GREAT AJAX CORP. Shares of Common Stock UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

EX-10.1 2 t1500377_ex10-1.htm EXHIBIT 10.1

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

EXECUTION VERSION

 

GREAT AJAX CORP.

Shares of Common Stock

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

February 13, 2015

 

FBR CAPITAL MARKETS & CO.

  As Representative of the several Underwriters

 

c/o FBR Capital Markets & Co.

1300 North 17th Street

Suite 1400

Arlington, Virginia  22209

 

Dear Sirs:

 

Great Ajax Corp., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and certain stockholders of the Company listed on Schedule I hereto (the “Selling Stockholders”), each confirms its agreement with each of the Underwriters listed on Schedule II hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters”), for whom FBR Capital Markets & Co. (“FBR”) is acting as Representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the Selling Stockholders of 5,000,000 shares (the “Initial Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”), in the respective number of shares set forth opposite the names of the Company and each Selling Stockholder in Schedule I hereto, and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective number of shares of Common Stock set forth opposite the names of the Underwriters in Schedule II hereto, and (ii) the grant of the option described in Section 1(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of 750,000 additional shares of Common Stock to cover over-allotments (the “Option Shares”), if any, from the Company and the Selling Stockholders, in the respective number of shares of Common Stock set forth opposite the names of the Company and such Selling Stockholders in Schedule I hereot, to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, in the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock set forth opposite the names of each of the Underwriters listed in Schedule II hereto.  The Initial Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters and all or any part of the Option Shares subject to the option described in Section 1(b) hereof are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Shares.”

 

The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Shares as soon as the Underwriters deem advisable after this Underwriting Agreement (the “Agreement”) has been executed and delivered.

 

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), a registration statement on Form S-11 (No. 333-201369) including a related preliminary prospectus, for the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act

 

  

of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Securities Act Regulations”).  The Company has prepared and filed amendments to the registration statement and amendments or supplements to the related preliminary prospectus prior to the date hereof, and will file such additional amendments or supplements as may hereafter be required.  The registration statement has been declared effective under the Securities Act by the Commission.   The registration statement, as amended at the time it was declared effective by the Commission (and, if the Company files a post-effective amendment to such registration statement which becomes effective prior to the Closing Time (as defined below), such registration statement as so amended) and including all information deemed to be a part of the registration statement pursuant to Rule 430A of the Securities Act Regulations or otherwise, is hereinafter called the “Registration Statement.”  Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act Regulations is hereinafter called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the 462(b) Registration Statement.  Each prospectus included in the Registration Statement before it was declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act that contains a price range, and any such preliminary form of prospectus filed with the Commission by the Company with the consent of the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Securities Act Regulations is hereinafter called the “Preliminary Prospectus.”  The term “‘Prospectus” means the final prospectus, as first filed with the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) or (4) of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act Regulations, and any amendments thereof or supplements thereto including all information incorporated by reference therein.  

 

The Commission has not issued any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus.

 

The term “Disclosure Package” means (i) the Preliminary Prospectus, as most recently amended or supplemented immediately prior to the Initial Sale Time (as defined herein), (ii) the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (as defined below), if any, identified in Schedule III hereto, (iii) any other Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) that the parties hereto shall hereafter expressly agree to treat as part of the Disclosure Package and (iv) the information set forth included on Schedule IV hereto.  

 

The term “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act Regulations.  The term “Free Writing Prospectus” means any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Regulations.

 

A Custody Agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A-1 (the “Custody Agreement”), has been executed and delivered by, on behalf or in respect of each of the Selling Stockholders, pursuant to which each Selling Stockholder that is a party thereto has placed the Initial Shares to be sold by it pursuant to this Agreement in custody.  An Irrevocable Power of Attorney substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A-2 (the “Power of Attorney”) has been executed and delivered by, on behalf of or in respect of each of the Selling Stockholders, pursuant to which each Selling Stockholder has appointed the persons designated therein as attorneys

 

  

in fact (the “Attorneys”) with the authority to execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of such Selling Stockholder and to take certain other actions with respect thereto and hereto.

 

The Company, and each of the Selling Stockholders, as applicable, and the Underwriters agree as follows:

 

1.          Sale and Purchase:

 

(a)          Initial Shares.  Upon the basis of the warranties and representations and other terms and conditions herein set forth, at the purchase price per share of Common Stock of $13.395 with respect to 4,270,000 of the Initial Shares and $14.25 with respect to 730,000 of the Initial Shares, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters the number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite its name and each Selling Stockholder agrees to sell to the Underwriters the number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite such Selling Stockholder’s name, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company and the Selling Stockholders the number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule II opposite such Underwriter’s name, plus any additional number of Initial Shares which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representative in its sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.  

 

(b)          Option Shares.  In addition, upon the basis of the warranties and representations and other terms and conditions herein set forth, at the purchase price per share of Common Stock set forth in paragraph (a) above, the Company and the Selling Stockholders hereby grant an option to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company and the Selling Stockholders, all or any part of the Option Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite such party’s name, plus any additional number of Option Shares in the same proportion which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof.  The option hereby granted will expire 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part from time to time within such 30-day period only for the purpose of covering over-allotments which may be made in connection with the offering and distribution of the Initial Shares upon notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of Option Shares as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Shares.  Any such time and date of delivery (an “Option Closing Time”) shall be determined by the Representative, but shall not be later than three full business days (or earlier, without the consent of the Company, than two full business days) after the exercise of such option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time, as hereinafter defined.  If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Shares, the Company and the Selling Stockholders will sell that number of Option Shares then being purchased, with the understanding that if the option is only partially exercised then the Selling Stockholders’ Shares shall be sold before any of the Company’s Shares, and each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase its proportionate share of the number of Option Shares then being purchased based on its proportionate share of the number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule II

 

  

opposite the name of such Underwriter, subject in each case to such adjustments among the Underwriters as in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

 

2.          Payment and Delivery

 

(a)          Initial Shares.  The Initial Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, registered in such names and amounts as the Representative may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company, shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Representative through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified to the Representative by the Company and each of the Selling Stockholders, upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice.  To the extent the Initial Shares exist in certificated form, the Company will cause the certificates representing the Initial Shares to be made available for checking and packaging not later than 1:00 p.m. New York City time on the business day prior to the Closing Time (as defined below) with respect thereto at the office of FBR, 1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1400, Arlington, Virginia 22209, or at the office of DTC or its designated custodian, as the case may be (the “Designated Office”).  The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the third (fourth, if the determination of the purchase price of the Initial Shares occurs after 4:30 p.m., New York City time) business day after the date hereof (unless another time and date shall be agreed to by the Representative and the Company).  The time and date at which such delivery and payment are actually made is hereinafter called the “Closing Time.”

 

(b)          Option Shares.  Any Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, registered in such names and amounts as the Representative may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company and the Attorneys shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company and the Selling Stockholders to the Representative through the facilities of DTC for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified to the Representative by the Company and one or more of the Attorneys upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice.  To the extent the Option Shares exist in certificated form, the Company and the Selling Stockholders will cause the certificates representing the Option Shares to be made available for checking and packaging at least twenty-four hours prior to the Option Closing Time with respect thereto at the Designated Office.  The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified by the Representative in the notice given by the Representative to the Company and one or more of the Attorneys of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Option Shares or on such other time and date as the Company and the Representative may agree upon in writing.

