Merger Agreement, dated as of June 29, 2021
Exhibit 2.1
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
dated
June 29, 2021
by and among
Pardes Biosciences, Inc.,
Shareholder Representative Services LLC, as the Stockholders’ Representative,
FS Development Corp. II,
and
Orchard Merger Sub, Inc.
Table of Contents
Page | ||
ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS | 2 | |
1.1 | Definitions | 2 |
1.2 | Construction | 13 |
ARTICLE II MERGER | 13 | |
2.1 | Merger | 13 |
2.2 | Merger Effective Time | 14 |
2.3 | Effect of the Merger | 14 |
2.4 | U.S. Tax Treatment | 14 |
2.5 | Organizational Documents of the Surviving Corporation | 14 |
2.6 | Closing; Effective Time | 14 |
2.7 | Board of Directors of PubCo | 15 |
2.8 | Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action | 15 |
2.9 | No Further Ownership Rights in Company Securities | 15 |
2.10 | Appraisal Rights | 15 |
ARTICLE III CONSIDERATION | 16 | |
3.1 | Conversion of Company Securities | 16 |
3.2 | No Fractional Shares | 17 |
3.3 | Withholding | 17 |
ARTICLE IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY | 18 | |
4.1 | Corporate Existence and Power | 18 |
4.2 | Authorization | 18 |
4.3 | Governmental Authorization | 19 |
4.4 | Non-Contravention | 19 |
4.5 | Capitalization | 19 |
4.6 | Corporate Records | 20 |
4.7 | Subsidiaries | 20 |
4.8 | Consents | 20 |
4.9 | Financial Statements | 20 |
4.10 | Books and Records | 21 |
4.11 | Internal Accounting Controls | 21 |
4.12 | Absence of Certain Changes | 21 |
4.13 | Properties; Title to the Company’s Assets | 21 |
4.14 | Litigation | 21 |
4.15 | Material Contracts | 21 |
4.16 | Licenses and Permits | 23 |
4.17 | Compliance with Laws | 24 |
4.18 | Intellectual Property | 24 |
4.19 | Healthcare Laws | 27 |
4.20 | Accounts Payable; Affiliate Loans | 28 |
4.21 | Employees; Employment Matters | 28 |
4.22 | Withholding | 29 |
4.23 | Employee Benefits | 29 |
4.24 | Real Property | 30 |
4.25 | Tax Matters | 31 |
4.26 | Environmental Laws | 32 |
4.27 | Finders’ Fees | 32 |
4.28 | Powers of Attorney and Suretyships | 32 |
4.29 | Directors and Officers | 32 |
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Table of Contents continued
Page | ||
4.30 | Anti-Money Laundering Laws | 32 |
4.31 | Insurance | 32 |
4.32 | Related Party Transactions | 33 |
ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB | 33 | |
5.1 | Corporate Existence and Power | 33 |
5.2 | Corporate Authorization | 33 |
5.3 | Governmental Authorization | 34 |
5.4 | Non-Contravention | 34 |
5.5 | Finders’ Fees | 34 |
5.6 | Issuance of Shares | 34 |
5.7 | Capitalization | 34 |
5.8 | Information Supplied | 34 |
5.9 | Trust Fund | 34 |
5.10 | Listing | 35 |
5.11 | Board Approval | 35 |
5.12 | Parent SEC Documents and Financial Statements | 35 |
5.13 | Books and Records | 36 |
5.14 | Certain Business Practices | 36 |
5.15 | Anti-Money Laundering Laws | 36 |
5.16 | Affiliate Transactions | 36 |
5.17 | Litigation | 36 |
5.18 | Expenses, Indebtedness and Other Liabilities | 36 |
5.19 | Tax Matters | 37 |
ARTICLE VI COVENANTS OF THE PARTIES | 38 | |
6.1 | Conduct of the Business | 38 |
6.2 | Exclusivity | 40 |
6.3 | Access to Information | 41 |
6.4 | Notices of Certain Events | 41 |
6.5 | Cooperation with Form S-4/Proxy Statement; Other Filings | 42 |
6.6 | Commercially Reasonable Efforts; Further Assurances; Governmental Consents | 44 |
6.7 | Confidentiality | 45 |
6.8 | Directors’ and Officers’ Indemnification and Liability Insurance | 46 |
ARTICLE VII COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY | 47 | |
7.1 | Company’s Stockholders Approval | 47 |
7.2 | No Parent Common Stock Transactions | 47 |
7.3 | Certain Tax Matters | 48 |
ARTICLE VIII COVENANTS OF Parent | 48 | |
8.1 | Nasdaq Listing | 48 |
8.2 | Equity Incentive Plan | 48 |
8.3 | Trust Account | 49 |
8.4 | Obligations of Merger Sub | 49 |
ARTICLE IX CONDITIONS TO CLOSING | 49 | |
9.1 | Condition to the Obligations of the Parties | 49 |
9.2 | Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub | 49 |
9.3 | Conditions to Obligations of the Company | 50 |
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Table of Contents continued
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ARTICLE X DISPUTE RESOLUTION | 51 | |
10.1 | Arbitration | 51 |
10.2 | Waiver of Jury Trial; Exemplary Damages | 52 |
ARTICLE XI TERMINATION | 52 | |
11.1 | Termination Without Default | 53 |
11.2 | Termination Upon Default | 53 |
11.3 | Effect of Termination | 53 |
ARTICLE XII MISCELLANEOUS | 54 | |
12.1 | Notices | 55 |
12.2 | Amendments; No Waivers; Remedies | 55 |
12.3 | Arm’s Length Bargaining; No Presumption Against Drafter | 55 |
12.4 | Publicity | 55 |
12.5 | Expenses | 55 |
12.6 | No Assignment or Delegation | 55 |
12.7 | Governing Law | 55 |
12.8 | Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures | 55 |
12.9 | Entire Agreement | 56 |
12.10 | Severability | 56 |
12.11 | Further Assurances | 56 |
12.12 | Third Party Beneficiaries | 56 |
12.13 | Waiver | 56 |
12.14 | Stockholders’ Representative | 57 |
12.15 | Non-Recourse | 58 |
12.16 | Non-Survival of Representations and Warranties | 58 |
12.17 | No Other Representations; No Reliance | 58 |
Exhibit A | Company Support Agreement |
Exhibit B | Subscription Agreement |
Exhibit C | Parent Support Agreement |
Exhibit D | Lock-Up Agreement |
Exhibit E | Registration Rights Agreement |
Exhibit F | PubCo Bylaws |
Exhibit G | PubCo COI |
Exhibit H | Surviving Corporation Bylaws |
Exhibit I | Surviving Corporation COI |
Exhibit J | Certificate of Merger |
Exhibit K | Voting Agreement |
Exhibit L | PubCo Equity Incentive Plan |
Exhibit M | FIRPTA Certificate |
Company Disclosure Schedules
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AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
This AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER, dated as of June 29, 2021 (this “Agreement”), is entered into by and among Pardes Biosciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Shareholder Representative Services LLC, solely in its capacity as the representative, agent and attorney-in-fact of the Company Securityholders (the “Stockholders’ Representative”), FS Development Corp. II, a Delaware corporation (prior to the Effective Time, “Parent”, and at and after the Effective Time, “PubCo”), and Orchard Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub”).
W I T N E S E T H:
A. The Company is in the business of the development and commercialization of small molecules therapeutics, with its initial focus on direct acting antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19 and related activities (the “Business”);
B. Parent is a blank check company formed for the sole purpose of entering into a share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, and Merger Sub is a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Parent;
C. The Company Securityholders are listed on the Capitalization Schedule and own 100% of the issued and outstanding Company Securities;
D. Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company (the “Merger”), after which the Company will be the surviving company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of PubCo and PubCo shall change its name to “Pardes Biosciences, Inc.”;
E. Contemporaneously with the execution of, and as a condition and an inducement to Parent and the Company entering into this Agreement, each of the Company Securityholders set forth on Company Schedule 1.1(a) (“Specified Company Securityholders”) is entering into and delivering a support agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Company Support Agreement”), pursuant to which such Specified Company Securityholder has agreed to vote in favor of this Agreement, the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be a party, the Merger and the other Transactions (including, with respect to the holders of Company Preferred Stock, the Company Preferred Stock Conversion);
F. Each of the parties to this Agreement intends that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Merger qualifies as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder, to which each of Parent, Merger Sub, and the Company are parties under Section 368(b) of the Code, and this Agreement is intended to constitute a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder (the “Intended Tax Treatment”);
G. Contemporaneously with the execution of, and as a condition and an inducement to Parent and the Company entering into this Agreement, Parent has entered into subscription agreements, in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”), with the PIPE Investors, pursuant to which the PIPE Investors have agreed, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, to subscribe for and purchase, at the Closing, shares of PubCo Common Stock at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, for an aggregate cash amount of $75,000,000 (the “Private Placement”);
H. Contemporaneously with the execution of, and as a condition and an inducement to Parent and the Company entering into this Agreement, each Specified Parent Stockholder is entering into and delivering a support agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Parent Support Agreement”), pursuant to which such Specified Parent Stockholder has agreed (x) not to transfer or redeem any shares of Parent Common Stock held by such Specified Parent Stockholder, (y) to vote in favor of this Agreement and the Merger at the Parent Stockholder Meeting and (z) with respect to Sponsor or its Affiliates only, to subscribe for and purchase that certain number of Parent Class A Shares (which may be zero) set forth in Section 5 thereof; and
I. The Company’s Board of Directors has (i) approved and declared advisable this Agreement, the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be party, the Merger and the other Transactions applicable to the Company, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein or therein, (ii) determined that this Agreement and such Transactions are fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and the Company Stockholders and (iii) resolved to recommend that the Company Stockholders approve the Merger and such other applicable Transactions and adopt this Agreement and the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be a party (the “Company Board Recommendation”).
J. In connection with the Transactions, each Company Lock-Up Stockholder will enter into and deliver a lock-up agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D (the “Lock-Up Agreement”);
K. In connection with the Transactions, Parent, each Specified Parent Stockholder, the Company and each Company Stockholder who at the Closing is deemed to be affiliates of PubCo will enter into the registration rights agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit E (the “Registration Rights Agreement”).
In consideration of the mutual covenants and promises set forth in this Agreement, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions.
“Action” means any legal action, litigation, suit, claim, or similar hearing or proceeding, including any audit, claim or assessment for Taxes or otherwise, by or before any Authority.
“Additional Agreements” means the Voting Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company Support Agreement, the Subscription Agreements, the Parent Support Agreement and the Lock-Up Agreement.
“Additional Parent SEC Documents” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.12(a).
“Adjusted Restricted Stock” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(c).
“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly Controlling, Controlled by or under common Control with such Person. “Affiliate” shall also include, with respect to any individual natural Person, (a) such Peron’s a spouse, Parent, lineal descendant, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, or brother-in-law or (b) a trust for the benefit of such Person and/or the individuals described in the foregoing clause (a) or of which such Person is a trustee.
“Affiliate Transaction” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.32.
“Aggregate Fully Diluted Company Shares” means the sum, without duplication, of (a) the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock (including Company Restricted Stock) that are (i) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) issuable upon the exercise or settlement of Company Options (whether or not then vested or exercisable) that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, or (iii) issuable upon the exercise or settlement of any option to purchase Company Common Stock that, as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, the Company is Contractually obligated to grant to any Person, plus (b) the aggregate number of shares of Company Preferred Stock (on an as converted to Company Common Stock basis) that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, plus (c) without duplication, Equity Interests that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock into which such Equity Interests are convertible, for which such Equity Interests are exercisable or exchangeable or on which the economic benefit of such Equity Interests are otherwise based (in each case, directly or indirectly).
“Aggregate Parent Closing Cash” means an amount equal to (a) the sum of (i) the aggregate cash proceeds available for release to Parent from the Trust Fund in connection with the Transactions (net of the Parent Redemption Amount), plus (ii) the aggregate cash proceeds actually received by Parent on the Closing Date in respect of the Private Placement, plus (iii) the Sponsor Backstop Amount, minus (b) the Unpaid Parent Liabilities.
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“Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the preamble.
“Alternative Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(b).
“Alternative Transaction” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a).
“Annual Financial Statements” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9(a).
“Arbitrator” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.1(a).
“Authority” means any governmental, regulatory or administrative body, agency or authority, any court or judicial authority, any arbitrator, or any public, private or industry regulatory authority, whether international, national, foreign, Federal, state, or local.
“Balance Sheet Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9(a).
“Books and Records” means all books and records, ledgers, employee records, customer lists, files, correspondence, and other records of every kind (whether written, electronic, or otherwise embodied) owned or controlled by a Person in which a Person’s assets, the business or its transactions are otherwise reflected, other than stock books and minute books.
“Business” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banking institutions in New York, New York are authorized to close for business.
“Capitalization Schedule” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(d).
“CARES Act” means the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-136) and all rules, regulations and guidance issued by any Governmental Authority with respect thereto (including the U.S. Small Business Administration), and any successor statute (including for the avoidance of doubt the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, P.L. 116-260), in each case as in effect from time to time.
“Certificate of Merger” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2.
“Change in Recommendation” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(b).
“Change in Recommendation Notice” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(b).
“Charter Amendment Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(e).
“Closing” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.6.
“Closing Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.6.
“Closing Payment Shares” means 32,500,000 PubCo Common Shares.
“COBRA” means collectively, the requirements of Sections 601 through 606 of ERISA and Section 4980B of the Code.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Company” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Company Board Recommendation” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
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“Company Bylaws” means the Bylaws of the Company, in effect on the date hereof.
“Company Capital Stock” means Company Common Stock and the Company Preferred Stock.
“Company Certificate of Incorporation” means the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as filed on January 19, 2021 with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware pursuant to the DGCL.
“Company Common Stock” means common stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share.
“Company Consent” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.8.
“Company Converted Option” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(b)(ii).
“Company Equity Incentive Plan” means the Company’s 2020 Stock Plan.
“Company Financial Statements” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9(a).
“Company Fundamental Representations” means the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Sections 4.1 (Corporate Existence and Power), 4.2 (Authorization), 4.5 (Capitalization), and 4.27 (Finders’ Fees).
“Company Lock-Up Stockholders” means each Specified Company Securityholder that receives PubCo Common Shares in connection with the Transaction.
“Company Option” means each option to purchase Company Common Stock granted, and that remains outstanding, under the Company Equity Incentive Plan.
“Company Preferred Stock” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(a).
“Company Preferred Stock Conversion” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1(a)(i).
“Company Prepared Returns” has the meaning specified in Section 7.3(a).
“Company Restricted Stock” means a share of Company Common Stock that, as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, is subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture within the meaning of Section 83 of the Code.
“Company Schedules” means the disclosure schedules of the Company delivered to Parent by the Company concurrently with entering into this Agreement, and the term “Company Schedule” shall refer to the specified section of the Company Schedules, unless otherwise specified.
“Company Securities” means the Company Common Stock, the Company Preferred Stock, the Company Restricted Stock and the Company Options.
“Company Securityholder” means each Person who holds Company Securities immediately prior to the Effective Time, each of which is listed on the Capitalization Schedule.
“Company Series A Preferred Stock” means the series A preferred stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share.
“Company Series A-1 Preferred Stock” means the series A-1 preferred stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share.
“Company Series A-2 Preferred Stock” means the series A-2 preferred stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share.
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“Company Series A-3 Preferred Stock” means the series A-3 preferred stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share.
“Company Stockholder Approval” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(c).
“Company Stockholder Written Consent” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(a).
“Company Stockholder Written Consent Deadline” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(a).
“Company Stockholders” means, at any given time, the holders of Company Capital Stock.
“Company Support Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Consideration Ratio” shall mean the quotient obtained by dividing (a) the Closing Payment Shares by (b) the Aggregate Fully Diluted Company Shares.
“Contracts” means the Lease and all other contracts, agreements, leases (including equipment leases, car leases and capital leases), licenses, commitments, client contracts, statements of work (SOWs), sales and purchase orders and similar instruments, oral or written, to which the Company is a party or by which it or any of its assets are bound. The term “Contractually” has correlative meaning.
“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 any other Person (i) owning beneficially, as meant in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, securities entitling such Person to cast 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 50% or more of the profits, losses, or distributions of the Controlled Person.
“Data Protection Laws” means all Laws worldwide relating to the processing, privacy or security of Personal Information and all regulations or guidance issued thereunder, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and all laws implementing it, HIPAA, the regulations set forth in 42 C.F.R. Part 495 and 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 164 and 170, the HITECH Act, Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the FTC Red Flag Rules, the CAN SPAM Act and associated regulations set forth in 16 C.F.R. Part 316, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, state social security number protection laws, state data breach notification laws, state data privacy laws including the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, state data security laws, state consumer protection Laws, PCI-DSS regulatory standards and any law concerning requirements for website and mobile application privacy policies and practices, or any outbound commercial communications (including e-mail marketing, telemarketing and text messaging), tracking and marketing.
“DGCL” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1.
“Dissenting Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.10.
“Effective Time” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2.
“Enforceability Exceptions” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(a).
“Environmental Laws” shall mean all Laws that prohibit, regulate or control any Hazardous Material or any Hazardous Material Activity, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act of 1976, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and the Clean Water Act.
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“Equity Interest” means, with respect to any Person, any capital stock of, or other ownership, membership, partnership, voting, joint venture, equity interest, preemptive right, stock appreciation, phantom stock, profit participation or similar rights in, such Person or any indebtedness, securities, options, warrants, call, subscription or other rights or entitlements of, or granted by, such Person that are convertible into, or are exercisable or exchangeable for, or give any person any right or entitlement to acquire any such capital stock or other ownership, partnership, voting, joint venture, equity interest, preemptive right, stock appreciation, phantom stock, profit participation or similar rights, in all cases, whether vested or unvested, of such Person or any similar security or right that is derivative or provides any economic benefit based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of any such capital stock or other ownership, partnership, voting, joint venture, equity interest, preemptive right, stock appreciation, phantom stock, profit participation or similar rights, in all cases, whether vested or unvested.
“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
“ERISA Affiliate” means each entity, trade or business that is, or was at the relevant time, a member of a group described in Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code or Section 4001(b)(1) of ERISA that includes or included the Company, or that is, or was at the relevant time, a member of the same “controlled group” as the Company pursuant to Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
“Expense Fund” has the meaning set forth in Section 12.14.
“FDA” means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or any successor agency thereto.
“FDCA” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.19(a).
“Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.17(a).
“Goodwin” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(b).
“Hazardous Material” shall mean any material, emission, chemical, substance or waste that has been designated by any Authority to be radioactive, toxic, hazardous, a pollutant or a contaminant.
“Hazardous Material Activity” shall mean the transportation, transfer, recycling, storage, use, treatment, manufacture, removal, remediation, release, exposure of others to, sale, labeling, or distribution of any Hazardous Material or any product or waste containing a Hazardous Material, or product manufactured with ozone depleting substances, including any required labeling, payment of waste fees or charges (including so-called e-waste fees) and compliance with any recycling, product take-back or product content requirements.
“Healthcare Laws” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.19(a).
“HIPAA” means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act.
“HSR Act” means the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.
“Incentive Plan Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(e).
“Indebtedness” means with respect to any Person, (a) all obligations of such Person for borrowed money, or with respect to deposits or advances of any kind (including amounts by reason of overdrafts and amounts owed by reason of letter of credit reimbursement agreements), including with respect thereto, all interests, fees and costs, (b) all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, (c) all obligations of such Person under conditional sale or other title retention agreements relating to property purchased by such Person, (d) all obligations of such Person issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than accounts payable to creditors for goods and services incurred in the ordinary course of business), (e) all Indebtedness of others secured by (or for which the holder of such Indebtedness has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any lien or security interest on property owned or acquired by such Person, whether or not the obligations secured thereby have been assumed, (f) all obligations of such Person under leases required to be accounted for as capital leases under U.S. GAAP, (g) all guarantees by such Person, (h) all liability of such Person with respect to any hedging obligations, including interest rate or currency exchange swaps, collars, caps or similar hedging obligations, (i) any unfunded or underfunded liabilities pursuant to any pension or nonqualified deferred compensation plan or arrangement and (j) any agreement to incur any of the same. For informational purposes, with respect to the Company, Indebtedness shall include any grants or loans that are not carried as tangible liabilities on the Company Financial Statements on a stand-alone basis (whether or not such liabilities are included in the footnotes to the Company Financial Statements), including the Company’s obligations under the Contracts set forth on Company Schedule 1.1(e).
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“Independent Director” shall mean, with respect to any corporation, a member of the Board of Directors of such corporation that qualified as an independent director under the Securities Act and Nasdaq rules.
“Intellectual Property Rights” means (a) all technology (including patented, patentable and unpatented inventions and unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), designs, licenses, and processes; (b) trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, trade dress, brand names, slogans, registrations thereof or applications for registration therefor, and all other indicia of source or origin, together with all goodwill symbolized by or associated with any of the foregoing; (c) patents, patent applications, invention disclosures, including all continuations, continuations-in-part, divisionals, reissues, re-examinations, interferences, substitutions, provisionals, and extensions thereof; (d) trade secrets, know-how, inventions, procedures, customer lists, supplier lists, business plans, formulae, discoveries, methods, techniques, ideas, designs, models, concepts, creations, confidential business information and other proprietary information; (e) copyrights, copyrightable materials, copyright registrations, applications for copyright registration, software programs, data bases, u.r.l.s., and any other works of authorship, computer programs, technical data and information and other intellectual property, and all embodiments and fixations thereof and related documentation and registrations and all additions, improvements and accessions thereto, and all moral rights or similar attribution rights; (f) internet domain names and IP addresses; and (g) with respect to each of the forgoing items in this definition, which is used or held for use in the Business, whether registered or unregistered or domestic or foreign.
“Intended Tax Treatment” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Interim Balance Sheet” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9(a).
“Investors’ Rights Agreement” means the Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated as of January 19, 2021, by and among the Company and each of the investors listed on Schedule A thereto.
“IPO” means the initial public offering of Parent pursuant to a prospectus dated February 18, 2021.
“Knowledge of Parent” or “to Parent’s Knowledge” or similar terms (whether or not capitalized) means the actual knowledge (after reasonable inquiry) of Dr. James Tananbaum and Dennis Ryan.
“Knowledge of the Company” or “to the Company’s Knowledge” or similar terms (whether or not capitalized) means the actual knowledge (after reasonable inquiry) of Dr. Uri Lopatin, Dr. Lee Arnold, Heidi Henson and Elizabeth Lacy.
“Law” means any domestic or foreign, federal, state, municipality or local law, statute, ordinance, code, rule, or regulation.
“Lease” means that certain Virtual Office Agreement, dated July 6, 2020, as amended, between the Company and Davinci Virtual Offices Solutions.
