Securities Purchase Agreement, dated December 21, 2023, by and between Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc. and the purchaser listed on the signature page thereto

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Purchase Agreements
EX-10.1 4 ef20017278_ex10-1.htm EXHIBIT 10.1

Exhibit 10.1

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT
 
This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of December 21, 2023, between Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. (including its successors and assigns, the “Purchaser” ).
 
WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (as defined below), and Rule 506 promulgated thereunder, the Company desires to issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Purchaser agree as follows:
 
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
 
1.1        Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:
 
Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.
 
Action” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).
 
Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
 
Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.
 
Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee”  or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in The City of New York are generally open for use by customers on such day.
 
Closing” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.1.
 
Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchaser’s obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities, in each case, have been satisfied or waived.
 

Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Common Stock” means the Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and any other class of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or changed.
 
Common Stock Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common Stock.
 
Common Warrants” means, collectively, the Common Stock purchase warrants delivered to the Purchaser at the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2(a) hereof, which Common Warrants shall be exercisable immediately and have a term of exercise equal to five and one half (5.5) years, in the form of Exhibit A-1 attached hereto.
 
Common Warrant Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Common Warrants.
 
Common Warrant Amendments” means (i) the Amendment to the Purchaser’s Common Warrant, dated April 21, 2023, and (ii) the Amendment to the Purchaser’s Common Warrant, dated September 19, 2022, in the form of Exhibit B  attached hereto.
 
Company Counsel” means Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., with offices located at 1114 6th Ave 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10036.
 
Disclosure Schedules” means the Disclosure Schedules of the Company delivered concurrently herewith.
 
Disclosure Time” means no later than 9:29 a.m. (New York City time) on December 22, 2023.
 
Effective Date” means the earliest of the date that (a) the initial Registration Statement registering for resale all Shares and Warrant Shares has been declared effective by the Commission, (b) all of the Shares and Warrant Shares have been sold pursuant to Rule 144 or may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions, (c) following the one year anniversary of the Closing Date provided that a holder of Shares or Warrant Shares is not an Affiliate of the Company, or (d) all of the Shares and Warrant Shares may be sold pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(1) of the Securities Act without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions and Company Counsel has delivered to such holders a standing written unqualified opinion that resales may then be made by such holders of the Shares and Warrant Shares pursuant to such exemption which opinion shall be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to such holders.
 
Equity Awards” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the definition of the term “Exempt Issuance” in this Section 1.1.
 
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Evaluation Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(s).
 
Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
 
Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors established for such purpose for services rendered to the Company (collectively, any such issuances are defined as “Equity Awards”), including shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any such Equity Awards,  (b) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, including but not limited to any securities issued as consideration for the purchase of ASIC miners, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the prohibition period in Section 4.11(a) herein, and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities, (c) securities to an individual or entity providing past, present or future services to the Company or its Subsidiaries as compensation for such services, provided that such securities are issued at a price not less than the Per Share Purchase Price, (d) securities to holders of securities that are convertible into, exchangeable into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, including warrants, upon any exercise or conversion of such securities by any holder thereof or otherwise in accordance with the terms contained therein, or (e) shares of Common Stock to any holder of OpCo Units pursuant to any request by any such holder to redeem such OpCo Units in accordance with the terms of the OpCo LLC Agreement, as amended.
 
FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.
 
GAAP” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
 
Indebtedness” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(aa).
 
Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(p).
 
Legend Removal Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.1(c).
 
Liens” means a lien, charge pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.
 
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Lock-Up Agreement” means the Lock-Up Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and among the Company and certain directors and officers of the Company, in the form of Exhibit C attached hereto.
 
Material Adverse Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1(b).
 
Material Permits” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(n).
 
Opco” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(a).
 
Opco LLC Agreement” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(a).
 
Opco Units” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(a).
 
Per Share Purchase Price” equals $6.71, subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement but before the Closing.
 
Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
 
Pre-Funded Warrant” means, collectively, the Pre-Funded Common Stock purchase warrants delivered to the Purchaser at the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2(a) hereof, in the form of Exhibit A-2 attached hereto, if applicable.
 
Pre-Funded Warrant Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants.
 
Proceeding” means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened.
 
Public Information Failure” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
Public Information Failure Payment” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.2(b).
 
Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.
 
Purchaser’s Representation Letter” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(c).
 
Registration Rights Agreement” means the Registration Rights Agreement, dated on or about the date hereof, among the Company and the Purchaser, in the form of Exhibit D attached hereto.
 
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Registration Statement” means a registration statement meeting the requirements set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement and covering the resale by the Purchaser of the Shares and the Warrant Shares.
 
Required Approvals” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).
 
Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.
 
Rule 424” means Rule 424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.
 
SEC Reports” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
 
Securities” means the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.
 
Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
 
Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to the Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.
 
Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed to include locating and/or borrowing shares of Common Stock).
 
Subscription Amount” means the aggregate amount, as specified in Section 2.1, to be paid for Shares and Warrants purchased hereunder in United States dollars and in immediately available funds (minus, if applicable, the Purchaser’s aggregate exercise price of the Pre-Funded Warrants, which amounts shall be paid as and when such Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised for cash).
 
Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company as set forth in the SEC Reports and shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.
 
Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading.
 
Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market or the New York Stock Exchange (or any successors to any of the foregoing).
 
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Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Warrants, the Common Warrant Amendments, the Registration Rights Agreement, the Lock-Up Agreement, all exhibits and schedules thereto and hereto and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.
 
Transfer Agent” means American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the current transfer agent of the Company, with a mailing address of 6101 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219, Attn: Laura Bomensatt-Hauck and an email address of ***@*** , and any successor transfer agent of the Company.
 
Variable Rate Transaction” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(b).
 
VWAP” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the Common Stock is then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b) if OTCQB or OTCQX is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable, (c) if the Common Stock is not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the Common Stock are then reported on the Pink Open Market (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per share of the Common Stock so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the Purchaser of a majority in interest of the Securities then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.
 
Warrants” means, collectively, the Common Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants.
 
Warrant Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.
 
ARTICLE II
PURCHASE AND SALE
 
2.1         Closing.  On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchaser agrees to purchase, $15,433,000 of Shares and Warrants.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent that the Purchaser determines, in its sole discretion, that the Subscription Amount (together with the Purchaser’s Affiliates and any Person acting as a group together with the Purchaser or any of the Purchaser’s Affiliates) would cause the Purchaser’s beneficial ownership of the shares of Common Stock to exceed the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, or as the Purchaser may otherwise choose, the Purchaser may elect to purchase Pre-Funded Warrants in lieu of the Shares as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a). The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% (or, at the election of the Purchaser at Closing, 9.99%) of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of the Securities on the Closing Date.  In each case, the election to receive Pre-Funded Warrants is solely at the option of the Purchaser. On the Closing Date, the Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via wire transfer in accordance with the Company’s written wire instructions, immediately available funds equal to the Subscription Amount, and the Company shall cause the Transfer Agent to deliver to the Purchaser its Shares and a Warrant, as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and the Company and the Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing.  Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall take place remotely by electronic transfer of the Closing documentation.
 
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2.2         Deliveries.
 
(a)          On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Purchaser the following:
 
(i)         a legal opinion of Company Counsel, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser;
 
(ii)        a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Transfer Agent instructing the Transfer Agent to deliver, on an expedited basis evidence of the issuance of the Purchaser’s Shares hereunder as held in DRS book-entry form by the Transfer Agent and registered in the name of the Purchaser;
 
(iii)       if applicable, a Pre-Funded Warrant registered in the name of the Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the difference between (A) the Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase Price and (B) the number of Shares otherwise issuable to the Purchaser that would cause the Purchaser’s beneficial ownership of Common Stock to be more than the Beneficial Ownership Limitation with an exercise price equal to $0.00001 per share of Common Stock, subject to adjustment therein;
 
(iv)       a Common Warrant registered in the name of the Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 100% of the sum of the Purchaser’s Shares and Pre-Funded Warrant Shares, with an exercise price equal to $7.00, subject to adjustment therein;
 
(v)        the Company shall have provided the Purchaser with the Company’s wire instructions on Company letterhead and executed by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer;
 
(vi)        the Common Share Warrant Amendments duly executed by the Company;
 
(vii)       the Lock-Up Agreements; and
 
(viii)     the Registration Rights Agreement duly executed by the Company.
 
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(b)          On or prior to the Closing Date, the Purchaser shall deliver to the Company the following:
 
(i)          the Subscription Amount by wire transfer to the account specified in the Company’s written instructions;
 
(ii)         the Registration Rights Agreement duly executed by the Purchaser; and
 
(iii)        the Common Share Warrant Amendments duly executed by the  Purchaser.
 
2.3          Closing Conditions.
 
(a)          The obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:
 
(i)        the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchaser contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate in all material respects as of such date;
 
(ii)        all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Purchaser required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and
 
(iii)       the delivery by the Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this Agreement.
 
(b)          The obligations of the Purchaser hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:
 
(i)         the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) when made and on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate as of such date;
 
(ii)        all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed;
 
(iii)        the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;
 
(iv)        there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date hereof; and
 
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(v)          from the date hereof to the Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal Trading Market, and, at any time prior to the Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity of such magnitude in its effect on, or any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of the Purchaser, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Securities at the Closing.
 
ARTICLE III
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
 
3.1      Representations and Warranties of the Company. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports or the Disclosure Schedules, which SEC Reports and Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof and shall qualify any representation or otherwise made herein to the extent of the disclosure contained in the SEC Report or the corresponding section of the Disclosure Schedules, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to the Purchaser:
 
(a)        Subsidiaries.  The Subsidiaries of the Company are set forth in the SEC Reports. Other than Stronghold Digital Mining Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“OpCo”), the Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  The Company holds a managing member interest and 11,673,841 common units representing limited liability company interests (“OpCo Units”) in OpCo, free and clear of any Liens, and 5,385,017 preferred units and warrant units in OpCo which may be converted into OpCo Units in certain circumstances; such managing member interest and OpCo Units have been duly authorized and validly issued in accordance with the Fifth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Stronghold Digital Mining Holdings LLC, dated as of March 14, 2023 (the “OpCo LLC Agreement”) and are fully paid (to the extent required under the OpCo LLC Agreement) and non-assessable (except with respect to the OpCo Units, as such non-assessability may be affected by Sections 18-607 and 18-804 of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act.
 