 

  

3.          Representations and Warranties of the Company:

 

The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriters as of the date hereof, the Initial Sale Time (as defined below), as of the Closing Time and as of any Option Closing Time (if any), and agrees with each Underwriter, that:

 

(a)          the Company has the authorized capitalization as set forth in both the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package; the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable.  All of the outstanding shares of capital stock, partnership interests and membership interests, as the case may be, of the subsidiaries of the Company identified in Exhibit 21.1 to the Registration Statement (each, a “Subsidiary”) have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable securities thereof and, except as disclosed in both the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, all of the outstanding shares of capital stock, partnership interest or membership interests, as the case may be, of the Subsidiaries are directly or indirectly owned of record and beneficially by the Company; except as disclosed in both the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there are no outstanding (i) securities or obligations of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries convertible into or exchangeable for any capital stock of the Company or any such Subsidiary, (ii) warrants, rights or options to subscribe for or purchase from the Company or any such Subsidiary any such capital stock or any such convertible or exchangeable securities or obligations, or (iii) obligations of the Company or any such Subsidiary to issue any shares of capital stock, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or obligation, or any such warrants, rights or options;  

 

(b)          each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has been duly incorporated, formed or organized and is validly existing as a corporation, general or limited partnership or limited liability company in good standing under the laws of its respective jurisdiction of incorporation, formation or organization with full power and authority to own its respective properties and to conduct its respective businesses as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and, in the case of the Company, to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated herein;

 

(c)          the Company and each of the Subsidiaries is duly qualified or licensed and in good standing in each jurisdiction in which it conducts its businesses or in which it owns or leases real property or otherwise maintains an office and in which the failure, individually or in the aggregate, to be so qualified or licensed would have a material adverse effect on the assets, business, operations, earnings, prospects, properties or condition (financial or otherwise), present or prospective, of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (any such effect or change, where the context so requires, is hereinafter called a “Material Adverse Effect” or “Material Adverse Change”); except as disclosed in both the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, no Subsidiary is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or from making any other distribution with respect to such Subsidiary’s capital stock or from repaying to the

 

  

Company or any other Subsidiary any amounts which may from time to time become due under any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or such other Subsidiary, or from transferring any such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or to any other Subsidiary; other than as disclosed in both the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any capital stock or other equity securities of any other corporation or any ownership interest in any partnership, joint venture or other association;

 

(d)          the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, orders, decrees and judgments, including those relating to transactions with affiliates;

 

(e)          neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in breach of or in default under (nor has any event occurred which with notice, lapse of time, or both would constitute a breach of, or default under), (i) its respective charter, bylaws, agreement of limited partnership, operating agreement or other similar organizational documents (the “organizational documents”), (ii) the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any license, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any of them or their respective properties is bound, or (iii) any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, judgment, permit or order (each, a “Law”) applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for such breaches or defaults which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(f)          the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, and consummation of the transactions contemplated herein will not (A) conflict with, or result in any breach of, or constitute a default under (nor constitute any event which with notice, lapse of time, or both would constitute a breach of, or default under), (i) any provision of the organizational documents of the Company or any Subsidiary, or (ii) any provision of any license, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any of them or their respective properties may be bound or affected, or under any Law applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary, except in the case of this clause (ii) for such breaches or defaults which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; or (B) result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge, claim or encumbrance upon any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary;

 

(g)          this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, and by general equitable principles, and except to the extent that the indemnification and contribution provisions of Section 11 hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public policy considerations in respect thereof;

 

(h)          no approval, authorization, consent or order of or filing with any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency is required in connection with the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this

 

  

Agreement, its consummation of the transactions contemplated herein, and its sale and delivery of the Shares, other than (A) such as have been obtained, or will have been obtained at the Closing Time or the relevant Option Closing Time, as the case may be, under the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), (B) such approvals as have been obtained in connection with the approval of the listing of the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), (C) such as have been obtained or made under the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and (D) any necessary qualification under the securities or blue sky laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Shares are being offered by the Underwriters;

 

(i)          each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals and has made all necessary filings required under any Law, and has obtained all necessary authorizations, consents and approvals from other persons, required in order to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, except to the extent that any failure to have any such licenses, authorizations, consents or approvals, to make any such filings or to obtain any such authorizations, consents or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is required by any applicable law to obtain accreditation or certification from any governmental agency or authority in order to provide the products and services which it currently provides or which it proposes to provide as set forth in the Registration Statement, Prospectus and the Disclosure Package; neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of, in default under, or has received any notice regarding a possible violation, default or revocation of any such license, authorization, consent or approval or any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, order or judgment applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries the effect of which could result in a Material Adverse Change; and no such license, authorization, consent or approval contains a materially burdensome restriction that is not adequately disclosed in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package;

 

(j)          each of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has been issued under the Securities Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission; and the Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with any request on the part of the Commission for additional information;

 

(k)          the Preliminary Prospectus when filed and the Registration Statement as of each effective date and as of the date hereof complied or will comply, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus will, when they become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, comply, in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations;

 

  

(l)          the Registration Statement, as of its effective date and as of the date hereof, did not and does not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and the Preliminary Prospectus does not, and the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto will not, as of the applicable filing date, the date hereof and at the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time (if any), contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no warranty or representation with respect to any statement contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the information concerning the Underwriters and furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Underwriters through the Representative to the Company expressly for use therein (that information being limited to that described in the last sentence of the first paragraph of Section 11(c) hereof);

 

(m)          as of 10:00 am (Eastern time) on February 13, 2015 (the “Initial Sale Time”), the Disclosure Package did not, and at the time of each sale of Shares and at the Closing Time and each Option Closing Time, the Disclosure Package will not, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; as of the issue date or date of first use and at all subsequent times through the Initial Sale Time, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus did not, and at the time of each sale of Shares and at the Closing Time and each Option Closing Time, each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus will not, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no warranty or representation with respect to any statement contained in or omitted from the Disclosure Package in reliance upon and in conformity with the information concerning the Underwriters and furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Underwriters through the Representative to the Company expressly for use therein (that information being limited to that described in the last sentence of the first paragraph of Section 11(c) hereof);

 

(n)          each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Shares did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement;

 

(o)          the Company is eligible to use Free Writing Prospectuses in connection with this offering pursuant to Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act; any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act Regulations has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations; and each Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act Regulations or that was prepared by or on behalf of

 

  

or used by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations;

 

(p)          except for the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses identified in Schedule III hereto, and any electronic road show relating to the public offering of shares contemplated herein, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the prior consent of the Representative, prepare, use or refer to, any Free Writing Prospectus;

 

(q)          the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (to the extent any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus was required to be filed with the Commission) delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the public offering of the Shares contemplated herein have been and will be identical to the versions of such documents transmitted to the Commission for filing via the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”), except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T;

 

(r)          the Company filed the Registration Statement with the Commission before using any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus was preceded or accompanied by the most recent Preliminary Prospectus satisfying the requirements of Section 10 under the Securities Act, which Preliminary Prospectus included an estimated price range;

 

(s)          from the time of initial confidential submission of a registration statement relating to the Shares with the Commission through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act.  The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communications other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representative with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are institutional accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than the Representative to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications;

 

(t)          there are no actions, suits, proceedings, inquiries or investigations pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary or any of their respective officers and directors or to which the properties, assets or rights of any such entity are subject, at law or in equity, before or by any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority, arbitral panel or agency which could result in a judgment, decree, award or order having a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(u)          the consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included in  each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and their consolidated results of operations and changes in financial position and cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied in the United States and on a consistent basis during the periods involved and in accordance

 

  

with Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission; the financial statement schedules, if any, included in the Registration Statement and the amounts in both the Prospectus and Disclosure Package under the captions “Summary—Summary Financial Information” and “Selected Financial Information” fairly present the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with the financial statements included in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package; no other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package;

 

(v)         Moss Adams LLP, whose reports on the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Subsidiaries are filed with the Commission as part of each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package is, and was during the periods covered by its reports, independent public accountants as required by the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations and is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board;

 

(w)          subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and except as may be otherwise stated in such documents, there has not been (A) any Material Adverse Change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, (B) any transaction that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, contemplated or entered into by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (C) any obligation, contingent or otherwise, directly or indirectly incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary that is material to the Company and Subsidiaries taken as a whole or (D) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock;

 

(x)          the Shares conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package; and this Agreement conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

 

(y)          except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities, including securities which are convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities, registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered by the Company under the Securities Act, (i) except for the Selling Stockholders, to the extent of the equity securities to be offered and sold by such Selling Stockholders as contemplated by this Agreement, and (ii) except for those registration or similar rights which have been waived with respect to the offering contemplated by this Agreement, all of which registration or similar rights described in clauses (i) and (ii) are fairly summarized in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package;

 

(z)          the Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and duly delivered against payment therefor as contemplated by this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid

 

  

and non-assessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim, and the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company is not subject to preemptive or other similar rights arising by operation of law, under the organizational documents of the Company or under any agreement to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or otherwise;

 