“Lien” means, with respect to any property or asset, any mortgage, lien, pledge, charge, security interest or encumbrance of any kind in respect of such property or asset, and any conditional sale or voting agreement or proxy, including any agreement to give any of the foregoing.
“Lock-Up Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
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“Material Adverse Effect” means any change, circumstance, condition, development, effect, event, occurrence or state of facts (each, an “Event”) that (i) has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect upon the assets, liabilities, results of operations, financial condition, management, earnings, business, operations or properties of the Company and the Business, taken as a whole or (ii) does or would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, prevent, materially delay or materially impede the ability of the Company to consummate the Merger; provided, however, that in no event would any of the following, alone or in combination, be deemed to constitute, or be taken into account in determining whether there has been or will be, a “Material Adverse Effect”: (a) any change in general economic or political conditions; (b) changes in conditions generally affecting the industries in which the Company operates; (c) any changes in financial, banking, securities or biotechnology securities markets in general, including any disruption thereof or any change in prevailing interest rates; (d) acts of war (whether or not declared), armed hostilities or terrorism, or the escalation or worsening thereof (but only to the extent such escalation or worsening thereof was not reasonably foreseeable as of the date hereof); (e) the taking of any action required by this Agreement or any action taken (or omitted to be taken) at the written request of Parent; (f) any changes in applicable Laws or accounting rules (including U.S. GAAP) or the enforcement, implementation, or interpretation thereof; (g) the announcement or pendency of this Agreement or the consummation of the Transactions (but in each case only to the extent attributable to such announcement, pendency or consummation) (provided that the exception in this subclause (g) shall not apply to any representation or warranty contained in Sections 4.3, 4.4 or 4.8 or to the determination of whether any inaccuracy in such representations or warranties would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect for purposes of Section 9.2(b)); (h) any natural or man-made disaster or change in climate or act of God or the COVID-19 pandemic (only to the extent that the effect of such event occurs solely after the date hereof); or (i) any failure by the Company to meet any internal or published projections, forecasts or revenue or earnings predictions (it being understood that the underlying facts giving rise to such failure may constitute, or be taken into account in determining whether there has been, or would reasonably be expected to be, a Material Adverse Effect if such facts are not otherwise excluded under this definition); provided, further, that any Event referred to subclauses (a), (b), (d), (f) and (h) above may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Material Adverse Effect to the extent such Event has a disproportionate adverse effect on the Company relative to similarly situated companies in the same industry in which the Company conducts its operations. Each party agrees that, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any significant adverse clinical event relating to any clinical trial involving PBI-0451 that fundamentally impairs the nature of the program or the potential utility of the program for Coronavirus treatment shall constitute a Material Adverse Effect for all purposes of this Agreement.
“Material Contracts” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.15(a).
“Merger” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Merger Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(e).
“Merger Sub” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Merger Sub Common Stock” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.7(b).
“Money Laundering Laws” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.30.
“Nasdaq” means The Nasdaq Capital Market.
“OFAC” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.17(b).
“Offer Documents” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(a).
“Order” means any decree, order, judgment, writ, award, injunction, rule or consent of or by an Authority.
“Other Filings” means any filings to be made by Parent required under the Exchange Act, Securities Act or any other United States federal, foreign or blue sky laws, other than the SEC Statement and the other Offer Documents.
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“Outside Closing Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1(a).
“Parent” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Parent Board Recommendation” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.11.
“Parent Bylaws” means the bylaws of Parent, in effect on the date hereof.
“Parent Certificate of Incorporation” means the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Parent, as filed on February 16, 2021 with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware pursuant to the DGCL.
“Parent Class A Shares” means shares of the Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, of Parent.
“Parent Class B Shares” means shares of the Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, of Parent.
“Parent Common Stock” means Parent Class A Shares and Parent Class B Shares.
“Parent Financial Statements” means all of the financial statements of Parent included in the Parent SEC Documents.
“Parent Fundamental Representations” means the representations and warranties of Parent set forth in Sections 5.1 (Corporate Existence and Power), 5.2 (Corporate Authorization), 5.5 (Finders’ Fees) and 5.7 (Capitalization).
“Parent Liabilities” means, as of any determination time, the aggregate of all debts, liabilities and obligations, whether accrued or fixed, absolute or contingent, known or unknown, matured or unmatured or determined or determinable, including those arising under any Law, Action or Order and those arising under any Contract, of Parent or Merger Sub, whether or not such liabilities are due and payable as of such time, including all fees, expenses, commissions or other amounts incurred by or on behalf of, or otherwise payable by, whether or not due, Parent or Merger Sub in connection with the negotiation, preparation or execution of this Agreement or any Additional Agreements, the performance of any covenants or agreements in this Agreement or any Additional Agreement or the consummation of the Transactions.
“Parent Parties” has the meaning set forth in ARTICLE V.
“Parent Proposals” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(e).
“Parent Redemption Amount” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.3.
“Parent SEC Documents” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.12(a).
“Parent Stockholder Approval” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.2.
“Parent Stockholder Meeting” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(a).
“Parent Support Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Permit” means each license, franchise, permit, order, approval, consent or other similar authorization required under applicable Law to be obtained and/or maintained by the Company to carry out the Business or that otherwise affects or relates in any way to the Business.
“Permitted Liens” means (a) all defects, exceptions, restrictions, easements, rights of way and encumbrances with respect to real property in the public record; (b) mechanics’, carriers’, workers’, repairers’ and similar statutory Liens arising or incurred in the ordinary course of business for amounts (i) that are not delinquent, (ii) that are not material to the business, operations and financial condition of the Company so encumbered, either individually or in the aggregate, and (iii) not resulting from a breach, default or violation by the Company of any Contract or Law; (c) liens for Taxes not yet due and payable or which are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings (and for which adequate accruals or reserves have been established on the Company Financial Statements or the Parent Financial Statements, as the case may be, in each case in accordance with U.S. GAAP); and (d) the Liens set forth on Company Schedule 1.1(b).
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“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.
“Personal Information” means any data or information, on any media that, alone or in combination with other data or information, can, directly or indirectly, be associated with or be reasonably used to identify an individual natural Person (including any part of such Person’s name, physical address, telephone number, email address, financial account number or credit card number, government issued identifier (including social security number and driver’s license number), user identification number and password, billing and transactional information, medical, health or insurance information, date of birth, educational or employment information, vehicle identification number, IP address, cookie identifier, or any other number or identifier that identifies an individual natural Person, or such Person’s vehicle, browser or device), or any other data or information that constitutes personal data, protected health information, personally identifiable information, personal information or similar defined term under any Data Protection Law or Healthcare Laws (including protected health information, as defined in 45 C.F.R. §160.103 and personal data, as defined in the EU General Data Protection Regulation).
“PHSA” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.19(a).
“PIPE Investors” means those certain investors participating in the Private Placement pursuant to the Subscription Agreements.
“Plan” means each “employee benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA and all other compensation and benefits plans, policies, programs, or arrangements, and each other stock purchase, stock option, restricted stock, equity-based, severance, retention, employment (other than any employment offer letter in such form as previously provided to Parent that is terminable “at will” without any contractual obligation on the part of the Company to make any severance, termination, change of control, or similar payment), change-of-control, bonus, incentive, deferred compensation, employee loan, fringe benefit and other employee benefit plan, agreement, program, policy, commitment or other arrangement, whether or not subject to ERISA, whether formal or informal, oral or written, in each case, that is sponsored, maintained, contributed or required to be contributed to by the Company, or under which the Company has any current or potential liability.
“Private Placement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Section 12.13.
“Proxy Statement” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(a).
“PubCo” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“PubCo Bylaws” shall mean the PubCo bylaws, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit F.
“PubCo COI” shall mean the certificate of incorporation of PubCo, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G.
“PubCo Common Stock” or “PubCo Common Shares” means the common stock of PubCo, par value $0.0001 per share.
“PubCo Equity Incentive Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.
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“Real Property” means, collectively, all real properties and interests therein (including the right to use), together with all buildings, fixtures, trade fixtures, plant and other improvements located thereon or attached thereto; all rights arising out of use thereof (including air, water, oil and mineral rights); and all subleases, franchises, licenses, permits, easements and rights-of-way which are appurtenant thereto.
“Registration Rights Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Representative Losses” has the meaning set forth in Section 12.14.
“Representatives” means, with respect to any Person, the officers, directors, Affiliates, managers, consultant, employees, representatives and agents of such Person.
“Required Company Consents” shall mean the Company Consents set forth on Company Schedule 1.1(c).
“S-4 Effective Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(c).
“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“SEC Statement” means the Form S-4, including the Proxy Statement, whether in preliminary or definitive form, and any amendments or supplements thereto.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933.
“Securities Filing” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(b).
“Specified Company Securityholder” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Specified Parent Stockholders” shall mean Sponsor and the Independent Directors of Parent who hold Parent Class B Shares.
“Sponsor” means FS Development Holdings II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
“Sponsor Backstop Amount” means the amount of proceeds, if any, received by Parent pursuant to the purchase of Parent Class A Shares specified in the Subscription Agreement entered into by Sponsor pursuant to Section 5 of the Parent Support Agreement.
“Standard Contracts” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.15(a)(vi).
“Stock Issuance Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.5(e).
“Stockholders’ Representative” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Subscription Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person of which at least fifty percent (50%) of the capital stock or other equity or voting securities of such other Person are Controlled or owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.
“Surviving Corporation” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1.
“Surviving Corporation Bylaws” shall mean the bylaws of the Surviving Corporation, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit H.
“Surviving Corporation Charter” shall mean the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving Corporation, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit I.
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“Tangible Personal Property” means all tangible personal property and interests therein, including machinery, computers and accessories, furniture, office equipment, communications equipment, automobiles, laboratory equipment and other equipment owned or leased by the Company and other tangible property.
“Tax(es)” means any U.S. federal, state or local or non-U.S. tax, charge, fee, levy, custom, duty, deficiency, or other assessment of any kind or nature imposed by any Taxing Authority (including any income (net or gross), gross receipts, profits, windfall profit, sales, use, goods and services, ad valorem, franchise, license, withholding, employment, social security, workers compensation, unemployment compensation, employment, payroll, transfer, excise, import, real property, personal property, intangible property, occupancy, recording, minimum, alternative minimum, escheat and other Taxes), together with any interest, penalty, additions to tax or additional amount imposed with respect thereto and shall include any liability for such amounts as a result of (a) being a transferee or successor or member of a combined, consolidated, unitary or affiliated group, or (b) a contractual obligation to indemnify any Person (other than any commercial agreement the principal purpose of which is not Taxes).
“Tax Opinion” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(b).
“Tax Return” means any return, information return, declaration, claim for refund or credit, report or any similar statement, and any amendment thereto, including any attached schedule and supporting information, whether on a separate, consolidated, combined, unitary or other basis, that is filed or required to be filed with any Taxing Authority in connection with the determination, assessment, collection or payment of a Tax or the administration of any Law relating to any Tax.
“Taxing Authority” means the Internal Revenue Service and any other Authority responsible for the collection, assessment or imposition of any Tax or the administration of any Law relating to any Tax.
“Terminating Contracts” shall mean the Contracts listed on Company Schedule 1.1(d).
“Transactions” means the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including the transactions contemplated by any Additional Agreement) to occur at or immediately prior to the Closing, including the Merger.
“Transfer Taxes” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.3(c).
“Treasury Regulations” means the regulations promulgated under the Code by the United States Department of the Treasury (whether in final, proposed or temporary form), as the same may be amended from time to time.
“Trust Account” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.9.
“Trust Agreement” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.9.
“Trust Fund” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.9.
“Trustee” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.9.
“U.S. GAAP” means U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied.
“Unaudited Financial Statements” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.9(a).
“Unpaid Parent Liabilities” means the Parent Liabilities that remain unpaid as of immediately prior to the Closing.
“Voting Agreement” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7.
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1.2 Construction.
(a) References to particular sections and subsections, schedules, and exhibits not otherwise specified are cross-references to sections and subsections, schedules, and exhibits of this Agreement. Captions are not a part of this Agreement, but are included for convenience, only.
(b) The words “herein,” “hereof,” “hereunder,” and words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement; and, unless the context requires otherwise, “party” means a party signatory hereto.
(c) Any use of the singular or plural, or the masculine, feminine or neuter gender, includes the others, unless the context otherwise requires; the word “including” means “including without limitation”; the word “or” means “and/or”; the word “any” means “any one, more than one, or all”; and, unless otherwise specified, any financial or accounting term has the meaning of the term under United States generally accepted accounting principles as consistently applied heretofore by the Company.
(d) Any reference in this Agreement to “PubCo” shall also mean Parent to the extent the matter relates to the pre-Closing period and any reference to “Parent” shall also mean “PubCo” to the extent the matter relates to the post-Closing period (including, for the purposes of this Section 1.2(d), the Effective Time).
(e) Any reference in this Agreement to “Surviving Corporation” shall also mean the Company to the extent the matter relates to the pre-Closing period and any reference to “Company” shall also mean “Surviving Corporation” to the extent the matter relates to the post-Closing period (including, for the purposes of this Section 1.2(e), the Effective Time).
(f) Unless otherwise specified, any reference to any agreement (including this Agreement), instrument, or other document includes all schedules, exhibits, or other attachments referred to therein, and any reference to a statute or other law means such law as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time and includes any rule, regulation, ordinance or the like promulgated thereunder, in each case, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.
(g) Any reference to a numbered schedule means the same-numbered section of the disclosure schedule. Any reference in a schedule contained in the disclosure schedules delivered by a party hereunder shall be deemed to be an exception to (or, as applicable, a disclosure for purposes of) the applicable representations and warranties (or applicable covenants) that are contained in the section or subsection of this Agreement that corresponds to such schedule and any other representations and warranties of such party that are contained in this Agreement to which the relevance of such item thereto is reasonably apparent on its face and for which such disclosure would be appropriate and such appropriateness is reasonably apparent on the face of such disclosure. The mere inclusion of an item in a schedule as an exception to (or, as applicable, a disclosure for purposes of) a representation or warranty shall not be deemed an admission that such item represents a material exception or material fact, event or circumstance or that such item would have a Material Adverse Effect or establish any standard of materiality to define further the meaning of such terms for purposes of this Agreement.
(h) If any action is required to be taken or notice is required to be given within a specified number of days following a specific date or event, the day of such date or event is not counted in determining the last day for such action or notice. If any action is required to be taken or notice is required to be given on or before a particular day which is not a Business Day, such action or notice shall be considered timely if it is taken or given on or before the next Business Day.
ARTICLE II
MERGER
2.1 Merger. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, and in accordance with the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), at the Effective Time, (a) Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Company, (b) the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall thereupon cease, and the Company shall be the surviving corporation in the Merger (after the Effective Time, the Company may be referred to as the “Surviving Corporation”), and (c) the Surviving Corporation shall become a wholly-owned Subsidiary of PubCo. The Company Securityholders shall be entitled to the consideration described in, and in accordance with the provisions of, ARTICLE III.
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2.2 Merger Effective Time. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, at the Closing, the Company shall file a certificate of merger in the form attached hereto as Exhibit J with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, executed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the DGCL (the “Certificate of Merger”). The Merger shall become effective upon the filing of the Certificate of Merger or at such later time as is agreed to by the parties and specified in the Certificate of Merger (the time at which the Merger becomes effective is herein referred to as the “Effective Time”).
2.3 Effect of the Merger. At the Effective Time, the effect of the Merger shall be as provided in this Agreement, the Certificate of Merger and the applicable provisions of the DGCL. 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 the Company and Merger Sub shall become the property, rights, privileges, agreements, powers and franchises, debts, liabilities, duties and obligations of the Surviving Corporation, which shall include the assumption by the Surviving Corporation of any and all agreements, covenants, duties and obligations of the Company and the Merger Sub set forth in this Agreement to be performed after the Closing. Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company, and the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub will cease, and the Surviving Corporation will become a direct wholly-owned Subsidiary of PubCo, all as provided under the DGCL and the provisions of this Agreement.
2.4 U.S. Tax Treatment.
(a) Each of the parties to this Agreement intends that the Merger qualifies for the Intended Tax Treatment. None of the parties knows of any fact or circumstance (without conducting independent inquiry or diligence of the other relevant party), or has knowingly taken or will knowingly take any action, which fact, circumstance or action would be reasonably expected to cause the Merger to fail to qualify for the Intended Tax Treatment. The Merger shall be reported by the parties for all applicable Tax purposes in accordance with the Intended Tax Treatment, except to the extent otherwise required by an Authority as a result of a “determination” within the meaning of Section 1313(a) of the Code (or any similar provision of applicable state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law) or to the extent otherwise required by a change in applicable Law. Each of the parties to this Agreement agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly notify all other parties (and, following the Closing, to notify the Stockholders’ Representative) of any threatened or pending audit, investigation, proceeding or other challenge to the Intended Tax Treatment by any Authority of which such party is aware.
(b) If, in connection with the preparation and filing of the Parent SEC Documents, the Additional Parent SEC Documents, the SEC Statement or any Other Filing (each individually, a “Securities Filing”) or the SEC’s review thereof, the SEC requests or requires that a tax opinion (or tax opinions) with respect to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Merger be prepared and submitted in such connection (each, a “Tax Opinion”), (i) the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to deliver to Goodwin Procter LLP (“Goodwin”) (or another nationally recognized tax or accounting firm in the United States reasonably acceptable to the parties), in connection with any Tax Opinion rendered by Goodwin (or such other nationally recognized tax or accounting firm), customary Tax representation letters, dated and executed as of the date such relevant filing shall have been declared effective by the SEC and such other date(s) as determined to be reasonably necessary by Goodwin (or such other nationally recognized tax or accounting firm) in connection with the preparation and filing of such Securities Filing, and (ii) the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause Goodwin (or such other nationally recognized tax or accounting firm) to furnish the Tax Opinions, subject to customary assumptions and limitations.
2.5 Organizational Documents of the Surviving Corporation. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger, the Company Certificate of Incorporation and the Company Bylaws, in each case as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall cease to have effect and shall be amended and restated in their entireties to be the Surviving Corporation Charter and the Surviving Corporation Bylaws, respectively, until thereafter supplemented or amended in accordance with their terms and the DGCL.
2.6 Closing; Effective Time. Unless this Agreement is earlier terminated in accordance with ARTICLE XI, the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take place virtually at 10:00 a.m. local time, on the second (2nd) Business Day after the satisfaction or waiver (to the extent permitted by applicable law) of the conditions set forth in ARTICLE IX or at such other time, date and location as Parent and Company agree in writing. The parties may participate in the Closing via electronic means. The date on which the Closing actually occurs is hereinafter referred to as the “Closing Date”.
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2.7 Board of Directors of PubCo; Officers. Immediately after the Closing, PubCo’s Board of Directors will consist of five (5) to seven (7) directors, one (1) of which will be initially designated by the Sponsor and four (4) of which will be initially designated by the Company; provided that the Company may designate up to two (2) additional Independent Directors. At least a majority of PubCo’s Board of Directors shall qualify as Independent Directors. Sponsor, PubCo and each of the Specified Company Securityholders shall enter into a voting agreement, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit K (the “Voting Agreement”), with respect to voting for the initial designation of the foregoing slate of directors. The officers of the Company shall become the officers of PubCo immediately after the Closing. The officers and directors of PubCo after the Closing shall also serve as the officers and directors of the Surviving Corporation.
2.8 Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action. If, at any time after the Closing, any further action is necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this Agreement and to vest the Surviving Corporation with full right, title and interest in, to and under, or possession of, all assets, property, rights, privileges, powers and franchises of the Company and the Merger Sub, the officers and directors of the Surviving Corporation are fully authorized in the name and on behalf of the Company and the Merger Sub, to take all lawful action necessary or desirable to accomplish such purpose or acts, so long as such action is not inconsistent with this Agreement.
2.9 No Further Ownership Rights in Company Securities. At the Effective Time, the stock transfer books of the Company shall be closed and thereafter there shall be no further registration of transfers of shares of Company Capital Stock or other securities of the Company on the records of the Company. From and after the Effective Time, the holders of shares of Company Capital Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to have any rights with respect to such shares of Company Capital Stock, except as otherwise provided for herein or by Law.
2.10 Appraisal Rights. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, any shares of Company Common Stock that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and in respect of which appraisal rights shall have been perfected, and not waived, withdrawn or lost, in accordance with the DGCL in connection with the Merger and that are owned by a holder who complies in all respects with Section 262 of the DGCL (such shares, “Dissenting Shares”) shall not be converted into the right to receive the applicable portion of the Closing Payment Shares, but shall instead be converted into the right to receive such consideration as may be determined to be due with respect to any such Dissenting Shares pursuant to the DGCL. At the Effective Time, (a) all Dissenting Shares shall be cancelled, extinguished and cease to exist and (b) the holders of Dissenting Shares shall be entitled only to such rights as may be granted to them under the DGCL. Each holder of Dissenting Shares who, pursuant to the DGCL, becomes entitled to payment thereunder for such shares shall receive payment therefor in accordance with the DGCL (but only after the value therefor shall have been agreed upon or finally determined pursuant to such provisions). If, after the Effective Time, any Dissenting Shares shall lose their status as Dissenting Shares, then (i) the right of such holder to be paid the fair value of such shares shall cease, (ii) any such shares shall immediately be deemed to have converted, as of the Effective Time, into the right to receive the applicable portion of the Closing Payment Shares (upon the terms and conditions of this Agreement) in respect of such shares as if such shares never had been Dissenting Shares, and (iii) PubCo shall issue and deliver (or cause to be issued and delivered) to the holder thereof the applicable portion of the Closing Payment Shares as if such shares never had been Dissenting Shares. The Company shall give Parent prompt written notice (and in any event within two (2) Business Days) of any demands received by the Company for appraisal of shares of Company Common Stock, attempted withdrawals of such demands and any other instruments served pursuant to the DGCL and received by the Company relating to rights to be paid the fair value of Dissenting Shares, and Parent shall have the right to participate in and, following the Effective Time, direct all negotiations and proceedings with respect to such demands. Prior to the Effective Time, neither the Company nor Parent shall, except with the prior written consent of the other party (in its sole discretion), (x) make any payment or offer to make any payment with respect to, or settle or compromise or offer to settle or compromise, any claim or demand in respect of any Dissenting Shares, (y) waive any failure to timely deliver a written demand for appraisal or otherwise comply with the provisions under Section 262 of the DGCL or (z) agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.
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ARTICLE III
CONSIDERATION
3.1 Conversion of Company Securities.
(a) Effect on Company Capital Stock.