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(b)        Organization and Qualification.  The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.  Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.
 
(c)         Authorization; Enforcement.  The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals.  This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
 
(d)         No Conflicts.  Assuming satisfaction of all conditions to Closing specified herein, the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, anti-dilution or similar adjustments, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
 
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(e)          Filings, Consents and Approvals.  The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii) the filing with the Commission pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, (iii) the notice and/or application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the issuance and sale of the Securities and the listing of the Shares and Warrant Shares for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby, (iv) the filing of Form D with the Commission and such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws, or (v) that will otherwise be obtained prior to Closing (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).
 
(f)         Issuance of the Securities.  The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the applicable Transaction Documents.  The Warrant Shares, when issued in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents.  The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this Agreement and the Warrants.
 
(g)        Capitalization.  The capitalization of the Company as of the date hereof is as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), which Schedule 3.1(g) shall also include the number of shares of Common Stock owned beneficially, and of record, by Affiliates of the Company as of the date hereof.  The Company has not issued any capital stock since the date of its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the Company’s stock option or other incentive plans, the exercise of employee stock options or other equity awards under the Company’s stock option or other incentive plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act.  No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any shares of Common Stock or the capital stock of any Subsidiary, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents or capital stock of any Subsidiary.  Other than with respect to the Company’s “Up-C” structure or as disclosed in the SEC Reports, there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary that contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or such Subsidiary. The Company does not have any stock appreciation rights or “phantom stock” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement other than Common Stock Equivalents. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities.  Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, there are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.
 
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(h)         SEC Reports; Financial Statements.  The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the draft Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed on December 22, 2023 in the form provided to the Purchaser and the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has filed for a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension.  As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  The Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing.  Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.
 
(i)        Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments.  Since the date of the latest balance sheet included within the SEC Reports, except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission and (C) liabilities incurred to finance the acquisition of equipment, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option or incentive plans.  The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information.  Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement or in the SEC Reports, no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, prospects, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that is required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.
 
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(j)          Litigation.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”), which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty.  There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company (in his or her capacity as such).  The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.
 
(k)        Labor Relations.  No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good.  To the knowledge of the Company, no current executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary (as defined under Rule 3b-7 promulgated under the Exchange Act) is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters.  The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
 
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(l)          Compliance.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is currently in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree, or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as would not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
 
(m)        Environmental Laws.          The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws relating to pollution or protection of human health or (to the extent such health relates to exposure to Hazardous Materials, as defined below) the environment (including ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata), including laws relating to emissions, discharges; or releases of regulated chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, or toxic or hazardous substances or wastes (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) into the environment, or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials, as well as all legally enforceable decrees, injunctions, judgments and orders, or regulations, issued, entered, promulgated or approved thereunder (“Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received all permits, licenses or other authorizations required of them under Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses as they are currently operated; and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or authorization as described in (ii), except in each case where the failure to comply with such Environmental Laws under (i), the failure to receive such permits, licenses or authorizations under (ii), or the failure to comply with such terms and conditions under (iii) would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.  Notwithstanding the generality of any other representations or warranties contained in this Agreement, this subsection 3.1(m) will be deemed to contain the only representations and warranties of the Company and the Subsidiaries in this Agreement in respect to matters pertaining to or arising under Environmental Laws.
 
(n)         Regulatory Permits.  The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities (but excluding any certificates, authorizations and permits issued under Environmental Law) necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.
 
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(o)         Title to Assets.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, the Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii)  Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP or the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties.  Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects.
 
(p)         Intellectual Property.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”).  All of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company are valid, subsisting, and to the knowledge of the Company, enforceable.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect.  To the knowledge of the Company, there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company.  The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
 
(q)         Insurance.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.
 
(r)         Transactions with Affiliates and Employees.  Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports or set forth on Schedule 3.1(r), none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.
 
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(s)        Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date.  The Company and 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 GAAP 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. The Company and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms.  The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the end of the period covered by the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation Date”).  The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date.  Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) of the Company and its Subsidiaries that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
 
(t)          Private Placement. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchaser’s representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, no registration under the Securities Act is required for the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the Purchaser as contemplated hereby. The issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder does not contravene the rules and regulations of the Trading Market.
 
(u)         Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
 
(v)         Registration Rights.  Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports,  no Person has any right to cause the Company or any Subsidiary to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.
 
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(w)        Listing and Maintenance Requirements.  The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, the Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Common Stock is currently eligible for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation and the Company is current in payment of the fees to the Depository Trust Company (or such other established clearing corporation) in connection with such electronic transfer.
 
(x)        Application of Takeover Protections.  The Company and the Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti‑takeover provision under the Company’s certificate of incorporation (or similar charter documents) or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Purchaser as a result of the Purchaser and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Securities and the Purchaser’s ownership of the Securities.
 