(aa)         the Shares have been approved for listing on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance; the Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon and at all times since the NYSE shall have approved the Shares for listing, it is and will be in compliance with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in the NYSE’s listing standards that are then in effect;

 

(bb)         none of the Company, the Subsidiaries, or any of their respective directors, officers, representatives or affiliates has taken, nor will take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;

 

(cc)         none of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective affiliates (i) is required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Exchange Act Regulations”), or (ii) directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or has any other association with any member firm of FINRA;

 

(dd)         any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any Subsidiary delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby;

 

(ee)         the form of certificate used to evidence the Common Stock complies in all material respects with all applicable statutory requirements, with any applicable requirements of the organizational documents of the Company and the requirements of the NYSE;

 

(ff)         each of the Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property, if any, and good title to all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, security interests, pledges, charges, encumbrances, mortgages and defects, except such as are disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package or such as do not materially and adversely affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company or any Subsidiary are held under valid, existing and enforceable leases, with such exceptions as are disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package or are not material and do not interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company or such Subsidiary;

 

  

(gg)         the descriptions in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package of the legal or governmental proceedings, contracts, leases and other legal documents therein described present fairly the information required to be shown, and there are no legal or governmental proceedings, contracts, leases, or other documents of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which are not described or filed as required; all agreements between the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and third parties expressly referenced in the Registration Statement, Prospectus and the Disclosure Package are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company or one or more of the Subsidiaries, enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles;

 

(hh)         the Company and each Subsidiary owns or possesses adequate licenses or other rights to use all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, software and design licenses, trade secrets, manufacturing processes, other intangible property rights and know-how (collectively “Intangibles”) necessary to entitle the Company and each Subsidiary to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received notice of infringement of or conflict with (and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary knows of any such infringement of or conflict with) asserted rights of others with respect to any Intangibles which would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(ii)         the Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act), which (i) are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are being prepared, and (ii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established,

 

(jj)         the Company and each of the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied in the United States and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and since the date of the last audited financial statements of the Company included in the Disclosure Package, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of (a) any significant deficiency or material weakness in the design or operation of its internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record,

 

  

process, summarize and report financial information to management and the Board of Directors, or (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;  

 

(kk)         each of the Company and the Subsidiaries maintains insurance (issued by insurers of recognized financial responsibility) of the types and in the amounts generally deemed adequate for their respective businesses and consistent with insurance coverage maintained by similar companies in similar businesses, including, but not limited to, insurance covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company and the Subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction, acts of vandalism and all other risks customarily insured against, all of which insurance is in full force and effect;

 

(ll)         Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release  of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (ii) each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (iii) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or the Subsidiaries, and (iv) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company or the Subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

 

(mm)         neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of or has received notice of any violation with respect to any federal or state law relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of employees, nor any applicable federal or state wages and hours law, nor any state law precluding the denial of credit due to the neighborhood in which a property is situated, the violation of any of which would have a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(nn)         the Company and each of the Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with all presently applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations

 

  

thereunder (“ERISA”); no “reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred with respect to any “pension plan” (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries would have any liability; the Company and each of the Subsidiaries have not incurred and do not expect to incur liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “pension plan” or (ii) Section 412 or 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“Code”); and each “pension plan” for which the Company and each of its Subsidiaries would have any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material respects and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification;

 

(oo)         except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there are no outstanding loans, extensions of credit or advances or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of the members of the families of any of them;

 

(pp)         all securities issued by the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or any trusts established by the Company or any Subsidiary, have been or will be issued and sold in compliance with (i) all applicable federal and state securities laws, and (ii) the laws of the applicable jurisdiction of incorporation of the issuing entity and, (iii) to the extent applicable to the issuing entity, the requirements of the NYSE;

 

(qq)         in connection with this offering, the Company has not offered and will not offer its Common Stock or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock in a manner in violation of the Securities Act; and the Company has not distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares except for the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Registration Statement;

 

(rr)         except for the payments to the Underwriters provided for hereunder, the Company has not incurred any liability for any finder’s fees or similar payments in connection with the transactions herein contemplated;

 

(ss)         no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of the Subsidiaries on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries on the other hand, which is required by the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations to be described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package, which is not so described;

 

(tt)         neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares, will be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company”, as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

 

  

(uu)         there are no existing or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened labor disputes with the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries which would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;

 

(vv)         the Company and the Subsidiaries and any of the officers and directors of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in their capacities as such, are, and at the Closing Time and any Option Closing Time will be, in compliance in all material respects with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;

 

(ww)         the Company is organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) under the Code; the present and contemplated method of operation of the Company and the Subsidiaries does and will enable the Company to meet the requirements for taxation as a REIT under the Code and all statements regarding the Company’s qualification and taxation as a REIT and descriptions of the Company’s organization and method of operation (inasmuch as they relate to the Company’s qualification and taxation as a REIT) set forth in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are accurate and fair summaries of the legal or tax matters described therein in all material respects. The Operating Partnership is treated as a partnership and not as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

(xx)        the Company (i) complies with the Privacy Statements (as defined below) as applicable to any given set of personal information collected by the Company from Individuals (as defined below), (ii) complies in all material respects with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations regarding the collection, retention, use, transfer or disclosure of personal information and (iii) takes reasonable measures to protect and maintain the confidential nature of the personal information provided to the Company by Individuals in accordance with the terms of the applicable Privacy Statements; to the Company’s knowledge, no claims or controversies have arisen regarding the Privacy Statements or the implementation thereof.  As used herein, “Privacy Statements” means, collectively, any and all of the Company’s privacy statements and policies published on Company websites or products or otherwise made available by the Company regarding the collection, retention, use and distribution of the personal information of individuals, including, without limitation, from visitors or users of any Company websites or products (“Individuals”);

 

(yy)         neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor any officer or director purporting to act on behalf of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries has at any time (i) made any unlawful contributions to any candidate for political office, or failed to disclose fully any such contributions, in violation of law, (ii) made any payment to any state, federal or foreign governmental officer or official, or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duties, other than payments required or allowed by applicable law, (iii) made any payment outside the ordinary course of business to any investment officer or loan broker or person charged with similar duties of any entity to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries sells or from which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries buys loans or servicing arrangements for the purpose of influencing such agent, officer,

 

 

broker or person to buy loans or servicing arrangements from or sell loans to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or (iv) engaged in any transactions, maintained any bank account or used any corporate funds except for transactions, bank accounts and funds which have been and are reflected in the normally maintained books and records of the Company and the Subsidiaries;  none of the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of such entities is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and the Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA;

 

(zz)         neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates or any director, officer, agent or employee of, or other person associated with or acting on behalf of, the Company, has violated the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended, the Uniting and Strengthening of America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT ACT) of 2001 or the rules and regulations promulgated under any such law or any successor law;

 

(aaa)        Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or the Subsidiaries, has made any payment of funds of the Company or the Subsidiaries or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation, including without limitation the “know your customer” and anti-money laundering laws of any jurisdiction (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.  

 

(bbb)        Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or the Subsidiaries, is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the United States Government, including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject of  Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including

 

  

any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.  For the past five years, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in and are not now knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any country subject to Sanctions.