(i) Conversion of Preferred Stock. Immediately prior to the Effective Time, each issued and outstanding share of Company Preferred Stock shall automatically convert into one (1) share of Company Common Stock (collectively, the “Company Preferred Stock Conversion”). All of the shares of Company Preferred Stock converted into shares of Company Common Stock shall no longer be outstanding and shall cease to exist, and each holder of Company Preferred Stock shall thereafter cease to have any rights with respect to such securities.
(ii) Conversion of Company Common Stock. Subject to Section 2.10, at the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, the Company Securityholders or any other Person, each share of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than shares of Company Restricted Stock, which shall be subject to Section 3.1(c), and the Dissenting Shares) shall be automatically canceled and converted into the right to receive a number of PubCo Common Shares equal to (A) the Consideration Ratio multiplied by (B) the number of shares of Company Common Stock held by such holder as of immediately prior to the Effective Time.
(b) Treatment of Company Options.
(i) The Company shall terminate the Company Equity Incentive Plan at or prior to the Effective Time, contingent on the Closing. As of the Effective Time, all Company Options shall no longer be outstanding under the Company Equity Incentive Plan and each Person who previously held Company Options shall cease to have any rights with respect to such Company Options, except as set forth in this Section 3.1(b).
(ii) Prior to the Effective Time, the Boards of Directors of the Company and Parent (or any duly authorized committee thereof) shall, as applicable, take all corporate actions necessary, including adopting appropriate resolutions and obtaining consents of the holders of the Company Options, if required, to provide that, as of the Effective Time, each outstanding Company Option shall be assumed by PubCo and shall continue in full force and effect, containing the same terms, conditions, vesting and other provisions as are currently applicable to such Company Options; provided that (A) each such Company Option shall be exercisable for such number of PubCo Common Shares that equals the Consideration Ratio multiplied by the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to such Company Option as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, in each case at such per share exercise price that shall equal the per share exercise price of such Company Option as of immediately prior to the Effective Time divided by the Consideration Ratio (as so converted, a “Company Converted Option”) and (B) with respect to each such Company Option, any fractional shares that would be issuable upon exercise thereof will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of PubCo Common Shares and the per share exercise price will be rounded up to the nearest whole cent. Parent shall adopt the PubCo Equity Incentive Plan, which will cover the Company Options, pursuant to Section 8.2; provided, however, that the per share exercise price and the number of PubCo Common Shares purchasable pursuant to each Company Converted Option shall be determined in a manner consistent with the requirements of Sections 409A and 424 of the Code, as applicable.
(c) Treatment of Company Restricted Stock. At the Effective Time, without any action on the part of any holder of Company Restricted Stock, each share of Company Restricted Stock that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be automatically cancelled and converted into the right to receive a number of shares of restricted PubCo Common Shares (each, “Adjusted Restricted Stock”) equal to (i) the Consideration Ratio multiplied by (ii) the number of shares of Company Restricted Stock held by such holder as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, and such Adjusted Restricted Stock shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the related share of Company Restricted Stock immediately prior to the Effective Time (including with respect to vesting and termination-related provisions), except that any per share repurchase price of such Adjusted Restricted Stock shall be equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the per share repurchase price applicable to the Company Restricted Stock by (y) the Consideration Ratio, rounded up to the nearest cent. The certificates and/or book entries representing the Adjusted Restricted Stock shall accordingly be marked with appropriate legends.
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(d) Company Further Assurance. The Company shall take all necessary actions to effect the treatment of Company Options, and Company Restricted Stock pursuant to Sections 3.1(b) and 3.1(c) in accordance with the Company Equity Incentive Plan and the applicable award agreements and to ensure that, in the absence of an appropriate exemption from registration under the Securities Act, that on or after the Effective Time no Company Option may be exercised prior to the effective date of an applicable Form S-8 (or other applicable form, including Form S-1 or Form S-3) of PubCo. The Board of Directors of the Company shall take all other necessary actions, effective as of immediately prior to the Closing, in order to provide that no new Company Options or Company Restricted Stock (or other awards under the Company Equity Incentive Plan) will be granted under the Company Equity Incentive Plan on or after the Effective Time.
(e) Conversion of Parent Common Stock. At the Effective Time, (i) all Parent Class B Shares that are issued and outstanding as of such time shall automatically convert, on a one-to-one basis in accordance with the terms of the Parent Certificate of Incorporation, into Parent Class A Shares and (ii) all Parent Class A Shares issued and outstanding at such time (including those converted from Parent Class B Shares) shall be renamed as “Common Stock” for all purposes of the PubCo COI. For the avoidance of doubt, all Parent Class B Shares converted into Parent Class A Shares shall no longer be outstanding and shall cease to exist, and each holder of Parent Class B Shares shall thereafter cease to have any rights with respect to such securities.
(f) Conversion of Shares of Merger Sub. Each share of Merger Sub that is issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will, by virtue of the Merger and without further action on the part of the sole shareholder of Merger Sub, be converted into and become one share of the Surviving Corporation (and the shares of Surviving Corporation into which the shares of Merger Sub are so converted shall be the only shares of the Surviving Corporation that are issued and outstanding immediately after the Effective Time). Each certificate (if any) evidencing ownership of shares of Merger Sub will, as of the Effective Time, be deemed to evidence ownership of such shares of the Surviving Corporation.
(g) Treatment of Shares of Company Common Stock Owned by the Company. At the Effective Time, all shares of Company Common Stock that are owned by the Company as treasury shares immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be canceled and extinguished without any conversion thereof.
(h) Surrender of Certificates. All Closing Payment Shares issued upon the surrender and cancellation of the Company Common Stock, in accordance with the terms hereof, shall be deemed to have been issued in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such securities.
(i) Lost or Destroyed Certificates. In the event any certificates representing shares of Company Common Stock shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, PubCo shall issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed certificates or securities, as the case may be, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the holder thereof (without the requirement to post a bond), such securities, as may be required pursuant to this Section 3.1.
3.2 No Fractional Shares. No fractional PubCo Common Shares, or certificates or scrip representing fractional PubCo Common Shares, will be issued upon the conversion of the Company Common Stock pursuant to the Merger, and any such fractional shares or interests therein will not entitle the owner thereof to vote or to any rights of a stockholder of PubCo. Any fractional PubCo Common Shares will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of PubCo Common Shares.
3.3 Withholding. Notwithstanding any other provision to this Agreement, Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, and the Surviving Corporation (and their respective Representatives) shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from any amount payable to any Person pursuant to this Agreement such Taxes that are required to be deducted or withheld with respect to such amounts under the Code, or under any provision of state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law. To the extent that amounts are so deducted and withheld and paid over to the appropriate Taxing Authorities, such amounts shall be treated for all purposes under this Agreement as having been paid to the Person in respect of which such deduction and withholding was made. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent, Merger Sub, the Company and the Surviving Corporation shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide recipients of consideration with a reasonable opportunity to provide documentation establishing exemptions from or reductions of such withholdings.
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ARTICLE IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except as set forth in the Company Schedules delivered by the Company to Parent concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Company hereby represents and warrants to Parent that each of the following representations and warranties are true, correct and complete as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date.
4.1 Corporate Existence and Power. The Company is a corporation duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of Delaware. The Company has all power and authority, corporate and otherwise required to own and operate its properties and assets and to carry on the Business as presently conducted and as proposed to be conducted. The Company has the corporate power and authority to own or lease all of its properties and assets and to carry on its Business as it is now being conducted. The Company is duly licensed or qualified to do business in each jurisdiction in which its properties are owned or leased by it or the operation of its Business as currently conducted makes such licensing or qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so licensed or qualified would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has offices located only at the addresses set forth on Company Schedule 4.1.
4.2 Authorization.
(a) The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be a party and the consummation by the Company of the Transactions applicable to the Company are within the corporate powers of the Company and have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company. This Agreement constitutes, and, upon the execution and delivery thereof, each Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party will constitute, a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (the “Enforceability Exceptions”).
(b) By resolutions duly adopted (and not thereafter modified or rescinded) by the requisite vote of the Board of Directors of the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company has (i) approved this Agreement, the Additional Agreements to which it is or will be a party and the Transactions applicable to the Company in accordance with the provisions of the DGCL and the Company Certificate of Incorporation; (ii) determined that this Agreement, the Additional Agreements to which it is or will be a party and the Transactions applicable to the Company, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein or therein, are advisable and fair to and in the best interests of the Company and the Company Stockholders; and (iii) directed that the adoption of this Agreement be submitted to the Company Stockholders for consideration and recommended that all of the Company Stockholders adopt this Agreement.
(c) The affirmative votes or written consents of (i) Persons holding more than fifty percent (50%) (on an as-converted to Company Common Stock basis) of the voting power of the Company Stockholders and (ii) Persons holding more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares of Company Preferred Stock, voting as a separate class, in each case, who deliver written consents or are present in person or by proxy at a duly called meeting of the Company Stockholders and voting thereon are required to, and shall be sufficient to, approve this Agreement and the Transactions (including the Company Preferred Stock Conversion) (the “Company Stockholder Approval”). The Company Stockholder Approval is the only vote or consent of any of the holders of any of the Company Securities necessary for the Company to adopt this Agreement and any Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party and to approve the Merger, the Company Preferred Stock Conversion and the consummation of the other Transactions.
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4.3 Governmental Authorization. Except pursuant to the HSR Act, none of the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party, or the consummation of the Transactions applicable to the Company, requires any consent, approval, license, order or other action by or in respect of, or registration, declaration or filing with, any Authority, except for the filing of the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware pursuant to the DGCL.
4.4 Non-Contravention. None of the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party does or will (a) contravene or conflict with the organizational documents of the Company, (b) contravene or conflict with or constitute a violation of any provision of any Law or Order binding upon or applicable to the Company or by which any of the Company’s assets is bound, (c) except for the Company Consents listed on Company Schedule 4.8 (but only as to the need to obtain such Company Consents), constitute a default under or breach of (with or without the giving of notice or the passage of time or both) or violate or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment or acceleration of any right or obligation of the Company or require any payment or reimbursement or to a loss of any material benefit relating to the Business to which the Company is entitled under any provision of any Permit, Contract or other instrument or obligations binding upon the Company or by which any of the Company’s assets is or may be bound, (d) cause a loss of any material benefit relating to the Business to which the Company is entitled under any provision of any Permit or Contract binding upon the Company or by which any of the Company’s assets is or may be bound, (e) result in the creation or imposition of any Lien (except for Permitted Liens) on any of the Company’s assets or any of the Company Securities, or (f) require any consent, approval or waiver from any Person pursuant to any provision of the Company Certificate of Incorporation or Company Bylaws, except for such consent, approval or waiver which shall be obtained (and a copy provided to Parent) prior to the Closing.
4.5 Capitalization.
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 25,187,755 shares of the Company Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share, and 13,923,367 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Company Preferred Stock”), of which 6,935,000 shares of Company Common Stock, 9,771,414 shares of Company Series A Preferred Stock, 2,818,034 shares of Company Series A-1 Preferred Stock, 605,850 shares of Company Series A-2 Preferred Stock and 728,058 shares of Company Series A-3 Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding as of the date of this Agreement. As of the date of this Agreement, there are 5,079,168 shares of Company Restricted Stock outstanding outside of the Company Equity Incentive Plan. There are 3,136,547 shares of Company Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Company Equity Incentive Plan, of which, as of the date of this Agreement, 6,563 shares are Company Restricted Stock and 1,266,433 shares are reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding unexercised Company Options. No other shares of capital stock or other voting securities of the Company are issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding. All issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock and Company Preferred Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. No shares of Company Common Stock or Company Preferred Stock were or are subject to, or were issued in violation, of any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right (including under any provision of the DGCL, the Company Certificate of Incorporation or any Contract to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or any of its assets is bound). Company Schedule 4.5(a) contains a true, correct and complete list of each Company Option outstanding as of the date of this Agreement, the holder thereof, the number of shares of Company Common Stock issuable thereunder or otherwise subject thereto, the grant date thereof and the exercise price and expiration date thereof.
(b) Except for the Company Preferred Stock, the Company Restricted Stock and the Company Options and as set forth on Company Schedule 4.5(b), there are no (i) outstanding warrants, options, agreements, convertible securities, performance units or other commitments or instruments pursuant to which the Company is or may become obligated to issue or sell any of its shares or other securities, (ii) outstanding obligations of the Company to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire outstanding capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any shares of capital stock of the Company, (iii) treasury shares of capital stock of the Company, (iv) bonds, debentures, notes or other Indebtedness of the Company having the right to vote (or convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities having the right to vote) on any matters on which stockholders of the Company may vote, are issued or outstanding, (v) preemptive or similar rights to purchase or otherwise acquire shares or other securities of the Company pursuant to any provision of Law, the Company Certificate of Incorporation or any Contract to which the Company is a party or by which it or any of its assets is bound, or (vi) Liens (including any right of first refusal, right of first offer, proxy, voting trust, voting agreement or similar arrangement) with respect to the sale or voting of shares or securities of the Company (whether outstanding or issuable).
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(c) All Company Options and shares of Company Restricted Stock are evidenced by award agreements in substantially the forms previously made available to Parent, and no Company Option or share of Company Restricted Stock is subject to terms that are materially different from those set forth in such forms. Each Company Option and each share of Company Restricted Stock was validly granted or issued and properly approved by the Board of Directors of the Company (or appropriate committee thereof) and, if applicable, in accordance with the terms of the Company Equity Incentive Plan. Each Company Option (i) was granted in accordance with the Company Equity Incentive Plan, (ii) has an exercise price per share of Company Common Stock equal to or greater than the fair market value of such share on the date of such grant, as determined in accordance with Section 409A of the Code or Section 422 of the Code, and (iii) has a grant date identical to the date on which the Board of Directors of the Company or compensation committee actually awarded such Company Option.
(d) As of the date of this Agreement, all outstanding shares of the Company Capital Stock are owned of record by the Persons set forth on the capitalization schedule provided in Company Schedule 4.5(d) (the “Capitalization Schedule”) in the amounts set forth opposite their respective names.
4.6 Corporate Records. All proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Company, including all committees thereof, and of the Company Stockholders, and all consents to actions taken thereby, are accurately reflected in the minutes and records contained in the corporate minute books of the Company and made available to Parent. The stockholder ledger of the Company is complete and accurate.
4.7 Subsidiaries. The Company does not directly or indirectly own, or hold any rights to acquire, any capital stock or any other securities or interests in any Person.
4.8 Consents. The Contracts listed on Company Schedule 4.8 are the only Contracts to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or any of the Company’s assets are bound, requiring a consent, approval, authorization, order or other action of, filing with or notice to any Person as a result of the execution, delivery and/or performance of this Agreement or any Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party or the consummation of the applicable Transactions (each of the foregoing, a “Company Consent”).
4.9 Financial Statements.
(a) The Company has delivered to Parent (i) the audited consolidated balance sheets of the Company, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, including the notes thereto (collectively, the “Annual Financial Statements”) and (ii) the unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of March 31, 2021 (the “Interim Balance Sheet”) and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the three (3) month periods then ended (collectively, the “Unaudited Financial Statements” and, together with the Annual Financial Statements, the “Company Financial Statements”). The Company Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP applied on a consistent basis and in accordance with the requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for public companies. The Company Financial Statements fairly present, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of the dates thereof and the results of operations of the Company for the periods reflected therein. The Company Financial Statements were prepared from the Books and Records of the Company in all material respects. Since March 31, 2021 (the “Balance Sheet Date”), except as required by applicable Law or U.S. GAAP, there has been no change in any accounting principle, procedure or practice followed by the Company or in the method of applying any such principle, procedure or practice.
(b) Except as: (i) specifically disclosed, reflected or fully reserved against on the Interim Balance Sheet; (ii) liabilities and obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business since the date of the Interim Balance Sheet; (iii) liabilities that are executory obligations arising under Contracts to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or any of its assets are bound (none of which, with respect to the liabilities described in clause (ii) and this clause (iii), results from, arises out of, or relates to any breach or violation of, or default under, a Contract or applicable Law); (iv) expenses incurred in connection with the negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement, any Additional Agreement or any of the Transactions; and (v) liabilities set forth on Company Schedule 4.9(b), the Company does not have any material liabilities, debts or obligations of any nature (whether accrued, fixed or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, asserted or unasserted or otherwise) of the type required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
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4.10 Books and Records. The Books and Records of the Company accurately and fairly, in reasonable detail, reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of and the providing of services by the Company. The Company maintains procedures of internal controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (a) transactions are executed only in accordance with the respective management’s authorization; (b) all income and expense items are promptly and properly recorded for the relevant periods in accordance with the revenue recognition and expense policies maintained by the Company, as permitted by U.S. GAAP; and (c) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with the respective management’s authorization. To the Company’s Knowledge, the Books and Records of the Company have been properly and accurately kept and completed in all material respects, and there are no material inaccuracies or discrepancies of any kind contained or reflected therein.
4.11 Internal Accounting Controls. The Company has established a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (a) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (b) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with the Company historical practices and to maintain asset accountability; (c) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (d) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
4.12 Absence of Certain Changes. From the Balance Sheet Date until the date of this Agreement, (a) the Company has conducted in all material respects their respective businesses in the ordinary course and in a manner consistent with past practice; (b) there has not been any Material Adverse Effect; and (c) except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.12(c), the Company has not taken any action that, if taken after the date of this Agreement and prior to the consummation of the Merger, would require the consent of Parent pursuant to Section 6.1.
4.13 Properties; Title to the Company’s Assets.
(a) All items of Tangible Personal Property have no defects, are in good operating condition and repair and function in accordance with their intended uses (ordinary wear and tear excepted), have been properly maintained and are suitable for their present uses and meet all material specifications and warranty requirements with respect thereto.
(b) The Company has good, valid and marketable title in and to, or in the case of the Lease and the assets which are leased or licensed pursuant to Contracts, a valid leasehold interest or license in or a right to use all of the tangible assets reflected on the Interim Balance Sheet. Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.13(b), no such tangible asset is subject to any Lien other than Permitted Liens. The Company’s assets constitute all of the rights, property and other assets of any kind or description whatsoever, including goodwill, necessary for the Company to operate the Business immediately after the Closing in all material respects in the same manner as the Business is currently being conducted.
4.14 Litigation. There is no Action pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing against or affecting the Company, any of the officers or directors of the Company (in their capacities as such), the Business, any of the Company’s assets or any Contract before any Authority that any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, enjoin, alter or delay the Transactions. There are no outstanding judgments against the Company. The Company is not, and has not been, subject to any Action by any Authority.
4.15 Material Contracts.
(a) Company Schedule 4.15(a) lists all of the following Contracts (collectively, such Contracts that are listed or required to be listed on Company Schedule 4.15(a), “Material Contracts”) to which, as of the date of this Agreement, the Company is a party or by which the Company or any of its assets are bound and which are currently in effect:
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(i) all Contracts, other than Plans, that require annual payments or expenses incurred by, or annual payments or income to, the Company of $250,000 or more (other than Standard Contracts (as defined below) entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice);
(ii) all sales, advertising, agency, lobbying, broker, sales promotion, market research, marketing or similar Contracts, other than Plans, in each case requiring the payment of any commissions by the Company in excess of $250,000 annually;
(iii) each employment Contract, employee leasing Contract and consultant and sales representatives Contract with any current officer, director, employee or consultant of the Company, under which the Company (A) has continuing obligations for payment of annual compensation of at least $250,000, and which is not terminable for any reason or no reason upon reasonable notice without payment of any penalty, severance or other obligation; (B) has severance or post-termination obligations to such Person (other than COBRA obligations); or (C) has an obligation to make a payment upon consummation of the Transactions or as a result of a change of control of the Company;
(iv) all Contracts creating a joint venture, strategic alliance, limited liability company or partnership arrangement;
(v) all Contracts relating to any acquisitions or dispositions of material assets by the Company (other than acquisitions or dispositions of inventory in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice);
(vi) all Contracts under which the Company is obligated to pay royalties under a license for the use of Intellectual Property Rights, and all other material licensing Contracts, including those pursuant to which any Intellectual Property Rights are licensed by or to the Company, and agreements with covenants not to sue, other than (A) “shrink wrap” or other licenses granting nonexclusive rights to use uncustomized software or hosted services that is generally commercially available to the public on standard or nondiscriminatory terms with license, maintenance, support, and other fees less than $250,000 per year, (B) customer, vendor or channel partner Contracts (including master services agreements, statements of work, work orders, services agreements and consulting agreement) substantially on Company’s standard forms provided to the Parent as of the date of this Agreement and entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (C) Contracts with the Company’s employees or contractors substantially on Company’s standard forms entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (D) non-disclosure agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (collectively, the types of Contracts referenced in clauses (A) through (D), the “Standard Contracts”);
(vii) all Contracts limiting the freedom of the Company to compete in any line of business or industry, with any Person or in any geographic area;
(viii) all Contracts relating to patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, brands, copyrights, trade secrets and other Intellectual Property Rights of the Company, other than Standard Contracts, material transfer agreements, services agreements and scientific advisory board agreements;
(ix) all Contracts providing for guarantees, indemnification arrangements and other hold harmless arrangements made or provided by the Company, including all ongoing agreements for repair, warranty, maintenance, service, indemnification or similar obligations, other than Standard Contracts;
(x) all Contracts with or pertaining to the Company to which any Affiliate of the Company is a party, other than any Contracts relating to such Affiliate’s status as a Company Securityholder;
(xi) all Contracts relating to property or assets (whether real or personal, tangible or intangible) in which the Company holds a leasehold interest (including the Lease) and which involve payments to the lessor thereunder in excess of $250,000 per year;
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(xii) all Contracts creating or otherwise relating to outstanding Indebtedness (other than intercompany Indebtedness);
(xiii) all Contracts relating to the voting or control of the Equity Interests of the Company or the election of directors of the Company (other than the organizational documents of the Company);
(xiv) all Contracts not cancellable by the Company with sixty (60) days’ notice (or less) if the effect of such cancellation would result in monetary penalty to the Company in excess of $250,000 per the terms of such Contract;
(xv) all Contracts that may be terminated, or the provisions of which may be altered, as a result of the consummation of the Transactions;
(xvi) all Contracts under which any of the benefits, compensation or payments (or the vesting thereof) will be materially increased or accelerated by the consummation of the Transactions, or the amount or value thereof will be calculated on the basis of, the Transactions, other than the Company Converted Option and Adjusted Restricted Stock;
(xvii) all collective bargaining or other agreements with a labor union or labor organization;
(xviii) all Contracts that address the provisions for business associate contracts required by HIPAA; and
(xix) all other Contracts that are material to the Business or the Company.
