Underwriting Agreement, dated as of November 17, 2022, by and among Vertex, Inc., the Selling Stockholder and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Exhibit 1.1
Execution Version
Vertex, Inc.
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share
Underwriting Agreement
November 17, 2022
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
200 West Street,
New York, New York 10282-2198
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The 2009 Jeffrey R. Westphal Generation‐Skipping Trust (the “Selling Stockholder”) proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to sell to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (the “Underwriter”) an aggregate of 1,500,000 shares (the “Shares”) of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class A Stock” and, together with the Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of Vertex, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), collectively, the “Stock”) of the Company.
1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriter that:
(a) | A registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-266168) (the “Initial Registration Statement”) in respect of the Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered to you, have been declared effective by the Commission in such form; other than a registration statement, if any, increasing the size of the offering (a “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement”), filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), which became effective upon filing, no other document with respect to the Initial Registration Statement or document incorporated by reference therein has been filed with the Commission (other than prospectuses filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act, each in the form heretofore delivered to the Underwriter); and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission (the base prospectus filed as part of the Initial Registration Statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement relating to the Shares, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of the Initial Registration Statement and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, including all exhibits thereto and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B under the Act to be |
part of the Initial Registration Statement, each as amended at the time such part of the Initial Registration Statement became effective or such part of the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, became or hereafter becomes effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) hereof) is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Shares filed with Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 6(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Act or Rule 163B under the Act is hereinafter called a “Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act is hereinafter called a “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);
(b) | (i) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (ii) each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information (as defined in Section 10(c) of this Agreement); |
(c) | For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement. The Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule I(c) hereto, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”), as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 5(a) of this Agreement) will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Testing-the-Waters Communication does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters |
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Communication, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Time of Delivery will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;
(d) | The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and no such or any other documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule I(b) hereto; |
(e) | The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and as of the Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; |
(f) | Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree or (ii) entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise of stock options or the award, if any, of restricted stock units or restricted stock as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and in each case pursuant to the Company’s |
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equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, or (ii) the issuance, if any, of stock upon conversion of Company securities as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus) or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (y) any Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); as used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” shall mean any material adverse change or effect, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change or effect, in or affecting (i) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (ii) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(g) | The Company and its subsidiaries do not own any real property. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all personal property (other than with respect to Intellectual Property (as defined below), title to which is addressed exclusively in Section 1(z) below) owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus or such as do not affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases (subject to the effects of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights or remedies of creditors generally; (ii) the application of general principles of equity; and (iii) applicable law and public policy with respect to rights to indemnity and contribution) with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its subsidiaries; |
(h) | Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries has been (i) duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, and each subsidiary of the Company has been listed in the Registration Statement; |
(i) | The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company, including the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder, have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital stock and equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, except for such liens or encumbrances described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; |
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(j) | The compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and the Pricing Prospectus will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, (i) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except, in the case of this clause (i) for such defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (iii) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties except, in the case of this clause (iii) for such defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the sale of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act, the approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the underwriting terms and arrangements and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriter; |
(k) | Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) in violation of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii), for such defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; |
(l) | The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, and under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Our Common Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of U.S. federal income tax laws and regulations with respect thereto, are accurate in all material respects; |
(m) | Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or such officer or director), would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others; |
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(n) | The Company is not an “investment company”, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”); |
(o) | At the time of filing the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Shares, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined under Rule 405 under the Act; |
(p) | Crowe LLP, who has certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder; |
(q) | The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that (i) complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to the Company, (ii) has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applied in the United States (“GAAP”) and (iii) is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences and (E) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus is accurate; and except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting; |
(r) | Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; |
(s) | The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to the Company; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to provide reasonable assurance that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective; |
(t) | This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company; |
(u) | None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee, affiliate, representative or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense (or taken any act in furtherance |
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thereof) directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) in order to influence official action, or to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any direct or indirect unlawful payment; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws;
(v) | The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with (i) all the applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of applicable anti-money laundering laws, including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, as amended by the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and (ii) the applicable anti-money laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened; |
(w) | None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee, representative or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Government, including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company or any of its subsidiaries located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria), and the Company and each of its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions; |