 

4.          Representations and Warranties of the Selling Stockholders:

 

Each Selling Stockholder, severally and not jointly, represents and warrants to the Underwriters as of the date hereof, the Initial Sale Time (as defined below), as of the Closing Time and as of any Option Closing Time (if any), and agrees with each Underwriter, that:

 

(a)          such Selling Stockholder has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney to which it is a party.  All authorizations and consents necessary for the execution and delivery by such Selling Stockholder of the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, and for the execution of this Agreement on behalf of such Selling Stockholder, have been given.  Each of the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney and this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or on behalf of such Selling Stockholder and constitutes a valid and binding agreement of such Selling Stockholder and is enforceable against such Selling Stockholder in accordance with the terms thereof and hereof, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, and by general equitable principles, and except to the extent that the indemnification and contribution provisions of Section 11 hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public policy considerations in respect thereof;

 

(b)          such Selling Stockholder now has, and immediately prior to the Closing Time will have, (i) a valid “security entitlement” (within the meaning of Section 8-501 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code (the “New York UCC”)) in respect of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims whatsoever (other than pursuant to the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, as applicable), and (ii) full legal power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to sell, transfer and deliver a security entitlement in respect of such Shares to the Underwriters hereunder and to make the representations, warranties and agreements made by such Selling Stockholder herein.  Upon (I) payment for the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement, (II) delivery of such Shares, as directed by the Underwriters, to Cede & Co. or such other nominee as may be designated by DTC, (III) registration of such Shares in the name of DTC, Cede & Co. or such other nominee, (IV) DTC indicating by book entries on its books that security entitlements with respect to such Shares have been credited to the Underwriters’ securities accounts, the Underwriters will acquire a valid “security entitlement” (within the meaning of Section 8-501 of the New York UCC) with respect to such Shares and no action based on an “adverse claim” (as defined in Section 8-102 of the New York UCC) may be asserted against the Underwriters with respect to such security entitlement, and DTC shall be a “protected purchaser” of such Shares within the meaning of Section 8-303 of the New York UCC (assuming, in each case, that (A) none

 

  

of DTC, Cede & Co., any such other nominee or any Underwriter will have “notice of any adverse claim” to any of such Shares within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the New York UCC, (B) DTC will be registered as a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC, and (C) the jurisdiction of DTC is New York);

 

(c)          the performance of this Agreement, the Custody Agreement and the Power Of Attorney by such Selling Stockholder and the consummation by such Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated herein and therein will not conflict with, or result in any breach of, or constitute a default under (nor constitute any event which with notice, lapse of time, or both would constitute a breach of, or default under), (i) any provision of the certificate or articles of incorporation, other charter or similar constitutive documents, or the bylaws of such Selling Stockholder, or (ii) any provision of any license, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling Stockholder is a party or by which it or its properties may be bound or affected, or (iii) under any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, judgment or order applicable to such Selling Stockholder; or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge, claim or encumbrance upon any property or asset of the Selling Stockholder (other than pursuant to the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, as applicable);

 

(d)          no approval, authorization, consent or order of or filing with any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency having jurisdiction over such Selling Stockholder or any of its properties is required in connection with such Selling Stockholder’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, its consummation of the transactions contemplated herein, and its sale and delivery of the Shares, other than (i) such as have been obtained, or will have been obtained at the Closing Time under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, (ii) such approvals as have been obtained in connection with the approval of the listing of the Shares on the NYSE and (iii) any necessary qualification under the securities or blue sky laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Shares are being offered by the Underwriters;

 

(e)          such Selling Stockholder is not prompted to sell Shares by any material information concerning the Company or its Subsidiaries which is not set forth in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package;

 

(f)          each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package (as amended or supplemented, if the Company shall have filed with the Commission any amendment or supplement thereto) (i) as of its effective date and as of the date hereof, with respect to the Registration Statement, (ii) on its date, at the time of filing the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) and at the Closing Time, with respect to the Prospectus, and (iii) as of the Initial Sale Time, with respect to the Disclosure Package, did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall only apply to any statements or omissions in

 

  

the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished by or on behalf of such Selling Stockholder specifically for use in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package, together with any amendment or supplement thereto used by the Company or any Underwriter, as the case may be, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by or on behalf of such Selling Stockholder consists of the information relating to such Selling Stockholder in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package under the heading “Selling Stockholders” and the footnote thereunder, excluding any percentages set forth therein (the “Selling Stockholder Information”);

 

(g)          such Selling Stockholder has not distributed and will not distribute any Free Writing Prospectus, preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any other offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares, except for any such distribution to which the Representative has consented in advance; and such Selling Stockholder has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action intended, or which would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, under the Securities Act, the Securities Act Regulations or otherwise, or which has constituted, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;

 

(h)          the Shares to be sold hereunder by such Selling Stockholder have been placed in custody, for the purpose of making delivery of such Shares under this Agreement and under the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney which appoints American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as custodian (the “Custodian”), for such Selling Stockholder; such Selling Stockholder agrees that the Shares held in custody for him or it under the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney are for the benefit of and coupled with and subject to the interest thereunder of the Custodian, the Attorneys, the Underwriters, each other Selling Stockholder and the Company; that the arrangements made by such Selling Stockholder for such custody and the appointment of the Custodian and the Attorneys by such Selling Stockholder are, to the extent provided in the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, irrevocable; and that the obligations of such Selling Stockholder hereunder shall not be terminated by operation of law, whether by the death, disability, incapacity or liquidation of any Selling Stockholder or the occurrence of any other event; if any Selling Stockholder should die, become disabled or incapacitated or be liquidated or if any other such event should occur before the delivery of the Shares hereunder, the Shares shall be delivered by the Custodian in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and actions taken by the Attorneys and the Custodian pursuant to the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney shall be as valid as if such death, liquidation, incapacity or other event had not occurred, regardless of whether or not the Custodian or the Attorneys, or either of them, shall have received notice thereof;

 

(i)          such Selling Stockholder has not relied upon the Representative or legal counsel for the Representative for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares;

 

(j)          such Selling Stockholder does not have any registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale by the Company under the

 

  

Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as are described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package under “Description of Capital Stock;”

 

(k)          neither such Selling Stockholder nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director, officer or employee of such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of such Selling Stockholder, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the FCPA, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit.  Such Selling Stockholder and its subsidiaries have instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws;

 

(l)          the operations of such Selling Stockholder and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries conducts business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of such Selling Stockholder, threatened;

 

(m)          neither such Selling Stockholder nor any of its subsidiaries, directors, officers or employees, nor, to the knowledge of such Selling Stockholder, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the United States Government, including, without limitation, OFAC, UNSC, HMT, or other relevant Sanctions; and such Selling Stockholder will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject of  Sanctions or

 

  

in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. For the past five years, such Selling Stockholder and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in and will not engage in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any country subject to Sanctions;

 

(n)          such Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares;

 

(o)          such selling Stockholder does not have, or has waived prior to the date hereof, any preemptive right, co-sale right or right of first refusal or other similar right to purchase any of the Shares that are to be sold by the Company or any of the other Selling Stockholders to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement; and such Selling Stockholder does not own any warrants, options or similar rights to acquire, and does not have any right or arrangement to acquire, any capital stock, right, warrants, options or other securities from the Company, other than those described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and

 

(p)          except as otherwise disclosed to the Underwriters in writing, such Selling Stockholder is not a member of or an affiliate of or associated with any member of FINRA.

 

5.          Certain Covenants of the Company:

 

The Company agrees with each Underwriter:

 

(a)          to furnish such information as may be required and otherwise to cooperate in qualifying the Shares for offering and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdictions (both domestic and foreign) as the Representative may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect as long as requested by the Representative for the distribution of the Shares, provided that the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to consent to the service of process under the laws of any such jurisdiction (except service of process with respect to the offering and sale of the Shares);

 

(b)          if, at the time this Agreement is executed and delivered, it is necessary for a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement to be declared effective before the offering of the Shares may commence, the Company will endeavor to cause such post-effective amendment to become effective as soon as possible and will advise the Representative promptly and, if requested by the Representative, will confirm such advice in writing, when such post-effective amendment has become effective;

 

(c)          to prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Underwriters and file such Prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than 10:00 p.m. (New York City time), on February 13, 2015 or on such other day as the parties may mutually agree and to furnish promptly (and with respect to the initial

 

  

delivery of such Prospectus, not later than 10:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or on such other day as the parties may mutually agree to the Underwriters copies of the Prospectus (or of the Prospectus as amended or supplemented if the Company shall have made any amendments or supplements thereto after the effective date of the Registration Statement) in such quantities and at such locations as the Underwriters may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the Securities Act Regulations, which Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the version transmitted to the Commission for filing via EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T;

 

(d)          to advise the Representative promptly and (if requested by the Representative) to confirm such advice in writing, when the Registration Statement has become effective and when any post-effective amendment thereto becomes effective under the Securities Act Regulations;

 

(e)          to furnish a copy of each proposed Free Writing Prospectus to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters and obtain the consent of the Representative prior to referring to, using or filing with the Commission any Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, other than the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule III hereto;

 

(f)          to comply with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 of the Securities Act Regulations applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping, as applicable;

 