(y)         Disclosure.  All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchaser regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.
 
(z)        No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchaser’s representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of (i) the Securities Act which would require the registration of any such securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.
 
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(aa)       Solvency.  Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, consolidated and projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid.  The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt).  The Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date.  All outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments, has been disclosed in the SEC Reports.  For the purposes of this Agreement, “Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.
 
(bb)       Tax Status.  Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries each (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required to have been filed by it by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, and which are shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations; (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate in accordance with GAAP for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply; and (iv) there are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary have no knowledge of any such claim being threatened by a taxing authority.
 
(cc)        No General Solicitation.  Neither the Company nor any Person acting on behalf of the Company has offered or sold any of the Securities by any form of general solicitation or general advertising.  The Company has offered the Securities for sale only to the Purchaser and certain other “accredited investors” within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act.
 
(dd)       Foreign Corrupt Practices.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.
 
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(ee)      Accountants.  The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is Urish Popeck, LLC.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
 
(ff)         No Disagreements with Accountants and Lawyers.          There are no disagreements of any kind presently existing, or reasonably anticipated by the Company to arise, between the Company and the accountants and lawyers formerly or presently employed by the Company, and the Company is current with respect to any fees owed to its accountants and lawyers which could affect the Company’s ability to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents.
 
(gg)       Acknowledgment Regarding Purchaser’s Purchase of Securities.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Purchaser is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby. The Company further acknowledges that the Purchaser is not acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Purchaser’s purchase of the Securities.  The Company further represents to the Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.
 
(hh)        [RESERVED]
 
(ii)         Regulation M Compliance.  The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to 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 Securities in violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
 
(jj)         Stock Option Plans. Each stock option granted by the Company under the Company’s stock option plan was granted (i) in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan and (ii) with an exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date such stock option would be considered granted under GAAP and applicable law. No stock option granted under the Company’s stock option plan has been backdated.  The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is no and has been no Company  policy or practice to knowingly grant, stock options prior to, or otherwise knowingly coordinate the grant of stock options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.
 
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(kk)     Cybersecurity.  (i) (x) There has been no material security breach or other compromise of or relating to any of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of its respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of it), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) and (y) the Company and the Subsidiaries have not been notified of, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to its IT Systems and Data; (ii) the Company and the Subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) the Company and the Subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable safeguards designed to maintain and protect its material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and Data; and (iv) the Company and the Subsidiaries have implemented commercially reasonable backup and disaster recovery technology.
 
(ll)        Office of Foreign Assets Control.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary  nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).
 
(mm)     Bank Holding Company Act.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”).  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
 
(nn)      Money Laundering.  The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no Action or Proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.
 
(oo)       No Disqualification Events.  With respect to the Securities to be offered and sold hereunder in reliance on Rule 506 under the Securities Act, none of the Company, any of its predecessors, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the offering hereunder, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, nor any promoter (as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity at the time of sale (each, an “Issuer Covered Person” and, together, “Issuer Covered Persons”) is subject to any of the “Bad Actor” disqualifications described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i) to (viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”), except for a Disqualification Event covered by Rule 506(d)(2) or (d)(3). The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Issuer Covered Person is subject to a Disqualification Event. The Company has complied, to the extent applicable, with its disclosure obligations under Rule 506(e), and has furnished to the Purchaser a copy of any disclosures provided thereunder.
 
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(pp)      Other Covered Persons. The Company is not aware of any person (other than any Issuer Covered Person) that has been or will be paid (directly or indirectly) remuneration for solicitation of purchasers in connection with the sale of any Securities.
 
(qq)       Notice of Disqualification Events. The Company will notify the Purchaser in writing, prior to the Closing Date of (i) any Disqualification Event relating to any Issuer Covered Person and (ii) any event that would, with the passage of time, become a Disqualification Event relating to any Issuer Covered Person.
 
3.2         Representations and Warranties of the Purchaser.  The Purchaser hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date therein, in which case they shall be accurate as of such date):
 
(a)          Organization; Authority.  The Purchaser is either an individual or an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents and performance by the Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of the Purchaser.  Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by the Purchaser, and when delivered by the Purchaser in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
 
(b)          Own Account.  The Purchaser understands that the Securities are “restricted securities” and have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Securities or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, has no present intention of distributing any of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law (this representation and warranty not limiting the Purchaser’s right to sell the Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  The Purchaser is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.
 
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(c)        Purchaser Status.  At the time the Purchaser was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it exercises any Warrants, it will be an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (a)(12), or (a)(13) under the Securities Act or (ii) a “qualified institutional buyer” as defined in Rule 144A(a) under the Securities Act.
 
(d)       Experience of the Purchaser.  The Purchaser, either alone or together with its representatives, has such knowledge, sophistication and experience in business and financial matters so as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment in the Securities, and has so evaluated the merits and risks of such investment.  The Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities and, at the present time, is able to afford a complete loss of such investment.
 
