any material Liability. No Target Company has assumed, contractually or by operation of Law, any outstanding material Liabilities or obligations under any Environmental Laws.
(c) No Action is pending, or to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened against any Target Company or any assets of a Target Company alleging either or both that a Target Company may be in material violation of any Environmental Law or Environmental Permit or may have any material Liability under any Environmental Law.
(d) No Target Company has manufactured, treated, stored, disposed of, arranged for or permitted the disposal of, generated, handled or Released any Hazardous Material, or owned or operated any property or facility, in a manner that has given or would reasonably be expected to give rise to any material Liability or obligation of the Target Companies, taken as a whole, under applicable Environmental Laws. To the Company's Knowledge, no fact, circumstance, or condition exists in respect of any Target Company or any property currently or formerly owned, operated, or leased by any Target Company or any property to which a Target Company arranged for the disposal or treatment of Hazardous Materials that could reasonably be expected to result in a Target Company incurring any material Environmental Liabilities.
(e) To the Company's Knowledge, there is no investigation by a Governmental Authority of the business, operations, or currently owned, operated, or leased property of a Target Company or previously owned, operated, or leased property of a Target Company pending or threatened that could lead to the imposition of any material Environmental Liabilities.
(f) To the Knowledge of the Company, there is not located at any of the properties of a Target Company any (i) underground storage tanks, (ii) asbestos-containing material, or (iii) equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls, in each case that would result in the Target Companies, taken as a whole, incurring any material Liability or obligation under applicable Environmental Laws.
37
(g) The Company has provided to the Purchaser all material environmental site assessments, audits, studies, reports, analysis and results of investigations that have been performed in respect of the currently or previously owned, leased, or operated properties of any Target Company, in each case that are in the Company's possession.
6.21 Transactions with Related Persons.
No Target Company nor any of its Affiliates, nor any officer, director, manager, executive, trustee or beneficiary of a Target Company or any of its Affiliates, nor any immediate family member of any of the foregoing (whether directly or indirectly through an Affiliate of such Person) (each of the foregoing, a “Related Person”) is presently, or in the past three (3) years, has been, a party to any transaction with a Target Company, including any Contract (a) providing for the furnishing of services by (other than as officers, directors or employees of the Target Company), (b) providing for the rental of real property or Personal Property from or (c) otherwise requiring payments to (other than for services or expenses as directors, officers or employees of the Target Company in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) any Related Person or any Person in which any Related Person has a position as an owner, officer, manager, director, trustee or partner or in which any Related Person has any direct or indirect ownership interest (other than the ownership of securities representing no more than two percent (2%) of the outstanding voting power or economic interest of a publicly traded company). No Target Company has outstanding any Contract with any Related Person, and no Related Person owns any real property or Personal Property, or right, tangible or intangible (including Intellectual Property) which is used in the business of any Target Company, in each case other than pursuant to an Ancillary Document. Except as provided for in any Ancillary Document, the assets of the Target Companies do not include any material receivable or other material obligation from a Related Person, and the liabilities of the Target Companies do not include any material payable or other material obligation or commitment to any Related Person.
6.22 Insurance.
(a) Section 6.22(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedules lists all insurance policies (by policy number, insurer, coverage period, coverage amount, annual premium and type of policy) held by a Target Company relating to a Target Company or its business, properties, assets, directors, officers and employees, copies of which have been provided to the Purchaser. All premiums due and payable under all such insurance policies have been timely paid and the Target Companies are otherwise in material compliance with the terms of such insurance policies. To the Company's Knowledge, each such insurance policy (i) is legal, valid, binding, enforceable and in full force and effect and (ii) will continue to be legal, valid, binding, enforceable, and in full force and effect on identical terms following the Closing. No Target Company has any self-insurance or co-insurance programs. Since January 1, 2018, no Target Company has received any notice from, or on behalf of, any insurance carrier relating to or involving any adverse change or any change other than in the ordinary course of business, in the conditions of insurance, any refusal to issue an insurance policy or non-renewal of a policy.
(b) Section 6.22(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedules identifies each individual insurance claim in excess of $50,000 made by a Target Company since January 1, 2018. Each Target Company has reported to its insurers all claims and pending circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a claim, except where such failure to report such a claim would not be reasonably likely to be material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole. To the Knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred, and no condition or circumstance exists, that would reasonably be expected to (with or without notice or lapse of time) give rise to or serve as a basis for the denial of any such insurance claim. Since January 1, 2018, no Target Company has made any claim against an insurance policy as to which the insurer is denying coverage.
38
6.23 Top Customers and Suppliers.
Section 6.23 of the Company Disclosure Schedules lists, by dollar volume received by or paid to the Target Companies (in aggregate), as applicable, for each of the twelve (12) months ended on December 28, 2020, the ten (10) largest customers of the Target Companies (the “Top Customers”) and the ten largest suppliers of goods or services to the Target Companies (the “Top Vendors”), along with the amounts of such CNY volumes. The relationships of each Target Company with such suppliers and customers are good commercial working relationships and (i) no Top Vendor or Top Customer within the last twelve (12) months has cancelled or otherwise terminated, or given written notice to the Company to cancel or otherwise terminate, any material relationships of such Person with a Target Company, (ii) no Top Vendor or Top Customer has during the last twelve (12) months decreased materially or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened in writing to stop, decrease or limit materially, or to modify materially its material relationships with a Target Company or to stop, decrease or limit materially its products or services to any Target Company or its usage or purchase of the products or services of any Target Company, (iii) to the Company’s Knowledge, no Top Vendor or Top Customer intends to refuse to pay any material amount due to any Target Company or seek to exercise any remedy against any Target Company, and (iv) no Target Company has within the past twelve (12) months been engaged in any material dispute with any Top Vendor or Top Customer.
6.24 Certain Business Practices.
(a) Since its formation no Target Company, nor any of their respective Representatives acting on their behalf has (i) used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees, to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns or violated any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or (iii) made any other unlawful payment. Since its formation no Target Company, nor any of their respective Representatives acting on their behalf has directly or knowingly indirectly, given or agreed to give any unlawful gift or similar benefit in any material amount to any customer, supplier, governmental employee or other Person who is or may be in a position to help or hinder any Target Company or assist any Target Company in connection with any actual or proposed transaction.
(b) Since its formation the operations of each Target Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with money laundering statutes in all applicable jurisdictions that govern the operations of the Target Company, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority that have jurisdiction over the Target Companies, and no Action involving a Target Company with respect to the any of the foregoing is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(c) No Target Company or any of their respective directors or officers, or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any other Representative acting on behalf of a Target Company is currently (i) identified on the specially designated nationals or other blocked person list or otherwise currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC, the U.S. Department of State, or other applicable Governmental Authority; (ii) organized, resident, or located in, or a national of a comprehensively sanctioned country (currently, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea region of Ukraine); or (iii) in the aggregate, fifty (50) percent or greater owned, directly or indirectly, or otherwise controlled, by a person identified in (i) or (ii); and no Target Company has, directly or, knowingly, indirectly, used any funds, or loaned, contributed or otherwise made available such funds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, in connection with any sales or operations in Cuba, Iran, Syria, or any other country comprehensively sanctioned by OFAC (currently, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine) or for the purpose of financing the activities of any Person currently subject to, or otherwise in violation of, any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC or the U.S. Department of State in the last five (5) fiscal years.
39
6.25 Investment Company Act.
No Target Company is an “investment company” or a Person directly or indirectly “controlled” by or acting on behalf of a person subject to registration and regulation as an “investment company”, in each case within the meaning of the Investment Company Act.
6.26 Finders and Brokers.
No broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission from the Purchaser, Pubco, the Target Companies or any of their respective Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of any Target Company.
6.27 Information Supplied.
None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Company expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any current report on Form 8-K, and any exhibits thereto or any other report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Purchaser’s or Pubco’s shareholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Company expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Press Release and the Closing Filing will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company makes no representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of the Purchaser or its Affiliates.
6.28 Independent Investigation.
The Company has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub for such purpose. The Company acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) and in any certificate delivered to the Company pursuant hereto, and the information provided by or on behalf of the Purchaser, Pubco or Merger Sub for the Registration Statement; and (b) none of the Purchaser, Pubco or Merger Sub or their respective Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Purchaser, Pubco or Merger Sub or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) or in any certificate delivered to Company pursuant hereto.
40
6.29 PRC Compliance.
(a) Each of the Target Companies has complied, and has taken all steps to ensure compliance, in all material aspect, by each of its equity holders, option holders, directors and officers that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen with any applicable rules and regulations of the relevant PRC Governmental Authorities in effect on the Closing Date (including the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange) (the “SAFE”) relating to overseas investment by PRC residents and citizens, including requesting each such Person that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen to complete any registration and other procedures required under applicable PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations (including any applicable rules and regulations of the SAFE).
(b) The Company is aware of and has been advised as to the content of the Rules on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors and any official clarifications, guidance, interpretations or implementation rules in connection with or related thereto in effect on the applicable Closing Date (the “PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules”) jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Tax Administration, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on August 8, 2006, as amended, including the provisions thereof which purport to require offshore special purpose entities formed for listing purposes and controlled directly or indirectly by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The Company has received legal advice specifically with respect to the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules from its PRC counsel, and the Company understands such legal advice. In addition, the Company has communicated such legal advice in full to each of its directors that signed the Registration Statement and each such director has confirmed that he or she understands such legal advice. The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents (A) are not adversely affected by the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules and (B) do not require the prior approval of the CSRC or any other Governmental Authority.
6.30 VIE Contracts.
(a) The Company or any of its Subsidiaries and the VIE Shareholders have the legal right, power and authority (corporate and other) to enter into and perform its obligations under each applicable VIE Contract to which it is a party and has taken all necessary action (corporate and other) to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of, and has authorized, executed and delivered, each VIE Contract to which it is a party.
(b) To the extent permitted by applicable Laws, each VIE Contract constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the parties thereto and enforceable in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance, or other Laws of general application relating to or affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by Laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief, or other equitable remedies.
(c) The execution and delivery by each party named in each VIE Contract, and the performance by such party of its obligations thereunder and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated therein shall not (i) conflict with, or constitute a material default under, any provision of its constitutional documents as in effect at the date hereof, or any Company Material Contract to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound, or (ii) result in the creation of any Lien, claim, charge or encumbrance upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except those under the VIE Contracts.
41
(d) All Consents required in connection with the VIE Contracts have been made or unconditionally obtained in writing, and no such Consent has been withdrawn or subject to any condition precedent which has not been fulfilled or performed.
(e) Each VIE Contract is in full force and effect and no party to any VIE Contract is in material breach or default in the performance or observance of any of the terms or provisions of such VIE Contract. None of the parties to any VIE Contract has sent or received any written communication providing notice of termination or nonrenewal of any VIE Contract.
Article VII
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE SELLERS
Each Seller hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser and Pubco, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
7.1 Organization and Standing.
Such Seller, if not a natural person, is an entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its formation and has all requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted.
7.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement.
Such Seller has all requisite power, authority and legal right and capacity to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, to perform such Seller’s obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which such Seller is or is required to be a party has been or shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by such Seller and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and any such Ancillary Document by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the legal, valid and binding obligation of such Seller, enforceable against such Seller in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions.
7.3 Ownership.
Such Seller owns good, valid and marketable title to all of the Purchased Shares set forth opposite such Seller’s name on Annex I, as such Annex may be updated from time to time for the addition of Sellers as parties to this Agreement, free and clear of any and all Liens (other than those imposed by applicable securities Laws or the Company’s Organizational Documents). Except for such Contracts as may be entered into with the Company in connection with the issuance of the Company Interim Period Notes, there are no proxies, voting rights, shareholders’ agreements or other agreements, to which such Seller is a party or by which such Seller is bound, with respect to the voting or transfer of any of such Seller’s Purchased Shares other than this Agreement. Upon delivery of the Purchased Shares to Pubco on the Closing Date in accordance with this Agreement, the entire legal and beneficial interest in such Purchased Shares and good, valid and marketable title to the Purchased Shares, free and clear of all Liens (other than those imposed by applicable securities Laws or those incurred by Pubco), will pass to Pubco.
42
7.4 Governmental Approvals.
No Consent of or with any Governmental Authority on the part of such Seller is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by such Seller of this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents or the consummation by such Seller of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby other than (a) such filings as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, (b) pursuant to Antitrust Laws, (c) any filings required with Nasdaq or the SEC with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (d) applicable requirements, if any, of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and/ or any state “blue sky” securities Laws, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and (e) where the failure to obtain or make such Consents or to make such filings or notifications, would not reasonably be expected to materially impair or delay the ability of the Sellers to consummate the Transactions.
7.5 Non-Contravention.
The execution and delivery by such Seller of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or otherwise bound and the consummation by such Seller of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and compliance by such Seller with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not, (a) if such Seller is an entity, conflict with or violate any provision of such Seller’s Organizational Documents, (b) conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Consent applicable to such Seller or any of its properties or assets or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of, (iv) accelerate the performance required by such Seller under, (v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of such Seller under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of, any Contract to which such Seller is a party or such Seller or its properties or assets are otherwise bound, except for any deviations from any of the foregoing clauses (a), (b) or (c) that has not had and would not reasonably be expected to materially impair or delay the ability of such Seller to consummate the Transactions.
7.6 No Litigation.
There is no Action pending or, to the Knowledge of such Seller, threatened, nor any Order is outstanding, against or involving such Seller, whether at law or in equity, before or by any Governmental Authority, which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the ability of such Seller to consummate the transactions contemplated by, and discharge its obligations under, this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents to which such Seller is or is required to be a party.
43
7.7 Investment Representations.
Such Seller: (a) is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act, (b) is a "qualified institutional buyer" as such term is defined under Rule 144A under the Securities Act, (c) is acquiring its portion of the Exchange Shares in offshore transactions under Regulation S under the Securities Act, or (d) is acquiring its portion of the Exchange Shares for itself for investment purposes only, and not with a view towards any resale or distribution of such Exchange Shares. Such Seller has been advised and understands that the Exchange Shares: (i) are being issued in reliance upon one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any applicable state securities Laws, (ii) have not been and shall not be registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities Laws and, therefore, must be held indefinitely and cannot be resold unless such Exchange Shares are registered under the Securities Act and all applicable state securities Laws, unless exemptions from registration are available and (iii) are subject to additional restrictions on transfer pursuant to such Seller’s Lock-Up Agreement (if applicable). Such Seller is aware that an investment in Pubco is a speculative investment and is subject to the risk of complete loss and acknowledges that unless otherwise agreed Pubco is under no obligation hereunder to register the Exchange Shares under the Securities Act. Such Seller does not have any Contract with any Person to sell, transfer, or grant participations to such Person, or to any third Person, with respect to the Exchange Shares. By reason of such Seller’s business or financial experience, or by reason of the business or financial experience of such Seller’s “purchaser representatives” (as that term is defined in Rule 501(h) under the Securities Act), such Seller is capable of evaluating the risks and merits of an investment in Pubco and of protecting its interests in connection with this investment. Such Seller has carefully read and understands all materials provided by or on behalf of Pubco, the Purchaser or their respective Representatives to such Seller or such Seller’s Representatives pertaining to an investment in Pubco and has consulted, as such Seller has deemed advisable, with its own attorneys, accountants or investment advisors with respect to the investment contemplated hereby and its suitability for such Seller. Such Seller acknowledges that the Exchange Shares are subject to dilution for events not under the control of such Seller. Such Seller has completed its independent inquiry and has relied fully upon the advice of its own legal counsel, accountant, financial and other Representatives in determining the legal, tax, financial and other consequences of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and the suitability of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby for such Seller and its particular circumstances, and, except as set forth herein, has not relied upon any representations or advice by the Purchaser or their respective Representatives. Such Seller acknowledges and agrees that, except as set forth in Article IV (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) and Article V, no representations or warranties have been made by Pubco, Merger Sub, the Purchaser or any of their respective Representatives, and that such Seller has not been guaranteed or represented to by any Person, (i) any specific amount or the event of the distribution of any cash, property or other interest in Pubco or (ii) the profitability or value of the Exchange Shares in any manner whatsoever. Such Seller: (A) has been represented by independent counsel (or has had the opportunity to consult with independent counsel and has declined to do so); (B) has had the full right and opportunity to consult with such Seller’s attorneys and other advisors and has availed itself of this right and opportunity; (C) has carefully read and fully understands this Agreement in its entirety and has had it fully explained to it or him by such counsel; (D) is fully aware of the contents hereof and the meaning, intent and legal effect thereof; and (E) is competent to execute this Agreement and has executed this Agreement free from coercion, duress or undue influence.
7.8 Finders and Brokers.
No broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission from the Purchaser, Pubco, the Target Companies or any of their respective Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of such Seller.
44
7.9 Information Supplied.
None of the information supplied or to be supplied by such Seller expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any Current Report on Form 8-K or 6-K, and any exhibits thereto or any other report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Purchaser’s or Pubco’s shareholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by such Seller expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Filing and the Closing Press Release will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such Seller does not make any representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of the Purchaser or its Affiliates.
7.10 Independent Investigation.
Such Seller has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub for such purpose. Such Seller acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) and in any certificate delivered to such Seller pursuant hereto, and the information provided by or on behalf of the Purchaser, Pubco and Merger Sub for the Registration Statement; and (b) none of the Purchaser, Pubco, Merger Sub or their respective Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Purchaser, Pubco, Merger Sub or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in this Agreement (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules) or in any certificate delivered to such Seller pursuant hereto.