(g)          to advise the Representative immediately, confirming such advice in writing, of (i) the receipt of any comments from, or any request by, the Commission for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or for additional information with respect thereto, (ii) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes and, if the Commission or any other government agency or authority should issue any such order, to make every reasonable effort to obtain the lifting or removal of such order as soon as possible, (iii) any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Securities Act concerning the Registration Statement, or (iv) if the Company becomes subject to a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the public offering of Shares contemplated herein; to advise the Representative promptly of any proposal to amend or supplement the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and to file no such amendment or supplement to which the Representative shall reasonably object in writing;

 

(h)          to furnish to the Underwriters for a period of five years from the date of this Agreement (i) as soon as available, copies of all annual, quarterly and current reports or

 

  

other communications supplied to holders of shares of Common Stock, (ii) as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, copies of all reports filed by the Company with the Commission, FINRA or any securities exchange and (iii) such other information as the Underwriters may reasonably request regarding the Company and the Subsidiaries;

 

(i)          to advise the Underwriters promptly of the happening of any event or development known to the Company within the time during which a Prospectus relating to the Shares (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act Regulations) is required to be delivered under the Securities Act Regulations which, in the judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters, (i) would require the making of any change in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package so that the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package would not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (ii) as a result of which any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement relating to the Shares, or (iii) if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package to comply with any law and, during such time, to promptly prepare and furnish to the Underwriters copies of the proposed amendment or supplement before filing any such amendment or supplement with the Commission and thereafter promptly furnish at the Company’s own expense to the Underwriters and to dealers, copies in such quantities and at such locations as the Representative may from time to time reasonably request of an appropriate amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package so that the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when it (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act Regulations) is so delivered, be misleading or , in the case of any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, or so that the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package will comply with the law;

 

(j)          to file promptly with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that may, in the judgment of the Company or the Representative, be required by the Securities Act or requested by the Commission;

 

(k)          prior to filing with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to furnish a copy thereof to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters and obtain the consent of the Representative to the filing;

 

(l)          to furnish promptly to the Representative a signed copy of the Registration Statement, as initially filed with the Commission, and of all amendments or supplements thereto (including all exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein) and such number of conformed copies of the foregoing as the Representative may reasonably request;

 

  

(m)          during the period referred to in paragraph (i) above, to furnish to the Representative, not less than two business days before filing with the Commission, a copy of any document proposed to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and to file all such documents in the manner and within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the Exchange Act Regulations;

 

(n)          to apply the net proceeds of the sale of the Shares in accordance with its statements under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package;

 

(o)          to make generally available to its security holders and to deliver to the Representative as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than the end of the fiscal quarter first occurring after the first anniversary of the effective date of the Registration Statement an earnings statement complying with the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act (in form, at the option of the Company, complying with the provisions of Rule 158 of the Securities Act Regulations,) covering a period of 12 months beginning after the effective date of the Registration Statement;

 

(p)          to use its best efforts to maintain the listing of the Shares on the NYSE and to file with the NYSE all documents and notices required by the NYSE of companies that have securities that are listed on the NYSE;

 

(q)          to promptly notify the Representative if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) the completion of the distribution of the Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act and (ii) completion of the 180-day restricted period referred to in Section 4(s) hereof;

 

(r)          to engage and maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Shares;

 

(s)          to refrain, from the date hereof until 180 days after the date of the Prospectus, without the prior written consent of the Representative, from, directly or indirectly, (i) offering, pledging, selling, contracting to sell, selling any option or contract to purchase, purchasing any option or contract to sell, granting any option for the sale of, or otherwise disposing of or transferring, (or entering into any transaction or device which is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of), any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, or filing any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing, or (ii) entering into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.  The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the Prospectus, or (C) the registration and sale of shares of Common Stock in accordance with the terms of the Registration Rights Agreements, by and among the

 

  

Company, FBR Capital Markets & Co. and the other parties thereto, dated as of July 8, 2014 and December 16, 2014, including the filing of any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to such shares of Common Stock;

 

(t)          not to, and to use its best efforts to cause its officers, directors and affiliates not to, (i) take, directly or indirectly prior to termination of the underwriting syndicate contemplated by this Agreement, any action designed to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security of the Company, or which may cause or result in, or which might in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company, to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Shares, (ii) sell, bid for, purchase or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Shares or (iii) pay or agree to pay to any person any compensation for soliciting any order to purchase any other securities of the Company;

 

(u)          to cause each officer and director of the Company to furnish to the Representative, prior to the Initial Sale Time, a letter or letters, substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto, pursuant to which each such person shall agree to the lock-up provisions as set forth in Exhibit B; and

 

(v)         if, at any time during the 25-day period after the date of the Prospectus, any rumor, publication or event relating to or affecting the Company shall occur as a result of which, in the reasonable opinion of the Representative, the market price of the Common Stock has been or is likely to be materially affected (regardless of whether such rumor, publication or event necessitates a supplement to or amendment of the Prospectus) and after written notice from the Representative advising the Company to the effect set forth above, to forthwith prepare, consult with the Representative and its legal counsel concerning the substance and legality of, and disseminate a press release, public statement or other response, reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, addressing such rumor, publication or event; provided, however, that in no event shall the Company be required to address or respond to any rumor, publication or event in a manner that would, in the Company's reasonable opinion based on the advice of its counsel, give rise to any obligation on the Company’s part to update such disclosure or create a pattern or practice of responding to rumors;

 

(w)          that the Company will continue to use its best efforts to meet the requirements to qualify as a REIT under the Code; and

 

6.          Certain Covenants of the Selling Stockholders:

 

Each Selling Stockholder hereby agrees with each Underwriter:  

 

(a)          to deliver to the Representative prior to the Closing Time a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-8 (if the Selling Stockholder is a non-United States person, within the meaning of the Code or Form W-9 (if the Selling Stockholder is a United States person, within the meaning of the Code);

 

  

(b)          for a period of 180 days after the effective date of the Registration Statement, such Selling Stockholder will not (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to sell, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (including without limitation, Common Stock or such other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for equity securities of the Company which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by such Selling Stockholder in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission and equity securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant), or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (iii) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, in each case without the prior written consent of the Representative, other than the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder; provided, however, that:  (A) notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to applicable securities laws and the restrictions contained in the Company’s charter, such Selling Stockholder may transfer any securities of the Company (including, without limitation, Common Stock) as follows: (i)  as a bona fide gift or gifts, provided that the donee or donees thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth in this Section 6(b); (ii) to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of such Selling Stockholder or the immediate family of such Selling Stockholder, provided that the trustee of the trust agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth in this Section 6(b); (iii) as a distribution to stockholders, partners or members of such Selling Stockholder, provided that such stockholders, partners or members agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth in this Section 6(b); (iv) any transfer required under the Company’s amended and restated bylaws; (v) as collateral for any loan, provided that the lender agrees in writing to be bound by the restrictions set forth in this Section 6(b); or (vi) with respect to sales of securities acquired after the Closing Time in the open market; provided, however, that, in each case, no filing under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is required or otherwise made (for purposes of this Section 6(b), “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); (B) in the event the Representative grants any concession or release to any of the Company’s officers or directors under the lock-up agreement between the Representative and any such officer or director, the Representative will grant a proportionate concession or release to each Selling Stockholder under this Section 6(b); and (C) for the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 6(b) shall prevent such Selling Stockholder from, or restrict the ability of such Selling Stockholder to purchase shares of Common Stock on the open market; and

 

(c)          it will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Stock.

 

  

7.          Payment of Expenses:

 

(a)          The Company agrees to pay all costs and expenses incident to the  performance of its obligations under this Agreement, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, including expenses, fees and taxes in connection with (i) the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and the printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Underwriters and to dealers (including costs of mailing and shipment), (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of any certificates for the Shares to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes or duties payable upon the sale of the Shares to the Underwriters, (iii) the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state laws that the Company and the Representative have mutually agreed are appropriate and the determination of their eligibility for investment under state law as aforesaid (including the legal fees and filing fees and other disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in the maximum amount of $2,500 assuming that the Common Stock is approved for listing on the NYSE) and the printing and furnishing of copies of any blue sky surveys or legal investment surveys to the Underwriters and to dealers, (iv) filing for review of the public offering of the Shares by FINRA (including the reasonable legal fees and other disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters relating thereto in the maximum amount of $10,000), (v) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Shares and miscellaneous expenses referred to in the Registration Statement, (vi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the inclusion of the Shares in the NYSE, (vii) the costs and expenses of the Company in making road show presentations with respect to the offering of the Shares, and (ix) the performance of the Company’s other obligations hereunder.  Upon the request of the Representative, the Company will provide funds in advance for filing fees.