(e)         General Solicitation.  The Purchaser is not, to the Purchaser’s knowledge, purchasing the Securities as a result of any advertisement, article, notice or other communication regarding the Securities published in any newspaper, magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio or presented at any seminar or, to the knowledge of the Purchaser, any other general solicitation or general advertisement.
 
(f)        Access to Information. The Purchaser acknowledges that it has had the opportunity to review the Transaction Documents (including all exhibits and schedules thereto) and the SEC Reports and has been afforded (i) the opportunity to ask such questions as it has deemed necessary of, and to receive answers from, representatives of the Company concerning the terms and conditions of the offering of the Securities and the merits and risks of investing in the Securities; (ii) access to information about the Company and its financial condition, results of operations, business, properties, management and prospects sufficient to enable it to evaluate its investment; and (iii) the opportunity to obtain such additional information that the Company possesses or can acquire without unreasonable effort or expense that is necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the investment. The Purchaser represents that it has been furnished with all materials and information requested by either the Purchaser or others representing the Purchaser. The Purchaser understands and acknowledges that there may exist material non-public information regarding the Company that has not been disclosed by the Company in the SEC Reports or otherwise furnished to the Purchaser. The Purchaser understands that its acquisition of the Securities involves a high degree of risk.
 
(g)         Certain Transactions and Confidentiality.  Other than consummating the transactions contemplated hereunder, the Purchaser has not, nor has any Person acting on behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with the Purchaser, directly or indirectly executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the securities of the Company during the period commencing as of the time that the Purchaser first received a term sheet (written or oral) from the Company or any other Person representing the Company setting forth the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereunder and ending immediately prior to the execution hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of the Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of the Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of the Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.  Other than to other Persons party to this Agreement or to the Purchaser’s representatives, including, without limitation, its officers, directors, partners, legal and other advisors, employees, agents and Affiliates, the Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and terms of this transaction).  Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.
 
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(h)        The Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in this Section 3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect the Purchaser’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.
 
ARTICLE IV
OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES
 
4.1         Transfer Restrictions.
 
(a)        The Securities may only be disposed of in compliance with state and federal securities laws.  In connection with any transfer of Securities other than pursuant to an effective registration statement or Rule 144, to the Company or to an Affiliate of the Purchaser or in connection with a pledge as contemplated in Section 4.1(b), the Company may require the transferor thereof to provide to the Company an opinion of counsel selected by the transferor and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the form and substance of which opinion shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to the effect that such transfer does not require registration of such transferred Securities under the Securities Act.  As a condition of transfer, any such transferee shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement and shall have the rights and obligations of the Purchaser under this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.
 
(b)          The Purchaser agree to the imprinting, so long as is required by this Section 4.1, of a legend on any of the Securities in the following form:
 
THIS SECURITY HAS NOT BEEN  REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR THE SECURITIES COMMISSION OF ANY STATE IN RELIANCE UPON AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.  THIS SECURITY MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT WITH A REGISTERED BROKER-DEALER OR OTHER LOAN WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT IS AN “ACCREDITED INVESTOR” AS DEFINED IN RULE 501(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR OTHER LOAN SECURED BY SUCH SECURITIES.
 
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The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Purchaser may from time to time pledge pursuant to a bona fide margin agreement with a registered broker-dealer or grant a security interest in some or all of the Securities to a financial institution that is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act and, if required under the terms of such arrangement, the Purchaser may transfer pledged or secured Securities to the pledgees or secured parties.  Such a pledge or transfer would not be subject to approval of the Company and no legal opinion of legal counsel of the pledgee, secured party or pledgor shall be required in connection therewith.  Further, no notice shall be required of such pledge.  At the Purchaser’s expense, the Company will execute and deliver such reasonable documentation as a pledgee or secured party of Securities may reasonably request in connection with a pledge or transfer of the Securities, including, if the Securities are subject to registration pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, the preparation and filing of any required prospectus supplement under Rule 424(b)(3) under the Securities Act or other applicable provision of the Securities Act to appropriately amend the list of Selling Stockholders (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement) thereunder.
 