Article VIII
CONVENANTS
8.1 Access and Information.
(a) During the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 10.1 or the Closing (the “Interim Period”), subject to Section 8.13, each of the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub shall give, and shall cause its Representatives to give, the Purchaser and its Representatives, at reasonable times during normal business hours and at reasonable intervals and upon reasonable advance notice, reasonable access to all offices and other facilities and to all employees, properties, Contracts, books and records, financial and operating data and other similar information (including Tax Returns, internal working papers, client files, client Contracts and director service agreements), of or pertaining to the Target Companies, Pubco, Merger Sub as the Purchaser or its Representatives may reasonably request regarding the Target Companies, Pubco or Merger Sub and their respective businesses, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, operations, management, employees and other aspects and cause each of the Representatives of the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub to reasonably cooperate with the Purchaser and its Representatives in their investigation; provided, however, that the Purchaser and its Representatives shall conduct any such activities in such a manner as not to unreasonably interfere with the business or operations of the Target Companies, Pubco or Merger Sub or to create a risk of damage or destruction to any property or assets of the Target Companies, Pubco or Merger Sub; provided further that the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub may restrict or otherwise prohibit access to any documents or information to the extent that (i) any applicable Law requires the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub to restrict or otherwise prohibit access to such documents or information, (ii) access to such documents or information would give rise to a risk of waiving any attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or other applicable privilege applicable to such documents or information, or (iii) access to a Contract to which the Target Companies, Merger Sub or Pubco is a party or otherwise bound would violate or cause a default under, or give a third person the right terminate or accelerate the rights under, such Contract; provided further that in the event that the Company, Merger Sub or Pubco does not provide access or information in reliance on the preceding proviso, it shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to communicate the applicable information to Purchaser in a way that would not violate the applicable Law, Contract or obligation or to waive such a privilege. Any access to the properties of the Target Companies, Merger Sub or Pubco shall be subject to the Company’s reasonable security measures and insurance requirements and shall not include the right to perform any “invasive” testing or soil, surface, air or groundwater sampling, including, without limitation, any Phase I or Phase II environmental assessments. Nothing in this Section 8.1 shall be construed to require the Company, Merger Sub or Pubco of any of the foregoing to prepare any reports, analyses, appraisals, opinions or other information.
45
(b) During the Interim Period, subject to Section 8.13, the Purchaser shall give, and shall cause its Representatives to give, the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub and their respective Representatives, at reasonable times during normal business hours and at reasonable intervals and upon reasonable advance notice, reasonable access to all offices and other facilities and to all employees, properties, Contracts, books and records, financial and operating data and other information (including Tax Returns, internal working papers, client files, client Contracts and director service agreements), of or pertaining to the Purchaser or its Subsidiaries, as the Company. Pubco, Merger Sub or their respective Representatives may reasonably request regarding the Purchaser, its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, operations, management, employees and other aspects (including unaudited quarterly financial statements, including a consolidated quarterly balance sheet and income statement, a copy of each material report, schedule and other document filed with or received by a Governmental Authority pursuant to the requirements of applicable securities Laws, and independent public accountants’ work papers (subject to the consent or any other conditions required by such accountants, if any)) and cause each of the Purchaser’s Representatives to reasonably cooperate with the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub and their respective Representatives in their investigation; provided, however, that the Company and its Representatives shall conduct any such activities in such a manner as not to unreasonably interfere with the business or operations of the Purchaser or any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) Purchaser shall not, during the Interim Period, contact any employee (other than executive officers), customer, supplier, distributor or other material business relation of any Target Company regarding any Target Company, its business or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents without the prior written consent of the Company.
8.2 Conduct of Business of the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub and the Sellers.
(a) Unless the Purchaser shall otherwise consent in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), during the Interim Period, except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents, as required by applicable Law or as set forth on Schedule 8.2, the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub shall, and shall cause their respective Subsidiaries to, (i) conduct their respective businesses, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) comply with all Laws applicable to the Target Companies, Pubco and Merger Sub and their respective businesses, assets and employees, and (iii) use commercially reasonable measures necessary or appropriate to preserve intact, in all material respects, their respective business organizations, to keep available the services of their respective managers, directors, officers, employees and consultants, and to preserve the possession, control and condition of their respective material assets, all as consistent with past practice.
46
(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 8.2(a) and except as contemplated by the terms of any Company Convertible Securities, including the Company Interim Period Note, or this Agreement or any Ancillary Document (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be deemed to permit the payment of Expenses), as required by applicable Law or as set forth on Schedule 8.2 or in the ordinary course of business, during the Interim Period, without the prior written consent of the Purchaser (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), none of the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub shall, and each shall cause its Subsidiaries to not:
(i) amend, waive or otherwise change, in any respect, its Organizational Documents, except as required by applicable law;
(ii) authorize for issuance, issue, grant, sell, pledge, dispose of or propose to issue, grant, sell, pledge or dispose of any of its equity securities or any options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions or rights of any kind to acquire or sell any of its equity securities, or other securities, including any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any of its shares or other equity securities or securities of any class and any other equity-based awards, or engage in any hedging transaction with a third Person with respect to such securities;
(iii) split, combine, recapitalize or reclassify any of its shares or other equity interests or issue any other securities in respect thereof or pay or set aside any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, equity or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its equity interests, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or offer to acquire any of its securities;
(iv) incur, create, assume, prepay or otherwise become liable for any Indebtedness (directly, contingently or otherwise) in excess of $100,000 individually or $250,000 in the aggregate, make a loan or advance to or investment in any third party (other than advancement of expenses to employees in the ordinary course of business), or guarantee or endorse any Indebtedness, Liability or obligation of any Person in excess of $100,000 individually or $250,000 in the aggregate; provided, that this Section 8.2(b)(iv) shall not prevent the Company from borrowing funds necessary to finance its ordinary course administrative costs and expenses and Expenses incurred in connection with the consummation of the Share Exchange and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, through the issuance of Company Interim Period Notes or other financing that has received prior written consent of the Purchaser (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned).
(v) increase the wages, salaries or compensation of its employees other than in the ordinary course of business, consistent with past practice, and in any event not in the aggregate by more than five percent (5%), or make or commit to make any bonus payment (whether in cash, property or securities) to any employee, or materially increase other benefits of employees generally, or enter into, establish, materially amend or terminate any Company Benefit Plan with, for or in respect of any current consultant, officer, manager director or employee, in each case other than as required by applicable Law, pursuant to the terms of any Benefit Plans or in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; provided that the Company may grant its employees bonuses that constitute Transaction Expenses;
(vi) make or rescind any material election relating to Taxes, settle any claim, action, suit, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, audit or controversy relating to Taxes, file any material amended Tax Return or claim for a material refund, or make any material change in its accounting or Tax policies or procedures, in each case except as required by applicable Law or in compliance with GAAP or PRC GAAP;
(vii) transfer or license to any Person or otherwise extend, materially amend or modify any material Company Registered IP other than in the ordinary course of business, or permit to lapse or fail to preserve any material Company Registered IP, Company Licensed IP or other Company IP, or disclose to any Person who has not entered into a confidentiality agreement, or is otherwise not subject to confidentiality obligations, any material Trade Secrets;
47
(viii) terminate, or waive or assign any material right under, any Company Material Contract or enter into any Contract that would be a Company Material Contract, in any case outside of the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(ix) fail to maintain its books, accounts and records in all material respects in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(x) establish any Subsidiary or enter into any new line of business;
(xi) fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to keep in force insurance policies or replacement or revised policies providing insurance coverage with respect to its assets, operations and activities in such amount and scope of coverage as are currently in effect;
(xii) revalue any of its material assets or make any change in accounting methods, principles or practices, except to the extent required to comply with GAAP and after consulting with such Party’s outside auditors;
(xiii) waive, release, assign, settle or compromise any claim or Action (including any Action relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby), other than waivers, releases, assignments, settlements or compromises that involve only the payment of monetary damages (and not the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, such Party or its Affiliates) not in excess of $100,000 (individually or in the aggregate), or otherwise pay, discharge or satisfy any Actions, Liabilities or obligations, unless such amount has been reserved in the Company Financials, as applicable;
(xiv) close or materially reduce its activities, or effect any layoff or other personnel reduction or change, at any of its material facilities;
(xv) acquire, including by merger, consolidation, acquisition of equity interests or assets, or any other form of business combination, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, other business organization or any division thereof, or any material amount of assets in each case, except for transactions in the ordinary course of business;
(xvi) make any capital expenditures in excess of $100,000 (individually for any project (or set of related projects) or $250,000 in the aggregate);
(xvii) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization;
(xviii) voluntarily incur any Liability or obligation (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise) in excess of $100,000 individually or $250,000 in the aggregate, other than pursuant to the terms of a Company Material Contract or Company Benefit Plan;
(xix) sell, lease, license, transfer, exchange or swap, mortgage or otherwise pledge or encumber (including securitizations), or otherwise dispose of any material portion of its properties, assets or rights;
(xx) enter into any agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to the voting of equity securities of the Company, Pubco or Merger Sub;
48
(xxi) take any action that would reasonably be expected to significantly delay or impair the obtaining of any Consents of any Governmental Authority to be obtained in connection with this Agreement;
(xxii) accelerate the collection of any trade receivables or delay the payment of trade payables or any other Liabilities other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(xxiii) enter into, amend, waive or terminate (other than terminations in accordance with their terms) any transaction with any Related Person (other than compensation and benefits and advancement of expenses, in each case, provided in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice); or
(xxiv) authorize or agree to do any of the foregoing actions.
(c) Without limiting Sections 8.2(a) and 8.2(b), during the Interim Period, without the prior written consent of the Purchaser, (i) the Company shall not issue any Company Securities, and (ii) the Sellers shall not sell, transfer or dispose of any Company Securities owned by such Sellers, in either case of clauses (i) and (ii), unless the recipient or transferee of such Company Securities (the “New Seller”) executes and delivers to the Purchaser, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Company a Joinder Agreement to become bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement as a Seller hereunder, as well as execute and deliver to the Purchaser, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Company any Ancillary Documents which such New Seller would have been required to be a party or bound if such New Seller were a Seller on the date of this Agreement. The Parties shall make any appropriate adjustments to Annex I.
8.3 Conduct of Business of the Purchaser.
(a) Unless the Company and Pubco shall otherwise consent in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), during the Interim Period, except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 8.3, the Purchaser shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, (i) conduct their respective businesses, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) comply with all Laws applicable to the Purchaser and its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses, assets and employees, and (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact, in all material respects, their respective business organizations, to keep available the services of their respective managers, directors, officers, employees and consultants, and to preserve the possession, control and condition of their respective material assets, all as consistent with past practice. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 8.3, nothing in this Agreement shall prohibit or restrict the Purchaser from extending one or more times, in accordance with the Purchaser Charter and IPO Prospectus, or by amendment to the Purchaser Charter, the deadline by which it must complete its Business Combination (each, an “Extension”), and no consent of any other Party shall be required in connection therewith.
(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 8.3(a) and except as contemplated by the terms of this Agreement (including as contemplated by any PIPE Investment) or any Ancillary Document or as set forth on Schedule 8.3, or as required by applicable Law, during the Interim Period, without the prior written consent of the Company and Pubco (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Purchaser shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to not:
(i) amend, waive or otherwise change, in any respect, its Organizational Documents;
49
(ii) authorize for issuance, issue, grant, sell, pledge, dispose of or propose to issue, grant, sell, pledge or dispose of any of its equity securities or any options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions or rights of any kind to acquire or sell any of its equity securities, or other securities, including any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any of its equity securities or other security interests of any class and any other equity-based awards, or engage in any hedging transaction with a third Person with respect to such securities;
(iii) split, combine, recapitalize or reclassify any of its shares or other equity interests or issue any other securities in respect thereof or pay or set aside any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, equity or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its shares or other equity interests, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or offer to acquire any of its securities;
(iv) incur, create, assume, prepay or otherwise become liable for any Indebtedness (directly, contingently or otherwise) in excess of $100,000 (individually or in the aggregate), make a loan or advance to or investment in any third party, or guarantee or endorse any Indebtedness, Liability or obligation of any Person (provided, that this Section 8.3(b)(iv) shall not prevent the Purchaser from borrowing funds necessary to finance its ordinary course administrative costs and expenses and Expenses incurred in connection with the consummation of the Transactions, including any PIPE Investment in accordance with Section 8.17, and costs and expenses necessary for an Extension (such expenses, “Extension Expenses”), up to aggregate additional Indebtedness during the Interim Period of $1,600,000));
(v) make or rescind any material election relating to Taxes, settle any material Action relating to Taxes, file any amended Tax Return or claim for refund, or make any material change in its accounting or Tax policies or procedures, in each case except as required by applicable Law or in compliance with GAAP;
(vi) amend, waive or otherwise change the Trust Agreement in any manner adverse to the Purchaser;
(vii) terminate, waive or assign any material right under any material agreement to which it is a party;
(viii) fail to maintain its books, accounts and records in all material respects in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(ix) establish any Subsidiary or enter into any new line of business;
(x) fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to keep in force insurance policies or replacement or revised policies providing insurance coverage with respect to its assets, operations and activities in such amount and scope of coverage as are currently in effect;
(xi) revalue any of its material assets or make any change in accounting methods, principles or practices, except to the extent required to comply with GAAP or IFRS, as applicable, and after consulting the Purchaser’s outside auditors;
(xii) waive, release, assign, settle or compromise any claim or Action (including any Action relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby), other than waivers, releases, assignments, settlements or compromises that involve only the payment of monetary damages (and not the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, the Purchaser or its Subsidiary) not in excess of $100,000 (individually or in the aggregate), or otherwise pay, discharge or satisfy any Actions, Liabilities or obligations, unless such amount has been reserved in the Purchaser Financials;
50
(xiii) acquire, including by merger, consolidation, acquisition of equity interests or assets, or any other form of business combination, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, other business organization or any division thereof, or any material amount of assets outside the ordinary course of business;
(xiv) make capital expenditures in excess of $50,000 individually for any project (or set of related projects) or $100,000 in the aggregate (excluding for the avoidance of doubt, incurring any Expenses);
(xv) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization (other than with respect to the Merger);
(xvi) voluntarily incur any Liability or obligation (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise) in excess of $50,000 individually or $100,000 in the aggregate (excluding the incurrence of any Expenses) other than pursuant to the terms of a Contract set forth on Schedule 8.3(a)(xvi) or entered into in the ordinary course of business or in accordance with the terms of this Section 8.3 during the Interim Period;
(xvii) sell, lease, license, transfer, exchange or swap, mortgage or otherwise pledge or encumber (including securitizations), or otherwise dispose of any material portion of its properties, assets or rights;
(xviii) enter into any agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to the voting of its equity securities;
(xix) take any action that would reasonably be expected to significantly delay or impair the obtaining of any Consents of any Governmental Authority to be obtained in connection with this Agreement; or
(xx) authorize or agree to do any of the foregoing actions.
8.4 PCAOB Financials.
(a) The Company shall use reasonable best efforts to deliver true and complete copies of the consolidated balance sheet of the Target Companies as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, and the related consolidated statements of income and cash flows of the Target Companies for the year periods then ended, each audited in accordance with PCAOB standards not later than five (5) Business Days after delivery of such audited financials to the Company from its certified public accountant.
(b) If the Closing has not occurred prior to March 10, 2021, then the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to deliver true and complete copies of the consolidated balance sheet of the Target Companies as of March 31, 2021, and the related consolidated statements of income and cash flows of the Target Companies for the three (3) month period then ended, each reviewed in accordance with PCAOB standards, not later than May 15, 2021.
51
8.5 Purchaser Public Filings.
During the Interim Period, the Purchaser will keep current and timely file all of its public filings with the SEC and otherwise comply in all material respects with applicable securities Laws and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts prior to the Merger to maintain the listing of the Purchaser Public Units, the Purchaser Ordinary Shares, the Purchaser Rights and the Purchaser Public Warrants on Nasdaq; provided, that the Parties acknowledge and agree that from and after the Closing, the Parties intend to list on Nasdaq only the Pubco Ordinary Shares and the Public Warrants.
8.6 No Solicitation.
(a) For purposes of this Agreement, (i) an “Acquisition Proposal” means any inquiry, proposal or offer, or any indication of interest in making an offer or proposal, from any Person or group at any time relating to an Alternative Transaction, and (ii) an “Alternative Transaction” means (A) with respect to the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, or any Seller and their respective Affiliates, a transaction (other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) concerning the sale of (x) all or any material part of the business or assets of the Target Companies (other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) or (y) any of the shares or other equity interests or profits of the Target Companies, in any case, whether such transaction takes the form of a sale of shares or other equity interests, assets, merger, consolidation, issuance of debt securities, management Contract, joint venture or partnership, or otherwise and (B) with respect to the Purchaser and its Affiliates, a transaction (other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) concerning a Business Combination for the Purchaser.