 

(b)          The Company agrees with each Underwriter to pay (directly or by reimbursement) all fees and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company and the Selling Stockholders under this Agreement which are otherwise specifically provided for herein, including, but not limited to, (i) fees and expenses of counsel and other advisors for such Selling Stockholders and (ii) fees and expenses of the Custodian.  The Selling Stockholders shall pay (on a pro rata basis based on the number of Shares to be sold by each Selling Stockholder) any transfer taxes payable in connection with their respective sales of Shares to the Underwriters.

 

(c)          If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Underwriters, or any of them, because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company or the Selling Stockholders to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any reason the Company or the Selling Stockholders shall be unable to perform its or their obligations under this Agreement, the Company, but not the Selling Stockholders, will reimburse the Underwriters or such Underwriters as have so terminated this Agreement with respect to themselves, severally, for all out-of-pocket expenses (such as printing, facsimile, courier service, direct computer expenses, accommodations, travel and the fees and disbursements of Underwriters’ counsel) and any other advisors,

 

  

accountants, appraisers, etc. reasonably incurred by such Underwriters in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated herein.

 

8.          Conditions of the Underwriters’ Obligations:

 

The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder to purchase Shares at the Closing Time or on each Option Closing Time, as applicable, are subject to the accuracy of the respective representations and warranties on the part of the Company and the Selling Stockholders hereunder and under the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, applicable, on the date hereof and at the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time, as applicable, the performance by the Company and the Selling Stockholders of their respective obligations hereunder and under the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, as applicable, and to the satisfaction of the following further conditions at the Closing Time or on each Option Closing Time, as applicable:

 

(a)          The Company shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the Underwriters at the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time the opinion and negative assurance letter of Morrison & Foerster LLP, counsel for the Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Time and each Option Closing Time, substantially in the form of Exhibit C-1 hereto. In addition, the Company shall furnish or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters at the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time the opinion of Morrison & Foerster LLP, tax counsel for the Company, regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time, substantially in the form of Exhibit C-2 hereto.

 

(b)          The Selling Stockholders shall furnish to the Underwriters at the Closing Time an opinion of Sidley Austin LLP and certain special counsel, or such other counsel acting on behalf of the Selling Stockholders, reasonably acceptable to the Representative, addressed to the Underwriters substantially in the forms set forth in Exhibit D-1 and Exhibit D-2 respectively, hereto.

 

(c)          The Underwriters shall have received at the Closing Time a favorable opinion and negative assurance letter from Hunton & Williams LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated the Closing Time, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters.

 

(d)          The Underwriters shall have received from Moss Adams LLP a “comfort” letter dated, respectively, as of the date hereof and the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time, addressed to the Representative, in substantially the form attached as Exhibit E-1 hereto and an “Agreed Upon Procedures” report dated as of the date hereof and the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time addressed to the Representative in substantially the same form attached as Exhibit E-2 hereto.

 

In the event that the letters referred to above set forth any changes in indebtedness, decreases in total assets or retained earnings or increases in borrowings, it shall be a further condition to the obligations of the Underwriters that (A) such letters shall be accompanied by a written explanation of the Company as to the significance thereof, unless the Representative deems such explanation unnecessary, and (B) such

 

  

changes, decreases or increases do not, in the sole judgment of the Representative, make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the purchase and delivery of the Shares as contemplated by the Registration Statement

 

(e)          No amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any document in the Disclosure Package shall have been filed to which the Underwriters shall have objected in writing.

 

(f)          Prior to the Closing Time and each Option Closing Time (i) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any document in the Disclosure Package shall have been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose shall have been initiated or threatened, by the Commission, and no suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes, has occurred; (ii) all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representative; (iii) the Registration Statement shall not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and (iv) the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package shall not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(g)          All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed by the Closing Time shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by such Rule.

 

(h)          Between the time of execution of this Agreement and the Closing Time or the relevant Option Closing Time there shall not have been any Material Adverse Change or any prospective Material Adverse Change, and (ii) no transaction which is material and unfavorable to the Company shall have been entered into by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, in each case, which in the Representative’s sole judgment, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering of the Shares as contemplated by the Registration Statement.

 

(i)          The Shares shall have been approved for listing on the NYSE.

 

(j)          FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of  the underwriting terms and arrangements.

 

(k)          The Representative shall have received lock-up agreements from each officer and director of the Company, in the form of Exhibit B attached hereto, and such letter agreements shall be in full force and effect.

 

(l)          The Company will, at the Closing Time and on each Option Closing Time, deliver to the Underwriters a certificate of its Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer,

 

  

President, Chief Operating Officer or Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer or Chief Financial Officer, to the effect that:

 

(i)          the representations and warranties of the Company and the Operating Partnership in this Agreement are true and correct, as if made on and as of the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as applicable, and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as applicable;

 

(ii)         no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or threatened under the Securities Act;

 

(iii)        the signers of such certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package, any amendment or supplement thereto, and this Agreement, and that when the Registration Statement became effective and at all times subsequent thereto up to the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as applicable, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and the Preliminary Prospectus, and any amendments or supplements thereto, contained all material information required to be included therein by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be, and in all material respects conformed to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be; the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto, did not and, as of the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as applicable, does not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and any amendments or supplements thereto, did not and as of the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as applicable, do not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and, since the effective date of the Registration Statement, there has occurred no event required to be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package which has not been so set forth; and

 

(iv)        subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there has not been (a) any Material Adverse Change, (b) any transaction that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, except transactions entered into in the

 

  

ordinary course of business, (c) any obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, incurred by the Company or the Subsidiaries, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (d) any change in the capital stock or outstanding indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, (e) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary, or (f) any loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company or any subsidiary which has been sustained or will have been sustained which has a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(m)          Each Selling Stockholder (or one or more attorneys on behalf of the Selling Stockholders) will, at the Closing Time, deliver to the Underwriters a certificate, to the effect that:

 

(i)          the representations and warranties of such Selling Stockholder set forth in this Agreement and in the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney are true and correct as of such date; and

 

(ii)         such Selling Stockholder has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder and under the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, as applicable at or prior to such date.

 

(n)          The Company and the Selling Stockgholders, as applicable shall have furnished to the Underwriters such other documents and certificates as to the accuracy and completeness of any statement in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, the representations, warranties and statements of the Company contained herein and in the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, and the performance by the Company and the Selling Stockholders of their respective covenants contained herein and therein, and the fulfillment of any conditions contained herein or therein, as of the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, as the Underwriters may reasonably request.

 

(o)          Each of the Selling Stockholders shall have furnished to the Underwriters such other documents and certificates as to the accuracy and completeness of any statement in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package relating to such Selling Stockholder’s Selling Stockholder Information, as applicable, the respective representations, warranties and statements of such Selling Stockholder contained herein and in the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, as applicable, and the performance by such Selling Stockholder of such Selling Stockholder’s covenants contained herein and therein, as applicable, and the fulfillment of any conditions contained herein or therein, as applicable, as of the Closing Time, as the Underwriters may reasonably request.

 

  

9.          Termination:

 

The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of the Representative, at any time prior to the Closing Time or any Option Closing Time, (i) if any of the conditions specified in Section 8 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement to be fulfilled, or (ii) if there has been since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package, any Material Adverse Change, or any development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change, or material change in management of the Company or any Subsidiary, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (iii) if there has occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity or crisis or change in economic, political or other conditions, the effect of which on the United States or international financial markets is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, impracticable to market the Shares or enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares, or (iv) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended by the Commission or by the NYSE, or if trading generally on the NYSE or in the Nasdaq over-the-counter market has been suspended (including an automatic halt in trading pursuant to market-decline triggers, other than those in which solely program trading is temporarily halted), or limitations on prices for trading (other than limitations on hours or numbers of days of trading) have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities have been required, by such exchange or FINRA or the over-the-counter market or by order of the Commission or any other governmental authority, or (v) if there has been any downgrade in the rating of any of the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined for purposes of Rule 436(g) under the Securities Act), or (vi) any federal, state, local or foreign statute, regulation, rule or order of any court or other governmental authority has been enacted, published, decreed or otherwise promulgated which, in the reasonable opinion of the Representative, materially adversely affects or will materially adversely affect the business or operations of the Company, or (vii) any action has been taken by any federal, state, local or foreign government or agency in respect of its monetary or fiscal affairs which, in the reasonable opinion of the Representative, could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the securities markets in the United States.