(c)         Certificates evidencing the Shares and Warrant Shares shall not contain any legend (including the legend set forth in Section 4.1(b) hereof), provided the Purchaser has delivered to the Company a properly completed representation letter in the form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company and its counsel (a “Purchaser’s Representation Letter”), (i) while a registration statement (including the Registration Statement) covering the resale of such security is effective under the Securities Act, (ii) following any sale of such Shares or Warrant Shares pursuant to Rule 144 (assuming cashless exercise of the Warrants), (iii) if such Shares or Warrant Shares are eligible for sale under Rule 144 (assuming cashless exercise of the Warrants), or (iv) if such legend is not required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the Commission).  Upon written request by the Purchaser, the Company shall cause its counsel to issue a legal opinion to the Transfer Agent if required by the Transfer Agent to effect the removal of the legend hereunder included on any Shares or Warrant Shares, as applicable, provided the Purchaser has delivered to the Company a properly completed Purchaser’s Representation Letter to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company and its counsel.  If all or any portion of a Warrant is exercised at a time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the resale of the Warrant Shares, or if such Shares or Warrant Shares may be sold under Rule 144 and the Company is then in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 (assuming cashless exercise of the Warrants), or if the Shares or Warrant Shares may be sold under Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 as to such Shares or Warrant Shares or if such legend is not otherwise required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the Commission) then such Warrant Shares shall be issued free of all legends, provided the Purchaser has delivered to the Company a properly completed Purchaser’s Representation Letter to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company and its counsel. The Company agrees that at such time as such legend is no longer required under this Section 4.1(c), it will, no later than the earlier of (i) two (2) Trading Days and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period (as defined below) following the delivery by the Purchaser to the Company or the Transfer Agent of a certificate representing Shares or Warrant Shares, as the case may be, issued with a restrictive legend (such date, the “Legend Removal Date”), deliver or cause to be delivered to the Purchaser a certificate representing such shares that is free from all restrictive and other legends, provided the Purchaser has delivered to the Company in advance a properly completed Purchaser’s Representation Letter to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company and its counsel.  The Company may not make any notation on its records or give instructions to the Transfer Agent that enlarge the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Section 4.  Securities subject to legend removal hereunder shall be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Purchaser by crediting the account of the Purchaser’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company System as directed by the Purchaser.  As used herein, “Standard Settlement Period” means the standard settlement period, expressed in a number of Trading Days, on the Company’s primary Trading Market with respect to the Common Stock as in effect on the date of delivery of a certificate representing Shares or Warrant Shares, as the case may be, issued with a restrictive legend.
 
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(d)         In addition to the Purchaser’s other available remedies, the Company shall pay to the Purchaser, in cash, (i) as partial liquidated damages and not as a penalty, for each $1,000 of Shares or Warrant Shares (based on the VWAP of the Common Stock on the date such Securities are submitted to the Transfer Agent) delivered for removal of the restrictive legend and subject to Section 4.1(c), $10 per Trading Day (increasing to $20 per Trading Day five (5) Trading Days after such damages have begun to accrue) for each Trading Day after the Legend Removal Date until such Securities are delivered without a legend; provided, however, that Purchaser shall not be entitled to such liquidated damages if the Purchaser has failed to deliver to the Company in advance a properly completed Purchaser’s Representation Letter to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company and its counsel, and (ii) if the Company fails to (a) issue and deliver (or cause to be delivered) to the Purchaser by the Legend Removal Date the Securities free from all restrictive and other legends and (b) if after the Legend Removal Date the Purchaser purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Purchaser of all or any portion of the number of shares of Common Stock, or a sale of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to all or any portion of the number of shares of Common Stock that the Purchaser anticipated receiving from the Company without any restrictive legend, then, an amount equal to the excess of the Purchaser’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions and other out-of-pocket expenses, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased (including brokerage commissions and other out-of-pocket expenses, if any) (the “Buy-In Price”) over the product of (A) such number of Shares or Warrant Shares that the Company was required to deliver to the Purchaser by the Legend Removal Date multiplied by (B) the lowest closing sale price of the Common Stock on any Trading Day during the period commencing on the date of the delivery by the Purchaser to the Company of the applicable Shares or Warrant Shares (as the case may be) and ending on the date of such delivery and payment under this Section 4(d).
 
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(e)        The Purchaser agrees with the Company that the Purchaser will sell any Securities pursuant to either the registration requirements of the Securities Act, including any applicable prospectus delivery requirements, or an exemption therefrom, and that if Securities are sold pursuant to a Registration Statement, they will be sold in compliance with the plan of distribution set forth therein, and acknowledges that the removal of the restrictive legend from certificates representing Securities as set forth in this Section 4.1 is predicated upon the Company’s reliance upon this understanding.
 
4.2         Furnishing of Information; Public Information.
 
(a)        Until the earlier of the time that (i) no Purchaser owns Securities or (ii) the Warrants have expired, the Company covenants to maintain the registration of the Common Stock under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.
 
(b)         RESERVED.
 
4.3         Integration.  The Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities in a manner that would require the registration under the Securities Act of the sale of the Securities or that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities for purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction.
 
4.4       Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity.  The Company shall (a) by the Disclosure Time, issue a press release disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and (b) file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act.  From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Purchaser that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to any of the Purchaser by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. In addition, effective upon the issuance of such press release, the Company acknowledges and agrees that any and all existing confidentiality or similar obligations under any agreement, whether written or oral, between the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates on the one hand, and any of the Purchaser or any of their Affiliates on the other hand, shall terminate. The Company and the Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor the Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of any Purchaser, or without the prior consent of the Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of the Purchaser, or include the name of any Purchaser in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading Market, without the prior written consent of the Purchaser, except (a) as required by federal securities law in connection with (i) any registration statement contemplated by the Registration Rights Agreement and (ii) the filing of final Transaction Documents with the Commission and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchaser with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b).
 
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4.5       Shareholder Rights Plan.  No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or, with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an “Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company, or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Securities under the Transaction Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the Purchaser.
 