(b) During the Interim Period, in order to induce the other Parties to continue to commit to expend management time and financial resources in furtherance of the transactions contemplated hereby, each Party shall not, and shall cause its Representatives not to, without the prior written consent of the Company, Pubco and the Purchaser, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate or knowingly facilitate or assist the making, submission or announcement of, or intentionally encourage, any Acquisition Proposal, (ii) furnish any non-public information regarding such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to such Seller, any Target Company) or their respective businesses, operations, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, prospects or employees to any Person or group (other than a Party to this Agreement or their respective Representatives) in connection with or in response to an Acquisition Proposal, (iii) engage or participate in discussions or negotiations with any Person or group with respect to, or that would reasonably be expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal, (iv) approve, endorse or recommend, or publicly propose to approve, endorse or recommend, any Acquisition Proposal, (v) negotiate or enter into any letter of intent, agreement in principle, acquisition agreement or other similar agreement in furtherance of any Acquisition Proposal, or (vi) release any third Person from, or waive any provision of, any confidentiality agreement to which such Party is a party.
(c) Each Party shall notify the others as promptly as practicable (and in any event within 48 hours) orally and in writing of the receipt by such Party or any of its Representatives (or with respect to the Company, any Seller) of (i) any bona fide inquiries, proposals or offers, requests for information or requests for discussions or negotiations regarding or constituting any Acquisition Proposal or any bona fide inquiries, proposals or offers, requests for information or requests for discussions or negotiations that could be expected to result in an Acquisition Proposal, and (ii) any request for non-public information relating to such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to any Seller, any Target Company), specifying in each case, the material terms and conditions thereof (including a copy thereof if in writing or a written summary thereof if oral) and the identity of the party making such inquiry, proposal, offer or request for information. Each Party shall keep the others promptly informed of the status of any such inquiries, proposals, offers or requests for information. During the Interim Period, each Party shall, and shall cause its Representatives to, immediately cease and cause to be terminated any solicitations, discussions or negotiations with any Person with respect to any Acquisition Proposal and shall, and shall direct its Representatives to, cease and terminate any such solicitations, discussions or negotiations.
52
8.7 No Trading.
The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and any Seller each acknowledge and agree that it is aware, and that their respective Affiliates are aware (and each of their respective Representatives is aware or, upon receipt of any material nonpublic information of the Purchaser, will be advised) of the restrictions imposed by U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq promulgated thereunder or otherwise (the “Federal Securities Laws”) and other applicable foreign and domestic Laws on a Person possessing material nonpublic information about a publicly traded company. The Company, Pubco and Merger Sub and each Seller shall not, while such Party is in possession of such material nonpublic information, purchase or sell any securities of the Purchaser, communicate such information to any third party, take any other action with respect to the Purchaser in violation of such Laws, or cause or encourage any third party to do any of the foregoing.
8.8 Notification of Certain Matters.
During the Interim Period, each Party shall give prompt notice to the other Parties if such Party or its Affiliates (or, with respect to the Company, such Seller): (a) fails to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it or its Affiliates (or, with respect to the Company, any Seller) hereunder in any material respect; (b) receives any notice or other communication in writing from any third party (including any Governmental Authority) alleging (i) that the Consent of such third party is or may be required in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) any material non-compliance with any Law by such Party or its Affiliates (or, with respect to the Company, any Seller); (c) receives any notice or other communication from any Governmental Authority in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (d) discovers any fact or circumstance that, or becomes aware of the occurrence or non-occurrence of any event the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any of the conditions set forth in Article IX not being satisfied or the satisfaction of those conditions being materially delayed; or (e) becomes aware of the commencement or threat, in writing, of any Action against such Party or any of its Affiliates (or, with respect to the Company, any Seller), or any of their respective properties or assets, or, to the Knowledge of such Party, any officer, director, partner, member or manager, in his, her or its capacity as such, of such Party or its Affiliates (or, with respect to the Company, any Seller) with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. No such notice shall constitute an acknowledgement or admission by the Party providing the notice regarding whether or not any of the conditions to the Closing have been satisfied or in determining whether or not any of the representations, warranties or covenants contained in this Agreement have been breached.
8.9 Efforts.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, each Party shall use its commercially reasonable efforts, and shall cooperate fully with the other Parties, to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things reasonably necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Laws and regulations to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including the receipt of all applicable Consents of Governmental Authorities) and to comply as promptly as practicable with all requirements of Governmental Authorities applicable to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
53
(b) In furtherance and not in limitation of Section 8.9(a), to the extent required under any Laws that are designed to prohibit, restrict or regulate actions having the purpose or effect of monopolization or restraint of trade (“Antitrust Laws”), each Party hereto agrees to make any required filing or application under Antitrust Laws, as applicable, at such Party’s sole cost and expense, with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby as promptly as practicable, to supply as promptly as reasonably practicable any additional information and documentary material that may be reasonably requested pursuant to Antitrust Laws and to take all other actions reasonably necessary, proper or advisable to cause the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting periods under Antitrust Laws as soon as practicable, including by requesting early termination of the waiting period provided for under the Antitrust Laws. Each Party shall, in connection with its efforts to obtain all requisite approvals and authorizations for the transactions contemplated by this Agreement under any Antitrust Law, use its commercially reasonable efforts to: (i) cooperate in all respects with each other Party or its Affiliates in connection with any filing or submission and in connection with any investigation or other inquiry, including any proceeding initiated by a private Person; (ii) keep the other Parties reasonably informed of any communication received by such Party or its Representatives from, or given by such Party or its Representatives to, any Governmental Authority and of any communication received or given in connection with any proceeding by a private Person, in each case regarding any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (iii) permit a Representative of the other Parties and their respective outside counsel to review any communication given by it to, and consult with each other in advance of any meeting or conference with, any Governmental Authority or, in connection with any proceeding by a private Person, with any other Person, and to the extent permitted by such Governmental Authority or other Person, give a Representative or Representatives of the other Parties the opportunity to attend and participate in such meetings and conferences; (iv) in the event a Party’s Representative is prohibited from participating in or attending any meetings or conferences, the other Parties shall keep such Party promptly and reasonably apprised with respect thereto; and (v) use commercially reasonable efforts to cooperate in the filing of any memoranda, white papers, filings, correspondence or other written communications explaining or defending the transactions contemplated hereby, articulating any regulatory or competitive argument, and/or responding to requests or objections made by any Governmental Authority.
(c) As soon as reasonably practicable following the date of this Agreement, the Parties shall reasonably cooperate with each other and use (and shall cause their respective Affiliates to use) their respective commercially reasonable efforts to prepare and file with Governmental Authorities requests for approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to have such Governmental Authorities approve the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Each Party shall give prompt written notice to the other Parties if such Party or any of its Representatives (or with respect to the Company, any Seller) receives any notice from such Governmental Authorities in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and shall promptly furnish the other Parties with a copy of such Governmental Authority notice. If any Governmental Authority requires that a hearing or meeting be held in connection with its approval of the transactions contemplated hereby, whether prior to the Closing or after the Closing, each Party shall arrange for Representatives of such Party to be present for such hearing or meeting. If any objections are asserted with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement under any applicable Law or if any Action is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by any applicable Governmental Authority or any private Person challenging any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Document as violative of any applicable Law or which would otherwise prevent, materially impede or materially delay the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, the Parties shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to resolve any such objections or Actions so as to timely permit consummation of the Transactions, including in order to resolve such objections or Actions which, in any case if not resolved, could reasonably be expected to prevent, materially impede or materially delay the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby. In the event any Action is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by a Governmental Authority or private Person challenging the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or any Ancillary Document, the Parties shall, and shall cause their respective Representatives to, reasonably cooperate with each other and use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to contest and resist any such Action and to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any Order, whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that prohibits, prevents or restricts consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents.
54
(d) Prior to the Closing, each Party shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain any Consents of Governmental Authorities or other third Persons as may be necessary for the consummation by such Party or its Affiliates of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or required as a result of the execution or performance of, or consummation of the transactions contemplated by, this Agreement by such Party or its Affiliates, and the other Parties shall provide reasonable cooperation in connection with such efforts. With respect to Pubco, during the Interim Period, the Company, Pubco and Merger Sub shall take all reasonable actions necessary to cause Pubco to qualify as “foreign private issuer” as such term is defined under Exchange Act Rule 3b-4 and to maintain such status through the Closing.
8.10 Further Assurances. The Parties hereto shall further cooperate with each other and use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to take or cause to be taken all actions, and do or cause to be done all things, necessary, proper or advisable on their part under this Agreement and applicable Laws to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement as soon as reasonably practicable, including preparing and filing as soon as practicable all documentation to effect all necessary notices, reports and other filings.
8.11 The Registration Statement.
(a) As promptly as practicable after the delivery of financials required pursuant to Section 8.4, the Purchaser and Pubco shall prepare with the reasonable assistance of the Company and the Sellers, and file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (as amended or supplemented from time to time, and including the Proxy Statement contained therein, the “Registration Statement”) in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of the Pubco Securities to be issued under this Agreement to the Public Shareholders prior to the Effective Time, which Registration Statement will also contain a proxy statement of the Purchaser (as amended, the “Proxy Statement”) for the purpose of soliciting proxies from the Purchaser shareholders for the matters to be acted upon at the Special Shareholder Meeting and providing the Public Shareholders an opportunity in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents and the IPO Prospectus to have their Purchaser Ordinary Shares redeemed (the “Redemption”) in conjunction with the shareholder vote on the Shareholder Approval Matters. The Proxy Statement shall include proxy materials for the purpose of soliciting proxies from the Purchaser shareholders to vote, at an extraordinary general meeting of the Purchaser shareholders to be called and held for such purpose (the “Special Shareholder Meeting”), in favor of resolutions approving (A) the adoption and approval of this Agreement and the Transactions (including, to the extent required, the issuance of the Exchange Shares and the PIPE Shares), by the holders of Purchaser Ordinary Shares in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, the BVI Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq, (B) to the extent required by the Federal Securities Laws, the Cayman Act, the adoption of the Amended Pubco Charter, (C) to the extent required, the adoption and approval of a new equity incentive plan of Pubco, which will be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Company and the Purchaser and which will provide that the total awards under such equity incentive plan will be a number of Pubco Ordinary Shares equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the aggregate number of Pubco Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding immediately after the Closing, (D) the appointment of the members of the Post-Closing Pubco Board, in each case in accordance with Section 8.14 hereof, (E) such other matters as the Company, Pubco and the Purchaser shall hereafter mutually determine to be necessary or appropriate in order to effect the Transactions (the approvals described in foregoing clauses (A) through (E), collectively, the “Shareholder Approval Matters”), and (F) the adjournment of the Special Shareholder Meeting, if necessary or desirable in the reasonable determination of the Purchaser. The Purchaser’s board of directors shall not withdraw, amend, qualify or modify the Purchaser Recommendation (a “Modification in Recommendation”). To the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law, (x) the Purchaser’s obligations to establish a record date for, duly call, give notice of, convene and hold the Special Shareholder Meeting shall not be affected by any Modification in Recommendation, (y) the Purchaser agrees to establish a record date for, duly call, give notice of, convene and hold the Special Shareholders Meeting and submit for approval the Shareholder Approval Matters and (z) the Purchaser agrees that if the Required Shareholder Approval shall not have been obtained at any such Special Shareholders Meeting, then the Purchaser shall promptly continue to take all such necessary actions, including the actions required by this Section 8.11, and hold additional Special Shareholders Meetings in order to obtain the Required Shareholder Approval. If on the date for which the Special Shareholder Meeting is scheduled, the Purchaser has not received proxies and votes representing a sufficient number of shares to obtain the Required Shareholder Approval, whether or not a quorum is present, the Purchaser may make one or more successive postponements or adjournments of the Special Shareholder Meeting; provided that the Special Shareholders Meeting (x) may not be adjourned to a date that is more than 15 days after the date for which the Special Shareholders’ Meeting was originally scheduled (excluding any adjournments required by applicable Law) and (y) is held no later than three (3) Business Days prior to the Outside Date.
55
(b) In connection with the Registration Statement, the Purchaser and Pubco will file with the SEC financial and other information about the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in accordance with applicable Law, the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, BVI Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq. the Purchaser and Pubco shall cooperate and provide the Company (and its counsel) with a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto prior to filing the same with the SEC. The Company shall provide the Purchaser with such information concerning the Target Companies and their equity holders, officers, directors, employees, assets, Liabilities, condition (financial or otherwise), business and operations that may be required or appropriate for inclusion in the Registration Statement, or in any amendments or supplements thereto, which information provided by the Company shall be true and correct and not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading.
(c) The Purchaser and Pubco shall take any and all reasonable and necessary actions required to satisfy the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and other applicable Laws in connection with the Registration Statement, the Special Shareholder Meeting and the Redemption. Each of the Purchaser, Pubco and the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, make their respective directors, officers and employees, upon reasonable advance notice, available to the Company, Pubco, the Purchaser and their respective Representatives in connection with the drafting of the public filings with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Registration Statement, and responding in a timely manner to comments from the SEC. Each Party shall promptly correct any information provided by it for use in the Registration Statement (and other related materials) if and to the extent that such information is determined to have become false or misleading in any material respect or as otherwise required by applicable Laws. The Purchaser and Pubco shall amend or supplement the Registration Statement and Pubco shall file the Registration Statement, as so amended or supplemented, to be filed with the SEC and to be disseminated to the Purchaser’s shareholders, in each case as and to the extent required by applicable Laws and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents.
(d) The Purchaser and Pubco, with the assistance of the other Parties, shall promptly respond to any SEC comments on the Registration Statement and shall otherwise use their commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to “clear” comments from the SEC and become effective. The Purchaser and Pubco shall provide the Company with copies of any written comments, and shall inform the Company of any material oral comments, that the Purchaser, Pubco or their respective Representatives receive from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Registration Statement, the Special Shareholder Meeting and the Redemption promptly after the receipt of such comments and shall give the Company a reasonable opportunity under the circumstances to review and comment on any proposed written or material oral responses to such comments.
56
(e) As soon as practicable following the Registration Statement “clearing” comments from the SEC and becoming effective, the Purchaser and Pubco shall distribute the Registration Statement to the Purchaser’s shareholders and, the Purchaser shall call the Special Shareholder Meeting in accordance with the BVI Act for a date no later than thirty (30) days following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.
(f) The Purchaser and Pubco shall comply with all applicable Laws, any applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq, the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents and this Agreement in the preparation, filing and distribution of the Registration Statement, any solicitation of proxies thereunder, the calling and holding of the Special Shareholder Meeting and the Redemption.
8.12 Public Announcements.
(a) The Parties agree that, during the Interim Period, no public release, filing or announcement concerning this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be issued by any Party or any of their Affiliates without the prior written consent (not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) of the Purchaser, Pubco and the Company, except as such release or announcement may be required by applicable Law or the rules or regulations of any securities exchange, in which case the applicable Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to allow the other Parties reasonable time to comment on, and arrange for any required filing with respect to, such release or announcement in advance of such issuance.
(b) The Parties shall mutually agree upon and, as promptly as practicable after the execution of this Agreement (but in any event within four (4) Business Days thereafter), issue a press release announcing the execution of this Agreement (the “Signing Press Release”). Promptly after the issuance of the Signing Press Release, the Purchaser shall file a current report on Form 8-K (the “Signing Filing”) with the Signing Press Release and a description of this Agreement as required by Federal Securities Laws, which the Company shall review, comment upon and approve (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) prior to filing (with the Company reviewing, commenting upon and approving such Signing Filing in any event no later than the third (3rd) Business Day after the execution of this Agreement). The Parties shall mutually agree upon and, as promptly as practicable after the Closing (but in any event within four (4) Business Days thereafter), issue a press release announcing the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Closing Press Release”). Promptly after the issuance of the Closing Press Release, Pubco shall file a current report on Form 8-K (the “Closing Filing”) with the Closing Press Release and a description of the Closing as required by Federal Securities Laws which the Purchaser shall review, comment upon and approve (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) prior to filing. In connection with the preparation of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Filing, the Closing Press Release, or any other report, statement, filing notice or application made by or on behalf of a Party to any Governmental Authority or other third party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, each Party shall, upon request by any other Party, furnish the Parties with all information concerning themselves, their respective directors, officers and equity holders, and such other matters as may be reasonably necessary or advisable in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, or any other report, statement, filing, notice or application made by or on behalf of a Party to any third party and/ or any Governmental Authority in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.
57
8.13 Confidential Information.
(a) The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers agree that during the Interim Period and, in the event this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article X, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, they shall, and shall cause their respective Representatives to: (i) treat and hold in strict confidence any Purchaser Confidential Information that is provided to such Person or its Representatives, and will not use for any purpose (except in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents, performing their obligations hereunder or thereunder or enforcing their rights hereunder or thereunder), nor directly or indirectly disclose, distribute, publish, disseminate or otherwise make available to any third party any of the Purchaser Confidential Information without the Purchaser’s prior written consent; and (ii) in the event that the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, any Seller or any of their respective Representatives, during the Interim Period or, in the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article X, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, becomes legally compelled to disclose any Purchaser Confidential Information, (A) provide the Purchaser to the extent legally permitted with prompt written notice of such requirement so that the Purchaser or a Representative thereof may seek, at the Purchaser’s cost, a protective Order or other remedy or waive compliance with this Section 8.13(a), and (B) in the event that such protective Order or other remedy is not obtained, or the Purchaser waives compliance with this Section 8.13(a), furnish only that portion of such the Purchaser Confidential Information which is legally required to be provided as advised by outside counsel and to exercise its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded such Purchaser Confidential Information. In the event that this Agreement is terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby are not consummated, the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers shall, and shall cause their respective Representatives to, promptly deliver to the Purchaser or destroy (at the Purchaser’s election) any and all copies (in whatever form or medium) of Purchaser Confidential Information and destroy all notes, memoranda, summaries, analyses, compilations and other writings related thereto or based thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Pubco and its Representatives shall be permitted to disclose any and all Purchaser Confidential Information to the extent required by the Federal Securities Laws.