 

If the Representative elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 9, the Company and the Underwriters shall be notified promptly by telephone, promptly confirmed by facsimile.

 

If the sale to the Underwriters of the Shares, as contemplated by this Agreement, is not carried out by the Underwriters for any reason permitted under this Agreement or if such sale is not carried out because the Company shall be unable to comply in all material respects with any of the terms of this Agreement, the Company shall not be under any obligation or liability under this Agreement (except to the extent provided in Sections 7 and 11 hereof) and the Underwriters shall be under no obligation or liability to the Company under this Agreement (except to the extent provided in Section 9 hereof) or to one another hereunder.

 

  

10.         Increase in Underwriters’ Commitments:

 

If any Underwriter shall default at the Closing Time or on any Option Closing Time in its obligation to take up and pay for the Shares to be purchased by it under this Agreement on such date, the Representative shall have the right, within 36 hours after such default, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Shares which such Underwriter shall have agreed but failed to take up and pay for (the “Defaulted Shares”).  Absent the completion of such arrangements within such 36-hour period, (i) if the total number of Defaulted Shares does not exceed 10% of the total number of Shares to be purchased on such date, each non-defaulting Underwriter shall take up and pay for (in addition to the number of Shares which it is otherwise obligated to purchase on such date pursuant to this Agreement) the portion of the total number of Shares agreed to be purchased by the defaulting Underwriter on such date in the proportion that its underwriting obligations hereunder bears to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters; and (ii) if the total number of Defaulted Shares exceeds 10% of such total, the Representative may terminate this Agreement by notice to the Company, without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Sections 7 and 11 hereof shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.

 

Without relieving any defaulting Underwriter from its obligations hereunder, the Company agrees with the non-defaulting Underwriters that it will not sell any Shares hereunder on such date unless all of the Shares to be purchased on such date are purchased on such date by the Underwriters (or by substituted Underwriters selected by the Representative with the approval of the Company or selected by the Company with the approval of the Representative).

 

If a new Underwriter or Underwriters are substituted for a defaulting Underwriter in accordance with the foregoing provision, the Company or the non-defaulting Underwriters shall have the right to postpone the Closing Time or the relevant Option Closing Time for a period not exceeding five business days in order that any necessary changes in the Registration Statement and Prospectus and other documents may be effected.

 

The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall refer to and include any Underwriter substituted under this Section 10 with the same effect as if such substituted Underwriter had originally been named in this Agreement.

 

11.         Indemnity and Contribution by the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters:

 

(a)          The Company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Underwriter and any person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents of each Underwriter from and against any loss, expense, liability, damage or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which, jointly or severally, any such indemnified party may incur arising under the Securities Act, the

 

  

Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, expense, liability, damage or claim arises out of or is based upon (A) any breach of any representation, warranty or covenant of the Company contained herein, (B) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed or was required to file with the Commission or is otherwise required retain, or the Prospectus (the term Prospectus for the purpose of this Section 11 being deemed to include any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented by the Company), (C) any application or other document, or any amendment or supplement thereto, executed by the Company or based upon written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction (domestic or foreign) in order to qualify the Shares under the securities or blue sky laws thereof or filed with the Commission or any securities association or securities exchange (each an “Application”), (D) an omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated in any such Registration Statement, or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading, (E) an omission or alleged omission from any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Prospectus or any Application of a material fact necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (F) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any audio or visual materials used in connection with the marketing of the Shares, including, without limitation, slides, videos, films and tape recordings; except, in each case of (B), (D) and (E) above only, insofar as any such loss, expense, liability, damage or claim arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission of a material fact contained in and in conformity with the statements set forth in the paragraphs identified by “Stabilization,” “Discretionary Accounts” and “Passive Market Making” under the caption “Underwriting” in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (to the extent such statements relate to the Underwriters).  The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 11(a) shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.

 

(b)          Each Selling Stockholder, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Underwriter and any person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of  the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents of each Underwriter from and against any loss, expense, liability, damage or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which, jointly or severally, any such indemnified party may incur arising under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, expense, liability, damage or claim arises out of or is based upon (A) any breach of any representation, warranty or covenant of such Selling Stockholder contained herein or in the Custody Agreement and Power of Attorney, (B) any failure on the part of such Selling Stockholder to comply with any applicable law, rule or regulation relating to the offering of securities being made pursuant to the Prospectus, (C) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment or part thereof), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed or was required to file with the Commission, any Free Writing Prospectus, or the Prospectus, or any Application, (D) an omission or alleged omission to state a material

 

  

fact required to be stated in such Registration Statement, or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading, or (E) an omission or alleged omission from any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus, Prospectus or any Application of a material fact necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; except in the case of (C), (D) and (E) above only insofar as any such loss, expense, liability, damage or claim arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission of a material fact contained in and in conformity with information furnished in writing by such Selling Stockholder to the Company expressly for use in such Registration Statement, Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Prospectus or Application, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by such Selling Stockholder consists of the Selling Stockholder Information; provided, however, that the indemnity agreement contained in this subsection (b) shall not require any such Selling Stockholder solely with respect to the indemnity provided under this subsection (b) to reimburse the Underwriters for in excess of the net proceeds received by such Selling Stockholder from the Shares sold by such Selling Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 11(b) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Selling Stockholders may otherwise have.

 

If any action is brought against an Underwriter or controlling person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Company or any Selling Stockholder pursuant to subsection (a) or subsection (b) above, such Underwriter shall promptly notify the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, in writing of the institution of such action, and the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, shall assume the defense of such action, including the employment of counsel and payment of expenses; provided, however, that any failure or delay to so notify the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, will not relieve the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, of any obligation hereunder, except to the extent that its ability to defend is actually impaired by such failure or delay.  Such Underwriter or controlling person shall have the right to employ its or their own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Underwriter or such controlling person unless the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, in connection with the defense of such action, or the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, shall not have employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such action within a reasonable time or such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded (based on the advice of counsel) that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to those available to the Company or such Selling Stockholder, as applicable, (in which case neither the Company nor such Selling Stockholder shall have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party or parties or the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties included by the Company or any Selling Stockholder and the indemnified person)) or representation by both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to a conflict or potential differing interests between such parties, in any of which events such fees and expenses shall be borne by the Company or the Selling Stockholder, as applicable, and paid as incurred (it being understood, however, that

 

  

neither the Company nor any Selling Stockholder shall be liable for the expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys for the Underwriters or controlling persons in any one action or series of related actions in the same jurisdiction (other than local counsel in any such jurisdiction) representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action).  Anything in this paragraph to the contrary notwithstanding, neither the Company nor any Selling Stockholder shall be liable for any settlement of any such claim or action effected without its consent.

 

(c)          Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company and each Selling Stockholder, the Company’s directors, the Company’s officers that signed the Registration Statement, and any person who controls the Company or any Selling Stockholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any loss, expense, liability, damage or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which the Company , the Selling Stockholder or any such person may incur under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, expense, liability, damage or claim arises out of or is based upon (A) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed or was required to file with the Commission, or the Prospectus, or any Application, (B) an omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated in any such Registration Statement, or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading, or (C) an omission or alleged omission from any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Free Writing Prospectus. Prospectus or any Application of a material fact necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, but in each case only insofar as such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in such Registration Statement, Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Prospectus or Application in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing by the Underwriters through the Representative to the Company expressly for use therein.  The statements set forth in the paragraphs identified by “Stabilization,” “Discretionary Accounts” and “Passive Market Making” under the caption “Underwriting” in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (to the extent such statements relate to the Underwriters) constitute the only information furnished by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representative to the Company for purposes of this Agreement.  