(b) Each Material Contract is (i) a valid and binding agreement, (ii) in full force and effect and (iii) enforceable by and against the Company and each counterparty that is party thereto, subject, in the case of this clause (iii), to the Enforceability Exceptions. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s Knowledge, any other party to a Material Contract is in material breach or default (whether with or without the passage of time or the giving of notice or both) under the terms of any such Material Contract. The Company has not assigned, delegated or otherwise transferred any of its rights or obligations under any Material Contract or granted any power of attorney with respect thereto.
(c) Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.15(c), none of the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Additional Agreement to which the Company is or will be a party or the consummation by the Company of the Transactions constitutes or will constitute a default under or gives rise or will give rise to any right of termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation of the Company or any right of termination or cancellation of any obligation of the counterparty thereto or to a loss of any material benefit to which the Company is entitled under any provision of any Material Contract.
(d) The Company is in compliance with all covenants, including all financial covenants, in all notes, indentures, bonds and other instruments or Contracts establishing or evidencing any Indebtedness.
4.16 Permits. Company Schedule 4.16 correctly lists each Permit, together with the name of the Authority issuing such Permit. Each Permit is valid and in full force and effect, and none of the Permits will, assuming the related Company Consent identified on Company Schedule 4.16 has been obtained or waived prior to the Closing Date, be terminated or impaired or become terminable as a result of the Transactions. The Company has all material Permits necessary to operate the Business, including those administered by the FDA or by any foreign, federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing functions similar to those performed by the FDA necessary to conduct the Business. The Company is not in material breach or violation of, or material default under, any such Permit, and, to the Company’s Knowledge, no reasonable basis exists which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute any such breach, violation or default or give any Authority grounds to suspend, revoke or terminate any such Permit. The Company has not received any written (or, to the Company’s Knowledge, oral) notice from any Authority regarding any material violation of any Permit. There has not been and there is not any pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened action, investigation or disciplinary proceeding by or from any Authority against the Company involving any material Permit.
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4.17 Compliance with Laws.
(a) The Company is, and has been since February 29, 2020, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws. The Company has not been threatened in writing or given written notice of any violation of any Law or any judgment, order or decree entered by any Authority. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company is, and has been, in material compliance with: (i) every Law applicable to the Company due to the specific nature of the Business, including Data Protection Laws and Laws applicable to lending activities; (ii) the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”) and any comparable or similar Law of any jurisdiction applicable to the Company; and (iii) every Law regulating or covering conduct in the workplace, including regarding sexual harassment or, on any legally impermissible basis, a hostile work environment. The Company has not been threatened or charged in writing (or to the Company’s Knowledge orally) with or given written (or to the Company’s Knowledge oral) notice of any violation of any Data Protection Law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or any other Law referred to in or generally described in foregoing sentence and, to the Company’s Knowledge, the Company is not under any investigations with respect to any such Law.
(b) Neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, Affiliate or other Person acting on behalf of the Company (i) is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”) or (ii) has (x) made or caused to be made an untrue statement of a material fact or fraudulent statement to any Authority or (y) failed to disclose a material fact required to any Authority.
4.18 Intellectual Property.
(a) Company Schedule 4.18(a) sets forth a true, correct and complete list as of the date of this Agreement of all unexpired or pending registered Intellectual Property Rights and applications for registration of Intellectual Property Rights owned (whether exclusively, jointly with another Person or otherwise) or filed by the Company or in which the Company has or purports to have an exclusive interest of any nature, specifying as to each, as applicable: (i) the nature of such Intellectual Property Right; (ii) the owner of such Intellectual Property Right and the nature of such ownership; (iii) the jurisdictions by or in which such Intellectual Property Right has been issued or registered or in which an application for such issuance or registration has been filed; and (iv) other than Standard Contracts, all licenses, sublicenses and other agreements pursuant to which any Person is authorized to use such Intellectual Property Right. The Company owns all Intellectual Property Rights as set forth on Company Schedule 4.18(a). The Intellectual Property Rights of the Company have not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part. As of the date of this Agreement, no Intellectual Property Right that is listed or required to be listed on Company Schedule 4.18(a) is challenged in any interference, opposition, reissue, reexamination, revocation or equivalent proceeding, and to the Knowledge of the Company, no such proceeding has been threatened in writing with respect to any such Intellectual Property Rights. As of the date hereof, all registration, maintenance and renewal fees currently due in connection with such registered Intellectual Property Rights have been paid, except for fees that could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and all documents, recordations and certificates in connection with such registered Intellectual Property Rights currently required to be filed have been filed with the relevant patent, copyright, trademark or other authorities in the United States or foreign jurisdictions, as the case may be, for the purposes of prosecuting, maintaining and perfecting such registered Intellectual Property Rights and recording the Company’s ownership interests therein, except for documents, recordations and certificates that could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(b) The Company is the sole and exclusive owner of each item of Intellectual Property Rights owned or purported to be owned by the Company, including the items of Intellectual Property Rights identified on Company Schedule 4.18(a) as being owned by the Company (other than any co-owners disclosed on Company Schedule 4.18(a)). There are no Intellectual Property Rights exclusively licensed to the Company. The Company owns all rights, title and interest in and to all material Intellectual Property Rights utilized by the Company and which is necessary in the conduct of its Business as presently conducted.
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(c) All registered Intellectual Property Rights listed on Company Schedule 4.18(a) are subsisting and, to the Knowledge of the Company, valid and enforceable. To the Knowledge of the Company, there is no granted patent owned by any third party containing a valid claim that (i) is required by the Company to conduct its Business as currently conducted and (ii) the Company is not currently authorized to use. To the Company’s Knowledge, the operation of the Business of the Company as currently conducted and the use of any Intellectual Property Rights in connection therewith do not conflict with, infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the Intellectual Property Rights, including rights of privacy, publicity and endorsement, of any third party. The Intellectual Property Rights set forth on Company Schedule 4.18(a) include all of the material patent rights owned by the Company and used in the ordinary day-to-day conduct of the Business of the Company. To the Knowledge of the Company, there is no prior art that may render any patent within the Intellectual Property Rights invalid. To the Knowledge of the Company, there are no material defects in any of the patent applications within the Intellectual Property Rights.
(d) Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.18(d), (i) to the Knowledge of the Company there are no rights of third parties to any of the Intellectual Property Rights, including liens, security interests or other encumbrances; (ii) to the Knowledge of the Company, there is no infringement, misappropriation, or other violation by third parties of any Intellectual Property Right owned by the Company, and the Company has not sent to any Person any written notice, charge, complaint, claim, or other written assertion against such third Person claiming infringement or violation by or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property Right owned by the Company; (iii) there has been no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Action by any Person challenging the rights of the Company in or to any Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company; (iv) as of the date of this Agreement, there has been no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Action by any Person challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company; and (v) as of the date of this Agreement, there has been no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Action by any Person (nor has the Company received any claim (including unsolicited offers to license patents) from a third party) alleging that the Company’s use of any Intellectual Property Right infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described on Company Schedule 4.18(a), infringe or otherwise violate, any patent, trademark, tradename, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right of any other Person. The Company has not been sued or charged in writing with or been a defendant in any Action that involves a claim of infringement, misappropriation, or violation of any Intellectual Property Rights.
(e) The Company has taken commercially reasonable measures to maintain and protect all Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company and to protect the confidentiality of any trade secrets included in Intellectual Property Rights that are material to the Business of the Company. Except as disclosed on Company Schedule 4.18(e), to the Company’s Knowledge, there has been no unauthorized use, unauthorized disclosure, infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property Right owned by, the Company, by any third party. As of the date hereof, the Company has not instituted any Action for infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual Property Right owned by the Company.
(f) As of the date of this Agreement, to the Company’s Knowledge, there are no Actions with respect to any Intellectual Property Rights and the Company is not a party to any Action relating to any Intellectual Property Rights, including any Actions relating to the ownership, validity, registrability, enforceability, violation or use of any Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company.
(g) Except as disclosed on Company Schedule 4.18(g), each employee, agent, consultant and contractor who has contributed to or participated in the creation or development of any copyrightable, patentable or trade secret material on behalf of the Company either: (i) is a party to a “work-for-hire” agreement under which the Company is deemed to be the original owner/author of all property rights therein; (ii) has executed a valid written assignment or an agreement to assign in favor of the Company all right, title and interest in such material; or (iii) only with respect to rights that cannot be assigned pursuant to an agreement described in clause (i) or (ii) of this Section 4.18(g), has licensed to the Company rights to use such Intellectual Property Rights.
(h) To the Knowledge of the Company, no loss or expiration of the material Intellectual Property Rights listed (or required to be listed) on Company Schedule 4.18(a) is threatened, pending or reasonably foreseeable, except for provisional patent applications, patent applications or patents expiring at the end of their statutory terms (and not as a result of any act or omission by the Company, including, without limitation, any failure by the Company to pay any required maintenance fees).
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(i) As of the date of this Agreement, the Company has diligently prepared or is diligently preparing to file provisional and non-provisional patent applications for all potentially patentable inventions within the Intellectual Property Rights of the Company, except, where in the exercise of reasonable business judgment, the Company has decided not to file or has decided to defer filing, a patent application on a potentially patentable invention. The Company has complied in all material respects with all Laws regarding the duty of disclosure, candor and good faith in connection with each patent included in the Intellectual Property Rights listed on Company Schedule 4.18(a). To the Company’s Knowledge, no public disclosure bar by the Company has occurred or on-sale bar by the Company has arisen which has rendered or would reasonably be expected to render any patent contained in the Intellectual Property Rights unenforceable or unpatentable.
(j) No (i) government funding or (ii) facility of a university, college, other educational institution, or similar institution, or research center was used in the development of any item of Intellectual Property Right owned or purported to be owned by the Company, nor does any such Person have any rights, title, or interest in or to any item of Intellectual Property Right owned or purported to be owned by the Company.
(k) None of the Intellectual Property Rights owned or used or held for use by the Company is, to the Knowledge of the Company, subject to any pending or outstanding Order or other disposition of dispute that adversely restricts the use, transfer, registration or licensing of any such Intellectual Property Rights by the Company.
(l) None of the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any of the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be a party or the consummation of the Transactions will (i) cause any item of Intellectual Property Rights owned or purported to be owned by, or any material item of Intellectual Property Rights licensed, used or held for use by the Company immediately prior to the Closing, to not be owned, licensed or available for use by the Company on substantially the same terms and conditions immediately following the Closing or (ii) require any additional payment obligations by the Company in order to use or exploit any other such Intellectual Property Rights to the same extent as the Company was permitted before the Closing.
(m) Except with respect to the agreements listed on Company Schedule 4.15(a)(vi), the Company is not obligated under any Contract to make any payments by way of royalties, fees, or otherwise to any owner or licensor of, or other claimant to, any Intellectual Property Rights.
(n) To the Company’s Knowledge, the Company’s information technology networks and software applications are free of all viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other material known contaminants and do not contain any bugs, errors, or problems of a material nature that would disrupt or have an adverse impact on the operation of the information technology networks and software applications. The Company has implemented, and required its third party vendors that process Personal Information or sensitive business information to implement, adequate policies and commercially reasonable security (i) regarding the collection, use, disclosure, confidentiality, integrity, availability and value of Personal Information (including health information), and business proprietary or sensitive information (including all trade secrets, items of Intellectual Property Rights that are confidential, confidential information, data and materials licensed by the Company or otherwise used in the operation of the Business); and (ii) regarding the integrity and availability of the information technology networks and software applications the Company owns, operates, or outsources. The Company is in material compliance with all contractual obligations relating to data privacy, data protection and data security. Except as listed on Company Schedule 4.18(l), the Company has not experienced any information security incident that has compromised the integrity or availability of the information technology networks and software applications the Company owns, operates, or outsources, and there has been no loss, damage, or unauthorized access, disclosure, use, or breach of security of any Company information in its possession, custody, or control, or otherwise held or processed on its behalf. Except as listed on Company Schedule 4.18(l), the Company has not received any notice of any claims, investigations, or alleged violations of law, regulation or contract with respect to Personal Information or information security-related incidents, nor has the Company notified in writing, or been required by any Data Protection Law to notify in writing, any person or entity of any Personal Information or information security-related incident. The Transactions will not result in the violation of any Data Protection Laws or the privacy policies of the Company.
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4.19 Healthcare Laws.
(a) The Company is, and has been since February 29, 2020, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Healthcare Laws, including (i) the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”); (ii) the Public Health Service Act (“PHSA”); (iii) all federal or state criminal or civil fraud and abuse Laws (including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7(b)), the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7(a)), the Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7(h)), the Exclusion Law (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7), the Criminal False Statements Law (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7b(a)), Stark Law (42 U.S.C. §1395nn), the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§3729 et seq. 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7b(a)), HIPAA (42 U.S.C. §§1320d et seq.), and any comparable state or local Laws); and (iv) state licensing, disclosure and reporting requirements (all of the foregoing, collectively, “Healthcare Laws”). The Company has not received written notification of any pending Action from the FDA or any other similar regulatory authority alleging that any operation or activity of the Company is in material violation of any applicable Healthcare Law.
(b) All preclinical and clinical (if any) investigations conducted or sponsored by the Company and intended to be submitted to a regulatory authority to support a regulatory approval are being conducted in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Healthcare Laws administered or issued by the applicable Authority.
(c) All material reports, documents, claims, permits and notices required to be filed, maintained or furnished to the FDA or any other regulatory authority by the Company have been so filed, maintained or furnished. To the Knowledge of the Company, all such reports, documents, claims, permits and notices were materially complete and accurate on the date filed (or were corrected in or supplemented by a subsequent filing). Neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any officer, employee or agent of the Company has (i) made an untrue statement of a material fact or any fraudulent statement to the FDA or any other regulatory authority, (ii) failed to disclose a material fact required to be disclosed to the FDA or any other regulatory authority or (iii) committed an act, made a statement, or failed to make a statement that, at the time such disclosure was made, would reasonably be expected to provide a reasonable basis for the FDA or any other regulatory authority to invoke its policy respecting “Fraud, Untrue Statements of Material Facts, Bribery, and Illegal Gratuities”, set forth in 56 Fed. Reg. 46191 (September 10, 1991) or any similar policy. Neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any officer, employee or agent of the Company has been convicted of any crime or engaged in any conduct for which debarment is mandated by 21 U.S.C. §335a(a) or any similar Healthcare Law or authorized by 21 U.S.C. §335a(b) or any similar Healthcare Law. Neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any officer, employee or agent of Company has been convicted of any crime or engaged in any conduct for which such person could be excluded from participating in the federal health care programs under Section 1128 of the Social Security Act of 1935 or any Healthcare Law. No Actions that would reasonably be expected to result in material debarment or exclusion are pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened in writing against the Company or, to Company’s Knowledge, any of its officers, employees, contractors, suppliers (in their capacities as such), agents or other entities or individuals performing research or work on behalf of the Company. The Company is not party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any Authority.
(d) The Company has not received any written notice, correspondence or other communication from the FDA or any other regulatory authority or from any institutional review board requiring the termination or suspension of ongoing or planned clinical trials (if any) conducted by, or on behalf of, the Company.
(e) No data generated by the Company with respect to its products is the subject of any written regulatory Action, either pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened, by any Authority relating to the truthfulness or scientific integrity of such data.
(f) To the Company’s Knowledge, no product manufactured or distributed by the Company is (i) adulterated within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. §351 (or any similar Healthcare Law), (ii) misbranded within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. § 352 (or any similar Healthcare Law) or (iii) a product that is otherwise in violation of the FDCA or PHSA (or any other Healthcare Law). Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s Knowledge, any of its respective contract manufacturers has received any FDA Form 483, warning letter, untitled letter, or other similar correspondence or written notice from the FDA or any other regulatory authority alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any applicable Healthcare Laws or Permits issued to the Company by the FDA or any other regulatory authority. To the Company’s Knowledge, none of its contract manufacturers, is, or has been, subject to a shutdown and/or import or export prohibition imposed by FDA or another regulatory authority. To the Company’s Knowledge, no event has occurred which would reasonably be expected to lead to any claim, suit, proceeding, investigation, enforcement, inspection or other action by any regulatory authority or any FDA warning letter, untitled letter, or request or requirement to make material changes to the Company products or the manner in which such products are manufactured or distributed.
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(g) Neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, Affiliate or other Person acting on behalf of the Company has committed an act, made a statement, or failed to take any action or make a statement that, at the time such statement, disclosure, commission was made or failed to be made, in each case, would constitute a material violation of any Healthcare Law.
4.20 Accounts Payable; Affiliate Loans.
(a) The Company does not have any accounts receivable. The accounts payable of the Company reflected on the Company Financial Statements, and all accounts payable arising subsequent to the date thereof, arose from bona fide transactions in the ordinary course consistent with past practice.
(b) The information set forth on Company Schedule 4.20(b) separately identifies any and all accounts, receivables or notes of the Company which are owed by any Affiliate of the Company. Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.20(b), the Company is not indebted to any of its Affiliates and no Affiliates are indebted to the Company.
4.21 Employees; Employment Matters.
(a) Company Schedule 4.21(a) sets forth a true, correct and complete list of each of the five highest compensated officers or employees of the Company as of the date hereof, setting forth the name, title, current salary or compensation rate for each such person and total compensation (including bonuses and commissions) paid to each such person for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
(b) Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.21(b), the Company is not a party to or subject to any collective bargaining agreement, or any similar agreement, and there has been no activity or proceeding by a labor union or representative thereof to organize any employees of the Company. There is no labor strike, material slowdown or material work stoppage or lockout pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, and none of the Company has experienced any strike, material slowdown or material work stoppage, lockout or other collective labor action by or with respect to its employees.
(c) There are no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Actions against the Company under any worker’s compensation policy or long-term disability policy. There is no unfair labor practice charge or complaint pending before any applicable Authority relating to the Company or any employee or other service provider thereof.
(d) The Company is and has been in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws relating to employment of labor, including all applicable Laws relating to wages, hours, overtime, collective bargaining, employment discrimination, civil rights, safety and health, workers’ compensation, pay equity, classification of employees and independent contractors, and the collection and payment of withholding or social security Taxes. The Company has met in all material respects all requirements required by Law relating to the employment of foreign citizens, and the Company does not currently employ, or has ever employed, any Person who was not permitted to work in the jurisdiction in which such Person was employed.
(e) To the Knowledge of the Company, no employee of the Company, in the ordinary course of his or her duties, has breached or will breach any obligation to a former employer in respect of any covenant against competition or soliciting clients or employees or servicing clients or any confidentiality or proprietary right of any former employer.
(f) To the Knowledge of the Company, no allegations of sexual harassment have been made to the Company against any individual in his or her capacity as director or an employee of the Company at a level of Senior Vice President or above.
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(g) Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.21(g), the Company has not paid or promised to pay any bonus to any employee in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.
4.22 Withholding. Except as disclosed on Company Schedule 4.22, all obligations of the Company applicable to its employees, whether arising by operation of Law, by Contract, by past custom or otherwise, or attributable to payments by the Company to trusts or other funds or to any governmental agency, with respect to unemployment compensation benefits, social security benefits or any other benefits for its employees through the date hereof have been paid or adequate accruals therefor have been made on the Company Financial Statements. Except as disclosed on Company Schedule 4.22, all reasonably anticipated obligations of the Company with respect to such employees (except for those related to wages during the pay period immediately prior to the Closing Date and arising in the ordinary course of business), whether arising by operation of Law, by contract, by past custom, or otherwise, for salaries and holiday pay, bonuses and other forms of compensation payable to such employees in respect of the services rendered by any of them prior to the date hereof have been or will be paid by the Company prior to the Closing Date.
4.23 Employee Benefits.
(a) Company Schedule 4.23(a) sets forth a correct and complete list of all material Plans. With respect to each material Plan, the Company has made available to Parent or its counsel a true and complete copy, to the extent applicable, of: (i) each writing constituting a part of such Plan and all amendments thereto, including all plan documents, material employee communications, benefit schedules, trust agreements, and insurance contracts and other funding vehicles; (ii) the most recent annual report and accompanying schedule; (iii) the current summary plan description and any material modifications thereto; (iv) the most recent annual financial and actuarial reports; (v) the most recent determination letter received by the Company from the Internal Revenue Service regarding the tax-qualified status of such Plan; and (vi) the most recent written results of all required compliance testing.
(b) No Plan is (i) subject to Title IV or Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 or 4971 of the Code, (ii) a “multiemployer plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA) or (iii) a plan that has two or more contributing sponsors at least two of whom are not under common control, within the meaning of Section 4063 of ERISA, and none of the Company, or any ERISA Affiliate, has withdrawn at any time from any multiemployer plan or incurred any withdrawal liability which remains unsatisfied, and no events have occurred and no circumstances exist that could reasonably be expected to result in any such liability to the Company.
(c) With respect to each Plan that is intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code, such Plan, including its related trust, has received a determination letter (or opinion letters in the case of any prototype plans) from the Internal Revenue Service that it is so qualified and that its trust is exempt from Tax under Section 501(a) of the Code, and to the Knowledge of the Company, nothing has occurred with respect to the operation of any such Plan that could cause the loss of such qualification or exemption or the imposition of any material liability, penalty or tax under ERISA or the Code. No stock or other securities issued by the Company forms or has formed any part of the assets of any Plan that is intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code.
(d) There are no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened Actions against or relating to the Plans or the assets of any of the trusts under such Plans (other than routine benefits claims). No Plan is presently under audit or examination (nor has written notice been received by the Company of a potential audit or examination) by any Authority.
(e) Each Plan has been established, administered and funded in all material respects accordance with its terms and in compliance in all material respects with the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and other applicable Laws. There is not now, nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, do any circumstances exist that could give rise to, any requirement for the posting of security with respect to any Plan or the imposition of any Lien on the assets of the Company under ERISA or the Code. All premiums due or payable with respect to insurance policies funding any Plan have been made or paid in full or, to the extent not required to be made or paid on or before the date hereof, have been fully reflected on the Company Financial Statements.
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(f) None of the Plans provide retiree health, welfare or life insurance benefits, except as may be required by Section 4980B of the Code, Section 601 of ERISA or any other applicable Law or at the expense of the participant or the participant’s beneficiary.
(g) Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the consummation of the Transactions could (either alone or in combination with another event) (i) result in any payment becoming due, or increase the amount of any compensation or benefits due, to any current or former employee of the Company with respect to any Plan; (ii) increase any benefits otherwise payable under any Plan; (iii) result in the acceleration of the time of payment or vesting of any such compensation or benefits; (iv) directly or indirectly cause the Company to transfer or set aside any assets to fund any material benefits under any Plan; or (v) limit or restrict the right to merge, materially amend, terminate or transfer the assets of any Plan on or following the Effective Time. No Person is entitled to receive any additional payment (including any tax gross-up or other payment) from the Company as a result of the imposition of the excise taxes required by Section 4999 of the Code or any taxes required by Section 409A of the Code.