(x) | The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly in all |
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material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. All disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Act, to the extent applicable;
(y) | The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto; |
(z) | Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse effect, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or have the right to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, domain names and other source indicators, copyrights and copyrightable works, know-how, trade secrets, systems, procedures, proprietary or confidential information and all other worldwide intellectual property, industrial property and proprietary rights (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) used in the conduct of their respective businesses; (ii) the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ conduct of their respective businesses does not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any Intellectual Property of any person; (iii) in the last three (3) years, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have received any written notice of any claim relating to any infringement, misappropriation or other violation of any Intellectual Property of any person; and (iv) to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property of the Company and its subsidiaries is not being infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated by any person; |
(aa) | The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, sub-licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course; |
(bb)Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases owned, leased or licensed by the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted and,
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to the knowledge of the Company, are free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants; (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards designed to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses; (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, there have been no breaches or other violations of the IT Systems that have resulted in unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, corruption or loss of any such Personal Data, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same and (iv) the Company and its subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court, arbitrator, or governmental or regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the Company and its subsidiaries, and all contractual obligations, in each case relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification;
(cc) | No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included or incorporated by reference in any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith; |
(dd) | There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications; |
(ee) | The Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, prudent and customary in the business in which it is engaged; and the Company has no 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 at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; |
(ff) | (i) The Company and each of its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or have requested extensions thereof and have paid all taxes required to be paid thereon, except where failure to file such tax returns or pay such taxes would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (ii) no unpaid tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries which has had (nor has the Company or any of its subsidiaries received written notice of any tax deficiency that will be assessed or, to the Company’s knowledge, has been proposed by any taxing authority, which could reasonably be expected to be determined adversely to the Company or its subsidiaries and which could reasonably be expected to have) a Material Adverse Effect; and |
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(gg) | From the time of filing of the Initial Registration Statement through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”). |
2.The Selling Stockholder represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriter and the Company that:
(a) | All consents, approvals, authorizations and orders necessary for the execution and delivery by the Selling Stockholder of this Agreement and for the sale and delivery of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder, have been obtained (except such as have been obtained under the Act, the approval by FINRA of the underwriting terms and arrangements and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriter); and the Selling Stockholder has full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to sell, assign, transfer and deliver the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder; |
(b) | The sale of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder and the execution, delivery and performance by the Selling Stockholder of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any statute, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Selling Stockholder is a party or by which the Selling Stockholder is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Selling Stockholder is subject, or (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries or any property or assets of the Selling Stockholder except, in the case of (i) and (ii), for such conflicts, breaches or violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Selling Stockholder’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement (a “Selling Stockholder Material Adverse Effect”); and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental body or agency is required for the performance by the Selling Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement and the consummation by the Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder, except the registration under the Act of the Shares and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriter; |
(c) | The Selling Stockholder has, and immediately prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 5 hereof) the Selling Stockholder will have, good and valid title to, or a valid “security entitlement” within the meaning of Section 8-501 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code in respect of, the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; and, upon delivery of such Shares and payment therefor pursuant hereto, good and valid title to the Shares, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, will pass to the Underwriter; |
(d) | On or prior to the date of the Pricing Prospectus, the Selling Stockholder has executed and delivered to the Underwriter an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto. |
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(e) | The Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares; |
(f) | To the extent that any statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto are made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Selling Stockholder Information (as defined below), such Registration Statement and Preliminary Prospectus did, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will, when they become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; |
(g) | In order to document the Underwriter’s compliance with the reporting and withholding provisions of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 with respect to the transactions herein contemplated, the Selling Stockholder will deliver to you prior to or at the Time of Delivery a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 (or other applicable form or statement specified by Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof); |
(h) | The obligations of the Selling Stockholder hereunder shall not be terminated by operation of law, whether by the death or incapacity of any individual Selling Stockholder or, in the case of an estate or trust, by the death or incapacity of any executor or trustee or the termination of such estate or trust, or in the case of a partnership or corporation, by the dissolution of such partnership, limited liability company or corporation, or by the occurrence of any other event; if any individual Selling Stockholder or any such executor or trustee should die or become incapacitated, or if any such estate or trust should be terminated, or if any such partnership, limited liability company or corporation should be dissolved, or if any other such event should occur, before the delivery of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder, certificates representing the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement; |
(i) | The Selling Stockholder (i) is not the subject of any Sanctions, (ii) has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions, (iii) has not taken nor will not take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) in order to influence official action, or to any person in violation of Money Laundering Laws or any applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws and (iv) will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, (a) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person, or in any country |
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or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of Sanctions, or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions, or (b) in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any Money Laundering Laws or any applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; and
(j) | The Selling Stockholder is not prompted by any material non-public information concerning the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is not disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus to sell its Shares pursuant to this Agreement. |
3.Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Selling Stockholder agrees to sell to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter agrees, to purchase from the Selling Stockholder, at a purchase price per share of $14.90, 1,500,000 Shares.