4.6         Non-Public Information. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and the information set forth on the Disclosure Schedules which shall be disclosed pursuant to Section 4.4, and subject in all respects to the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf will provide any Purchaser or its agents or counsel with any information that constitutes, or the Company reasonably believes constitutes, material non-public information, unless prior thereto the Purchaser shall have consented to the receipt of such information and agreed with the Company to keep such information confidential.  The Company understands and confirms that the Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.  To the extent that the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates delivers any material, non-public information to the Purchaser without the Purchaser’s consent, the Company hereby covenants and agrees that the Purchaser shall not have any duty of confidentiality to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates, or a duty to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates not to trade on the basis of, such material, non-public information, provided that the Purchaser shall remain subject to applicable law. To the extent that any notice provided pursuant to any Transaction Document constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K.  The Company understands and confirms that the Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.
 
4.7         Reserved.
 
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4.8        Indemnification of Purchaser.   Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.8, the Company will indemnify and hold the Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls the Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Purchaser Parties in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser Party, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (unless such action is solely based upon a material breach of such Purchaser Party’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Purchaser Party may have with any such stockholder or any violations by such Purchaser Party of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Purchaser Party which is finally judicially determined to constitute fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct).  If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party.  Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel, a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel.  The Company will not be liable to any Purchaser Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by a Purchaser Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Purchaser Party’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by such Purchaser Party in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents.  The indemnification required by this Section 4.8 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party against the Company or others and any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.
 
4.9        Reservation of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, the Company has reserved and the Company shall continue to reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement and Warrant Shares pursuant to any exercise of the Warrants.
 
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4.10      Listing of Common Stock. The Company hereby agrees to use best efforts to maintain the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market on which it is currently listed, and concurrently with the Closing, the Company shall apply to list or quote all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market. The Company further agrees, if the Company applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other Trading Market, it will then include in such application all of the Shares and Warrant Shares, and will take such other action as is necessary to cause all of the Shares and Warrant Shares to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as possible.  The Company will then take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a Trading Market and will comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market. The Company agrees to maintain the eligibility of the Common Stock for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation, including, without limitation, by timely payment of fees to the Depository Trust Company or such other established clearing corporation in connection with such electronic transfer.
 
4.11       Subsequent Equity Sales.
 
(a)        From the date hereof until 30 days after the Effective Date, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall (i) issue any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents or (ii) file any registration statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, in each case other than (A) a registration statement on Form S-8 in connection with any Company incentive plan described in the SEC reports or a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, (B) any registration statement required to be filed pursuant to any currently existing registration rights agreement or (C) as contemplated pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement.
 
(b)         From the date hereof until 6 months after the Effective Date, the Company shall be prohibited from effecting any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents (or a combination of units thereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction. “Variable Rate Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i)  issues or sells any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive, additional shares of Common Stock either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon, and/or varies with, the trading prices of or quotations for the shares of Common Stock at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity securities or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the Common Stock or (ii) enters into, or effects a transaction under, any agreement, including, but not limited to, an equity line of credit, whereby the Company may issue securities at a future determined price. Any Purchaser shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event will any issuance and sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to a registered at-the-market offering be deemed a Variable Rate Transaction.
 
(c)         Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 4.11 shall not apply in respect of an Exempt Issuance, except that no Variable Rate Transaction shall be an Exempt Issuance.
 
4.12        [RESERVED]
 
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4.13      Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. The Purchaser covenants that neither it, nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  The Purchaser covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company, the Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Disclosure Schedules.  Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, subject to the provisions in the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality or duty not to trade in the securities of the Company to the Company or its Subsidiaries, after the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Purchaser is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.
 
4.14       Form D; Blue Sky Filings.  The Company agrees to timely file a Form D with respect to the Securities as required under Regulation D and to provide a copy thereof, promptly upon request of the Purchaser. The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the Securities for, sale to the Purchaser at the Closing under applicable securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the states of the United States, and shall provide evidence of such actions promptly upon request of the Purchaser.
 
4.15      Acknowledgment of Dilution.  The Company acknowledges that the issuance of the Securities may result in dilution of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, which dilution may be substantial under certain market conditions.  The Company further acknowledges that its obligations under the Transaction Documents, including, without limitation, its obligation to issue the Shares and Warrant Shares pursuant to the Transaction Documents, are unconditional and absolute and not subject to any right of set off, counterclaim, delay or reduction, regardless of the effect of any such dilution or any claim the Company may have against the Purchaser and regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership of the other stockholders of the Company.
 
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4.16       Exercise Procedures.  The form of Notice of Exercise included in the Warrants set forth the totality of the procedures required of the Purchaser in order to exercise the Warrants.  No additional legal opinion, other information or instructions shall be required of the Purchaser to exercise their Warrants.  Without limiting the preceding sentences, no ink-original Notice of Exercise shall be required, nor shall any medallion guarantee (or other type of guarantee or notarization) of any Notice of Exercise form be required in order to exercise the Warrants.  The Company shall honor exercises of the Warrants and shall deliver Warrant Shares in accordance with the terms, conditions and time periods set forth in the Transaction Documents.
 