(h) Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the consummation of the Transactions will (either alone or in combination with another event) result in the payment of any amount that would, individually or in combination with any other such payment, be an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code.
(i) Each Plan that is a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” (as defined in Section 409A(d)(1) of the Code) is in all material respects in documentary compliance with, and has been administered in all material respects in compliance with Section 409A of the Code.
4.24 Real Property.
(a) Except for the Lease, the Company does not own, or otherwise have an interest in, any Real Property, including under any Real Property lease, sublease, space sharing, license or other occupancy agreement. The Lease is the only Contract pursuant to which the Company leases or has the right to use any real property or right in any Real Property. The Company has good, valid and subsisting title to its respective leasehold estates in the offices described in the Lease, free and clear of all Liens, other than Permitted Liens. The Company has not breached or violated any local zoning ordinance, and no notice from any Person has been received by the Company or served upon the Company claiming any violation of any local zoning ordinance.
(b) With respect to the Lease: (i) it is valid, binding and in full force and effect; (ii) all rents and additional rents and other sums, expenses and charges due thereunder have been paid; (iii) the Company has been in peaceable possession of or otherwise been granted full access to the premises leased or used thereunder since the commencement of the original term thereof; (iv) no waiver, indulgence or postponement of the Company’s obligations thereunder has been granted by the lessor; (v) there exist no default or event of default thereunder by the Company or, to the Company’s Knowledge, by any other party thereto; (vi) there exists no occurrence, condition or act which, with the giving of notice, the lapse of time or the happening of any further event or condition, would become a default or event of default by the Company thereunder; and (vii) there are no outstanding claims of breach or indemnification or notice of default or termination thereunder. The Real Property leased or used by the Company is in a state of maintenance and repair in all material respects adequate and suitable for the purposes for which it is presently being used, and there are no material repair or restoration works likely to be required in connection with such leased Real Property.
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4.25 Tax Matters. Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.25:
(a) (i) The Company has duly and timely filed all income and other material Tax Returns which are required to be filed by or with respect to it (or has duly and timely requested an extension of time within which to file such Tax Returns), and has paid all income and other material Taxes and all income and other material Tax liabilities which have become due; (ii) all such Tax Returns are true, correct and complete and accurate in all material respects; (iii) there is no Action, since the Company’s formation (or pending or proposed in writing), with respect to Taxes of the Company; (iv) no statute of limitations in respect of the assessment or collection of any Taxes of the Company has been waived or extended, which waiver or extension is in effect and the Company is not presently contesting the Tax liability before any Taxing Authority or other Authority; (v) the Company has complied in all respects with all applicable Laws relating to the reporting, payment, collection and withholding of Taxes and has duly and timely withheld or collected, paid over to the applicable Taxing Authority and reported all Taxes (including income, social security and other payroll Taxes) required to be withheld or collected by the Company in a timely manner; (vi) no stock transfer Tax, sales Tax, use Tax, real estate transfer Tax or other similar Tax will be imposed on the transfer of the shares of Company Capital Stock or the Company Options pursuant to this Agreement; (vii) there is no outstanding request for a ruling from any Taxing Authority, request for consent by a Taxing Authority for a change in a method of accounting, subpoena or request for information by any Taxing Authority or agreement with any Taxing Authority with respect to the Company; (viii) there is no Lien (other than Permitted Liens) for Taxes upon the Company or any of the assets of the Company; (ix) no claim has ever been made by a Taxing Authority in a jurisdiction where the Company has not paid any Tax or filed Tax Returns, asserting that the Company is or may be subject to Tax in such jurisdiction, the Company is not nor has it ever been subject to Tax in any country other than the country of incorporation of the Company by virtue of having a permanent establishment or other place of business in that country, and the Company is and has always been tax resident solely in its country of incorporation; (x) the Company has provided to Parent true, complete and correct copies of all Tax Returns relating to, and all audit reports and correspondence relating to each proposed adjustment, if any, made by any Taxing Authority with respect to, any taxable period ending after December 31, 2019; (xi) there is no outstanding power of attorney from the Company authorizing anyone to act on behalf of the Company in connection with any Tax, Tax Return or Action relating to any Tax or Tax Return of the Company; (xii) the Company is not, and has never been, a party to any Tax sharing, allocation, indemnification or similar Contract; (xiii) the Company is not and has never been included in any consolidated, combined or unitary Tax Return and the Company does not have any liability for Taxes as a result of having been a member of any affiliated group within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, or any similar affiliated or consolidated group for Tax purposes under any state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law (other than a group the common parent of which is the Company), or has any liability for the Taxes of any Person (other than the Company) under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar provision of any state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law), as a transferee or successor, by Contract (other than Contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, the primary purpose of which is not Tax) or otherwise; (xiv) to the Knowledge of the Company, no issue has been raised by a Taxing Authority in any prior Action relating to the Company with respect to any Tax for any period which, by application of the same or similar principles, could reasonably be expected to result in a proposed Tax deficiency of the Company for any other period; and (xv) except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.25, the Company has not requested any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return, which Tax Return has since not been filed.
(b) The Company will not be required to include any material amount in taxable income, exclude any material item of deduction or loss from taxable income, or make any adjustment under Section 481 of the Code (or any similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. Law) for any taxable period (or a portion thereof) ending after the Closing Date as a result of any of the following that occurred or existed on or prior to the Closing Date: (i) a “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code, (ii) an installment sale or open transaction, (iii) a prepaid amount or deferred revenue realized or received by the Company prior to the Closing, (iv) an intercompany item under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-13 or an excess loss account under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-19, (v) a change in the accounting method of the Company pursuant to Section 481 of the Code or any similar provision of the Code or the use of a method of accounting with respect to any transaction that occurred on or before the Closing Date, (vi) any inclusion under Section 951(a) or Section 951A of the Code attributable to (A) “subpart F income,” within the meaning of Section 952 of the Code, (B) direct or indirect holding of “United States property,” within the meaning of Section 956 of the Code, (C) “global intangible low-taxed income,” as defined in Section 951A of the Code, in each case, determined as if the relevant taxable years ended on the Closing Date or (D) any inclusion under Section 965 of the Code or (vii) otherwise as a result of a transaction or accounting method that accelerated an item of deduction into periods ending on or before the Closing Date or a transaction or accounting method that deferred an item of income into periods beginning after the Closing Date. The Company has not deferred, pursuant to the CARES Act or the Presidential Memorandum Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations dated August 8, 2020, any Taxes which have not been paid.
(c) The unpaid Taxes or Tax liabilities of the Company (i) did not, as of the most recent fiscal month end, exceed the reserve for Tax liability (rather than any reserve for deferred Taxes established to reflect timing differences between book and Tax income) set forth on the Unaudited Financial Statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP and (ii) will not exceed that reserve as adjusted for the passage of time through the Closing Date in accordance with the past custom and practice of the Company in filing its Tax Return.
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(d) The Company has not knowingly taken any action that would reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment.
(e) The Company has been in compliance in all respects with all applicable transfer pricing Laws. The prices for any property or services (or for the use of any property), including interest and other prices for financial services, provided by or to the Company are arm’s-length prices for purposes of the relevant transfer pricing Laws.
(f) The Company is not and has not been a “United States real property holding corporation” within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code at any time during the five-year period ending on the Closing Date.
(g) The Company has not been a party to any transaction treated by the parties as a distribution of stock qualifying for tax-deferred treatment under Section 355 of the Code in the five (5) years prior to the date of this Agreement.
(h) The Company is and has been treated as a C corporation for U.S. federal, state and local income tax purposes since the date of its formation.
(i) The Company has not engaged in a “reportable transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b).
4.26 Environmental Laws. The Company has not (i) received any written notice of any alleged claim, violation of or liability under any Environmental Law which has not heretofore been cured or for which there is any remaining liability; (ii) disposed of, emitted, discharged, handled, stored, transported, used or released any Hazardous Materials; arranged for the disposal, discharge, storage or release of any Hazardous Materials; or exposed any employee or other individual to any Hazardous Materials so as to give rise to any liability or corrective or remedial obligation under any Environmental Laws; or (iii) entered into any agreement that may require it to guarantee, reimburse, pledge, defend, hold harmless or indemnify any other Person with respect to liabilities arising out of Environmental Laws or the Hazardous Material Activities of the Company. There are no Hazardous Materials in, on or under any properties owned, leased or used at any time by the Company that could give rise to any material liability or corrective or remedial obligation of the Company under any Environmental Laws.
4.27 Finders’ Fees. Except as set forth on Company Schedule 4.27, there is no investment banker, broker, finder or other intermediary which has been retained by or is authorized to act on behalf of the Company or any of its Affiliates who might be entitled to any fee or commission from the Company, Merger Sub, Parent or any of their Affiliates upon consummation of the Transactions.
4.28 Powers of Attorney and Suretyships. The Company does not have any general or special powers of attorney outstanding (whether as grantor or grantee thereof) or any obligation or liability (whether actual, accrued, accruing, contingent or otherwise) as guarantor, surety, co-signer, endorser, co-maker, indemnitor or otherwise in respect of the obligation of any Person.
4.29 Directors and Officers. Company Schedule 4.29 sets forth a true, correct and complete list of all directors and officers of the Company.
4.30 Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with anti-money laundering Laws in all applicable jurisdictions and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Authority (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no Action involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened.
4.31 Insurance. All forms of insurance owned or held by and insuring the Company are set forth on Company Schedule 4.31, and such policies are in full force and effect. All premiums with respect to such policies covering all periods up to and including the Closing Date have been or will be paid when due, and no notice of cancellation or termination has been received with respect to any such policy which was not replaced on substantially similar terms prior to the date of such cancellation or termination. There is no existing default or event which, with or without the passage of time or the giving of notice or both, would constitute noncompliance with, or a default under, any such policy or entitle any insurer to terminate or cancel any such policy. Such policies will not in any way be affected by or terminate or lapse by reason of the Transactions. The insurance policies to which the Company is a party are sufficient for compliance with all requirements of all Contracts to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or any of its assets is bound. The Company has not been refused any insurance with respect to its assets or operations or had its coverage limited by any insurance carrier to which it has applied for any such insurance or with which it has carried insurance. The Company does not have any self-insurance arrangements.
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4.32 Related Party Transactions. Except as set forth in Company Schedule 4.32, as contemplated by this Agreement or as provided in the Company Financial Statements, no Company Stockholder, Affiliate of the Company, current or former director, manager, officer or employee of the Company or any immediate family member or Affiliate of any of the foregoing (a) is a party to any Contract, or has otherwise entered into any transaction or arrangement, with the Company or (b) owns any property or right, tangible or intangible, which is used by the Company (each, an “Affiliate Transaction”). None of the Contracts listed in Company Schedule 4.32 was entered into on a basis other than on arm’s length.
ARTICLE V
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB
Except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents filed with or furnished to the SEC prior to the date of this Agreement (other than any risk factor disclosures or other similar cautionary or predictive statements therein), Parent and Merger Sub (the “Parent Parties”) hereby represent and warrant to the Company that each of the following representations and warranties are true, correct and complete as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date
5.1 Corporate Existence and Power. The Parent and Merger Sub are each corporations duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware. Merger Sub does not hold and has not held any material assets or incurred any material liabilities, and has not carried on any business activities other than in connection with the Merger.
5.2 Corporate Authorization. The execution, delivery and performance by the Parent Parties of this Agreement and the Additional Agreements to which they are or will be parties and the consummation by the Parent Parties of the Transactions are within the corporate powers of the Parent Parties and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Parent Parties. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Parent Parties and constitutes, and upon the execution and delivery thereof, each Additional Agreement to which a Parent Party is a party, will constitute, a valid and legally binding agreement of the applicable Parent Party, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions. This Agreement and the Additional Agreements to which a Parent Party is or will be party and the Transactions have been duly approved by Parent, on behalf of itself and in its capacity as the sole shareholder of Merger Sub. Approval by the affirmative vote of the holders of the requisite number of shares of Parent Common Stock under the Parent Certificate of Incorporation, the Parent Bylaws and the DGCL, present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, at the Parent Stockholder Meeting (assuming a quorum is present) required to approve (a) the Merger Proposal, (b) the Charter Amendment Proposal, (c) the Incentive Plan Proposal and (d) the Stock Issuance Proposal (the approval by Parent’s stockholders of all of the following, collectively, the “Parent Stockholder Approval”) are the only votes of the holders of any of Parent’s capital stock necessary for Parent to adopt this Agreement and approve the Merger and the consummation of the other Transactions.
5.3 Governmental Authorization. Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties set forth in Section 4.3, neither the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement requires any consent, approval, license or other action by or in respect of, or registration, declaration or filing with any Authority, except pursuant to the HSR Act and for the filing of the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware pursuant to the DGCL.
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5.4 Non-Contravention. The execution, delivery and performance by the Parent Parties of this Agreement do not and will not (a) contravene or conflict with the organizational or constitutive documents of the Parent Parties, or (b) contravene or conflict with or constitute a violation of any provision of any Law or any Order binding upon the Parent Parties.
5.5 Finders’ Fees. Except for Jefferies LLC, SVB Leerink LLC and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, there is no investment banker, broker, finder or other intermediary which has been retained by or is authorized to act on behalf of the Parent Parties or their Affiliates who might be entitled to any fee or commission from the Company, Merger Sub, Parent or any of their Affiliates upon consummation of the Transactions.
5.6 Issuance of Shares. The Closing Payment Shares, when issued in accordance with this Agreement, will be duly authorized and validly issued, and will be fully paid and nonassessable.
5.7 Capitalization.
(a) The authorized capital stock of Parent consists of 100,000,000 Parent Class A Shares of which 20,727,500 are outstanding, 10,000,000 Parent Class B Shares of which 5,031,250 are issued and outstanding, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, none of which are issued and outstanding, in each case as of the date of this Agreement. Except as contemplated by this Agreement or any of the Additional Agreements, no other shares of capital stock or other voting securities of Parent are issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding. All issued and outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and are not subject to, and were not issued in violation of, any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of the DGCL, Parent’s organizational documents or any contract to which Parent is a party or by which Parent is bound. Except as set forth in Parent’s organizational documents, there are no outstanding contractual obligations of Parent to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of Parent Common Stock or any capital equity of Parent. There are no outstanding contractual obligations of Parent to provide funds to, or make any investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any other Person.
(b) The Merger Sub is authorized to issue 100 shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Merger Sub Common Stock”), of which 100 shares of Merger Sub Common Stock are issued and outstanding as of the date hereof. No other shares or other voting securities of Merger Sub are issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding. All issued and outstanding shares of Merger Sub Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and are not subject to, and were not issued in violation of, any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of the DGCL, the Merger Sub’s organizational documents or any contract to which Merger Sub is a party or by which Merger Sub is bound. There are no outstanding contractual obligations of Merger Sub to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of Merger Sub Common Stock or any equity capital of Merger Sub. There are no outstanding contractual obligations of Merger Sub to provide funds to, or make any investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any other Person.
5.8 Information Supplied. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Parent Parties expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the filings with the SEC and mailings to Parent’s stockholders with respect to the solicitation of proxies to approve the Transactions applicable to Parent and the Additional Agreements, if applicable, will, at the date of filing or mailing, at the time of the Parent Stockholder Meeting or at the Effective Time, 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 (subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth in the materials provided by Parent or included in the Parent SEC Documents, the Additional Parent SEC Documents, the SEC Statement or any Other Filing).
5.9 Trust Fund. As of the date of this Agreement, Parent has at least $201,200,000 in the trust fund established by Parent for the benefit of its public stockholders (the “Trust Fund”) in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”) at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., and such monies are invested in “government securities” (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940) and held in trust by the Trustee pursuant to the Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of February 16, 2021, between Parent and the Trustee (the “Trust Agreement”). The Trust Agreement is valid and in full force and effect and enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions, and has not been amended or modified. There are no separate agreements, side letters or other agreements or understandings (whether written or unwritten, express or implied) that would cause the description of the Trust Agreement in the Parent SEC Documents to be inaccurate in any material respect or that would entitle any Person (other than stockholders of Parent holding Parent Class A Shares sold in Parent’s IPO who shall have elected to redeem their Parent Class A Shares pursuant to the Parent Certificate of Incorporation) to any portion of the proceeds in the Trust Account. Prior to the Closing, none of the funds held in the Trust Account may be released except in accordance with the Trust Agreement and the Parent Certificate of Incorporation. The Parent has performed all material obligations required to be performed by it to date under, and is not in material default or delinquent in performance or any other respect (claimed or actual) in connection with, the Trust Agreement, and, to the Knowledge of Parent, no event has occurred which, with due notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a material default thereunder. There are no claims or proceedings pending with respect to the Trust Account.
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5.10 Listing. The Parent Class A Shares are listed on Nasdaq, with trading ticker “FSII.”
5.11 Board Approval. The Parent’s Board of Directors (including the transaction committee and any other required committee or subgroup of such board) has, as of the date of this Agreement, (a) declared the advisability of the Transactions, (b) determined that the Transactions are in the best interests of the stockholders of Parent, (c) determined that the Merger constitute a “Business Combination” as such term is defined in the Parent Certificate of Incorporation and the Parent Bylaws and (d) recommended to the stockholders of Parent to adopt and approve each of the Parent Proposals (the “Parent Board Recommendation”).
5.12 Parent SEC Documents and Financial Statements.
(a) The Parent has filed all forms, reports, schedules, statements and other documents, including any exhibits thereto, required to be filed or furnished by Parent with the SEC since Parent’s formation under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act, together with any amendments, restatements or supplements thereto, and will use commercially reasonable efforts to file all such forms, reports, schedules, statements and other documents required to be filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement (the “Additional Parent SEC Documents”). The Parent has made available to the Company copies in the form filed with the SEC of all of the following, except to the extent available in full without redaction on the SEC’s website through EDGAR for at least two (2) days prior to the date of this Agreement: (i) Parent’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K for each fiscal year of Parent beginning with the first year that Parent was required to file such a form, (ii) all proxy statements relating to Parent’s meetings of stockholders (whether annual or special) held, and all information statements relating to stockholder consents, since the beginning of the first fiscal year referred to in clause (i) above, (iii) its Form 8-Ks filed since the beginning of the first fiscal year referred to in clause (i) above, and (iv) all other forms, reports, registration statements and other documents (other than preliminary materials if the corresponding definitive materials have been provided to the Company pursuant to this Section 5.12) filed by Parent with the SEC since Parent’s formation (the forms, reports, registration statements and other documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) above, whether or not available through EDGAR, collectively, the “Parent SEC Documents”).
(b) The Parent SEC Documents were, and the Additional Parent SEC Documents will be, prepared in all material respects in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations thereunder. The Parent SEC Documents did not, and the Additional Parent SEC Documents will not, at the time they were or are filed, as the case may be, with the SEC (except to the extent that information contained in any Parent SEC Document or Additional Parent SEC Document has been or is revised or superseded by a later filed Parent SEC Document or Additional Parent SEC Document, then on the date of such filing) 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; provided, however, that the foregoing does not apply to statements in or omissions in any information supplied or to be supplied by the Company expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the SEC Statement or Other Filing. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no outstanding or unresolved comments in comment letters received from the SEC with respect to the Parent SEC Documents.
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(c) The Parent SEC Documents contain true and complete copies of the applicable Parent Financial Statements. The Parent Financial Statements (i) fairly present in all material respects the financial position of Parent as at the respective dates thereof, and the results of its operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of any unaudited interim financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes), (ii) were prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except, in the case of any audited financial statements, as may be indicated in the notes thereto and subject, in the case of any unaudited financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes), (iii) in the case of the audited Parent Financial Statements, were audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and (iv) comply in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements and with the rules and regulations of the SEC, the Exchange Act and the Securities Act in effect as of the respective dates thereof (including Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, as applicable).
(d) As used in this Section 5.12, the term “file” shall be broadly construed to include any manner in which a document or information is furnished, supplied or otherwise made available to the SEC.
5.13 Books and Records. To Parent’s Knowledge, the Books and Records of Parent accurately and fairly, in reasonable detail, reflect the transactions and dispositions of assets of and the providing of services by Parent. Parent maintains procedures of internal controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed only in accordance with the respective management’s authorization; (ii) all income and expense items are promptly and properly recorded for the relevant periods in accordance with the revenue recognition and expense policies maintained by Parent, as permitted by U.S. GAAP; and (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with the respective management’s authorization. To Parent’s Knowledge, the Books and Records of Parent have been properly and accurately kept and completed in all material respects, and there are no material inaccuracies or discrepancies of any kind contained or reflected therein.
5.14 Certain Business Practices. Neither Parent, nor any director, officer, agent or employee of Parent (in their capacities as such) has (a) used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (b) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials, employees or political parties or campaigns, (c) violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or (d) made any other unlawful payment. Neither Parent, nor any director, officer, agent or employee of Parent (nor any Person acting on behalf of any of the foregoing, but solely in his or her capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent of Parent) has, since the IPO, directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any 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 Parent or assist Parent in connection with any actual or proposed transaction, which, if not given or continued in the future, would reasonably be expected to (i) adversely affect the business or prospects of Parent and (ii) subject Parent to suit or penalty in any private or governmental Action.
5.15 Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of Parent are and have at all times been conducted in compliance with the Money Laundering Laws, and no Action involving Parent with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened.
5.16 Affiliate Transactions. Except as described in Parent SEC Documents, there are no transactions, agreements, arrangements or understandings between Parent or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and any director, officer, employee, stockholder, warrant holder or Affiliate of Parent or any of its subsidiaries, on the other hand.
5.17 Litigation. There is no (a) Action pending, or, to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing against Parent or any of its subsidiaries or that affects its or their assets or properties, or (b) Order outstanding against Parent or any of its subsidiaries or that affects its or their assets or properties. Neither Parent nor any of its subsidiaries is party to a settlement or similar agreement regarding any of the matters set forth in the preceding sentence that contains any ongoing obligations, restrictions or liabilities (of any nature) that are material to Parent and its subsidiaries.
5.18 Expenses, Indebtedness and Other Liabilities. Parent does not have any Indebtedness or other liabilities, except as incurred in the ordinary course of business or as a result of its activities in connection with the Merger and the other Transactions.
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5.19 Tax Matters.