4.Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Shares, the Underwriter proposes to offer the Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
5.(a) The Shares to be purchased by the Underwriter hereunder, in definitive or book-entry form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Underwriter may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Selling Stockholder shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder to the Underwriter, through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of the Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of the Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Selling Stockholder to the Underwriter at least forty-eight hours in advance. The Company and the Selling Stockholder will cause the certificates, if any, representing the Shares to be made available for checking and packaging at least twenty-four hours prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) with respect thereto at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “Designated Office”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on November 22, 2022 or such other time and date as the Underwriter and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery is herein called the “Time of Delivery.”
(b)The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 9 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(m) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, One Manhattan West, New York, New York 10001 (the “Closing Location”), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 5, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
6.The Company agrees with the Underwriter:
(a)To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such
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earlier time as may be required under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; within the time required by such Rule; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;
(b)Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation (where not otherwise required) or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction (where not otherwise required);
(c)Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriter with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act or the Exchange Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to the Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case the Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of
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issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of the Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to the Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
(d)To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158); provided, however, that the Company will be deemed to have furnished such statement to its securityholders if it is filed by the Company on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”);
(e)During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Stock or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities, (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise (other than, with respect to either clause (i) or (ii), the Shares to be sold hereunder or any shares sold or granted pursuant to equity incentive plans of the Company, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement, as described in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus) or (iii) otherwise publicly announce any intention to engage in or cause any action or activity described in clause (i) above or transaction or arrangement described in clause (ii) above, without prior written consent of the Underwriter;
(f)During a period of three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirement of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, to furnish to its stockholders as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year an annual report (including a balance sheet and statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries certified by independent public accountants) and, as soon as practicable after the end of each of the first three quarters of each fiscal year (beginning with the fiscal quarter ending after the effective date of the Registration Statement), to make available to its stockholders consolidated summary financial information of the Company and its subsidiaries for such quarter in reasonable detail; provided that no reports, documents or other information need to be furnished pursuant to this Section 6(f) to the extent they are available on EDGAR or any successor thereto;
(g)During a period of three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, to furnish to you copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to you (i) as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of securities of the Company is listed to the extent they are not available on EDGAR; and (ii) such additional information concerning the business and financial condition of
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the Company as you may from time to time reasonably request (such financial statements to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries are consolidated in reports furnished to its stockholders generally or to the Commission); provided that no such reports, documents or other information need to be furnished pursuant to this Section 6(g) to the extent they are available on EDGAR or any successor thereto or to the extent the provision of such reports, documents or other information would require public disclosure by the Company under Regulation FD;
(h)To use its best efforts to maintain the listing of the Shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.’s National Market (“NASDAQ”);
(i) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b), the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 P.M., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 111(b) under the Act;
(j)Upon written request of the Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to the Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by the Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Shares (the “License”); provided, however, that the License shall be used solely for the purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be assigned, transferred or sublicensed by the Underwriter, and the Company shall have the right to review, approve of or revoke any such use under the License; and
(k)To promptly notify you if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) completion of the distribution of the Shares within the meaning of the Act and (ii) the Time of Delivery.