(b) The Purchaser shall during the Interim Period and, in the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article X, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, and shall cause its Representatives to: (i) treat and hold in strict confidence any Company Confidential Information that is provided to such Person or its Representatives, and will not use for any purpose (except in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents, performing its obligations hereunder or thereunder or enforcing its rights hereunder or thereunder), nor directly or indirectly disclose, distribute, publish, disseminate or otherwise make available to any third party any of the Company Confidential Information without the Company’s prior written consent; and (ii) in the event that the Purchaser or any of its Representatives, during the Interim Period or, in the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article X, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, becomes legally compelled to disclose any Company Confidential Information, (A) provide the Company to the extent legally permitted with prompt written notice of such requirement so that the Company may seek, at the Company’s sole expense, a protective Order or other remedy or waive compliance with this Section 8.13(b) and (B) in the event that such protective Order or other remedy is not obtained, or the Company waives compliance with this Section 8.13(b), furnish only that portion of such Company Confidential Information which is legally required to be provided as advised by outside counsel and to exercise its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded such Company Confidential Information. In the event that this Agreement is terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby are not consummated, Purchaser shall, and shall cause its Representatives to, promptly deliver to the Company or destroy (at the Purchaser’s election) any and all copies (in whatever form or medium) of Company Confidential Information and destroy all notes, memoranda, summaries, analyses, compilations and other writings related thereto or based thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser and its Representatives shall be permitted to disclose any and all Company Confidential Information to the extent required by the Federal Securities Laws.
58
8.14 Post-Closing Board of Directors and Executive Officers.
(a) The Parties shall take all necessary action, including causing the directors of the Pubco to resign, so that effective as of the Closing, Pubco’s board of directors (the “Post-Closing Pubco Board”) will consist of seven (7) individuals comprised of: (i) two (2) persons that are designated by the Purchaser prior to the Closing (the “Purchaser Directors”), at least one of whom meets the independence requirements of Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) of the Nasdaq rules; (ii) four (4) persons that are designated by the Company prior to the Closing (the “Company Directors”), at least one (1) of whom meets the independence requirements of Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) of the Nasdaq rules; and (iii) one (1) person that is designated by the Company, with the consent of the Purchaser (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), prior to the Closing (the “Mutually Agreed Director”, and together the Purchaser Directors and the Company Directors, the "Initial Directors") who meets the independence requirements of Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) of the Nasdaq rules; provided, however, that in all events the board of directors of Pubco shall comply with applicable composition requirements that may be established from time to time by Nasdaq or the SEC and that are applicable to Pubco (e.g., audit committee financial expertise, etc.). Pursuant to the Amended Pubco Charter as in effect as of the Closing, the Post-Closing Pubco Board will be a classified board with three classes of directors, with (I) one class of directors, the Class I Directors, initially serving a one (1) year term, such term effective from the Closing (but any subsequent Class I Directors serving a three (3) year term), (II) a second class of directors, the Class II Directors, initially serving a two (2) year term, such term effective from the Closing (but any subsequent Class II Directors serving a three (3) year term), and (III) a third class of directors, the Class III Directors, serving a three (3) year term, such term effective from the Closing. Two of the Company Directors shall be Class III Directors and one of the Purchaser Directors shall be a Class III Director. In accordance with the Amended Pubco Charter as in effect at the Closing, no director on the Post-Closing Pubco Board may be removed without cause. At or prior to the Closing, Pubco will provide each Initial Director with a customary director indemnification agreement, in customary form and substance.
(b) The Company shall select the individuals who will serve as the executive officers of Pubco immediately after Closing. The Parties shall take all action necessary, including causing the executive officers of Pubco to resign, so that the individuals serving as the executive officers of Pubco immediately prior to the Closing will be the same individuals designated by the Company. The individuals serving as executive officers of Pubco immediately prior to the Closing will be the executive officers of Pubco immediately after the Closing.
8.15 Indemnification of Directors and Officers; Tail Insurance.
(a) The Parties agree that all rights to exculpation, indemnification and advancement of expenses existing in favor of the current or former directors and officers of each Target Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, the Purchaser and each Person who served as a director, officer, member, trustee or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, pension or other employee benefit plan or enterprise at the request of the applicable Party (the “D&O Indemnified Persons”) as provided in the Organizational Documents of each Target Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, and the Purchaser as applicable or under any indemnification, employment or other similar agreements between any D&O Indemnified Person and of Target Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, the Purchaser and the Primary Seller and its Subsidiaries as applicable, in each case as in effect on the date of this Agreement, shall survive the Closing and continue in full force and effect in accordance with their respective terms to the extent permitted by applicable Law. For a period of six (6) years after the Effective Time, Pubco shall cause the Organizational Documents of each Target Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, and the Purchaser to contain provisions no less favorable with respect to exculpation and indemnification of and advancement of expenses to D&O Indemnified Persons than are set forth as of the Closing in the applicable Organizational Documents to the extent permitted by applicable Law. The provisions of this Section 8.15 shall survive the Closing and are intended to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by, each of the D&O Indemnified Persons and their respective heirs and representatives.
59
(b) For the benefit of the Purchaser’s directors and officers, the Purchaser shall be permitted prior to the Effective Time to obtain and fully pay the premium for a “tail” insurance policy that provides coverage for up to a six-year period from and after the Effective Time for events occurring prior to the Effective Time (the “D&O Tail Insurance”) that is substantially equivalent to and in any event not less favorable in the aggregate than the Purchaser’s existing policy or, if substantially equivalent insurance coverage is unavailable, the best available coverage. If obtained, Pubco and the Purchaser shall maintain the D&O Tail Insurance in full force and effect, and continue to honor the obligations thereunder, and Pubco and the Purchaser shall timely pay or cause to be paid all premiums with respect to the D&O Tail Insurance.
8.16 Trust Account Proceeds.
(a) The Parties agree that after the Closing, the funds in the Trust Account, after taking into account payments for the Redemption, and any proceeds received by Pubco or the Purchaser from any PIPE Investment shall first be used to pay (i) the Purchaser’s accrued Expenses, including the Purchaser’s deferred Expenses of the IPO and (ii) any loans owed by the Purchaser to Sponsor for Expenses (including deferred Expenses), other administrative costs and expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Purchaser or Extension Expenses. Such amounts, as well as any Expenses that are required or permitted to be paid by delivery of Pubco Securities, will be paid at the Closing. Any remaining cash will be transferred to a Target Company or Pubco and used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
(b) Upon satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Article IX and provision of notice thereof to the Trustee (which notice the Purchaser shall provide to the Trustee in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement), (i) in accordance with and pursuant to the Trust Agreement, at the Closing, the Purchaser (a) shall cause any documents, opinions and notices required to be delivered to the Trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement to be so delivered and (b) shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Trustee to, and the Trustee shall thereupon be obligated to (1) pay as and when due all amounts payable to the redeeming Public Shareholders pursuant to the Redemptions, and (2) immediately thereafter, pay all remaining amounts then available in the Trust Account to the Purchaser for immediate use, subject to this Agreement and the Trust Agreement and (ii) thereafter, the Trust Account shall terminate, except as otherwise provided therein.
8.17 PIPE Investment.
(a) Without limiting anything to the contrary contained herein, during the Interim Period, the Purchaser shall use commercially reasonable efforts to enter into and consummate subscription agreements with investors relating to a private equity investment to purchase Purchaser Ordinary Shares or, after the Closing, Pubco Ordinary Shares (“PIPE Shares”), on terms mutually agreeable to the Company, the Purchaser and Pubco, acting reasonably (a “PIPE Investment”).
(b) The Purchaser and the Company shall, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause their respective Representatives to, cooperate with each other and their respective Representatives in connection with such PIPE Investment and use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to cause such PIPE Investment to occur (including having the Company’s senior management participate in any investor meetings and roadshows as reasonably requested by the Purchaser). The Purchaser shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid being in breach or default under the PIPE Subscription Agreements.
60
(c) The Purchaser will delivered to Pubco true, correct and complete copies of each of the subscription agreements entered into by the Purchaser with the investors in the PIPE Investment and any other Contracts between the Purchaser and such investors or their affiliates relating to the subscription agreements that could affect the obligation of such investors to contribute to the Purchaser or Pubco (as applicable) their applicable portion of the aggregate gross proceeds of the PIPE Investment as set forth in the subscription agreement of such investors (collectively, such Contracts the "PIPE Subscription Agreements"). Assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery by each other party, all of the PIPE Subscription Agreements will be valid, binding and in full force and effect in all material respects, except as limited by the Enforceability Exceptions. No PIPE Subscription Agreement will been withdrawn or terminated, amended or modified in writing by the Purchaser without the prior written consent of Pubco.
8.18 Extension Loan.
If either the Company or the Purchaser reasonably believes that the Closing may not occur by May 24, 2021, but that the parties are reasonably capable of causing the Closing to occur prior to August 1, 2021, then the Purchaser may, and at the request of the Company, the Purchaser shall, seek the approval of the Purchaser’s stockholders for an Extension to a date no earlier than August 24, 2021 (or such earlier date as the Company and the Purchaser may otherwise agree, and which may be structured as multiple monthly or other periodic extensions at the election of the Purchaser without the requirement to seek additional Purchaser shareholder approval), and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain such approval. The Company shall, in order to finance such Extension, lend to the Purchaser an aggregate amount of up to One Million Three Hundred and Eighty Thousand Dollars ($1,380,000) to cover the amount of any additional deposits to the Trust Account that the Purchaser has agreed to make, and in the event that the Extension is structured as multiple monthly or other periodic extensions at the election of the Purchaser, the Company shall make multiple loans as required by the Purchaser to finance any such periodic extensions as a non-interest bearing loan (any such individual or collective loans, “Extension Loan”), repayable upon the earlier of the consummation of the Purchaser’s Business Combination or liquidation (subject to Section 11.1); provided that (x) in no event shall the Company be obliged to make the Extension Loan if it reasonably determines that a Material Adverse Effect has occurred with respect to either the Purchaser or the Target Companies and (y) the Extension Loan shall be made no later than May 17, 2021.
8.19 Nasdaq Listing.
The Company, the Purchaser and Pubco shall use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Pubco Securities to be issued under this Agreement to the holders of Public Shareholders prior to the Effective Time to be approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance, as promptly as practicable after the date of this Agreement, and in any event prior to the Closing Date.
8.20 Resale Registration.
Pubco hereby covenants and agrees to promptly file a registration statement on Form S-1 or equivalent (“Resale Registration Statement”) with the SEC to register the resale of the Pubco Ordinary Shares, which have been exchanged for, or which shall be issued upon exercise of the other Pubco Securities that were exchanged for the Purchaser Securities underlying the Purchaser Private Units that were issued concurrently with the Purchaser’s IPO, no later than sixty (60) days Business Days after the Closing Date, and to use its reasonable efforts to cause the Resale Registration Statement to become effective on or before one hundred twenty (120) days after the Closing Date.
61
Article IX
CLOSING CONDITIONS
9.1 Conditions to Each Party’s Obligations. The obligations of Purchaser, Sellers and the Company to consummate the Transactions described herein shall be subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (where permissible) by the Company, the Purchaser and the Sellers of the following conditions:
(a) Required Shareholder Approval. The Shareholder Approval Matters that are submitted to the vote of the shareholders of the Purchaser at the Shareholder Meeting in accordance with the Proxy Statement shall have been approved by the requisite vote of the shareholders of the Purchaser at the Shareholder Meeting in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, applicable Law and the Proxy Statement (the “Required Shareholder Approval”).
(b) Antitrust Laws. Any waiting period (and any extension thereof) applicable to the consummation of this Agreement under any Antitrust Laws herein shall have expired or been terminated.
(c) Requisite Regulatory Approvals. All Consents required to be obtained from any Governmental Authority in order to consummate the Transactions that are set forth in Schedule 9.1(c) shall have been obtained or made.
(d) Requisite Consents. The Consents required to be obtained from or made with any third Person (other than a Governmental Authority) in order to consummate the Transactions that are set forth in Schedule 9.1(d) shall have each been obtained or made.
(e) No Law or Order. No Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the parties hereto shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Law (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) or Order that is then in effect and which has the effect of making the transactions or agreements contemplated by this Agreement illegal or which otherwise prevents or prohibits consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(f) Net Tangible Assets. Upon the Closing, after giving effect to the Redemption and any PIPE Investment, the Purchaser shall have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001.
(g) Pubco Charter Amendment. At or prior to the Closing, the shareholder(s) of Pubco shall have amended and restated the memorandum and articles of association of Pubco in substantially the form attached as Exhibit E hereto (the “Amended Pubco Charter”).
(h) Foreign Private Issuer Status. Each of the Company and the Purchaser shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to such Party that Pubco qualifies as a foreign private issuer pursuant to Rule 3b-4 of the Exchange Act as of the Closing.
(i) Registration Statement. The Registration Statement shall have been declared effective by the SEC and shall remain effective as of the Closing.
(j) Appointment to the Board. The members of the Post-Closing Pubco Board shall have been elected or appointed as of the Closing consistent with the requirement of Section 8.14.
(k) Nasdaq Listing. The Pubco Securities to be issued under this Agreement to the Public Shareholders prior to the Effective Time shall have been approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance.
62
9.2 Conditions to Obligations of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers. In addition to the conditions specified in Section 9.1, the obligations of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers to consummate the Transactions are subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (by the Company and Pubco) of the following conditions:
(a) Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth in this Agreement and in any certificate delivered by or on behalf of the Purchaser pursuant hereto (other than Fundamental Representations of the Purchaser) shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date, except for (i) those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date), and (ii) any failures to be true and correct that (without giving effect to any qualifications or limitations as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect), individually or in the aggregate, have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on, or with respect to, the Purchaser. The Fundamental Representations of the Purchaser shall be true and correct in all respects on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date).
(b) Agreements and Covenants. The Purchaser shall have performed in all material respects all of its obligations and complied in all material respects with all of its agreements and covenants under this Agreement to be performed or complied with by it on or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) No Material Adverse Effect. No Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to the Purchaser since the date of this Agreement which is continuing and uncured.
(d) Minimum Cash. Purchaser shall hold no less than One Hundred Ten Million Dollars ($110,000,000) in cash and cash equivalents, including funds remaining in the Trust Account (defined below) (after giving effect to the completion and payment of the Redemption) and the proceeds of any PIPE Investment (defined below) immediately prior to the Closing;
(e) Closing Deliveries.
(i) Officer Certificate. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company and Pubco a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by an executive officer of the Purchaser in such capacity, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 9.2(a), 9.2(b) and 9.2(c) with respect to the Purchaser.
(ii) Secretary Certificate. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company and Pubco a certificate from its secretary or other executive officer certifying as to, and attaching, (A) copies of the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents as in effect as of the Closing Date, (B) the resolutions of the Purchaser’s board of directors authorizing and approving the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the Ancillary Documents to which it is a party or by which it is bound, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, (C) evidence that the Required Shareholder Approval has been obtained and (D) the incumbency of officers authorized to execute this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to which the Purchaser is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound.
(iii) Good Standing. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company and Pubco a good standing certificate (or similar documents applicable for such jurisdictions) for the Purchaser certified as of a date no earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date from the proper Governmental Authority of the Purchaser’s jurisdiction of organization and from each other jurisdiction in which the Purchaser is qualified to do business as a foreign entity as of the Closing, in each case to the extent that good standing certificates or similar documents are generally available in such jurisdictions.
(iv) Seller Registration Rights Agreement. The Sellers shall have received from Pubco a registration rights agreement covering the Exchange Shares received by the Sellers, in a form to be mutually agreed between the Primary Seller, Purchaser and Pubco (the “Seller Registration Rights Agreement”), duly executed by Pubco.
63
(v) Purchaser Cash. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Sellers and the Company evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Seller Representative of the amount of cash and cash equivalents, including funds remaining in the Trust Account (defined below) (after giving effect to the completion and payment of the Redemption) and the proceeds of any PIPE Investment (defined below) immediately prior to the Closing.
9.3 Conditions to Obligations of the Purchaser. In addition to the conditions specified in Section 9.1, the obligations of the Purchaser to consummate the Transactions are subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (by the Purchaser) of the following conditions:
(a) Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties of the Company, Pubco and the Sellers set forth in this Agreement and in any certificate delivered by or on behalf of the Company, Pubco and the Sellers pursuant hereto (other than Fundamental Representations of the Company, Pubco and the Sellers) shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date, except for (i) those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date), and (ii) any failures to be true and correct that (without giving effect to any qualifications or limitations as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect), individually or in the aggregate, have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on, or with respect to, the Company, Pubco and the Sellers. The Fundamental Representations of the Company, Pubco and the Sellers shall be true and correct in all respects on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date).
(b) Agreements and Covenants. The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers shall have performed in all material respects all of their respective obligations and complied in all material respects with all of their respective agreements and covenants under this Agreement to be performed or complied with by them on or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) No Material Adverse Effect. No Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to any Target Company or Pubco since the date of this Agreement, which is continuing and uncured.