(a) (i) Parent has duly and timely filed all income and other material Tax Returns which are required to be filed by or with respect to it (or has duly and timely requested an extension of time within which to file such Tax Returns), and has paid all income and other material Taxes and all income and other material Tax liabilities which have become due; (ii) all such Tax Returns are true, correct and complete and accurate in all material respects; (iii) there is no Action, within the past five years (or pending or proposed in writing), with respect to Taxes of Parent; (iv) no statute of limitations in respect of the assessment or collection of any Taxes of Parent has been waived or extended, which waiver or extension is in effect, and Parent is not presently contesting the Tax liability before any Taxing Authority or other Authority; (v) Parent has complied in all respects with all applicable Laws relating to the reporting, payment, collection and withholding of Taxes and has duly and timely withheld or collected, paid over to the applicable Taxing Authority and reported all Taxes (including income, social security and other payroll Taxes) required to be withheld or collected by Parent in a timely manner; (vi) there is no Lien (other than Permitted Liens) for Taxes upon Parent or any of the assets of Parent; (vii) no claim has ever been made by a Taxing Authority in a jurisdiction where Parent has not paid any Tax or filed Tax Returns, asserting that Parent is or may be subject to Tax in such jurisdiction, Parent is not nor has it ever been subject to Tax in any country other than the country of incorporation of Parent by virtue of having a permanent establishment or other place of business in that country, and Parent is and has always been tax resident solely in its country of incorporation; (viii) there is no outstanding power of attorney from Parent authorizing anyone to act on behalf of Parent in connection with any Tax, Tax Return or Action relating to any Tax or Tax Return of Parent; (ix) Parent is not, and has never been, a party to any Tax sharing, allocation, indemnification or similar Contract; (x) Parent is not and has never been included in any consolidated, combined or unitary Tax Return and Parent does not have any liability for Taxes as a result of having been a member of any affiliated group within the meaning of Section 1504(a) of the Code, or any similar affiliated or consolidated group for Tax purposes under any state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law (other than a group the common parent of which is Parent), or has any liability for the Taxes of any Person (other than Parent) under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar provision of any state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law), as a transferee or successor, by Contract (other than Contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, the primary purpose of which is not Tax) or otherwise; (xi) to the Knowledge of Parent, no issue has been raised by a Taxing Authority in any prior Action relating to Parent with respect to any Tax for any period which, by application of the same or similar principles, could reasonably be expected to result in a proposed Tax deficiency of Parent for any other period; and (xii) except with respect to Parent’s 2020 federal and state Tax Returns (which have not been filed, but for which Parent has filed an extension), Parent has not requested any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return, which Tax Return has since not been filed.
(b) The Parent will not be required to include any material amount in taxable income, exclude any material item of deduction or loss from taxable income, or make any adjustment under Section 481 of the Code (or any similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. Tax Law) for any taxable period (or a portion thereof) ending after the Closing Date as a result of any of the following that occurred or existed on or prior to the Closing Date: (i) a “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code, (ii) an installment sale or open transaction, (iii) a prepaid amount or deferred revenue realized or received by the Parent prior to the Closing, (iv) an intercompany item under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-13 or an excess loss account under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-19, (v) a change in the accounting method of Parent pursuant to Section 481 of the Code or any similar provision of the Code or the use of a method of accounting with respect to any transaction that occurred on or before the Closing Date, (vi) any inclusion under Section 951(a) or Section 951A of the Code attributable to (A) “subpart F income,” within the meaning of Section 952 of the Code, (B) direct or indirect holding of “United States property,” within the meaning of Section 956 of the Code, (C) “global intangible low-taxed income,” as defined in Section 951A of the Code, in each case, determined as if the relevant taxable years ended on the Closing Date or (D) any inclusion under Section 965 of the Code or (vii) otherwise as a result of a transaction or accounting method that accelerated an item of deduction into periods ending on or before the Closing Date or a transaction or accounting method that deferred an item of income into periods beginning after the Closing Date. The Parent has not deferred, pursuant to the CARES Act or the Presidential Memorandum Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations dated August 8, 2020, any Taxes which have not been paid.
(c) The unpaid Taxes or Tax liabilities of Parent (i) did not, as of the most recent fiscal month end, exceed the reserve for Tax liability (rather than any reserve for deferred Taxes established to reflect timing differences between book and Tax income) set forth on the Unaudited Financial Statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP and (ii) will not exceed that reserve as adjusted for the passage of time through the Closing Date in accordance with the past custom and practice of Parent in filing its Tax Return.
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(d) The Parent has been in compliance in all respects with all applicable transfer pricing Laws. The prices for any property or services (or for the use of any property), including interest and other prices for financial services, provided by or to Parent are arm’s-length prices for purposes of the relevant transfer pricing Laws.
(e) The Parent and Merger Sub have not knowingly taken any action that would reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment.
(f) Parent is not and has not been a “United States real property holding corporation” within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code at any time during the five-year period ending on the Closing Date.
(g) The Parent has not been a party to any transaction treated by the parties as a distribution of stock qualifying for tax-deferred treatment under Section 355 of the Code in the five (5) years prior to the date of this Agreement.
(h) Parent has not engaged in a “reportable transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b).
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ARTICLE VI
COVENANTS OF THE PARTIES
6.1 Conduct of the Business. Each of the Company and Parent covenants and agrees that:
(a) From the date hereof through the Closing Date, each party shall conduct business only in the ordinary course (including the payment of accounts payable and the collection of accounts receivable) and shall not enter into any material transactions outside the ordinary course of business without the prior written consent of the other party, and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its business relationships with employees, clients, suppliers, contract manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations and other third parties. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, from the date hereof through and including the Closing Date, without the other party’s prior written consent (which shall not be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed), neither the Company nor Parent nor Merger Sub shall:
(i) except as contemplated by this Agreement or any Additional Agreement, amend, modify or supplement its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or other organizational or governing documents, or engage in any reorganization, reclassification, liquidation, dissolution or similar transaction;
(ii) materially amend, waive any provision of, terminate prior to its scheduled expiration date, or otherwise compromise in any material way or relinquish any material right under, (x) with respect to the Company, any Material Contract or (y) with respect to Parent, any material agreement or Subscription Agreement (in each case other than ministerial changes that do not have an economic impact);
(iii) solely with respect to the Company, enter into any Contract, agreement, lease, license or commitment, including for capital expenditures, that would be considered a Material Contract if in effect on of the date hereof, other than Contracts currently in negotiations that are set forth on Schedule 6.1(a)(iii) or the entry into Contracts that are expressly permitted under another provision of this Section 6.1(a);
(iv) make any capital expenditures in excess of $500,000 (individually or in the aggregate), except as specifically authorized by, or pursuant to a budget approved by, the Board of Directors of the Company;
(v) (A) sell, assign, transfer, lease, license, sublicense, convey, covenant not to assert, pledge, or otherwise encumber or subject to any Lien, abandon, cancel, let lapse, or otherwise dispose of any of the Company’s or Parent’s, as applicable, material tangible or intangible assets, except pursuant to existing contracts or commitments disclosed herein or entered into in the ordinary course of business or (B) disclose any trade secrets owned by the Company to any Person other than pursuant to a written agreement sufficiently restricting the disclosure and use thereof by such Person;
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(vi) pay, declare or promise to pay any dividends or other distributions with respect to its capital stock or other equity securities; or pay, declare or promise to pay any other amount to any stockholder, shareholder or other equityholder in its capacity as such (which for the avoidance of doubt does not include payment of salary, benefits, commissions and other regular and necessary customary payments made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices);
(vii) except as contemplated by this Agreement or any Additional Agreement, amend any term, right or obligation with respect to any outstanding shares of its capital stock or other equity securities;
(viii) (A) make any loan, advance or capital contribution to any Person; (B) incur any Indebtedness, including drawings under the lines of credit, if any, other than loans evidenced by promissory notes made to Parent as working capital advances as described in the Prospectus; or (C) repay or satisfy any Indebtedness, other than the repayment of Indebtedness in accordance with the terms thereof;
(ix) suffer or incur any Lien, except for Permitted Liens, on the Company’s or Parent’s, as applicable, assets;
(x) delay, accelerate or cancel, or waive any material right with respect to, any receivables or Indebtedness owed to the Company or Parent, as applicable, or write off or make reserves against the same;
(xi) except as contemplated by this Agreement or any Additional Agreement, merge or consolidate or enter a similar transaction with, or acquire all or substantially all of the assets or business of, any other Person; make any material investment in any Person; or be acquired by any other Person; form any Subsidiaries;
(xii) terminate or allow to lapse any insurance policy protecting any of the Company’s or Parent’s assets, unless simultaneously with such termination or lapse, a replacement policy underwritten by an insurance company of nationally recognized standing having comparable deductions and providing coverage substantially equivalent to the coverage under the terminated or lapsed policy for, to the extent commercially available, substantially similar premiums or less is in full force and effect;
(xiii) adopt any severance, retention or other employee health and welfare benefit plan or fail to continue to make timely contributions to each employee health and welfare benefit plan in accordance with the terms thereof;
(xiv) institute, settle or agree to settle any Action before any Authority, in each case in excess of $250,000 (exclusive of any amounts covered by insurance) or that imposes injunctive or other non-monetary relief on such party;
(xv) except as required by U.S. GAAP, make any material change in its accounting principles, methods or practices or write down the value of its assets;
(xvi) change its principal place of business or jurisdiction of organization;
(xvii) issue, redeem or repurchase any Equity Interests (other than (A) with respect to the Company in connection with the exercise of any Company Option outstanding on the date hereof, (B) with respect to the Company the repurchase of unvested Company Restricted Stock upon a termination of service, (C) with respect to shares of Company Common Stock reserved for issuance as of the date hereof under and in accordance with the Company Equity Incentive Plan, (D) with respect to Parent, any redemption by Parent of Parent Class A Shares held by its public stockholder in accordance with Section 8.3, (E) with respect to Parent, as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the Subscription Agreements or any other Additional Agreement or (F) with respect to the Company, any financing transaction in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000 (a “Bridge Financing”), if the Company reasonably deems such Bridge Financing necessary to continue operations);
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(xviii) (A) make, change or revoke any material Tax election; (B) change any annual Tax accounting periods; (C) amend, modify or otherwise change any filed material Tax Return; (D) settle or compromise any material claim, notice, audit report or assessment in respect of Taxes of the Company; (E) enter into any Tax allocation, Tax sharing, Tax indemnity or other “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code relating to any Taxes of the Company; (F) surrender or forfeit or allow to expire any right to claim a material Tax refund; or (G) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any claim or assessment in respect of material Taxes or in respect to any material Tax attribute that would give rise to any claim or assessment of Taxes;
(xix) knowingly take any action, or knowingly fail to take any action, where such action or failure to act could reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment;
(xx) solely with respect to the Company, enter into any transaction with or distribute or advance any assets or property to any of its Affiliates, other than (x) the payment of salary and benefits in the ordinary course of business or (y) transactions in the ordinary course of business that (A) do not involve assets or properties that are, individually or in the aggregate, material to the Business and (B) are approved by a disinterested majority of the Board of Directors of the Company;
(xxi) solely with respect to the Company, other than as required by a Plan, as set forth on Company Schedule 6.1(a)(xxi) or as explicitly contemplated hereunder, (A) grant any severance, retention, change in control or termination or similar pay, (B) except to the extent permitted under Section 6.1(a)(xvii), terminate, adopt, enter into or materially amend or grant any new awards under any Plan or any plan, policy, practice, program, agreement or other arrangement that would be deemed a Plan as of the date hereof, (C) increase the cash compensation, severance, termination or bonus opportunity of any existing employee, officer, director or other individual service provider, except such increases to any such individuals who are not directors or officers of the Company or its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice that do not exceed 5% individually or 3% in the aggregate, (D) take any action to amend or waive any performance or vesting criteria or to accelerate the time of payment or vesting of any compensation or benefit payable by the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries, (E) except as set forth in Company Schedule 6.1(a)(xxi)(E), hire or engage any new employee or individual independent contractor who is (1) an executive officer or (2) a key employee with an annual base compensation in excess of $350,000, (F) terminate the employment or engagement, other than for cause or due to the expiration of the applicable contract of any employee who is (1) an executive officer or (2) a key employee or service provider with an annual base compensation in excess of $350,000, (G) make any loan to any present or former employee or other individual service provider of the Company, other than advancement of expenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices, or (H) enter into, amend or terminate any collective bargaining agreement or other agreement with a labor union or labor organization;
(xxii) enter into any Affiliate Transactions; or
(xxiii) agree to do any of the foregoing.
6.2 Exclusivity.
(a) From the date hereof through the Closing Date, neither the Company, on one hand, nor Parent, on the other hand, shall, and such Persons shall cause each of their respective Representatives not to, directly or indirectly, (i) encourage, solicit, initiate, engage or participate in negotiations with any Person concerning any Alternative Transaction, (ii) take any other action intended or designed to facilitate the efforts of any Person relating to a possible Alternative Transaction or (iii) approve, recommend or enter into any Alternative Transaction or any Contract related to any Alternative Transaction. Immediately following the execution of this Agreement, the Company and the Parent shall each, and shall cause each of its respective Representatives to, terminate any existing discussion or negotiations with any Persons other than Parent, on the one hand, or the Company, on the other hand, concerning any Alternative Transaction; provided, however, the Company may continue existing licensing, collaboration, development and partnering discussions. Each party to this Agreement shall be responsible for any acts or omissions of any of its Representatives that, if they were the acts or omissions of such party, would be deemed a breach of such party’s obligations hereunder (it being understood that such responsibility shall be in addition to and not by way of limitation of any right or remedy the other party may have against such Representatives of such party with respect to any such acts or omissions). For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Alternative Transaction” means any of the following transactions involving the Company or the Parent (other than the Transactions): (A) any merger, consolidation, share exchange, business combination or other similar transaction or (B) any sale, lease, exchange, transfer or other disposition of all or a material portion of the assets of the Company or the Parent (other than sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business) or any class or series of the capital stock or other Equity Interests of the Company or the Parent in a single transaction or series of transactions.
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(b) In the event that there is an unsolicited proposal for, or an indication of interest in entering into, an Alternative Transaction, communicated in writing to the Company or any of its Representatives (each, an “Alternative Proposal”), the Company shall as promptly as practicable (and in any event within one (1) Business Day after receipt thereof) advise Parent, orally and in writing, of such Alternative Proposal and the material terms and conditions thereof (including any changes thereto) and the identity of the Person making any such Alternative Proposal. The Company shall keep Parent informed on a reasonably current basis of material developments with respect to any such Alternative Proposal.
6.3 Access to Information. From the date hereof through and including the Closing Date, the Company and Parent shall each, to the best of its ability, (a) continue to give the other party, its legal counsel and its other representatives full access to its offices, properties and Books and Records, (b) furnish to the other party, its legal counsel and its other representatives such information relating to the business of the Company and Parent as such Persons may request and (c) cause its employees, legal counsel, accountants and other representatives to cooperate with the other party in its investigation of the Business (in the case of the Company) or the business of Parent (in the case of Parent); provided that no investigation pursuant to this Section 6.3 (or any investigation made prior to the date hereof) shall affect any representation or warranty given by the Company or Parent and provided, further, that any investigation pursuant to this Section 6.3 shall be conducted in such manner as not to interfere unreasonably with the conduct of the Business of the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary expressed or implied in this Agreement, neither party shall be required to provide the access described above or disclose any information to the other party if doing so is, in such party’s reasonable judgement, reasonably likely to (i) result in a waiver of attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or similar privilege or (ii) violate any contract to which it is a party or to which it is subject or applicable Law.
6.4 Notices of Certain Events. Each of Parent and the Company shall promptly notify the other party of:
(a) any notice or other communication from any Person credibly alleging or raising the possibility that the consent of such Person is or may be required in connection with the Transactions or that the Transactions might give rise to any Action or other rights by or on behalf of such Person or result in the loss of any rights or privileges of the Company (or PubCo, post-Closing) to any such Person or create any Lien on any of the Company’s or PubCo’s assets;
(b) any notice or other communication from any Authority in connection with the Transactions;
(c) any Actions commenced (or to such party’s knowledge threatened) against, relating to or involving or otherwise affecting such party (including such party’s stockholders, equity, assets, business) or that relate to the consummation of the Transactions;
(d) the occurrence of any fact or circumstance which constitutes or results in, or would reasonably be expected to constitute or result in, a Material Adverse Effect; and
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(e) any inaccuracy of any representation or warranty of such party contained in this Agreement at any time during the term hereof, or any failure of such party to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it hereunder, that would reasonably be expected to cause any of the conditions set forth in ARTICLE IX not to be satisfied.
6.5 Cooperation with Form S-4/Proxy Statement; Other Filings.
(a) The Company shall promptly provide to Parent such information concerning the Company and the Company Securityholders as is either required by the federal securities laws or reasonably requested by Parent for inclusion in the proxy statement/prospectus and Offer Documents. As promptly as practicable after the receipt by Parent from the Company of all such information, Parent shall prepare and file with the SEC, and with all other applicable regulatory bodies, proxy materials for the purpose of soliciting proxies from holders of Parent Common Stock sufficient to obtain Parent Stockholder Approval at a meeting of holders of Parent Common Stock to be called and held for such purpose (the “Parent Stockholder Meeting”). Such proxy materials shall be in the form of a proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”), which shall be included in a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Form S-4”) filed by Parent with the SEC, pursuant to which the PubCo Common Shares issuable in the Merger shall be registered. Parent shall promptly respond to any SEC comments on the Form S-4, and shall request that the SEC declare the Form S-4 effective as promptly as practicable after receiving notification from the SEC that the SEC does not have any further comments on the Form S-4. Parent shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the S-4 is declared effective by the SEC prior to October 1, 2021. The Proxy Statement, the Form S-4 and the documents included or referred to therein, together with any supplements, amendments or exhibits thereto, are referred to herein as the “Offer Documents”.
(b) Parent shall (i) permit the Company and its counsel to review and comment on the Proxy Statement and Form S-4 and any exhibits, amendments or supplements thereto (or other related documents); (ii) consider any such comments in good faith; and (iii) consult with the Company and its counsel prior to filing the Proxy Statement and Form S-4 or any exhibit, amendment or supplement thereto. As promptly as practicable after receipt thereof, Parent shall provide to the Company and its counsel notice and a copy of all correspondence (or, to the extent such correspondence is oral, a summary thereof), including any comments from the SEC or its staff, between Parent or any of its representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC or its staff or other government officials, on the other hand, with respect to the Proxy Statement and the S-4, and, in each case, shall consult with the Company and its counsel concerning any such correspondence. Parent shall, with respect to any response letters to any comments from the SEC, consider any comments from the Company and its counsel in good faith. Parent will advise the Company, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when the Proxy Statement or the S-4 or any amendment or supplement thereto has been filed with the SEC and the time when the Form S-4 declared effective or any stop order relating to the Form S-4 is issued. Parent covenants that none of Parent, the Parent’s Board of Directors nor any committee of the Parent’s Board of Directors shall withdraw or modify, or propose publicly or by formal action of Parent, the Parent’s Board of Directors or any committee of the Parent’s Board of Directors to withdraw or modify, in a manner adverse to the Company, the Parent Board Recommendation or any other recommendation by Parent, the Parent’s Board of Directors or any committee of the Parent’s Board of Directors in connection with any of the Parent Proposals (in each case, a “Change in Recommendation”); provided, however, that the Parent’s Board of Directors and/or any committee of the Parent’s Board of Directors may make a Change in Recommendation prior to obtaining the Parent Stockholder Approval if Parent’s Board of Directors or such committee determines in good faith, after consultation with and upon the advice of its outside legal counsel, that a failure to make a Change in Recommendation would constitute a breach by Parent’s Board of Directors or such committee of their respective fiduciary duties under applicable Law; provided, further, that Parent’s Board of Directors or such committee shall not be entitled to make, or agree or resolve to make, a Change in Recommendation unless (1) Parent has provided at least five (5) Business Days’ prior written notice to the Company advising that Parent’s Board of Directors and/or such committee proposes to take such action and which notice contains the material facts underlying Parent’s Board of Directors’ or such committee’s determination to make, or agree or resolve to make, a Change in Recommendation (a “Change in Recommendation Notice”), (2) during such five (5) Business Day period following the Company’s receipt of a Change in Recommendation Notice, the Parent’s Board of Directors and/or such committee has engaged in good faith negotiations with the Company and its Representatives (to the extent that the Company desires to so negotiate) to make such adjustments (which adjustments, to the extent accepted by the Parent’s Board of Directors (including the transaction committee and any other required committee or subgroup of such board), would be binding on the Company) in the terms and conditions of this Agreement so as to obviate the need for a Change in Recommendation and (3) following expiration of such five (5) Business Day period, the Parent’s Board of Directors (including the transaction committee and any other required committee or subgroup of such board) reaffirms in good faith, after consultation with and upon the advice of its outside legal counsel, that the failure to make a Change in Recommendation would constitute a breach by Parent’s Board of Directors or such committee of their respective fiduciary duties under applicable Law; provided, further, that neither Parent’s Board of Directors nor any committee thereof shall be entitled to exercise its rights to make a Change in Recommendation pursuant to this Section 6.5(b) as a result of an offer, proposal or inquiry relating to any merger, sale of ownership interests and/or assets, recapitalization or similar transaction involving Parent.
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(c) As soon as practicable following the date on which the Form S-4 is declared effective by the SEC (such effective date, the “S-4 Effective Date”), Parent shall distribute the Proxy Statement to the holders of Parent Common Stock and, pursuant thereto, shall call the Parent Stockholder Meeting in accordance with its organizational documents and the laws of the State of Delaware and, subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, solicit proxies from such holders to vote in favor of the adoption of this Agreement and the approval of the Transactions and the other matters presented to Parent’s stockholders for approval or adoption at the Parent Stockholder Meeting, including the matters described in Section 6.5(e).
(d) Parent and the Company shall comply with all applicable provisions of and rules under the Securities Act and Exchange Act and all applicable Laws of the State of Delaware and Nasdaq in the preparation, filing and distribution of the Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement (or any amendment or supplement thereto), as applicable, the solicitation of proxies under the Proxy Statement and the calling and holding of the Parent Stockholder Meeting. Without limiting the foregoing, Parent shall ensure that each of the Form S-4, as of the S-4 Effective Date, and the Proxy Statement, as of the date on which it is first distributed to Parent’s stockholders, and as of the date of the Parent Stockholder Meeting, does 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 misleading (provided that Parent shall not be responsible for the accuracy or completeness of any information relating to the Company or any other information furnished by the Company for inclusion in the Proxy Statement). In the event there is any tax opinion, comfort letter or other opinion required to be provided in connection with the Proxy Statement or Form S-4, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, neither this provision nor any other provision in this Agreement shall require counsel to the Parent, Merger Sub, or their tax advisors to provide an opinion that the Merger qualifies as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code or otherwise qualifies for the Intended Tax Treatment. The Company represents and warrants that the information relating to the Company supplied by the Company for inclusion in the Form S-4 or the Proxy Statement, as applicable, as of the S-4 Effective Date and the date on which the Proxy Statement (or any amendment or supplement thereto) is first distributed to Parent’s stockholders or at the time of the Parent Stockholder Meeting, does 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 misleading. If at any time prior to the Effective Time, a change in the information relating to the Company or any other information furnished by Parent, Merger Sub or the Company for inclusion in the Proxy Statement, which would make the preceding sentence incorrect, should be discovered by Parent, Merger Sub or the Company, as applicable, such party shall promptly notify the other parties of such change or discovery and an appropriate amendment or supplement describing such information shall be promptly filed with the SEC and, to the extent required by Law, disseminated to Parent’s stockholders. In connection therewith, Parent, Merger Sub and the Company shall instruct their respective employees, counsel, financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives to reasonably cooperate with Parent as relevant if required to achieve the foregoing.