 

If any action is brought against the Company, any Selling Stockholder or any such person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against any Underwriter pursuant to the foregoing paragraph, the Company, the Selling Stockholder or such person shall promptly notify the Representative in writing of the institution of such action and the Representative, on behalf of the Underwriters, shall assume the defense of such action, including the employment of counsel and payment of expenses.  The Company, the Selling Stockholder or such person shall have the right to employ its own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Company, the Selling Stockholder or such person unless the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by the Representative in connection with the defense of such action or the Representative shall not have employed counsel to have

 

  

charge of the defense of such action within a reasonable time or such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded (based on the advice of counsel) that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to those available to the Underwriters (in which case the Representative shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party or parties), in any of which events such fees and expenses shall be borne by such Underwriter and paid as incurred (it being understood, however, that the Underwriters shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys in any one action or series of related actions in the same jurisdiction (other than local counsel in any such jurisdiction) representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action).  Anything in this paragraph to the contrary notwithstanding, no Underwriter shall be liable for any settlement of any such claim or action effected without the written consent of the Representative.

 

(d)          If the indemnification provided for in this Section 11 is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 11 in respect of any losses, expenses, liabilities, damages or claims referred to therein, then each applicable indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, expenses, liabilities, damages or claims (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if (but only if) the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, of the Selling Stockholders and of the Underwriters in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, expenses, liabilities, damages or claims, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits received by the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total proceeds from the offering (net of underwriting discounts and commissions but before deducting expenses) received by the Company or the Selling Stockholders, as applicable, bear to the underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters.  The relative fault of the Company, of the Selling Stockholders and of the Underwriters shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission relates to information supplied by the Company, by the Selling Stockholders or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.  The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to above shall be deemed to include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any claim or action.

 

(e)          The Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 11 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in subsection (d)(i) and, if applicable (ii), above.  

 

  

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 11, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions applicable to the Shares purchased by such Underwriter and no Selling Stockholder shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the gross sale price of the Shares sold by such Selling Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement.  No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 11 are several in proportion to their respective underwriting commitments and not joint,.

 

12.         Survival:

 

The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 11 and the covenants, warranties and representations of the Company and the Selling Stockholders contained in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, or any person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the respective directors, officers, employees and agents of each Underwriter or by or on behalf of the Company, its directors and officers, the Selling Stockholders or any person who controls the Company or any Selling Stockholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and shall survive any termination of this Agreement or the sale and delivery of the Shares.  The Company, each Selling Stockholder and each Underwriter agree promptly to notify the others of the commencement of any litigation or proceeding against it and, in the case of the Company, against any of the Company’s officers and directors, in connection with the sale and delivery of the Shares, or in connection with the Registration Statement or Prospectus.

 

13.         Duties:  

 

Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to create a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship between the parties.  The Underwriters undertake to perform such duties and obligations only as expressly set forth herein.  Such duties and obligations of the Underwriters with respect to the Shares shall be determined solely by the express provisions of this Agreement, and the Underwriters shall not be liable except for the performance of such duties and obligations with respect to the Shares as are specifically set forth in this Agreement.  Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholders acknowledges and agrees that: (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Shares and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Selling Stockholders, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, and the Company and the Selling Stockholders are capable of evaluating and understanding and understand and accept the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (ii) in connection with each transaction contemplated hereby and the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the financial advisor, agent or fiduciary of the Company, the Selling Stockholders or their respective affiliates,

 

  

stockholders, creditors or employees or any other party; (iii) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory, agency or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or the Selling Stockholders with respect to any of the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or the Selling Stockholders on other matters); and (iv) the several Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Selling Stockholders and that the several Underwriters have no obligation to disclose any of such interests.  The Company and each Selling Stockholder acknowledges that the Underwriters disclaim any implied duties (including any fiduciary duty), covenants or obligations arising from the Underwriters’ performance of the duties and obligations expressly set forth herein.  The Company and the Selling Stockholders hereby waive and release, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company and the Selling Stockholders may have against the several Underwriters with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

 

14.         Notices:

 

Except as otherwise herein provided, all statements, requests, notices and agreements shall be in writing or by telegram and, if to the Underwriters, shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered to FBR Capital Markets & Co., 1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1400, Arlington, Virginia 22209, Attention: Syndicate Department; if to the Company, shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered to the Company at the offices of the Company at Great Ajax Corp.; 9400 Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Suite 131; Beaverton, Oregon 97005; or if to a Selling Stockholder, c/o Sidley Austin LLP, One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, Attention: John Sabl, Esq. (facsimile: 312 ###-###-####)..

 

15.         Governing Law; Headings:

 

THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS PRINCIPLES.  The section headings in this Agreement have been inserted as a matter of convenience of reference and are not a part of this Agreement.

 

16.         Parties at Interest:

 

The Agreement herein set forth has been and is made solely for the benefit of the Underwriters, the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the controlling persons, directors and officers referred to in Sections 11 and 12 hereof, and their respective successors, assigns, executors and administrators.  No other person, partnership, association or corporation (including a purchaser, as such purchaser, from any of the Underwriters) shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement.

 

  

17.         Counterparts and Facsimile Signatures:

 

This Agreement may be signed by the parties in counterparts which together shall constitute one and the same agreement among the parties.  A facsimile signature shall constitute an original signature for all purposes.  

 

If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding among the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters, please so indicate in the space provided below for the purpose, whereupon this Agreement shall constitute a binding agreement among the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters.

 

[Signature pages follow]

 

 

	Very truly yours,
	Great Ajax Corp.
	By: /s/ Lawrence Mendelsohn
	By: Lawrence Mendelsohn
	Title:   Chairman and
	Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature page to Underwriting Agreement]

 

 

	SELLING STOCKHOLDERS LISTED ON
	SCHEDULE I ATTACHED HERETO
	By:  Lawrence Mendelsohn

 

		/s/ Lawrence Mendelsohn
		Attorney-in-Fact

 

[Signature page to Underwriting Agreement]

 

 

Accepted and agreed to as

of the date first above written:

 

FBR CAPITAL MARKETS & CO.

 

By: /s/ Paul Dellisola_________
Title: Senior Managing Director
For itself and as Representative of the other
Underwriters named on Schedule II hereto.

 

[Signature page to Underwriting Agreement]

 

 

Schedule I

 

		Number of Initial				Number of Option
Name of Party Selling Shares		Shares to be Sold				Shares to be Sold
Great Ajax Corp.			3,750,000				699,667
Luxor Capital Partners Offshore Master Fund, LP			577,848				23,268
Luxor Capital Partners, LP			512,747				20,646
Luxor Wavefront, LP			116,003				4,671
OC 19 Master Fund, L.P			43,082				1,735
Falcon Global Partners LLC			320				13
Total			5,000,000				750,000

 

 

Schedule II

 

		Number of Initial
Underwriter		Shares to be Purchased
FBR Capital Markets & Co.			3,025,000
Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.			1,025,000
Nomura Securities International, Inc.			625,000
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.			200,000
MLV & Co. LLC			125,000
Total			5,000,000

 

 

Schedule III

 

Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses

 

 

Schedule IV

 

Pricing Terms of Initial Public Offering

 

1.

The Company is selling 3,750,000 Initial Shares.  The Selling Stockholders are selling 1,250,000 Initial Shares.

 

2.

The Company has granted an option to the Underwriters to purchase up to an additional 750,000 Option Shares to cover overallotments, of which the Selling Stockholders would sell 50,333 Option Shares and the Company would sell 699,667.

 

3.

The initial public offering price per share for the Shares is $14.25.

 

Participation in this Offering

 

1.

Accounts advised by Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”) will purchase 570,000 shares of Common Stock in this offering at the initial public offering price, and will own 2,865,363 shares of the Company’s outstanding shares post offering.

 

2.

Flexpoint Great Ajax Holdings LLC and affiliates (“Flexpoint”) will purchase 80,000 shares of Common Stock in this offering at the initial public offering price, and will own 1,917,500 shares of the Company’s outstanding shares post offering.

 

3.

No underwriting fee will be payable on shares sold to accounts managed by Wellington or Flexpoint.