(d) Certain Ancillary Documents. Each of the Non-Competition Agreement and each Lock-Up Agreement shall be in full force and effect in accordance with the terms thereof as of the Closing.
(e) Closing Deliveries.
(i) Officer Certificate. The Purchaser shall have received a certificate from the Company, dated as the Closing Date, signed by an executive officer of the Company in such capacity, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 9.3(a), 9.3(b) and 9.3(c). Pubco shall have delivered to the Purchaser a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by an executive officer of Pubco in such capacity, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 9.3(a), 9.3(b) and 9.3(c) with respect to Pubco and Merger Sub, as applicable.
(ii) Seller Certificate. The Purchaser shall have received a certificate from each Seller, dated as the Closing Date, signed by such Seller, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 9.3(a) and 9.3(b) with respect to such Seller.
64
(iii) Secretary Certificates. The Company and Pubco shall each have delivered to the Purchaser a certificate from its secretary or other executive officer certifying as to the validity and effectiveness of, and attaching, (A) copies of its Organizational Documents as in effect as of the Closing Date (immediately prior to the Effective Time), (B) the resolutions of its board of directors and shareholders authorizing and approving the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or bound, and the consummation of the Transactions, and (C) the incumbency of its officers authorized to execute this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to which it is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound.
(iv) Good Standing. The Company shall have delivered to the Purchaser good standing certificates (or similar documents applicable for such jurisdictions) for each Target Company certified as of a date no earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date from the proper Governmental Authority of the Target Company’s jurisdiction of organization and from each other jurisdiction in which the Target Company is qualified to do business as a foreign corporation or other entity as of the Closing, in each case to the extent that good standing certificates or similar documents are generally available in such jurisdictions. Pubco shall have delivered to the Purchaser good standing certificates (or similar documents applicable for such jurisdictions) for each of Pubco and Merger Sub certified as of a date no earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date from the proper Governmental Authority of Pubco’s and Merger Sub’s jurisdiction of organization and from each other jurisdiction in which Pubco or Merger Sub is qualified to do business as a foreign corporation or other entity as of the Closing, in each case to the extent that good standing certificates or similar documents are generally available in such jurisdictions.
(v) Founder Registration Rights Agreement Amendment. The Purchaser shall have received a copy of the Founder Registration Rights Agreement Amendment, duly executed by Pubco.
(vi) Termination of Company Convertible Securities. The Purchaser shall have received evidence reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser that any issued and outstanding Company Convertible Securities, including the Company Interim Period Notes, shall either convert into Company Ordinary Shares at the Closing, be exchangeable for Pubco Convertible Securities at the Closing or have been terminated, without any consideration, payment or Liability therefor unless agreed and accepted by the Purchaser otherwise.
(vii) Share Certificates and Transfer Instruments. The Purchaser shall have received copies of each Seller Company Certificate, registry of directors and members and other instruments or documents representing the Purchased Shares (or Lost Certificate Affidavits), if applicable, together with executed instruments of transfer in respect of the Purchased Shares in favor of Pubco (or its nominee) and in form reasonably acceptable for transfer on the books of the Company.
(viii) Termination of Certain Contracts. The Purchaser shall have received evidence reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser that the Contracts set forth on Schedule 9.3(e)(viii) involving any of the Target Companies and/or Seller or other Related Persons shall have been terminated with no further obligation or Liability of the Target Companies thereunder.
9.4 Frustration of Conditions. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, no Party may rely on the failure of any condition set forth in this Article IX to be satisfied if such failure was caused by the failure of such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to the Company, any Target Company, any Seller, Pubco or Merger Sub) to comply with or perform any of its covenants or obligations set forth in this Agreement.
65
Article X
TERMINATION AND EXPENSES
10.1 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby may be abandoned at any time prior to the Closing as follows:
(a) by mutual written consent of the Purchaser and the Company;
(b) by written notice by the Purchaser or the Company if any of the conditions to the Closing set forth in Article IX have not been satisfied or waived by August 24, 2021 (or such other date that Parties agree to in writing) (the “Outside Date”); provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 10.1(b) shall not be available to a Party if the breach or violation by such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to the Company, any Seller, Pubco or Merger Sub) of any representation, warranty, covenant or obligation under this Agreement was the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the Outside Date;
(c) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company if a Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction shall have issued an Order or taken any other action permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and such Order or other action has become final and non-appealable; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10.1(c) shall not be available to a Party if the failure by such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to the Company, any Seller, Pubco or Merger Sub) to comply with any provision of this Agreement has been a substantial cause of, or substantially resulted in, such action by such Governmental Authority;
(d) by written notice by the Company to the Purchaser, if (i) (x) there has been a material breach by the Purchaser of any of its covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement, or (y) if any representation or warranty of the Purchaser contained in this Agreement shall have been materially breached or become materially untrue or inaccurate, in any case, which would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 9.2(a) or Section 9.2(b) to be satisfied (treating the Closing Date for such purposes as the date of this Agreement or, if later, the date of such breach), and (ii) the breach or inaccuracy is incapable of being cured or is not cured within the earlier of (A) twenty (20) days after written notice of such breach or inaccuracy is provided to the Purchaser by the Company or (B) the Outside Date; provided, that the Company shall not have the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10.1(d) if at such time the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub or any Seller is in material uncured breach of this Agreement;
(e) by written notice by the Purchaser to the Company, if (i) (x) there has been a material breach by the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub or any Seller of any of their respective covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement, or (y) if any representation or warranty of such Parties contained in this Agreement shall have been materially breached or become materially untrue or inaccurate, in any case, which would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 9.3(a) or Section 9.3(b) to be satisfied (treating the Closing Date for such purposes as the date of this Agreement or, if later, the date of such breach), and (ii) the breach or inaccuracy is incapable of being cured or is not cured within the earlier of (A) twenty (20) days after written notice of such breach or inaccuracy is provided to the Company by the Purchaser or (B) the Outside Date; provided, that the Purchaser shall not have the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10.1(e) if at such time the Purchaser is in material uncured breach of this Agreement;
66
(f) by written notice by the Purchaser to the Company, if there shall have been a Material Adverse Effect on any Target Company or Pubco following the date of this Agreement which is uncured and continuing; or
(g) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company to the other if the Special Shareholders Meeting is held (including any adjournment or postponement thereof) and has concluded, the Purchaser’s shareholders have duly voted, and the Required Shareholders Approval was not obtained.
10.2 Effect of Termination. This Agreement may only be terminated in the circumstances described in Section 10.1 and pursuant to a written notice delivered by the applicable Party to the other applicable Parties, which sets forth the basis for such termination, including the provision of Section 10.1 under which such termination is made. In the event of the valid termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 10.1, this Agreement shall forthwith become void, and there shall be no Liability on the part of any Party or any of their respective Representatives, and all rights and obligations of each Party shall cease, except: (i) Sections 8.12, 8.13, 10.3(b), 11.1, Article XII and this Section 10.2 shall survive the termination of this Agreement, and (ii) nothing herein shall relieve any Party from Liability for any willful breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or obligation under this Agreement or any Fraud Claim against such Party, in either case, prior to termination of this Agreement (in each case of clauses (i) and (ii) above, subject to Section 11.1). Without limiting the foregoing, and except as provided in Sections 10.3 and this Section 10.2 (but subject to Section 11.1, and subject to the right to seek injunctions, specific performance or other equitable relief in accordance with Section 12.6), the Parties’ sole right prior to the Closing with respect to any breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or other agreement contained in this Agreement by another Party or with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be the right, if applicable, to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 10.1.
10.3 Fees and Expenses.
(a) The parties acknowledge and agree that an aggregate of Fifteen Million Dollars of Transaction Expenses shall be reimbursed from the Trust Account and the proceeds of the PIPE Investment; provided, however, that Transaction Expenses which shall be reimbursed from such sources shall not exceed (A) Ten Million U.S. Dollars ($10,000,000) in the aggregate in the case of the Company (“Company Transaction Fee Cap”) and (B) Five Million U.S. Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate in the case of the Purchaser (“Purchaser Transaction Fee Cap” and together with the Company Fee Cap, the “Transaction Fee Caps”); provided further, however, the Transaction Expense Caps shall not apply to (i) the Purchaser’s deferred underwriting fees and other outstanding obligations incurred in connection with its IPO, (ii) regulatory expenses and filing fees, such as fees for Nasdaq and the SEC, (iii) fees for ordinary course third-party services providers, such the Purchaser’s transfer agent, and (iv) success or advisory fees incurred in connection with the PIPE Investment or similar expenses incurred to retain or replace existing shareholders of the Purchaser in connection with a Redemption, which fees shall be mutually agreed in advance by the Purchaser and the Company. Any Transaction Expenses of the Company in excess of the Company Transaction Fee Cap (“Excess Transaction Expenses”), which are unpaid at Closing shall reduce the Exchange Consideration payable to the Sellers. The Sponsor shall pay and shall be responsible for any transaction expenses of the Purchaser in excess of the Purchaser Transaction Fee Cap. For the avoidance of doubt, expenses which are not subject to the Transaction Expense Cap can be paid using the funds in the Trust Account and the proceeds of the PIPE Investment.
(b) Subject to Sections 10.3(a) and 11.1, unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, all Expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be paid by the Party incurring such expenses. As used in this Agreement, “Expenses” shall include all out-of-pocket expenses (including all fees and expenses of counsel, accountants, investment bankers, financial advisors, financing sources, experts and consultants to a Party hereto or any of its Affiliates) incurred by a Party or on its behalf in connection with or related to the authorization, preparation, negotiation, execution or performance of this Agreement or any Ancillary Document related hereto and all other matters related to the consummation of this Agreement. With respect to the Purchaser, Expenses shall include any and all deferred expenses (including fees or commissions payable to the underwriters and any legal fees) of the IPO upon consummation of a Business Combination and any Extension Expenses.
67
Article XI
WAIVERS AND RELEASES
11.1 Waiver of Claims Against Trust.
The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, each Seller hereby represents and warrants that it has read the IPO Prospectus and understands that the Purchaser has established the Trust Account containing the proceeds of the IPO and the overallotment shares acquired by the Purchaser’s underwriters and from certain private placements occurring simultaneously with the IPO (including interest accrued from time to time thereon) for the benefit of the Purchaser’s public shareholders (including overallotment shares acquired by the Purchaser’s underwriters) (the “Public Shareholders”) and that, except as otherwise described in the IPO Prospectus, the Purchaser may disburse monies from the Trust Account only: (a) to the Public Shareholders in the event they elect to redeem their shares of Purchaser Ordinary Shares (or Pubco Ordinary Shares upon the Merger) in connection with the consummation of its initial business combination (as such term is used in the IPO Prospectus) (the “Business Combination”) or in connection with an amendment to the Purchaser’s Organizational documents to extend the Purchaser’s deadline to consummate a Business Combination, (b) to the Public Shareholders if the Purchaser fails to consummate a Business Combination within 15 months after the closing of the IPO (provided such date may be extended by an additional six (6) months), subject to further extension by amendment to the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, (c) with respect to any interest earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account, amounts necessary to pay for any franchise or income taxes, and (d) to the Purchaser after or concurrently with the consummation of a Business Combination. For and in consideration of the Purchaser entering into this Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, each of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, each Seller hereby agree on behalf of itself and its Affiliates that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, none of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, such Seller nor any of their respective Affiliates do now or shall at any time hereafter have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account or distributions therefrom, or make any claim against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom), regardless of whether such claim arises as a result of, in connection with or relating in any way to, this Agreement or any proposed or actual business relationship between the Purchaser or any of its Representatives, on the one hand, and the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, or any Seller or any of their respective Representatives, on the other hand, or any other matter, and regardless of whether such claim arises based on contract, tort, equity or any other theory of legal liability (collectively, the “Released Claims”). Each of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, each Seller on behalf of itself and its Affiliates hereby irrevocably waives any Released Claims that any such Party or any of its Affiliates may have against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) now or in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with the Purchaser or its Representatives and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account (including any Public Shareholder Distributions) for any reason whatsoever (including for an alleged breach of this Agreement or any other agreement with the Purchaser or its Affiliates) provided that (x) nothing herein shall serve to limit or prohibit the Company's, Pubco's, Merger Sub's or any Seller's right to pursue a claim against the Purchaser for legal relief against monies or other assets held outside the Trust Account (other than direct or indirect distributions from the Trust Account to Purchaser’s public stockholders), for specific performance or other equitable relief in connection with the consummation of the transactions (including a claim for the Purchaser to specifically perform its obligations under this Agreement and cause the disbursement of the balance of the cash remaining in the Trust Account (after giving effect to the Redemptions) to the Sellers in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Trust Agreement) so long as such claim would not affect the Purchaser’s ability to fulfill its obligation to effectuate the Redemptions, or for fraud and (y) nothing herein shall serve to limit or prohibit any claims that the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub or any Seller may have in the future against the Purchaser’s assets or funds that are not held in the Trust Account (including any funds that have been released from the Trust Account and any assets that have been purchased or acquired with any such funds (other than direct or indirect distributions from the Trust Account to Purchaser’s public stockholders)). The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, and each Seller each agrees and acknowledges that such irrevocable waiver is material to this Agreement and specifically relied upon by the Purchaser and its Affiliates to induce the Purchaser to enter in this Agreement, and each of the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, and each Seller further intends and understands such waiver to be valid, binding and enforceable against such Party and each of its Affiliates under applicable Law. This Section 11.1 shall survive termination of this Agreement for any reason.
68
11.2 Release and Covenant Not to Sue.
Effective as of the Closing, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law, each Seller, on behalf of itself and its Affiliates that owns any share or other equity interest in or of such Seller (the “Releasing Persons”), hereby releases and discharges the Target Companies from and against any and all Actions, obligations, agreements, debts and Liabilities whatsoever, whether known or unknown, both at law and in equity, which such Releasing Person now has, has ever had or may hereafter have against the Target Companies arising on or prior to the Closing Date or on account of or arising out of any matter occurring on or prior to the Closing Date. From and after the Closing, each Releasing Person hereby irrevocably covenants to refrain from, directly or indirectly, asserting any Action, or commencing or causing to be commenced, any Action of any kind against the Target Companies or their respective Affiliates, based upon any matter purported to be released hereby. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the releases and restrictions set forth herein shall not apply to any claims a Releasing Person may have against any Person (i) for any claims, causes of action, rights or obligations arising under, related to, or in connection with this Agreement or any Ancillary Agreement, (ii) for any and all claims or causes of action for or rights to indemnification, exculpation, and advancement provisions contained in any certificates of incorporation and bylaws (and other similar organizational documents) of the Target Companies, (iii) for any wages, salary, or other similar compensation due to a Releasing Person in its capacity as a director, officer, employee, advisor, consultant, or other representative of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and (iv) under the Contracts set forth on Schedule 11.2.
Article XII
MISCELLANEOUS
12.1 Notices.
All notices, consents, waivers and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered (i) in person, (ii) by facsimile or other electronic means, with affirmative confirmation of receipt, (iii) two (2) Business Days after being sent, if sent by reputable, nationally recognized overnight courier service or (iv) five (5) Business Days after being mailed, if sent by a nationally recognized non-overnight courier service, in each case to the applicable Party at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified by like notice):
If to the Purchaser at or prior to the Closing, to: East Stone Acquisition Corp. 25 Mall Road, Suite 330 Burlington, MA 01803 Attn: Sherman Xiaoma Lu, Chief Executive Officer | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP |
69
If to Purchaser Representative or the Sponsor to: Navy Sail International Limited | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP |
If to the Company at or prior to the Closing, to:
188 Des Voeux Road Central | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Baker & McKenzie LLP Attn: Mark L. Mandel, Esq. Facsimile No.: (212) 310-1736 |
If to Pubco or Merger Sub at or prior to the Closing, to: JHD Technologies Limited | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Baker & McKenzie LLP Attn: Mark L. Mandel, Esq. Facsimile No.: (212) 310-1736 |
If to the Primary Seller or Seller Representative, to: Yellow River (Cayman) Limited | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Baker & McKenzie LLP Attn: Mark L. Mandel, Esq. Facsimile No.: (212) 310-1736
|
If to Pubco, the Purchaser, or the Company after the Closing, to: JHD Holdings Limited 188 Des Voeux Road Central | with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Baker & McKenzie LLP Attn: Mark L. Mandel, Esq. Facsimile No.: (212) 310-1736
|
70
12.2 Binding Effect; Assignment. Subject to Section 12.3, this Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure solely to the benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. This Agreement shall not be assigned by operation of Law or otherwise without the prior written consent of the Purchaser, the Seller Representative, Pubco and the Company (and after the Closing, the Purchaser Representative), and any assignment without such consent shall be null and void; provided that no such assignment shall relieve the assigning Party of its obligations hereunder.
12.3 Third Parties. Except for the rights of the D&O Indemnified Persons set forth in Section 8.15, which the Parties acknowledge and agree are express third party beneficiaries of this Agreement, nothing contained in this Agreement or in any instrument or document executed by any party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall create any rights in, or be deemed to have been executed for the benefit of, any Person that is not a Party hereto or thereto or a successor or permitted assign of such a Party.