(e) In accordance with the Parent Certificate of Incorporation and applicable securities Laws, including the DGCL and rules and regulations of Nasdaq in the Proxy Statement, Parent shall seek from the holders of Parent Common Stock the approval of the following proposals: (i) approval of the Merger (the “Merger Proposal”); (ii) adoption and approval of the PubCo COI, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G, including the change of the name of Parent to “Pardes Biosciences, Inc.” (the “Charter Amendment Proposal”); (iii) approval of the PubCo Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan Proposal”); (iv) approval of the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock to the Company Securityholders and the PIPE Investors in connection with the Merger under applicable exchange listing rules (the “Stock Issuance Proposal”); (v) approval to adjourn the Parent Stockholder Meeting, if necessary; and (vi) approval to obtain any and all other approvals necessary or advisable to effect the consummation of the Merger as determined by Parent (the proposals set forth in the forgoing clauses (i) through (vi) collectively, the “Parent Proposals”).
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(f) Parent, with the assistance of the Company, shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the S-4 and the Proxy Statement to “clear” comments from the SEC and the S-4 to become effective as promptly as reasonably practicable. The Offer Documents shall provide the public stockholders of Parent with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Parent Class A Shares at a price per share determined in accordance with the Parent Certificate of Incorporation, all in accordance with applicable Law and any applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. In accordance with the Parent Certificate of Incorporation, the proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used for the redemption of the Parent Class A Shares held by Parent’s public stockholders who have elected to redeem such shares, if any.
(g) Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in this Agreement or any Additional Agreements, Parent may make any public filing with respect to the Merger to the extent required by applicable Law after, to the extent reasonable, providing the Company and its counsel with an opportunity for review and comment.
(h) Parent shall call and hold the Parent Stockholder Meeting as promptly as practicable after the S-4 Effective Date for the purpose of seeking the approval of each of the Parent Proposals, and Parent shall consult in good faith with the Company with respect to the date on which such meeting is to be held. Parent shall use reasonable best efforts to solicit from its stockholders proxies in favor of the approval and adoption of the Merger, each Parent Proposal and this Agreement. The Company acknowledges that a substantial portion of the Proxy Statement shall include disclosure regarding the Company and its management, operations and financial condition. Accordingly, the Company agrees to as promptly as reasonably practical provide Parent with such information as shall be reasonably requested by Parent for inclusion in or attachment to the Proxy Statement. Each of the Company and Parent agrees that information provided by or on behalf of such party for inclusion in the Proxy Statement/Form S-4 (and/or any response to comments from the SEC or its staff in connection therewith) is accurate in all material respects and complies as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The Company shall make, and cause each Subsidiary to make, their managers, directors, officers and employees available to Parent and its counsel in connection with the drafting of such filings and mailings and responding in a timely manner to comments from the SEC. Parent and the Company shall respond in a timely manner to comments from the SEC; provided that, with respect to Parent, the Company complies with its obligations set forth in the preceding sentence.
6.6 Commercially Reasonable Efforts; Further Assurances; Governmental Consents.
(a) Except with respect to the matters set forth in Section 6.5, which shall be governed by the terms and condition of Section 6.5, or otherwise as subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, each party (other than the Stockholders’ Representative) shall use its reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary or desirable under applicable Laws, or as reasonably requested by the other parties, to consummate and implement expeditiously each of the Transactions, including using its reasonable best efforts to (i) obtain all necessary actions, nonactions, waivers, consents, approvals and other authorizations from all applicable Authorities prior to the Effective Time, (ii) avoid an Action by any Authority, and (iii) execute and deliver any additional instruments necessary to consummate the Transactions. The parties (other than the Stockholders’ Representative) shall execute and deliver such other documents, certificates, agreements and other writings and take such other actions as may be necessary or desirable in order to consummate or implement expeditiously each of the Transactions. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the parties shall make all filings pursuant to the HSR Act within ten (10) Business Days after the date hereof. Parent shall be responsible for and pay the filing fee pursuant to the HSR Act.
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(b) Except with respect to the matter set forth in Section 6.5, which shall be governed by the terms and condition of Section 6.5, or otherwise as subject to applicable Law, each of the Company and Parent agrees to (i) cooperate and consult with the other regarding obtaining and making all notifications and filings with Authorities, (ii) furnish to the other such information and assistance as the other may reasonably request in connection with its preparation of any notifications or filings, (iii) keep the other apprised of the status of matters relating to the completion of the Transactions, including promptly furnishing the other with copies of notices or other communications received by such party from, or given by such party to, any third party or any Authority with respect to such transactions, (iv) permit the other party to review and incorporate the other party’s reasonable comments in any communication to be given by it to any Authority with respect to any filings required to be made with, or action or nonactions, waivers, expirations or terminations of waiting periods, clearances, consents or orders required to be obtained from, such Authority in connection with execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the Transactions and (v) to the extent reasonably practicable, consult with the other in advance of and not participate in any meeting or discussion relating to the Transactions, either in person or by telephone, with any Authority in connection with the Transactions unless it gives the other party the opportunity to attend and observe; provided, however, that, in each of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) above, that materials may be redacted (A) to remove references concerning the valuation of such party and its Affiliates, (B) as necessary to comply with contractual arrangements or applicable Laws, and (C) as necessary to address reasonable attorney-client or other privilege or confidentiality concerns.
6.7 Confidentiality. Except as necessary to complete the Offer Documents or any Other Filings, the Company, on the one hand, and Parent and Merger Sub, on the other hand, shall hold and shall cause their respective representatives to hold in strict confidence, unless compelled to disclose by judicial or administrative process or by other requirements of Law, all documents and information concerning the other party furnished to it by such other party or its representatives in connection with the Transactions (except to the extent that such information can be shown to have been (a) previously known by the party to which it was furnished, (b) in the public domain through no fault of such party or (c) later lawfully acquired from another source, which source is not the agent of the other party and is not under any obligation of confidentiality with respect to such information); and no party shall release or disclose such information to any other Person, except its representatives in connection with this Agreement. In the event that any party believes that it is required to disclose any such confidential information pursuant to applicable Law, to the extent legally permissible, such party shall give timely written notice to the other party so that such party may have an opportunity to obtain a protective order or other appropriate relief. Each party shall be deemed to have satisfied its obligations to hold confidential information concerning or supplied by the other party if it exercises the same care as it takes to preserve confidentiality for its own similar information. The parties acknowledge that some previously confidential information will be required to be disclosed in the Offer Documents and Other Filings. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, following the Closing, the Stockholders’ Representative shall be permitted to disclose information as required by Law or to employees, advisors, agents or consultants of the Stockholders’ Representative and to the Company Securityholders, in each case who have a need to know such information, provided that such Persons are subject to confidentiality obligations with respect thereto.
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6.8 Directors’ and Officers’ Indemnification and Liability Insurance.
(a) From and after the Effective Time, PubCo and the Surviving Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless each present and former director or officer of the Company, Parent and their respective Subsidiaries, or any other person that may be a director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Parent or any of its Subsidiaries prior to the Effective Time, against any costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, losses, claims, damages or liabilities incurred in connection with any actual or threatened Action or other action, suit, proceeding or investigation, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, arising out of or pertaining to matters existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time or relating to the enforcement by any such Person of his or her rights under this Section 6.8, whether asserted or claimed prior to, at or after the Effective Time, to the fullest extent that the Company, Parent or their respective Subsidiaries would have been permitted under applicable Law and their respective certificates of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational documents in effect on the date of this Agreement to indemnify such Person, and shall advance expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses of any such Person as incurred to the fullest extent permitted under applicable Law (including in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by any such Person to enforce his or her rights under this Section 6.8)). Without limiting the foregoing, PubCo shall, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries to, (i) maintain, for a period of not less than six (6) years from the Effective Time, provisions in their respective certificates of incorporation, bylaws and other organizational documents concerning the indemnification and exoneration (including provisions relating to expense advancement) of officers and directors that are no less favorable to such Persons than the provisions of the certificates of incorporation (if applicable), bylaws and other organizational documents as of the date of this Agreement of the Company, Parent or their respective Subsidiaries and (ii) not amend, repeal or otherwise modify such provisions in any respect that would adversely affect the rights of those Persons thereunder, in each case, except as required by Law. PubCo shall assume, and be liable for, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation and their respective Subsidiaries to honor, each of the covenants in this Section 6.8.
(b) For a period of six (6) years from the Effective Time, PubCo shall, or shall cause one or more of its Subsidiaries to, maintain in effect directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering those Persons who are currently covered by Parent’s, the Company’s or their respective Subsidiaries’ directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies (true, correct and complete copies of which have been heretofore made available to Parent) on terms not less favorable than the terms of such current insurance coverage, except that in no event shall PubCo be required to pay an annual premium for such insurance in excess of 300% of the aggregate annual premium payable by the Company or Parent, as applicable, for such insurance policy for the year ended December 31, 2020; provided, however, that (i) if the cost of such insurance coverage exceeds such amount, PubCo obtain a policy with the greatest coverage available for a cost not exceeding such amount, (ii) Parent may cause coverage to be extended under the current directors’ and officers’ liability insurance by obtaining a six-year “tail” policy containing terms not materially less favorable than the terms of such current insurance coverage with respect to claims existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time, and (iii) if any claim is asserted or made within such six-year period, any insurance required to be maintained under this Section 6.8 shall be continued in respect of such claim until the final disposition thereof.
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(c) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, this Section 6.8 shall survive the consummation of the Merger indefinitely and shall be binding, jointly and severally, on PubCo and the Surviving Corporation and all successors and assigns of PubCo and the Surviving Corporation. In the event that PubCo, the Surviving Corporation or any of their respective successors or assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other Person and shall not be the continuing or surviving corporation or entity of such consolidation or merger or transfers or (ii) conveys all or substantially all of its properties and assets to any Person or effects any division transaction, then, and in each such case, PubCo and the Surviving Corporation shall ensure that proper provision shall be made so that the successors and assigns of PubCo or the Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, shall succeed to the obligations set forth in this Section 6.8. The obligations of PubCo and the Surviving Corporation under this Section 6.8 shall not be terminated or modified in such a manner as to materially and adversely affect any present and former director or officer of the Company or Parent, or other person that may be a director or officer of the Company or Parent prior to the Effective Time, to whom this Section 6.8 applies without the consent of the affected Person. The rights of each Person entitled to indemnification or advancement under this Section 6.8 shall be in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other rights such Person may have under the Company Certificate of Incorporation, the Company Bylaws, the Parent Certificate of Incorporation, the Parent Bylaws and/or any other indemnification arrangement, applicable Law or otherwise. The provisions of this Section 6.8 are expressly intended to benefit, and are enforceable by, each Person entitled to indemnification or advancement hereunder and their respective successors, heirs and representatives, each of whom is an intended third-party beneficiary of this Section 6.8.
ARTICLE VII
COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY
7.1 Company Stockholders Approval.
(a) As promptly as reasonably practicable, and in any event within five (5) Business Days following the S-4 Effective Date (the “Company Stockholder Written Consent Deadline”), the Company shall obtain and deliver to Parent a true, complete and correct copy of a written consent (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Parent and certified by an executive officer of the Company) evidencing the Company Stockholder Approval that is duly executed by the Company Stockholders that hold at least the requisite number and class of issued and outstanding shares of Company Capital Stock required to obtain the Company Stockholder Approval (the “Company Stockholder Written Consent”).
(b) Neither the Company’s Board of Directors, nor any committee thereof, shall withhold, withdraw, amend, modify, change or propose or resolve to withhold, withdraw, amend, modify or change, in each case in a manner adverse to Parent, the Company Board Recommendation.
7.2 No Parent Common Stock Transactions
(a) . From and after the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the Company shall not engage in any transactions involving the securities of Parent without the prior consent of Parent if the Company possesses material nonpublic information of Parent.
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7.3 Certain Tax Matters.
(a) The Company shall duly prepare and timely file, or cause to be prepared and filed, all Tax Returns for the Company that are required to be filed with the applicable Taxing Authorities that are required to be filed prior to the Closing Date (collectively, the “Company Prepared Returns”) and pay any and all Taxes due and payable during such time period. The Company shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, each Company Prepared Return in a manner consistent with the past practices of the Company. The Company shall cause each Company Prepared Return (i) to be provided to the Parent for review and comment as soon as reasonably practicable before the due date of each such Company Prepared Return and (ii) to not be filed without the prior consent of the Parent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).
(b) The Company and Parent shall (and shall cause their respective Affiliates to, and the Company shall cause the Company Securityholders to) provide any information reasonably requested to allow Parent or the Company, as the case may be, to comply with any information reporting or withholding requirements contained in the Code or other applicable Laws with respect to the transactions contemplated by, or any payment made in connection with, this Agreement.
(c) All transfer, documentary, sales, use, value added, goods and services, stamp, registration, notarial fees and other similar Taxes and fees (collectively, “Transfer Taxes”), shall be paid by the Surviving Corporation. After the Closing Date, the Surviving Corporation will prepare and file all necessary Tax Returns and other documentation with respect to all such Transfer Taxes that are required to be filed after the Closing Date, and, if required by applicable Law, the Company Securityholders and PubCo will, and will cause their respective Affiliates to, cooperate and join in the execution of any such Tax Returns and other documentation, as applicable. Each party (other than the Stockholders’ Representative) shall (and shall cause its Affiliates to) provide certificates or forms, and timely execute any Tax Return, that are necessary or appropriate to establish an exemption for (or reduction in) any Transfer Tax.
(d) All Tax sharing agreements or similar arrangements with respect to or involving the Company (other than any such agreement entered into in the ordinary course of business and not primarily concerning Taxes) shall be terminated prior to the Closing Date and, after the Closing Date, the Company shall not be bound thereby or have any liability thereunder for amounts due in respect of periods ending on or before the Closing Date, and there shall be no continuing obligation after the Closing Date to make any payments under any such agreements or arrangements.
ARTICLE VIII
COVENANTS OF Parent
8.1 Nasdaq Listing. Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause (a) Parent’s initial listing application with the Nasdaq in connection with the Transactions to have been approved; (b) all applicable initial and continuing listing requirements of the Nasdaq to be satisfied; and (c) the Closing Payment Shares to be approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance, in each case, as promptly as reasonably practicable after the date of this Agreement and in any event prior to the Effective Time. If Parent receives any written notice or, to the Knowledge of Parent, oral notice from Nasdaq that Parent has failed, or is reasonably expected to fail, to meet the Nasdaq listing requirements as of the Closing for any reason, then Parent shall promptly notify the Company of such Nasdaq notice.
8.2 Equity Incentive Plan. Prior to the S-4 Effective Date, Parent shall adopt a new equity incentive plan in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit L, with such changes or modifications thereto as the Company and Parent may mutually agree (such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed by either the Company or Parent, as applicable) (the “PubCo Equity Incentive Plan”). Within ten (10) Business Days following the expiration of the sixty (60) day period following the date PubCo has filed current Form 10 information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company, PubCo shall file an effective registration statement on Form S-8 (or other applicable form, including Form S-3) with respect to the PubCo Common Shares issuable under the PubCo Equity Incentive Plan.
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8.3 Trust Account. Parent covenants that it shall cause the funds in the Trust Account to be disbursed in accordance with the Trust Agreement, including for the payment of (a) all amounts payable to public stockholders of Parent holding Parent Class A Shares who shall have validly redeemed their Parent Class A Shares upon acceptance by Parent of such Parent Class A Shares (the “Parent Redemption Amount”), (b) deferred underwriting compensation and the expenses to the third parties to which they are owed, and (c) the remaining monies in the Trust Account to PubCo after the Closing.
8.4 Obligations of Merger Sub. Parent shall take all action necessary to cause Merger Sub to perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement.
ARTICLE IX
CONDITIONS TO CLOSING
9.1 Condition to the Obligations of the Parties. The obligations of all of the parties to consummate the Merger are subject to the satisfaction of all the following conditions, any one or more of which may be waived in writing by both Parent and the Company:
(a) No provisions of any applicable Law and no Order shall restrain or prohibit or impose any condition on the consummation of the Transactions.
(b) Any waiting periods under the HSR Act with respect to the Transactions shall have expired or been terminated.
(c) There shall not be any Action brought by any Authority to enjoin or otherwise restrict the consummation of the Transactions.
(d) Parent shall not have redeemed the Parent Class A Shares in an amount that would cause Parent to have net tangible assets of less than $5,000,001.
(e) The Parent Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained.
(f) The Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained.
9.2 Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub. The obligations of Parent and Merger Sub to consummate the Merger are subject to the satisfaction of all the following further conditions any one or more of which may be waived in writing by Parent (in its sole and absolute discretion):
(a) The Company shall have duly performed or complied with, in all material respects, all of its obligations hereunder required to be performed or complied with (without giving effect to any materiality or similar qualifiers contained therein) at or prior to the Closing Date.
(b) The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement (disregarding all qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect), other than the representations and warranties set forth in Section 4.18 (Intellectual Property) and the Company Fundamental Representations, shall be true and correct in all respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, as if made as of such date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty is expressly made as of a specific date, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct at and as of such specific date), except, in each case, for any failures of such representations and warranties (disregarding all qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect) to be so true and correct that would not in the aggregate have or reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(c) The representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Section 4.18 (Intellectual Property) (disregarding all qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect) shall be true and correct in all material respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, as if made as of such date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty is expressly made as of a specific date, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct at and as of such specific date).
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(d) The Company Fundamental Representations (disregarding all qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect) shall be true and correct in all respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, as if made as of such date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty is expressly made as of a specific date, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct at and as of such specific date), other than de minimis inaccuracies.
(e) Parent shall have received a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Financial Officer certifying the accuracy of the foregoing clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this Section 9.2.
(f) Parent shall have received a certificate signed by the Secretary of the Company attaching true and correct copies of (i) the Company Certificate of Incorporation, certified as of a recent date by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware; (ii) the Company Bylaws; (iii) copies of resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing this Agreement, the Additional Agreements to which the Company is or will be a party and the applicable Transactions and the Company Stockholder Written Consent; and (iv) a certificate of good standing of the Company, certified as of a recent date by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.
(g) The Company and each Company Stockholder who at the Closing will be deemed to be an affiliate of PubCo shall have duly executed and delivered to Parent a copy of the Registration Rights Agreement.
(h) PubCo and each Company Lock-Up Stockholder shall have duly executed and delivered to Parent a copy of the Lock-Up Agreement.
(i) PubCo and each Specified Company Securityholder shall have duly executed and delivered to Parent a copy of the Voting Agreement.
(j) There shall not have been a Material Adverse Effect since the date hereof.
(k) Not more than five percent (5%) of the issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock (including shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon conversion of Company Preferred Stock) shall constitute Dissenting Shares.
(l) The Company shall have delivered to Parent a duly executed certificate conforming to the requirements of Sections 1.897-2(h)(1)(i) and 1.1445-2(c)(3)(i) of the Treasury Regulations, and a notice to be delivered to the United States Internal Revenue Service as required under Section 1.897-2(h)(2) of the Treasury Regulations, each dated no more than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date and in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit M, certifying that no interest in the Company is, or has been during the relevant period specified in Section 897(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Code, a “U.S. real property interest” within the meaning of Section 897(c) of the Code.
(m) The Company shall have delivered to Parent evidence, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent, that each of the Terminating Contracts has been terminated without any further obligations of the Company.
(n) The Company shall have obtained each Required Company Consent and delivered to Parent evidence thereof, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent.
9.3 Conditions to Obligations of the Company. The obligation of the Company to consummate the Merger is subject to the satisfaction of all of the following further conditions any one or more of which may be waived in writing by the Company (in its sole and absolute discretion):
(a) Parent and Merger Sub shall each have duly performed or complied with, in all material respects, all of its obligations hereunder required to be performed or complied with (without giving effect to any materiality or similar qualifiers contained therein) at or prior to the Closing Date.
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(b) The representations and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub contained in this Agreement (disregarding all qualifications contained therein relating to materiality or “material adverse effect”), other than the Parent Fundamental Representations, shall be true and correct as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, as if made at and as of such date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty is made as of an earlier date, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct at and as of such earlier date), except for any failures of such representations and warranties that would not in the aggregate reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent’s ability to consummate the Merger.
(c) The Parent Fundamental Representations (disregarding all qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or “material adverse effect”) shall be true and correct in all respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, as if made as of such date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty is expressly made as of a specific date, in which case such representation and warranty shall be true and correct at and as of such specific date), other than de minimis inaccuracies.
(d) The Company shall have received a certificate signed by an authorized officer of Parent certifying the accuracy of the foregoing clauses (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 9.3.
(e) The PubCo COI shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Delaware Secretary of State.
(f) Parent and each Specified Parent Stockholder shall have executed and delivered to the Company a copy of the Registration Rights Agreement.
(g) Sponsor shall have executed and delivered to the Company a copy of the Voting Agreement.
(h) The Aggregate Parent Closing Cash shall be equal to or greater than $100,000,000.
(i) Parent’s initial listing application with Nasdaq in connection with the Transactions shall have been conditionally approved and, immediately following the Effective Time, Parent shall satisfy any applicable initial and continuing listing requirements of Nasdaq, and Parent shall not have received any notice of non-compliance therewith, and the Closing Payment Shares shall have been approved for listing on Nasdaq.
ARTICLE X
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
10.1 Arbitration.
(a) The parties shall promptly submit any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement (including with respect to the meaning, effect, validity, termination, interpretation, performance, or enforcement of this Agreement) or any alleged breach thereof (including any action in tort, contract, equity, or otherwise), to binding arbitration before one arbitrator (the “Arbitrator”). Binding arbitration shall be the sole means of resolving any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement (including with respect to the meaning, effect, validity, termination, interpretation, performance or enforcement of this Agreement) or any alleged breach thereof (including any claim in tort, contract, equity, or otherwise).