4.17       Lock-Up Agreements. The Company shall not amend, modify, waive or terminate any provision of any of the Lock-Up Agreements except to extend the term of the lock-up period and shall enforce the provisions of each Lock-Up Agreement in accordance with its terms. If any party to a Lock-Up Agreement breaches any provision of a Lock-Up Agreement, the Company shall promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to seek specific performance of the terms of such Lock-Up Agreement.
 
4.18      Short Sale Prohibition. For a period of six months from the date hereof, the Purchaser shall not engage in any short sales of any securities of the Company. “Short sales” are sales of securities that the seller does not own at the time of the sale or, if owned, that will not be delivered within 20 days of the sale.
 
ARTICLE V
MISCELLANEOUS
 
5.1         Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by the Purchaser by written notice to the Company, if the Closing has not been consummated on or before the fifth (5th) Trading Day following the date hereof; provided, however, that no such termination will affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by any other party (or parties).
 
5.2       Fees and Expenses.  Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees (including, without limitation, any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company and any exercise notice delivered by the Purchaser), stamp taxes and other similar taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchaser.
 
5.3        Entire Agreement.  The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.
 
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5.4        Notices.  Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number or email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given.  The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto.
 
5.5         Amendments; Waivers.  No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed by the parties hereto or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such waived provision is sought.  No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 5.5 shall be binding upon the Purchaserand holder of Securities and the Company.
 
5.6         Headings.  The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.
 
5.7         Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns.  The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Purchaser (other than by merger).  The Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any Person to whom the Purchaser assigns or transfers any Securities, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Securities, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents that apply to the “Purchaser.”
 
5.8        No Third-Party Beneficiaries.  This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8 and this Section 5.8.
 
5.9         Governing Law.  All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof.  Each party agrees that all legal Proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York.  Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any Action or Proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such Action or Proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such Proceeding.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such Action or Proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.   If any party shall commence an Action or Proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing party in such Action or Proceeding shall be reimbursed by the non-prevailing party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such Action or Proceeding.
 
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5.10       Survival.  The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closing and the delivery of the Securities.
 
5.11      Execution.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart.  In the event that any signature is delivered by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.
 
5.12       Severability.  If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.
 
5.13       Rescission and Withdrawal Right.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in (and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction Documents, whenever any Purchaser exercises a right, election, demand or option under a Transaction Document and the Company does not timely perform its related obligations within the periods therein provided, then the Purchaser may rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in part without prejudice to its future actions and rights; provided, however, that, in the case of a rescission of an exercise of a Warrant, the applicable Purchaser shall be required to return any shares of Common Stock subject to any such rescinded exercise notice concurrently with the return to the Purchaser of the aggregate exercise price paid to the Company for such shares and the restoration of the Purchaser’s right to acquire such shares pursuant to the Purchaser’s Warrant (including, issuance of a replacement warrant certificate evidencing such restored right).
 
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5.14       Replacement of Securities.  If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction.  The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Securities.
 
5.15       Remedies.  In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, the Purchaser and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents.  The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any Action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.
 
5.16      Payment Set Aside.  To the extent that the Company makes a payment or payments to the Purchaser pursuant to any Transaction Document or the Purchaser enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other Person under any law (including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.
 
5.17       [RESERVED]
 
5.18      Liquidated Damages. The Company’s obligations to pay any liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been canceled.
 
5.19      Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.
 
5.20      Construction. The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.
 
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5.21      WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.  IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.
 
(Signature Pages Follow)
 
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.
 
STRONGHOLD DIGITAL MINING, INC.
Address for Notice: 


By:
/s/ Matthew J. Smith
Email:







Name: Matthew J. Smith
Title: Chief Financial Officer



With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice): Matthew Usdin





[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
 
SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]
 
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[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO  SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.
 
Name of Purchaser: Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd.                                                               
 
Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser: /s/ Steven Boyd                                                 
 
Name of Authorized Signatory: Steven Boyd                                                                                 
 
Title of Authorized Signatory: CIO of Armistice Capital, LLC, the Investment Manager             
 
Email Address of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________________
 
Address for Notice to Purchaser:
 
Address for Delivery of Securities to Purchaser (if not same as address for notice):
 
Subscription Amount: $15,433,000.00             
 
Shares: 1,000,000               
 
Pre-Funded Warrant Shares: 1,300,000           Beneficial Ownership Blocker ☐ 4.99% or ☒ 9.99%
 
Warrant Shares: 2,300,000            Beneficial Ownership Blocker ☒ 4.99% or ☐ 9.99%
 
EIN Number: _______________________
 
[SIGNATURE PAGES CONTINUE]

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EXHIBIT A-1
 
Form of Warrant Agreement
 
[Attached]
 
38

EXHIBIT A-2
 
Form of Pre-Funded Warrant Agreement
 
[Attached]
 
39

EXHIBIT B
 
Form of Common Warrant Amendments
 
[Attached]
 
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Exhibit C
 
Form of Lock-Up Agreement
 
[Attached]
 
41

Exhibit D
 
Form of Registration Rights Agreement
 
[Attached]
 

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