12.4 Governing Law; Jurisdiction. This Agreement and all Actions (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) that may be based upon, arise out of or relate to this Agreement or the negotiation, execution or performance hereof (including any claim or cause of action based upon, arising out of or related to any representation or warranty made in or in connection with this Agreement or as an inducement to enter into this Agreement) shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the Laws (both substantive and procedural) of the State of New York. All Actions arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be heard and determined exclusively in any state or federal court located in New York, New York (or in any court in which appeal from such courts may be taken) (the “Specified Courts”). Each Party hereto hereby (a) submits to the exclusive personal and subject matter jurisdiction of any Specified Court for the purpose of any Action arising out of or relating to this Agreement brought by any Party hereto and (b) irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert by way of motion, defense or otherwise, in any such Action, any claim that it is not subject to the personal or subject matter jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that its property is exempt or immune from attachment or execution, that the Action is brought in an inconvenient forum, that the venue of the Action is improper, or that this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may not be enforced in or by any Specified Court. Each Party agrees that a final judgment in any Action shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by Law. Each Party irrevocably consents to the service of the summons and complaint and any other process in any other Action relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, on behalf of itself, or its property, by personal delivery of copies of such process to such Party at the applicable address set forth in Section 12.1. Nothing in this Section 12.4 shall affect the right of any Party to serve legal process in any other manner permitted by Law.
12.5 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY ACTION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, IN EACH CASE, WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER ARISING, AND WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, EQUITY, OR OTHERWISE. EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THAT FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION 12.5.
71
12.6 Specific Performance. Each Party acknowledges that the rights of each Party to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby are unique, recognizes and affirms that in the event of a breach of this Agreement by any Party, money damages may be inadequate and the non-breaching Parties may have not adequate remedy at law, and agree that irreparable damage may occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by an applicable Party in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, each Party shall be entitled to seek an injunction, restraining order or other equitable remedy to prevent or remedy any breach of this Agreement and to seek to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof, in each case, without the requirement to post any bond or other security or to prove that money damages would be inadequate, this being in addition to any other right or remedy to which such Party may be entitled under this Agreement, at law or in equity.
12.7 Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in a jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified or deleted, as to the jurisdiction involved, only to the extent necessary to render the same valid, legal and enforceable, and the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby nor shall the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision be affected thereby in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties will substitute for any invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision a suitable and equitable provision that carries out, so far as may be valid, legal and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision.
12.8 Amendment. This Agreement may be amended, supplemented or modified only by execution of a written instrument signed by the Purchaser (or, after the Closing, the Purchaser Representative), Pubco, the Company, and the Seller Representative.
12.9 Waiver. Each of the Purchaser (or, after the Closing, the Purchaser Representative), Pubco and the Company on behalf of itself and its Affiliates, and the Seller Representative, on behalf of the Sellers, may in its sole discretion (i) extend the time for the performance of any obligation or other act of any other non-Affiliated Party hereto, (ii) waive any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties by such other non-Affiliated Party contained herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto and (iii) waive compliance by such other non-Affiliated Party with any covenant or condition contained herein. Any such extension or waiver shall be valid only if set forth in an instrument in writing signed by the Party or Parties to be bound thereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no failure or delay by a Party in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise of any other right hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any waiver of any provision of this Agreement after the Closing by Pubco or the Purchaser shall also require the prior written consent of the Purchaser Representative and the Seller Representative.
12.10 Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the documents or instruments referred to herein, including any exhibits, annexes and schedules attached hereto, which exhibits, annexes and schedules are incorporated herein by reference, together with the Ancillary Documents, embody the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties hereto in respect of the subject matter contained herein. There are no restrictions, promises, representations, warranties, covenants or undertakings, other than those expressly set forth or referred to herein or the documents or instruments referred to herein, which collectively supersede all prior agreements and the understandings among the Parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein.
72
12.11 Interpretation. The table of contents and the Article and Section headings contained in this Agreement are solely for the purpose of reference and shall not in any way affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and words in the singular, including any defined terms, include the plural and vice versa; (b) reference to any Person includes such Person’s successors and assigns but, if applicable, only if such successors and assigns are permitted by this Agreement, and reference to a Person in a particular capacity excludes such Person in any other capacity; (c) any accounting term used and not otherwise defined in this Agreement or any Ancillary Document has the meaning assigned to such term in accordance with GAAP, based on the accounting principles used by the applicable Person, provided that any accounting term with respect to any Target Company shall be interpreted in accordance with the Accounting Principles; (d) “including” (and with correlative meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding or succeeding such term and shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “without limitation”; (e) the words “herein,” “hereto,” and “hereby” and other words of similar import in this Agreement shall be deemed in each case to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision of this Agreement; (f) the word “if” and other words of similar import when used herein shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the phrase “and only if”; (g) the term “or” means “and/or”; (h) the word “day” means calendar day unless Business Day is expressly specified; (i) any reference to the term “ordinary course” or “ordinary course of business” shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “consistent with past practice”; (j) any agreement, instrument, insurance policy, Law or Order defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument that is referred to herein means such agreement, instrument, insurance policy, Law or Order as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, including (in the case of agreements or instruments) by waiver or consent and (in the case of statutes, regulations, rules or orders) by succession of comparable successor statutes, regulations, rules or orders and references to all attachments thereto and instruments incorporated therein; (k) except as otherwise indicated, all references in this Agreement to the words “Section,” “Article”, “Schedule”, “Annex” and “Exhibit” are intended to refer to Sections, Articles, Schedules, Annexes and Exhibits to this Agreement; and (l) the term “Dollars” or “$” means United States dollars. Any reference in this Agreement to a Person’s directors shall include any member of such Person’s governing body and any reference in this Agreement to a Person’s officers shall include any Person filling a substantially similar position for such Person. Any reference in this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to a Person’s shareholders or stockholders shall include any applicable owners of the equity interests of such Person, in whatever form. The Parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the Parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement. To the extent that any Contract, document, certificate or instrument is represented and warranted to by the Company to be given, delivered, provided or made available by the Company, in order for such Contract, document, certificate or instrument to have been deemed to have been given, delivered, provided and made available to the Purchaser or its Representatives, such Contract, document, certificate or instrument shall have been posted to the electronic data site maintained on behalf of the Company for the benefit of the Purchaser and its Representatives and the Purchaser and its Representatives have been given access to the electronic folders containing such information, or such information or documentation was made available or otherwise provided to the Purchaser, its Affiliates or any of their Representatives in-person or by email.
12.12 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed and delivered (including by facsimile, email or other electronic transmission) in one or more counterparts, and by the different Parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when executed shall be deemed to be an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
73
12.13 No Recourse. Notwithstanding anything that may be expressed or implied in this Agreement, the Parties acknowledge and agree that no recourse under this Agreement or under any Ancillary Documents shall be had against any Person that is not a Party to this Agreement (including pursuant to a Joinder) or such Ancillary Document, including any past, present or future director, officer, agent, employee, equityholder or other Representative or any Affiliate or successor or assignee thereof that is not a Party (collectively, the “Non-Recourse Parties”), as such, whether by the enforcement of any assessment or by any legal or equitable proceeding, or by virtue of any statute, regulation or other applicable Law, it being expressly agreed and acknowledged that no liability whatsoever shall attach to, be imposed on or otherwise be incurred by any Non-Recourse Party, as such, for any obligation or liability of a Party under this Agreement or Person party to such Ancillary Document under any Ancillary Document for any claim based on, in respect of or by reason of such obligations or Liabilities or their creation.
12.14 Purchaser Representative.
(a) The Purchaser, on behalf of itself and its successors and assigns (collectively, the "Purchaser Represented Persons"), by execution and delivery of this Agreement, hereby irrevocably appoints Navy Sail International Limited, in the capacity as the Purchaser Representative, as its agent, attorney-in-fact and representative, with full power of substitution to act in the name, place and stead of the Purchaser Represented Persons, to act on behalf of each the Purchaser Represented Persons from and after the Closing for all purposes in connection with this Agreement, including: (i) making on behalf of the Purchaser Represented Persons any determinations and taking all actions on their behalf relating to the determination of the Finally Determined Shares, the adjustment to the Exchange Consideration under Section 2.5 and any disputes with respect thereto, (ii) making on behalf of such Persons any determinations and taking all actions on their behalf relating to the determination of the Revenue and whether the conditions for the delivery of the Earnout Shares have been satisfied under Section 2.6, and any disputes with respect thereto; (iii) terminating, amending or waiving on behalf of the Purchaser Represented Persons any provision of this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Purchaser Representative will act on behalf of the Purchaser Represented Parties; (iv) signing on behalf of the Purchaser Represented Persons any releases or other documents with respect to any dispute or remedy arising under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Purchaser Representative will act on behalf of any Purchaser Represented Persons; (v) employing and obtaining the advice of legal counsel, accountants and other professional advisors as the Purchaser Representative, in its reasonable discretion, deems necessary or advisable in the performance of its duties as the Purchaser Representative and to rely on their advice and counsel; (vi) incurring and paying reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses, including fees of brokers, attorneys and accountants incurred pursuant to the transactions contemplated hereby, and any other reasonable out-of-pocket fees and expenses allocable or in any way relating to such transaction or any post-Closing consideration adjustment; and (vii) otherwise enforcing the rights and obligations of any Purchaser Represented Person under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Purchaser Representative will act on behalf of such Purchaser Represented Person, including giving and receiving all notices and communications hereunder or thereunder on behalf of such Purchaser Represented Person. All decisions and actions by the Purchaser Representative shall be binding upon the Purchaser Represented Persons, and no Purchaser Represented Person nor any other Party shall have the right to object, dissent, protest or otherwise contest the same. The Purchaser, on behalf of itself and the other Purchaser Represented Persons, acknowledges and agrees that it and they shall not: (x) prohibit the Sellers or the Seller Representative from seeking proper discovery of documents and other information; or (y) permit the Purchaser Representative or the Purchaser Represented Persons from asserting that such documents are not discoverable. The provisions of this Section 12.14 are irrevocable and coupled with an interest. The Purchaser Representative hereby accepts its appointment and authorization as the Purchaser Representative under this Agreement.
74
(b) The Purchaser Representative shall not be liable for any act done or omitted under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Purchaser Representative will act on behalf of any Purchaser Represented Person as the Purchaser Representative while acting in good faith and without willful misconduct or gross negligence, and any act done or omitted pursuant to the advice of counsel shall be conclusive evidence of such good faith. The Purchaser shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Purchaser Representative from and against any and all Losses incurred without gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Purchaser Representative (in its capacity as such) and arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of the Purchaser Representative’s duties under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Purchaser Representative will act on behalf of the Purchaser Represented Persons, including the reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel retained by the Purchaser Representative. In no event shall the Purchaser Representative in such capacity be liable hereunder or in connection herewith for any indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages. The Purchaser Representative shall be fully protected in relying upon any written notice, demand, certificate or document that it in good faith believes to be genuine, including facsimiles or copies thereof, and no Person shall have any Liability for relying on the Purchaser Representative in the foregoing manner. In connection with the performance of its rights and obligations hereunder, the Purchaser Representative shall have the right at any time and from time to time to select and engage, at the cost and expense of the Purchaser, attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, advisors, consultants and clerical personnel and obtain such other professional and expert assistance, maintain such records and incur other out-of-pocket expenses, as the Purchaser Representative may deem reasonably necessary or appropriate from time to time. All of the indemnities, immunities, releases and powers granted to the Purchaser Representative under this Section 12.14 shall survive the Closing and continue indefinitely.
(c) The Person serving as the Purchaser Representative may resign upon ten (10) days’ prior written notice to Pubco, the Purchaser and the Seller Representative, provided, that the Purchaser Representative appoints in writing a replacement Purchaser Representative and executes a joinder in customary form to this Agreement. Each successor Purchaser Representative shall have all of the power, authority, rights and privileges conferred by this Agreement upon the original Purchaser Representative, and the term “Purchaser Representative” as used herein shall be deemed to include any such successor Purchaser Representatives.
12.15 Seller Representative.
(a) The Sellers, on behalf of themselves and their successors and assigns (collectively, the "Seller Represented Persons"), by execution and delivery of this Agreement, hereby irrevocably appoint Yellow River (Cayman) Limited, in the capacity as the seller representative (the "Seller Representative"), as their agent, attorney-in-fact and representative, with full power of substitution to act in the name, place and stead of the Seller Represented Persons, to act on behalf of each the Seller Represented Persons from and after the date of this Agreement for all purposes in connection with this Agreement, including: (i) making on behalf of the Seller Represented Persons any determinations and taking all actions on their behalf relating to the determination of the Finally Determined Shares, the adjustment to the Exchange Consideration under Section 2.5 and any disputes with respect thereto, (ii) making on behalf of such Persons any determinations and taking all actions on their behalf relating to the determination of the Revenue and whether the conditions for the delivery of the Earnout Shares have been satisfied under Section 2.6, and any disputes with respect thereto; (iii) terminating, amending or waiving on behalf of the Seller Represented Persons any provision of this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Seller Representative will act on behalf of the Sellers; (iv) signing on behalf of the Seller Represented Persons any releases or other documents with respect to any dispute or remedy arising under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Seller Representative will act on behalf of any Seller Represented Persons; (v) employing and obtaining the advice of legal counsel, accountants and other professional advisors as the Seller Representative, in its reasonable discretion, deems necessary or advisable in the performance of its duties as the Seller Representative and to rely on their advice and counsel; (vi) incurring and paying reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses, including fees of brokers, attorneys and accountants incurred pursuant to the transactions contemplated hereby, and any other reasonable out-of-pocket fees and expenses allocable or in any way relating to such transaction or any post-Closing consideration adjustment; and (vii) otherwise enforcing the rights and obligations of any Seller Represented Person under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Seller Representative will act on behalf of such Seller Represented Person, including giving and receiving all notices and communications hereunder or thereunder on behalf of such Seller Represented Person. All decisions and actions by the Seller Representative shall be binding upon the Seller Represented Persons, and no Seller Represented Person nor any other Party shall have the right to object, dissent, protest or otherwise contest the same. The Sellers, on behalf of themselves and the other Seller Represented Persons, acknowledges and agrees that it and they shall not: (x) prohibit the Purchaser or the Purchaser Representative from seeking proper discovery of documents and other information; or (y) permit the Seller Representative or the Seller Represented Persons from asserting that such documents are not discoverable. The provisions of this Section 12.15 are irrevocable and coupled with an interest. The Seller Representative hereby accepts its appointment and authorization as the Seller Representative under this Agreement.
75
(b) The Seller Representative shall not be liable for any act done or omitted under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Seller Representative will act on behalf of any Seller Represented Person as the Seller Representative while acting in good faith and without willful misconduct or gross negligence, and any act done or omitted pursuant to the advice of counsel shall be conclusive evidence of such good faith. Pubco shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Seller Representative from and against any and all Losses incurred without gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Seller Representative (in its capacity as such) and arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of the Seller Representative’s duties under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document which expressly contemplates that the Seller Representative will act on behalf of the Seller Represented Persons, including the reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel retained by the Seller Representative. In no event shall the Seller Representative in such capacity be liable hereunder or in connection herewith for any indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages. The Seller Representative shall be fully protected in relying upon any written notice, demand, certificate or document that it in good faith believes to be genuine, including facsimiles or copies thereof, and no Person shall have any Liability for relying on the Seller Representative in the foregoing manner. In connection with the performance of its rights and obligations hereunder, the Seller Representative shall have the right at any time and from time to time to select and engage, at the cost and expense of the Company, attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, advisors, consultants and clerical personnel and obtain such other professional and expert assistance, maintain such records and incur other out-of-pocket expenses, as the Seller Representative may deem reasonably necessary or appropriate from time to time. All of the indemnities, immunities, releases and powers granted to the Seller Representative under this Section 12.15 shall survive the Closing and continue indefinitely.
(c) The Person serving as the Seller Representative may resign upon ten (10) days’ prior written notice to Pubco, the Sellers and the Purchaser Representative, provided, that the Seller Representative appoints in writing a replacement Seller Representative and executes a joinder in customary form to this Agreement. Each successor Seller Representative shall have all of the power, authority, rights and privileges conferred by this Agreement upon the original Seller Representative, and the term “Seller Representative” as used herein shall be deemed to include any such successor Seller Representatives.
76
12.16 Legal Representation.
The Parties agree that, notwithstanding the fact that EGS may have, prior to Closing, jointly represented the Purchaser and the Sponsor in connection with this Agreement, the Ancillary Documents and the Transactions, and has also represented the Purchaser, Sponsor and/or their respective Affiliates in connection with matters other than the transaction that is the subject of this Agreement, EGS will be permitted in the future, after Closing, to represent the Sponsor or its Affiliates in connection with matters in which such Persons are adverse to Pubco, the Purchaser or any of their respective Affiliates, including any disputes arising out of, or related to, this Agreement. The Company, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Sellers, who are or have the right to be represented by independent counsel in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, hereby agree, in advance, to waive (and to cause their Affiliates to waive) any actual or potential conflict of interest that may hereafter arise in connection with EGS’s future representation of one or more of the Sponsor or its Affiliates in which the interests of such Person are adverse to the interests of Pubco, Merger Sub, the Purchaser, the Company and/or the Sellers or any of their respective Affiliates, including any matters that arise out of this Agreement or that are substantially related to this Agreement or to any prior representation by EGS of the Sponsor, the Purchaser or any of their respective Affiliates. The Parties acknowledge and agree that, for the purposes of the attorney-client privilege, the Sponsor shall be deemed the client of EGS with respect to the negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents. All such communications shall remain privileged after the Closing and the privilege and the expectation of client confidence relating thereto shall belong solely to the Sponsor, shall be controlled by the Sponsor and shall not pass to or be claimed by Pubco, the Purchaser; provided, further, that nothing contained herein shall be deemed to be a waiver by Pubco, the Purchaser or any of their respective Affiliates of any applicable privileges or protections that can or may be asserted to prevent disclosure of any such communications to any third party.