(b) If the parties cannot agree upon the Arbitrator, the Arbitrator shall be selected by the San Francisco, CA chapter head of the American Arbitration Association upon the written request of any party. The Arbitrator shall be selected within thirty (30) days of the written request of any party.
(c) The laws of the State of Delaware shall apply to any arbitration hereunder. In any arbitration hereunder, this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware applicable to a contract negotiated, signed and to be performed wholly in the State of Delaware, which laws the Arbitrator shall apply in rendering his decision. The Arbitrator shall issue a written decision, setting forth findings of fact and conclusions of law, within sixty (60) days after he shall have been selected. The Arbitrator shall have no authority to award punitive or other exemplary damages.
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(d) The arbitration shall be held in San Francisco, CA in accordance with and under the then-current provisions of the rules of the American Arbitration Association, except as otherwise provided herein.
(e) On application to the Arbitrator, any party shall have rights to discovery to the same extent as would be provided under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Evidence shall apply to any arbitration under this Agreement; provided, however, that the Arbitrator shall limit any discovery or evidence such that his decision shall be rendered within the period referred to in Section 10.1(c).
(f) The Arbitrator may, at his discretion and at the expense of the party who will bear the cost of the arbitration, employ experts to assist him in his determinations.
(g) The costs of the arbitration proceeding and any proceeding in court to confirm any arbitration award or to obtain relief as provided in Section 10.1(h), as applicable (including actual attorneys’ fees and costs), shall be borne by the unsuccessful party (if the Stockholders’ Representative, then solely on behalf of the Company Securityholders) and shall be awarded as part of the Arbitrator’s decision, unless the Arbitrator shall otherwise allocate such costs in such decision. The determination of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties and not subject to appeal.
(h) Any judgment upon any award rendered by the Arbitrator may be entered in and enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction. The parties expressly consent to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts (Federal and state) in Delaware, to enforce any award of the Arbitrator or to render any provisional, temporary, or injunctive relief in connection with or in aid of the arbitration. The parties expressly consent to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction of the Arbitrator to arbitrate any and all matters to be submitted to arbitration hereunder. None of the parties hereto shall challenge any arbitration hereunder on the grounds that any party necessary to such arbitration (including the parties hereto) shall have been absent from such arbitration for any reason, including that such party shall have been the subject of any bankruptcy, reorganization, or insolvency proceeding.
(i) The parties (in the case of the Stockholders’ Representative, solely on behalf of the Company Securityholders) shall indemnify the Arbitrator and any experts employed by the Arbitrator and hold them harmless from and against any claim or demand arising out of any arbitration under this Agreement or any agreement contemplated hereby, unless resulting from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Person indemnified.
(j) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the parties agree that irreparable damage would occur if any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to seek an injunction or injunctions, specific performance and other equitable relief to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement. The parties expressly consent to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts (Federal and state) in Delaware to render such relief and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
10.2 Waiver of Jury Trial; Exemplary Damages.
(a) THE PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT HEREBY KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT EACH SUCH PARTY MAY HAVE TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OF ANY KIND OR NATURE, IN ANY COURT IN WHICH AN ACTION MAY BE COMMENCED, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT. NO PARTY SHALL BE AWARDED PUNITIVE OR OTHER EXEMPLARY DAMAGES RESPECTING ANY DISPUTE ARISING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
(b) Each of the parties to this Agreement acknowledges that it has been represented in connection with the signing of the foregoing waiver by independent legal counsel selected by it and that such party has discussed the legal consequences and import of such waiver with legal counsel. Each of the parties to this Agreement further acknowledges that it has read and understands the meaning of such waiver and grants such waiver knowingly, voluntarily, without duress and only after consideration of the consequences of this waiver with legal counsel.
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ARTICLE XI
TERMINATION
11.1 Termination Without Default.
(a) In the event that the Closing has not occurred by December 28, 2021 (the “Outside Closing Date”) (provided that, if the SEC has not declared the Proxy Statement/Form S-4 effective on or prior to October 28, 2021, the Outside Closing Date shall be automatically extended to January 28, 2022), then each of Parent and the Company shall have the right, at its sole option, to terminate this Agreement without liability to the other party. Such right may be exercised by Parent or the Company, as the case may be, giving written notice to the other at any time after the Outside Closing Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 11.1(a) shall not be available if the failure by the party seeking to terminate this Agreement to fulfill any obligation under this Agreement has been the primary cause of, or primarily resulted in, the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the Outside Closing Date.
(b) In the event (i) an Authority shall have issued an Order, having the effect of permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the Merger, which Order is final and non-appealable or (ii) any applicable Law is in effect making the consummation of the Merger illegal, Parent or the Company shall have the right, at its sole option, to terminate this Agreement without liability to the other party by giving written notice to such other party; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 11.1(b) shall not be available to Parent or the Company if the failure of such Person to fulfill any obligation under this Agreement has been the primary cause of, or primarily resulted in, such Law or Order.
(c) This Agreement may be terminated by the written consent of the Company and Parent.
11.2 Termination Upon Default.
(a) Parent may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the Company at any time prior to the Closing, without prejudice to any rights or obligations Parent or Merger Sub may have, if: (i) (x) the Company shall have breached any representation, warranty, agreement or covenant contained herein which has rendered or would render the satisfaction of any of the conditions set forth in Section 9.2 impossible and (y) such breach cannot be cured or is not cured by the earlier of the Outside Closing Date and sixty (60) days following receipt by the Company of a written notice from Parent describing in reasonable detail the nature of such breach; or (ii) evidence that the Company Stockholder Written Consent was obtained is not delivered to Parent by the Company Stockholder Written Consent Deadline in accordance with Section 7.1(a).
(b) The Company may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to Parent at any time prior to the Closing, without prejudice to any rights or obligations the Company may have, if: (i) Parent shall have breached any of its covenants, agreements, representations, and warranties contained herein, which has rendered or would render the satisfaction of any of the conditions set forth in Section 9.3 impossible; and (ii) such breach cannot be cured or is not be cured by the earlier of the Outside Closing Date and sixty (60) days following receipt by Parent of a written notice from the Company describing in reasonable detail the nature of such breach.
11.3 Effect of Termination. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this ARTICLE XI, this Agreement shall become void and be of no further force or effect, without any liability on the part of any party (or any shareholder, director, officer, employee, Affiliate, agent, consultant or representative of such party) to any other party hereto or any other Person; provided that, no such termination shall relieve any party from liability arising out of or incurred as a result of the willful breach by such party of this Agreement or such party’s fraud, in which case such party shall be fully liable for any and all liabilities and damages incurred or suffered by each other party as a result of such breach or fraud. The provisions of Section 6.7, ARTICLE X, this Section 11.3 and ARTICLE XII shall survive any termination hereof pursuant to this ARTICLE XI.
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ARTICLE XII
MISCELLANEOUS
12.1 Notices. Any notice hereunder shall be sent in writing, addressed as specified below, and shall be deemed given: (a) if by hand, electronic mail or recognized courier service, by 5:00 PM on a Business Day, addressee’s day and time, on the date of delivery, and otherwise on the first Business Day after such delivery; (b) if by fax, on the date that transmission is confirmed electronically, if by 5:00 PM on a Business Day, addressee’s day and time, and otherwise on the first Business Day after the date of such confirmation; (c) if by email, on the date of transmission; or (d) five (5) days after mailing by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Notices shall be addressed to the respective parties as follows (excluding telephone numbers, which are for convenience only), or to such other address as a party shall specify to the others in accordance with these notice provisions:
if to the Company (or, following the Closing, the Surviving Corporation or Parent), to:
Pardes Biosciences, Inc.
2173 Salk Avenue, Suite 250, PMB#052
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Attn.: Uri A. Lopatin, M.D.
Email: ***@***
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Goodwin Procter LLP
601 Marshall Road
Redwood City, CA 94603
Attn.: Deepa Rich
Email: ***@***
if to the Stockholders’ Representative, or to the Company Securityholders after Closing, to:
Shareholder Representative Services LLC
950 17th Street, Suite 1400
Denver, CO 80202
Attn.: Managing Director
Fax: (303) 623-0294
Email: ***@***
if to Parent or Merger Sub:
FS Development Corp. II
900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 150
Larkspur, California 94939
Attn.: Jim Tananbaum
Email: ***@***
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
White & Case LLP
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020
Attn.: Joel L. Rubinstein, Esq.
Bryan J. Luchs, Esq.
Email: ***@***
***@***
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12.2 Amendments; No Waivers; Remedies.
(a) This Agreement cannot be amended, except by a writing signed by each party, and cannot be terminated orally or by course of conduct. No provision hereof can be waived, except by a writing signed by the party against whom such waiver is to be enforced, and any such waiver shall apply only in the particular instance in which such waiver shall have been given.
(b) Neither any failure or delay in exercising any right or remedy hereunder or in requiring satisfaction of any condition herein nor any course of dealing shall constitute a waiver of or prevent any party from enforcing any right or remedy or from requiring satisfaction of any condition. No notice to or demand on a party waives or otherwise affects any obligation of that party or impairs any right of the party giving such notice or making such demand, including any right to take any action without notice or demand not otherwise required by this Agreement. No exercise of any right or remedy with respect to a breach of this Agreement shall preclude exercise of any other right or remedy, as appropriate to make the aggrieved party whole with respect to such breach, or subsequent exercise of any right or remedy with respect to any other breach.
(c) Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, no statement herein of any right or remedy shall impair any other right or remedy stated herein or that otherwise may be available.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no party shall seek, nor shall any party be liable for, punitive or exemplary damages under any tort, contract, equity or other legal theory with respect to any breach (or alleged breach) of this Agreement or any provision hereof or any matter otherwise relating hereto or arising in connection herewith.
12.3 Arm’s Length Bargaining; No Presumption Against Drafter. This Agreement has been negotiated at arm’s-length by parties of equal bargaining strength, each represented by counsel and having participated in the drafting of this Agreement. This Agreement creates no fiduciary or other special relationship between the parties, and no such relationship otherwise exists. No presumption in favor of or against any party in the construction or interpretation of this Agreement or any provision hereof shall be made based upon which Person might have drafted this Agreement or such provision.
12.4 Publicity. Except as required by law or applicable stock exchange rules and except with respect to the Additional Parent SEC Documents, the parties agree that neither they nor their agents shall issue any press release or make any other public disclosure concerning the Transactions without the prior approval of the other party hereto. If a party is required to make such a disclosure as required by law or applicable stock exchange rules, the party making such determination will, if practicable in the circumstances, use reasonable commercial efforts to allow the other party reasonable time to comment on such disclosure in advance of its issuance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, following Closing and public announcement of the Merger (if any), the Stockholders’ Representative shall be permitted to announce that it has been engaged to serve as the Stockholders’ Representative in connection herewith as long as such announcement does not disclose any of the other terms hereof.
12.5 Expenses. The anticipated costs and expenses of the Company in connection with any merger, consolidation or business combination, including this Agreement and the Transactions, as of the Closing Date as set forth on Company Schedule 12.5 shall be paid by PubCo after the Closing. If the Closing does not take place, each party (in the case of the Stockholders’ Representative, solely on behalf of the Company Securityholders) shall be responsible for its own expenses.
12.6 No Assignment or Delegation. No party may assign any right or delegate any obligation hereunder, including by merger, consolidation, operation of law or otherwise, without the written consent of the other party. Any purported assignment or delegation without such consent shall be void, in addition to constituting a material breach of this Agreement.
12.7 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to the conflict of laws principles thereof.
12.8 Counterparts; Facsimile Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which shall constitute one agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon delivery to each party of an executed counterpart or the earlier delivery to each party of original, photocopied, or electronically transmitted (including scanned .pdf image) signature pages that together (but need not individually) bear the signatures of all other parties.
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12.9 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with the Additional Agreements, sets forth the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings and agreements related thereto (whether written or oral), all of which are merged herein. No provision of this Agreement or any Additional Agreement may be explained or qualified by any agreement, negotiations, understanding, discussion, conduct or course of conduct or by any trade usage. Except as otherwise expressly stated herein or in any Additional Agreement, there is no condition precedent to the effectiveness of any provision hereof or thereof.
12.10 Severability. A determination by a court or other legal authority that any provision that is not of the essence of this Agreement is legally invalid shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision hereof. The parties shall cooperate in good faith to substitute (or cause such court or other legal authority to substitute) for any provision so held to be invalid a valid provision, as alike in substance to such invalid provision as is lawful.
12.11 Further Assurances. Each party shall execute and deliver such documents and take such action, as may reasonably be considered within the scope of such party’s obligations hereunder, necessary to effectuate the Transactions.
12.12 Third Party Beneficiaries. Except as provided in Section 6.8, ARTICLE XI and Section 12.15, neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof confers any benefit or right upon or may be enforced by any Person not a signatory hereto.
12.13 Waiver. Reference is made to the final prospectus of Parent, dated February 18, 2021 (the “Prospectus”). The Company has read the Prospectus and understands that Parent has established the Trust Account for the benefit of the public shareholders of Parent and the underwriters of the IPO pursuant to the Trust Agreement and that, except for a portion of the interest earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account, Parent may disburse monies from the Trust Account only for the purposes set forth in the Trust Agreement. For and in consideration of Parent agreeing to enter into this Agreement, each of the Company and the Stockholders’ Representative, for itself and on behalf of the Company Securityholders, hereby agrees that it does not now and shall not at any time hereafter have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations or Contracts with Parent and hereby agrees that it will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason.
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12.14 Stockholders’ Representative. By virtue of the adoption of this Agreement and the Transactions, including the approval of the principal terms of the Merger and the consummation of the Merger, or participating in the Merger and receiving the benefits thereof, including the right to receive the consideration payable in connection with the Merger, each Company Securityholder shall be deemed to have appointed the designation of, and hereby designates, Shareholder Representative Services LLC as the Stockholders’ Representative as of the Closing for all purposes in connection with this Agreement and any agreement ancillary hereto, including (a) to give and receive notices and communications to Parent for any purpose under this Agreement and the Additional Agreements; (b) to act on behalf of Company Securityholders in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement, the securities described herein and any other document or instrument executed in connection with the Agreement and the Merger; and (c) to take all actions necessary or appropriate in the judgment of the Stockholders’ Representative for the accomplishment of the foregoing. The Stockholders’ Representative may resign at any time. Such agency may be changed by the Company Securityholders from time to time upon no less than twenty (20) days’ prior written notice to Parent; provided, however, that the Stockholders’ Representative may not be removed unless holders of a majority of the Company Securities (on an as converted or exercised basis) outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time agree to such removal. Any vacancy in the position of Stockholders’ Representative may be filled by approval of the holders of a majority of the Company Securities (on an as converted or exercised basis) outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time. No bond shall be required of the Stockholders’ Representative. The Stockholders’ Representative will incur no liability of any kind with respect to any action or omission by the Stockholders’ Representative in connection with the Stockholders’ Representative’s services pursuant to this Agreement and any agreement ancillary hereto, except in the event of liability directly resulting from the Stockholders’ Representative’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Stockholders’ Representative shall not be liable for any action or omission pursuant to the advice of counsel. The Company Securityholders will indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Stockholders’ Representative from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, claims, penalties, fines, forfeitures, actions, fees, costs and expenses (including the fees and expenses of counsel and experts and their staffs and all expense of document location, duplication and shipment) (collectively, “Representative Losses”) arising out of or in connection with the Stockholders’ Representative’s execution and performance of this Agreement and any agreement ancillary hereto, in each case as such Representative Loss is suffered or incurred; provided that in the event that any such Representative Loss is finally adjudicated to have been directly caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Stockholders’ Representative, the Stockholders’ Representative will reimburse the Company Securityholders the amount of such indemnified Representative Loss to the extent attributable to such gross negligence or willful misconduct. If not paid directly to the Stockholders’ Representative by the Company Securityholders, any such Representative Losses may be recovered by the Stockholders’ Representative from the funds in the Expense Fund; provided that, while this provision allows the Stockholders’ Representative to be paid from the aforementioned sources of funds, this does not relieve the Company Securityholders from their obligation to promptly pay such Representative Losses as they are suffered or incurred, nor does it prevent the Stockholders’ Representative from seeking any remedies available to it at law or otherwise. In no event will the Stockholders’ Representative be required to advance its own funds on behalf of the Company Securityholders or otherwise. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any restrictions or limitations on liability or indemnification obligations of, or provisions limiting the recourse against non-parties otherwise applicable to, the Company Securityholders set forth elsewhere in this Agreement are not intended to be applicable to the indemnities provided to the Stockholders’ Representative under this Section 12.14. The foregoing indemnities will survive the Closing, the resignation or removal of the Stockholders’ Representative or the termination of this Agreement. Upon the Closing, the Company will wire $15,000 (the “Expense Fund”) to the Stockholders’ Representative, which will be used for the purposes of paying directly, or reimbursing the Stockholders’ Representative for, any third party expenses pursuant to this Agreement and the agreements ancillary hereto. Neither the Company nor the Company Securityholders will receive any interest or earnings on the Expense Fund and irrevocably transfer and assign to the Stockholders’ Representative any ownership right that they may otherwise have had in any such interest or earnings. The Stockholders’ Representative will not be liable for any loss of principal of the Expense Fund other than as a result of its gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Stockholders’ Representative will hold these funds separate from its corporate funds, will not use these funds for its operating expenses or any other corporate purposes and will not voluntarily make these funds available to its creditors in the event of bankruptcy. As soon as practicable following the completion of the Stockholders’ Representative’s responsibilities, the Stockholders’ Representative will deliver any remaining balance of the Expense Fund to the Company.
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12.15 Non-Recourse. This Agreement may be enforced only against, and any dispute, claim or controversy based upon, arising out of or related to this Agreement or the Transactions may be brought only against, the entities that are expressly named as parties hereto and then only with respect to the specific obligations set forth in this Agreement with respect to such party. No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator, member, partner, shareholder, agent, attorney, advisor, lender or representative or Affiliate of any named party to this Agreement (which Persons are intended third party beneficiaries of this Section 12.15) shall have any liability (whether in contract or tort, at law or in equity or otherwise, or based upon any theory that seeks to impose liability of an entity party against its owners or Affiliates) for any one or more of the representations, warranties, covenants, agreements or other obligations or liabilities of such named party or for any dispute, claim or controversy based on, arising out of, or related to this Agreement or the Transactions, provided, that this Section 12.15 shall not apply to Section 12.14, which shall be enforceable by the Stockholders’ Representative in its entirety against the Company Securityholders.
12.16 Non-Survival of Representations and Warranties. Except in the case of fraud or with respect to any willful breach thereof, the representations and warranties set forth in ARTICLE IV and ARTICLE V and the covenants of any party hereto that are to be fully performed prior to Closing shall not, in each case, survive the Closing.
12.17 No Other Representations; No Reliance. NONE OF THE COMPANY, ANY COMPANY SECURITYHOLDER NOR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE REPRESENTATIVES HAS MADE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER RELATING TO THE COMPANY OR THE BUSINESS OR OTHERWISE IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY ADDITIONAL AGREEMENT, OTHER THAN THOSE REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN ARTICLE IV, IN EACH CASE, AS MODIFIED BY THE SCHEDULES TO THIS AGREEMENT. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, neither the Company, any Company Securityholder nor any of their respective representatives has made, and shall not be deemed to have made, any representations or warranties in the materials relating to the Company made available to Parent and its representatives, including due diligence materials, or in any presentation of the business of the Company by management of the Company or others in connection with the Transactions, and no statement contained in any of such materials or made in any such presentation shall be deemed a representation or warranty hereunder or otherwise or deemed to be relied upon by Parent or Merger Sub in executing, delivering and performing this Agreement, the Additional Agreements or the Transactions, in each case except for the representations and warranties set forth in ARTICLE IV as modified by the Company Schedules. It is understood that any cost estimates, projections or other predictions, any data, any financial information or any memoranda or offering materials or presentations, including any offering memorandum or similar materials made available by the Company, any Company Securityholder or their respective representatives are not and shall not be deemed to be or to include representations or warranties of the Company or any Company Securityholder, and are not and shall not be deemed to be relied upon by Parent or Merger Sub in executing, delivering and performing this Agreement, the Additional Agreement and the Transactions, in each case except for the representations and warranties set forth in ARTICLE IV, in each case, as modified by the Company Schedules. Except for the specific representations and warranties expressly made by the Company in ARTICLE IV, in each case as modified by the Company Schedules: (a) Parent acknowledges and agrees that: (i) neither the Company, the Company Securityholders nor any of their respective representatives is making or has made any representation or warranty, express or implied, at law or in equity, in respect of the Company, the business, assets, liabilities, operations, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company, the nature or extent of any liabilities of the Company, the effectiveness or the success of any operations of the Company or the accuracy or completeness of any confidential information memoranda, projections, forecasts or estimates of earnings, or other information (financial or otherwise) regarding the Company furnished to Parent, Merger Sub or their respective representatives or made available to Parent and its representatives in any “data rooms,” “virtual data rooms,” management presentations or any other form in expectation of, or in connection with, the Transactions, or in respect of any other matter or thing whatsoever; and (ii) no representative of any Company Securityholder or the Company has any authority, express or implied, to make any representations, warranties or agreements not specifically set forth in ARTICLE IV and subject to the limited remedies herein provided; (b) Parent specifically disclaims that it is relying upon or has relied upon any such other representations or warranties that may have been made by any Person, and acknowledges and agrees that the Company Securityholders and the Company have specifically disclaimed and do hereby specifically disclaim any such other representation or warranty made by any Person; and (c) none of the Company, the Company Securityholders nor any other Person shall have any liability to Parent or any other Person with respect to any such other representations or warranties, including projections, forecasts, estimates, plans or budgets of future revenue, expenses or expenditures, future results of operations, future cash flows or the future financial condition of the Company or the future business, operations or affairs of the Company.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.
Parent: | ||
FS DEVELOPMENT CORP. II | ||
By: | /s/ James B. Tananbaum | |
Name: | James B. Tananbaum | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Merger Sub: | ||
ORCHARD MERGER SUB, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ James B. Tananbaum | |
Name: | James B. Tananbaum | |
Title: | President, Treasurer and Secretary | |
Company: | ||
PARDES BIOSCIENCES, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Uri A. Lopatin | |
Name: | Uri A. Lopatin, M.D. | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Stockholders’ Representative: | ||
Shareholder Representative Services LLC, solely in its capacity as the Stockholders’ Representative | ||
By: | /s/ Sam Riffe | |
Name: | Sam Riffe | |
Title: | Managing Director |
[Signature page to Agreement and Plan of Merger]