12.17 Non-Survival of Representations, Warranties.
The representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or in any certificate or instrument delivered by or on behalf of any Party pursuant to this Agreement (including any rights arising out of any breach of such representations and warranties) shall not survive the Closing, and from and after the Closing, the Parties and their respective Representatives shall not have any further obligations, nor shall any claim be asserted or action be brought against any Party or its Representatives with respect thereto. The covenants and agreements made in this Agreement or in any certificate or instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement (including any rights arising out of any breach of such covenants or agreements) shall not survive the Closing, except for those covenants and agreements contained herein and therein that by their terms apply or are to be performed in whole or in part after the Closing (which such covenants shall survive the Closing, and then only with respect to breaches occurring after the Closing, and continue until fully performed in accordance with their terms).
12.18 U.S. Tax Elections.
The Company shall have the right to make on its own behalf, or the Primary Seller shall have the right to make on behalf of the Company, a timely filed election under U.S. Department of Treasury regulation Section ###-###-####-3 to be treated as disregarded as separate from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes by filing Form 8832 Entity Classification Election with the Internal Revenue Service.
Article XIII
DEFINITIONS
13.1 Certain Definitions. For purpose of this Agreement, the following capitalized terms have the following meanings:
“Accounting Principles” means in accordance with GAAP, as of the Closing Date, using and applying the same accounting principles, practices, procedures, policies and methods (with consistent classifications, judgments, elections, inclusions, exclusions and valuation and estimation methodologies) used and applied by the Target Companies in the preparation of the PCAOB Balance Sheet.
77
“Action” means any notice of noncompliance or violation, or any claim, demand, charge, action, suit, litigation, audit, settlement, complaint, stipulation, assessment or arbitration, governmental inquiry, hearing, proceeding or investigation, by or before any Governmental Authority.
“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly Controlling, Controlled by, or under common Control with such Person. For the avoidance of doubt, Sponsor shall be deemed to be an Affiliate of the Purchaser prior to the Closing.
“Ancillary Documents” means each agreement, instrument or document including the Lock-Up Agreements, the Non-Competition Agreements, the Amended Pubco Charter, the Founder Registration Rights Agreement Amendment, the Seller Registration Rights Agreement, the Escrow Agreement and the other agreements, certificates and instruments to be executed or delivered by any of the Parties hereto in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement.
“Benefit Plans” of any Person means any and all deferred compensation, executive compensation, incentive compensation, equity purchase or other equity-based compensation plan, employment or individual consulting, severance or termination pay, holiday, vacation or other bonus plan or practice, hospitalization or other medical, life or other welfare benefit insurance, supplemental unemployment benefits, profit sharing, pension, or retirement plan, program, agreement, commitment or arrangement, and each other employee benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement, including each “employee benefit plan” as such term is defined under Section 3(3) of ERISA, maintained or contributed to or required to be contributed to by a Person for the benefit of any employee or terminated employee of such Person, or with respect to which such Person has any Liability
“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banking institutions in New York, New York or the PRC are authorized to close for business, excluding as a result of “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee” or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems, including for wire transfers, of commercially banking institutions in New York, New York are generally open for use by customers on such day.
“BVI Act” means the British Virgin Islands Business Companies Act (No 16 of 2004), as amended.
“Cayman Act” means the Companies Act (2021 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, as amended.
“Closing Cash” means, as of the Reference Time, the aggregate cash and cash equivalents of the Target Companies on hand or in bank accounts, including deposits in transit, minus the aggregate amount of outstanding and unpaid checks issued by or on behalf of the Target Companies as of such time (in each case determined in accordance with the Accounting Principles).
“Closing Debt” means, as of the Reference Time, the aggregate Indebtedness of the Target Companies.
“CNY” means the lawful currency of the PRC.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute thereto, as amended. Reference to a specific section of the Code shall include such section and any valid treasury regulation promulgated thereunder.
78
“Company Confidential Information” means all confidential or proprietary documents and information concerning the Target Companies, Pubco, or any Seller or any of their respective Representatives, furnished in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby; provided, however, that Company Confidential Information shall not include any information which, (i) at the time of disclosure by the Purchaser or its Representatives, is generally available publicly and was not disclosed in breach of this Agreement or (ii) at the time of the disclosure by the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, a Seller or their respective Representatives to the Purchaser or its Representatives was previously known by such receiving party without violation of Law or any confidentiality obligation by the Person receiving such Company Confidential Information.
“Company Convertible Securities” means, collectively, any other options, warrants or rights to subscribe for or purchase any capital shares of the Company or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or that otherwise confer on the holder any right to acquire any capital shares of the Company.
“Company Interim Period Note” means convertible debt instruments of the Company.
“Company Ordinary Shares” means the ordinary shares, $0.001 par value per share, of the Company.
“Company Securities” means, collectively, the Company Ordinary Shares, the Company Preferred Shares and the Company Convertible Securities.
“Consent” means any consent, approval, waiver, authorization or Permit of, or notice to or declaration or filing with any Governmental Authority or any other Person.
“Contracts” means all binding contracts, agreements, arrangements, bonds, notes, indentures, mortgages, debt instruments, purchase order, licenses (and all other binding contracts, agreements or binding arrangements concerning Intellectual Property), franchises, leases and other instruments or obligations of any kind, written or oral (including any amendments and other modifications thereto).
“Control” of a Person means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. “Controlled”, “Controlling” and “under common Control with” have correlative meanings. Without limiting the foregoing, a Person (the “Controlled Person”) shall be deemed Controlled by (a) any other Person (i) owning beneficially, as meant in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, securities entitling such Person to cast fifty percent (50%) or more of the votes for election of directors or equivalent governing authority of the Controlled Person or (ii) entitled to be allocated or receive fifty percent (50%) or more of the profits, losses, or distributions of the Controlled Person; or (b) an officer, director, general partner, partner (other than a limited partner), manager, or member (other than a member having no management authority that is not a Person described in clause (a) above) of the Controlled Person.
“Copyrights” means any works of authorship, mask works and all copyrights therein, including all renewals and extensions, copyright registrations and applications for registration and renewal, and non-registered copyrights.
79
“Equity Award Exchange Ratio” means (a) the fair market value of a Primary Seller Ordinary Share at the Effective Time, divided by (b) the fair market value of a Pubco Ordinary Share at the Effective Time, with the fair market value of such shares determined by the Primary Seller in its sole discretion in accordance with Section 2.10.
“Environmental Law” means any Law in effect on or prior to the date hereof any way relating to (a) the protection of human health and safety (to the extent relating to exposure to Hazardous Materials), (b) the protection, preservation or restoration of the environment and natural resources (including air, water vapor, surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, surface land, subsurface land, plant and animal life or any other natural resource), or (c) the exposure to, or the use, storage, recycling, treatment, generation, transportation, processing, handling, labeling, production, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials.
“Environmental Liabilities” means, in respect of any Person, all Liabilities, obligations, responsibilities, Remedial Actions, Actions, Orders, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including all reasonable fees, disbursements, and expenses of counsel, experts, and consultants and costs of investigation and feasibility studies), fines, penalties, sanctions, and interest incurred as a result of any claim or demand by any other Person or in response to any violation of Environmental Law, whether known or unknown, accrued or contingent, whether based in contract, tort, implied or express warranty, strict liability, criminal or civil statute, to the extent based upon, related to, or arising under or pursuant to any Environmental Law, Environmental Permit, Order, or Contract with any Governmental Authority or other Person, that relates to any environmental, health or safety condition, violation of Environmental Law, or a Release or threatened Release of Hazardous Materials.
“ERISA” means the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
“Exchange Act” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Foreign Plan” means any plan, fund (including any superannuation fund) or other similar program or arrangement established or maintained outside the United States by the Company or any one or more of its Subsidiaries primarily for the benefit of employees of the Company or such Subsidiaries residing outside the United States, which plan, fund or other similar program or arrangement provides, or results in, retirement income, a deferral of income in contemplation of retirement or payments to be made upon termination of employment, and which plan is not subject to ERISA or the Code.
“Founder Registration Rights Agreement” means the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 19, 2020, by and among the Purchaser, Sponsor and the other “Holders” named therein.
“Founder Shares” means an aggregate of 3,450,000 Purchaser Ordinary Shares currently held by the initial shareholders of the Purchaser.
“Fundamental Representations” means: (i) with respect to the Purchaser, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 4.1(a), Section 4.1(b), Section 4.2, Section 4.5 and Section 4.16, (ii) with respect to Pubco, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 5.1(a), Section 5.1(b), Section 5.2, Section 5.5 and Section 5.8, (iii) with respect to the Company, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 6.1(a), Section 6.1(b), Section 6.2, Section 6.3 and Section 6.26, and (iv) with respect to the Sellers, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 7.1, Section 7.2 and Section 7.8.
“Fraud Claim” means any claim based in whole or in part upon common law fraud under the Laws of the State of New York and that involves willful misconduct or intentional misrepresentation. A Fraud Claim cannot be based on constructive fraud or negligent misrepresentation.
80
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles as in effect in the United States of America.
“Governmental Authority” means any federal, state, local, foreign or other governmental, quasi-governmental or administrative body, instrumentality, department or agency or any court, tribunal, administrative hearing body, arbitration panel, commission, or other similar dispute-resolving panel or body.
“Hazardous Material” means any waste, gas, liquid or other substance or material that is defined, listed or designated as a “hazardous substance”, “pollutant”, “contaminant”, “hazardous waste”, “regulated substance”, “hazardous chemical”, or “toxic chemical” (or by any similar term) under any Environmental Law, or any other material regulated, or that could result in the imposition of Liability or responsibility, under any Environmental Law, including petroleum and its by-products, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon, mold, and urea formaldehyde insulation.
“Indebtedness” of any Person means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money (including the outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest), (b) all obligations for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business), (c) any other indebtedness of such Person that is evidenced by a note, bond, debenture, credit agreement or similar instrument, (d) all obligations of such Person under leases that should be classified as capital leases in accordance with GAAP (as applicable to such Person), (e) all obligations of such Person for the reimbursement of any obligor on any line or letter of credit, banker’s acceptance, guarantee or similar credit transaction, in each case, that has been drawn or claimed against and not settled, (f) all obligations of such Person in respect of acceptances issued or created, (g) all interest rate and currency swaps, caps, collars and similar agreements or hedging devices under which payments are obligated to be made by such Person, whether periodically or upon the happening of a contingency, (h) all obligations secured by an Lien on any property of such Person, (i) any premiums, prepayment fees or other penalties, fees, costs or expenses associated with payment of any Indebtedness of such Person and (j) all obligation described in clauses (a) through (i) above of any other Person which is directly or indirectly guaranteed by such Person or which such Person has agreed (contingently or otherwise) to purchase or otherwise acquire or in respect of which it has otherwise assured a creditor against loss.
“Intellectual Property” means all of the following as they exist in any jurisdiction throughout the world: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, intellectual property rights in Software and other intellectual property.
“Investment Company Act” means the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
“IPO” means the initial public offering of Purchaser Units pursuant to the IPO Prospectus.
“IPO Prospectus” means the final prospectus of the Purchaser, dated as of February 19, 2020, and filed with the SEC on February 21, 2020 (File No. 333-235949).
“JOBS Act” means the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012.
“Joinder Agreement” means an agreement to join this Agreement as a Seller in the form set forth in Exhibit F.
“Knowledge” means, with respect to (i) the Company, the actual knowledge of the individuals set forth on Schedule 13.1, after reasonable inquiry of direct reports, or (ii) any other Party, (A) if an entity, the actual knowledge of its directors and executive officers, after reasonable inquiry, or (B) if a natural person, the actual knowledge of such Party after reasonable inquiry.
81
“Law” means any federal, state, local, municipal, foreign or other law, statute, legislation, principle of common law, ordinance, code, edict, decree, proclamation, treaty, convention, rule, regulation, directive, requirement, writ, injunction, settlement, Order or Consent that is or has been issued, enacted, adopted, passed, approved, promulgated, made, implemented or otherwise put into effect by or under the authority of any Governmental Authority.
“Liabilities” means any and all liabilities, Indebtedness, Actions or obligations of any nature (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise, whether known or unknown, whether direct or indirect, whether matured or unmatured, whether due or to become due and whether or not required to be recorded or reflected on a balance sheet under GAAP or other applicable accounting standards), including Tax liabilities due or to become due.
“Lien” means any mortgage, pledge, security interest, attachment, right of first refusal, option, proxy, voting trust, encumbrance, lien or charge of any kind (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement or lease in the nature thereof), restriction (whether on voting, sale, transfer, disposition or otherwise), any subordination arrangement in favor of another Person, or any filing or agreement to file a financing statement as debtor under the Uniform Commercial Code or any similar Law.
“Material Adverse Effect” means, with respect to any specified Person, any fact, event, occurrence, change or effect that has had, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, assets, Liabilities, results of operations, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (b) the ability of such Person or any of its Subsidiaries on a timely basis to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents to which it is a party or bound or to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder; provided, however, that for purposes of clause (a) and (b) above, any fact, event, event, occurrence, change or effect directly or indirectly attributable to, resulting from, relating to or arising out of the following (by themselves or when aggregated with any other, facts, events, occurrences, changes or effects) shall not be deemed to be, constitute, or be taken into account when determining whether there has or may, would or could have occurred a Material Adverse Effect: (i) changes in the financial or securities markets (including any changes in credit, financial, commodities, securities or banking markets) or general economic or political conditions in the country or region in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries do business; (ii) changes, conditions or effects that generally affect the industries in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries principally operate; (iii) changes in GAAP or other applicable accounting principles or mandatory changes in the regulatory accounting requirements applicable to any industry in which such Person and its Subsidiaries principally operate; (iv) conditions caused by acts of God, epidemic, terrorism, sabotage, war (whether or not declared) or natural disaster; (v) any failure in and of itself by such Person and its Subsidiaries to meet any internal or published budgets, projections, forecasts or predictions of financial performance for any period (provided that the underlying cause of any such failure may be considered in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur to the extent not excluded by another exception herein), (vi) with respect to the Purchaser, the consummation and effects of the Redemption, (vii) the announcement or the execution of this Agreement, the pendency or consummation of the Transactions or the performance of this Agreement, including losses or threatened losses of employees, customers, vendors, distributors or others having relationships with the Target Companies, or (viii) with respect to the Sellers, Pubco, Merger Sub and the Company, the compliance with the terms of this Agreement or any action taken or not taken as required or contemplated by this Agreement; provided further, however, that any event, occurrence, fact, condition, or change referred to in clauses (i), - (iv) immediately above shall be taken into account in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or could reasonably be expected to occur to the extent that such event, occurrence, fact, condition, or change has a disproportionate effect on such Person or any of its Subsidiaries compared to other participants in the industries and geographic location in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries primarily conducts its businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to the Purchaser, the amount of the Redemption or the failure to obtain the Required Shareholder Approval shall not be deemed to be a Material Adverse Effect on or with respect to the Purchaser.
82
“Merger Sub Ordinary Shares” means the ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.001 each, of a single class, of Merger Sub.
“Nasdaq” means the Nasdaq Capital Market.
“Order” means any order, decree, ruling, judgment, injunction, writ, determination, binding decision, verdict, judicial award or other Action that is or has been entered, rendered, or otherwise put into effect by or under the authority of any Governmental Authority.
“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person, its articles of incorporation and bylaws, memorandum and articles of association or similar organizational documents, in each case, as amended.
“Patents” means any patents, and patent applications (including any divisionals, provisionals, continuations, continuations-in-part, substitutions, or reissues thereof).
“PCAOB” means the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (or any successor thereto).
“PCAOB Balance Sheet” means the balance sheet dated December 31, 2020 and delivered to the Purchaser pursuant to Section 8.4(a); provided that if a balance sheet dated as of March 31, 2021 was delivered to the Purchaser pursuant to Section 8.4(b), then "PCAOB Balance Sheet" shall refer to such balance sheet.
“Permits” means all federal, state, local or foreign or other third-party permits, grants, easements, consents, approvals, authorizations, exemptions, licenses, franchises, concessions, ratifications, permissions, clearances, confirmations, endorsements, waivers, certifications, designations, ratings, registrations, qualifications or orders of any Governmental Authority or any other Person.
“Permitted Liens” means (a) Liens for Taxes or assessments and similar governmental charges or levies, which either are (i) not delinquent or (ii) being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings, and (iiii) for which adequate reserves have been established with respect thereto, (b) Liens incurred or deposits made in the ordinary course of business in connection with social security, (c) Liens on goods in transit incurred pursuant to documentary letters of credit, in each case arising in the ordinary course of business, (d) Liens arising under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document, (e) mechanics’, carriers’, workers’, repairers’ and similar non-consensual Liens arising by operation of law and relating to obligations which are incurred in the ordinary course of business, (f) imperfections of title, easements, covenants of record and other similar encumbrances, none of which, materially detracts from the value of or materially impairs the use of the assets of the business of the Target Companies, taken as a whole, (g) Liens on Indebtedness being repaid at Closing, provided that such Liens are to be released upon repayment of such Indebtedness, and (h) other Liens arising in the ordinary course of business for amounts which are not due and payable and as would not in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of, or materially adversely interfere with the use of, the property of the Target Companies, taken as a whole.
“Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership (including a general partnership, limited partnership or limited liability partnership), limited liability company, association, trust or other entity or organization, including a government, domestic or foreign, or political subdivision thereof, or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
83
“Primary Seller Ordinary Shares” means the ordinary shares, $0.001 par value per share, of the Primary Seller.
“Personal Property” means any machinery, equipment, tools, vehicles, furniture, leasehold improvements, office equipment, plant, parts and other tangible personal property.
“Revenue” means the “Revenue” line item in the consolidated audited income statement of the Pubco for the applicable fiscal year.
“PRC” means the People’s Republic of China.
“PRC GAAP” means the generally accepted accounting principles of the PRC.
“Primary Seller Options” means options to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Primary Seller (whether granted by the Primary Seller pursuant to the Primary Seller Plan, assumed by the Primary Seller in connection with any merger, acquisition or similar transaction or otherwise issued or granted).
“Primary Seller Plan” means the Yellow River (Cayman) Limited 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended.
“Pubco Charter” means the memorandum and articles of association of Pubco, as amended and in effect under the Companies Act (2021 Revision) of the Cayman Islands.
“Pubco Convertible Securities” means, collectively, any options, warrants or rights to subscribe for or purchase any capital shares of the Pubco or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or that otherwise confer on the holder any right to acquire any capital shares of the Pubco that have terms substantially similar to the Company Convertible Securities outstanding immediately prior to Closing.
“Pubco Ordinary Shares” means the ordinary shares, with $$0.001 par value per share, of Pubco.
“Pubco Private Warrant” means one whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one-half (1/2) of one Pubco Ordinary Share at a purchase price of $11.50 per full share.
“Pubco Public Warrant” means one whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one-half (1/2) of one Pubco Ordinary Share at a purchase price of $11.50 per full share.
“Pubco Securities” means the Pubco Ordinary Shares, the Pubco Warrants and the Pubco Convertible securities, collectively.
“Pubco Warrants” means the Pubco Private Warrants and Pubco Public Warrants, collectively.
“Purchaser Charter” means the memorandum and articles of association of the Purchaser, as amended and in effect under the BVI Act.
“Purchaser Confidential Information” means all confidential or proprietary documents and information concerning the Purchaser or any of its Representatives; provided, however, that the Purchaser Confidential Information shall not include any information which, (i) at the time of disclosure by the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, a Seller or any of their respective Representatives, is generally available publicly and was not disclosed in breach of this Agreement or (ii) at the time of the disclosure by the Purchaser or its Representatives to by the Company, Pubco, Merger Sub, a Seller or any of their respective Representatives, was previously known by such receiving party without violation of Law or any confidentiality obligation by the Person receiving such Purchaser Confidential Information. For the avoidance of doubt, from and after the Closing, Purchaser Confidential Information will include the confidential or proprietary information of the Target Companies.
84
“Purchaser Ordinary Shares” means the ordinary shares, with no par value, of the Purchaser.
“Purchaser Private Unit” means a unit issued in a private placement concurrently with the IPO consisting of one (1) Purchaser Ordinary Share, one (1) Purchaser Right and one (1) Purchaser Private Warrant.
“Purchaser Private Warrant” means one whole warrant that was included as part of each Purchaser Private Unit entitling the holder thereof to purchase one-half (1/2) of one (1) Purchaser Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per full Purchaser Ordinary Share.
“Purchaser Public Unit” means a unit issued in the IPO consisting of one (1) Purchaser Ordinary Share, one (1) Purchaser Right and one (1) Purchaser Public Warrant.
“Purchaser Public Warrant” means one whole warrant that was included as part of each Purchaser Public Unit entitling the holder thereof to purchase one-half (1/2) of one (1) Purchaser Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per full Purchaser Ordinary Share.
“Purchaser Rights” means one right that was included as part of each Purchaser Unit entitling the holder thereof to receive one-tenth (1/10th) of a Purchaser Ordinary Share upon the consummation by the Purchaser of its Business Combination.
“Purchaser Securities” means the Purchaser Public Units, Purchaser Ordinary Shares, the Purchaser Rights and the Purchaser Public Warrants, the Purchaser Private Units, the Private Rights and the Private Warrants collectively.
“Purchaser Units” means the Purchaser Public Units and the Purchaser Private Units.
“Purchaser Warrants” means the Purchaser Private Warrants and Purchaser Public Warrants, collectively.
“Redemption Price” means an amount equal to the price at which each share of the Purchaser Common Stock is redeemed or converted pursuant to the Redemption (as equitably adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, combinations, recapitalizations and the like after the Closing).
“Reference Time” means 11:59PM China Standard Time on the Closing Date (but without giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including any payments by the Purchaser hereunder to occur at the Closing, but treating any obligations in respect of Indebtedness or other liabilities that are contingent upon the consummation of the Closing as currently due and owing without contingency as of the Reference Time).
“Release” means any release, spill, emission, leaking, pumping, injection, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, or leaching into the environment.
85
“Remedial Action” means all actions required by Environmental Law to (i) clean up, remove, treat, or in any other way address any Release of Hazardous Material, (ii) prevent the Release of any Hazardous Material so it does not endanger or threaten to endanger public health or welfare or the environment, (iii) perform pre-remedial studies and investigations or post-remedial monitoring and care, or (iv) correct a condition of noncompliance with Environmental Laws.
“Representatives” means, as to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the respective managers, directors, officers, employees, consultants, advisors (including financial advisors, counsel and accountants), agents and other legal representatives of such Person or its Affiliates.
“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (or any successor Governmental Authority).
“Securities Act” means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Software” means any computer software programs, including all source code and object code.
“SOX” means the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, association or other business entity of which (i) if a corporation, a majority of the total voting power of capital shares entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof, or (ii) if a partnership, association or other business entity, a majority of the partnership or other similar ownership interests thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof. For purposes hereof, a Person or Persons will be deemed to have a majority ownership interest in a partnership, association or other business entity if such Person or Persons will be allocated a majority of partnership, association or other business entity gains or losses or will be or control the managing director, managing member, general partner or other managing Person of such partnership, association or other business entity. A Subsidiary of a Person will also include any variable interest entity which is consolidated with such Person under applicable accounting rules.
“Target Company and Target Companies” means each of the Company and its direct and indirect Subsidiaries (excluding Pubco and Merger Sub).
“Tax Return” means any return, declaration, report, claim for refund, information return or other documents (including any related or supporting schedules, statements or information) filed or required to be filed in connection with the determination, assessment or collection of any Taxes or the administration of any Laws or administrative requirements relating to any Taxes.
“Taxes” means (a) all direct or indirect federal, state, local, foreign and other net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, value-added, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, social security and related contributions due in relation to the payment of compensation to employees, excise, severance, stamp, occupation, premium, property, windfall profits, alternative minimum, estimated, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments or charges of any kind whatsoever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax or additional amounts with respect thereto, (b) any Liability for payment of amounts described in clause (a) whether as a result of being a member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group for any period or otherwise through operation of law and (c) any Liability for the payment of amounts described in clauses (a) or (b) as a result of any tax sharing, tax group, tax indemnity or tax allocation agreement with, or any other express or implied agreement to indemnify, any other Person.
86
“Trade Secrets” means any trade secrets, confidential business information, concepts, ideas, designs, research or development information, processes, procedures, techniques, technical information, specifications, operating and maintenance manuals, engineering drawings, methods, know-how, data, mask works, discoveries, inventions, modifications, extensions, and improvements (whether or not patentable or subject to copyright, trademark, or trade secret protection), in each case, to the extent the foregoing are confidential and protected by applicable Law.
“Trademarks” means any trademarks, service marks, trade dress, trade names, brand names, internet domain names, designs, logos, or corporate names (including, in each case, the goodwill associated therewith), whether registered or unregistered, and all registrations and applications for registration and renewal thereof.
“Trading Day” means any day on which Pubco Ordinary Shares are actually traded on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Pubco Ordinary Shares are then traded.
“Transaction Expenses” means all fees and expenses of any of the Purchaser and the Target Companies incurred or payable as of the Closing and not paid prior to the Closing (i) in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including any amounts payable to professionals (including investment bankers, brokers, finders, attorneys, accountants and other consultants and advisors) retained by or on behalf of any Target Company, (ii) any change in control bonus, transaction bonus, retention bonus, termination or severance payment or payment relating to terminated options, warrants or other equity appreciation, phantom equity, profit participation or similar rights, in any case, to be made to any current or former employee, independent contractor, director or officer of any Target Company at or after the Closing pursuant to any agreement to which any Target Company is a party prior to the Closing which become payable (including if subject to continued employment) as a result of the execution of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and (iii) any sales, use, real property transfer, stamp, stock transfer or other similar transfer Taxes imposed on the Purchaser, Merger Sub or any Target Company in connection with the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
“Trust Account” means the trust account established by the Purchaser with the proceeds from the IPO pursuant to the Trust Agreement in accordance with the IPO Prospectus.
“Trust Agreement” means that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of February 19, 2020, as it may be amended (including to accommodate the Merger), by and between the Purchaser and the Trustee.
“Trustee” means Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, in its capacity as trustee under the Trust Agreement.
“VIE Contracts” means the Contracts set forth in Section 6.4 of the Company Disclosure Schedules.
“VIE Shareholders” means the Persons who directly or indirectly own interests in the VIE Company as set forth on Annex II hereto.
87
13.2 Section References. The following capitalized terms, as used in this Agreement, have the respective meanings given to them in the Section as set forth below adjacent to such terms:
Term | Section | |
Acquisition Proposal | 8.6(a) | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
Alternative Transaction | 8.6(a) | |
Amended Pubco Charter | 9.1(g) | |
Antitrust Laws | 8.9(b) | |
Articles of Merger | 1.1 | |
Balance Sheet Date | 6.7(a) | |
Business Combination | 11.1 | |
Closing | 3.1 | |
Closing Date | 3.1 | |
Closing Filing | 8.12(b) | |
Closing Press Release | 8.12(b) | |
Closing Statement | 2.5(a) | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company Benefit Plan | 6.19(a) | |
Company Certificates | 2.7(b) | |
Company Directors | 8.14(a) | |
Company Disclosure Schedules | Article VI | |
Company Financials | 6.7(a) | |
Company IP | 6.13(c) | |
Company IP Licenses | 6.13(a) | |
Company Material Contract | 6.12(a) | |
Company Permits | 6.10 | |
Company Real Property Leases | 6.15 | |
Company Registered IP | 6.13(a) | |
Company Transaction Fee Cap | 10.3(a) | |
CSRC | 6.29(a) | |
D&O Indemnified Person | 8.15(a) | |
D&O Tail Insurance | 8.15(b) | |
Earned Escrow Shares | 2.6(f)(i) | |
Earnout Statement | 2.6(c) | |
Earnout Target | 2.6(f)(ii) | |
Earnout Year | 2.6(a) | |
Effective Time | 1.2 | |
EGS | 3.1 | |
Enforceability Exceptions | 4.2 | |
Environmental Permits | 6.20(a) | |
Escrow Account | 2.3(a) | |
Escrow Agent | 2.3(a) | |
Escrow Agreement | 2.3(a) | |
Escrow Property | 2.3(a) | |
Escrow Share Number | 2.6(f)(iii) | |
Escrow Shares | 2.3(a) | |
Estimated Closing Statement | 2.4 | |
Estimated Exchange Shares | 2.5(d)(i) | |
Excess Transaction Expenses | 10.3(a) | |
Exchange Consideration | 2.2 | |
Exchange Consideration Shares | 2.4 | |
Exchange Shares | 2.2 | |
Expenses | 10.3(b) | |
Extension | 8.3(a) | |
Extension Expenses | 8.3(b)(iv) | |
Extension Loan | 8.18 | |
Federal Securities Laws | 8.7 | |
Finally Determined Exchange Shares | 2.5(d) | |
Founder Registration Rights Agreement Amendment | Recitals | |
Founder Share Letter | Recitals | |
Independent Expert | 2.5(b) | |
Independent Expert Notice Date | 2.5(b) | |
Initial Directors | 8.14(a) |
88
Term | Section | |
Interim Period | 8.1(a) | |
Jihuiduo | Recitals | |
Ling Feng WFOE | Recitals | |
Lock-Up Agreement | Recitals | |
Lost Certificate Affidavit | 2.7(b) | |
Merger | Recitals | |
Merger Sub | Preamble | |
Mutually Agreed Director | 8.14(a) | |
New Seller | 8.2(c) | |
Non-Competition Agreement | Recitals | |
Non-Recourse Parties | 12.13 | |
Objection Statement | 2.5(b) | |
OFAC | 4.17(c) | |
Off-the-Shelf Software | 6.13(a) | |
Other Escrow Property | 2.3(a) | |
Outside Date | 10.1(b) | |
Party(ies) | Preamble | |
PIPE Investment | 8.17(a) | |
PIPE Shares | 8.17(a) | |
Plan of Merger | 1.1 | |
Post-Closing Pubco Board | 8.14(a) | |
PRC Establishment Documents | 6.4(b) | |
PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules | 6.29(b) | |
PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations | 6.29(a) | |
PRC Target Company | 6.4(b) | |
Primary Initial Shareholders | Recitals | |
Primary Seller | Preamble | |
Pro Rata Share | 2.2 | |
Proxy Statement | 8.11(a) | |
Pubco | Preamble | |
Public Certifications | 4.6(a) | |
Public Shareholders | 11.1 | |
Purchased Shares | 2.1 | |
Purchaser | Preamble | |
Purchaser Directors | 8.14(a) | |
Purchaser Disclosure Schedules | Article IV | |
Purchaser Financials | 4.6(c) | |
Purchaser Material Contract | 4.13(a) | |
Purchaser Recommendation | 4.2 | |
Purchaser Represented Persons | 12.14(a) | |
Purchaser Transaction Fee Cap | 10.3(a) | |
Pure Value WFOE | Recitals | |
Redemption | 8.11(a) | |
Registration Statement | 8.11(a) | |
Related Person | 6.21 | |
Released Claims | 11.1 | |
Releasing Persons | 11.20 | |
Representative Party | 2.5(b) | |
Required Shareholder Approval | 9.1(a) | |
Revenue | 2.6(f)(iv) | |
SAFE | 6.29(a) | |
SEC Reports | 4.6(a) | |
Seller Registration Rights Agreement | 9.2(d)(iv) | |
Seller Represented Persons | 12.15(a) | |
Seller(s) | Preamble | |
Share Exchange | Recitals | |
Shareholder Approval Matters | 8.11(a) | |
Signing Filing | 8.12(b) | |
Signing Press Release | 8.12(b) | |
Special Shareholder Meeting | 8.11(a) | |
Specified Courts | 12.4 | |
Sponsor | Recitals | |
Subscription Agreements | 8.17(c) | |
Surviving Company | 1.1 | |
Surviving Company Charter | 1.4 | |
Top Customers | 6.23 | |
Top Vendors | 6.23 | |
Transaction Fee Caps | 10.3(a) | |
Transactions | Recitals | |
WFOE | Recitals |
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK; SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
89
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each Party hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed and delivered by its respective duly authorized officer as of the date first written above.
Purchaser: | ||
EAST STONE ACQUISITION CORPORATION | ||
By: | ||
Name: | Xiaoma (Sherman) Lu | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
[Additional Signatures on Following Page]
90
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each Party hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed and delivered by its respective duly authorized officer as of the date first written above.
Pubco: | ||
JHD TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Jun Wang | |
Name: | Jun Wang | |
Title: | Director | |
Merger Sub: | ||
YELLOW RIVER MERGERCO LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Jun Wang | |
Name: | Jun Wang | |
Title: | Director |
The Primary Seller and Seller Representative: | ||
YELLOW RIVER (CAYMAN) LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Alan Martin Clingman | |
Name: | Alan Martin Clingman | |
Title: | Director |
The Company: | ||
JHD HOLDINGS (CAYMAN) LIMITED | ||
By: | /s/ Jun Wang | |
Name: | Jun Wang | |
Title: | Director |
[Additional Signatures on Following Page]
(Signature Page to Business Combination Agreement)
91
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each Party hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed and delivered by its respective duly authorized officer as of the date first written above.
Purchaser Representative: | ||
Navy Sail International Limited, solely in its capacity as the Purchaser Representative hereunder | ||
/s/ Chunyi (Charlie) Hao | ||
Name: | Chunyi (Charlie) Hao | |
Title: | Director | |
Sponsor: | ||
DOUBLE VENTURES HOLDINGS Limited, solely with respect to Section 10.3 hereof in its capacity as the Sponsor hereunder | ||
/s/ Chunyi (Charlie) Hao | ||
Name: | Chunyi (Charlie) Hao | |
Title: | Director |
(Signature Page to Business Combination Agreement)
92
ANNEX I
List of Sellers
Seller Name | Number of Company Ordinary Shares Held by Seller | Pro Rata Share | ||||||
TOTAL | 100.00 | % |
ANNEX II
VIE SHAREHOLDERS