7. (a) The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Underwriter, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; the Selling Stockholder represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Underwriter, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus; and the Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission; any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Underwriter is listed on Schedule I(a) hereto;
(b)The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending;
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication prepared or authorized by it any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Underwriter and, if requested by the Underwriter, will prepare and furnish without charge to the
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Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;
(d)The Company represents and agrees that (i) it has not engaged in, or authorized any other person to engage in, any Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the prior consent of the Underwriter with entities that the Company reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (a)(12) or (a)(13) under the Act; and (ii) it has not distributed, or authorized any other person to distribute, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than those distributed with the prior consent of the Underwriter that are listed on Schedule I(d) hereto; and the Company reconfirms that the Underwriter has been authorized to act on its behalf in engaging in Testing-the-Waters Communications; and
(e)The Underwriter represents and agrees that any Testing-the-Waters Communications undertaken by it were with entities that the Underwriter reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (a)(12) or (a)(13) under the Act.
8.The Company and the Selling Stockholder covenant and agree with one another and with the Underwriter that (a) the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants and counsel for the Selling Stockholder in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriter and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 6(b) hereof, including the reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with, any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Shares; (v) the cost of preparing stock certificates; (vi) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar; (vii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include the Underwriter and its representatives) and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section; provided that the aggregate amount payable by the Company with respect to fees and disbursements of counsel for
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the Underwriter pursuant to subsections (iii) and (iv) shall not exceed $50,000); and (b) the Selling Stockholder will pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to the performance of the Selling Stockholder's obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section, including all expenses and taxes incident to the sale and delivery of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder to the Underwriter hereunder. In connection with clause (b) of the preceding sentence, the Underwriter agrees to pay any New York State stock transfer tax, and the Selling Stockholder agrees to reimburse the Underwriter for associated carrying costs if such tax payment is not rebated on the day of payment and for any portion of such tax payment not rebated. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 10 and 12 hereof, (i) the Underwriter will pay all of its own costs and expenses, including the fees of its counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by it, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers it may make, (ii) the Company will bear all of the Company’s (but not the Underwriter’s) travel expenses and the Underwriter will bear all of the Underwriter’s (but not the Company’s) travel expenses, in each case, in connection with any “roadshow” presentation to investors and (iii) notwithstanding the immediately preceding clause, the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriter, on the other hand, shall each pay 50% of the cost of any chartered aircraft used in connection with any “roadshow” presentation to investors. Nothing in this Section 8 shall affect any agreement that the Company and the Selling Stockholder may make for the sharing of any costs and expenses related to the matters covered by this Section 8.
9.The obligations of the Underwriter hereunder shall be subject, in its discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company and the Selling Stockholder herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company and the Selling Stockholder shall have performed all of its and their obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a)The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 6(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 P.M., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Pricing Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;
(b)Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, counsel for the Underwriter, shall have furnished to you such written opinion or opinions and negative assurance letter, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c)Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you;
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(d)(i) Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, counsel for the Selling Stockholder, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you and (ii) Blume Partners LLC, Pennsylvania counsel for the Selling Stockholder, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you;
(e)On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at the Time of Delivery, Crowe LLP shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you;
(f)(i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (A) the exercise or settlement (including any “net” or “cashless” exercises or settlements), if any, of stock options, stock appreciation rights or restricted stock units or the award, if any, of stock options, restricted stock units or restricted stock or the vesting of restricted stock units or restricted stock, in each case, pursuant to the Company’s equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus) or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change or effect, or any development involving a prospective change or effect, in or affecting (x) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, or (y) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at the Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(g)On or after the Applicable Time, to the extent the Company has rated securities, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s securities by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s securities;
(h)On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the Exchange or on NASDAQ; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on NASDAQ; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration
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by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at the Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(i) The Shares to be sold at the Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed for quotation on NASDAQ;
(j) The Underwriter shall have received an executed copy of an agreement, in the form set forth on Exhibit A hereto, from the Selling Stockholder;
(k) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 6(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement;
(l) On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at the Time of Delivery, the Company shall deliver to the Underwriter a certificate of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company in form and substance satisfactory to you; and
(m)The Company and the Selling Stockholder shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company and of the Selling Stockholder, respectively, satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Selling Stockholder, respectively, herein at and as of the Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company and the Selling Stockholder of all of their obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to the Time of Delivery, and the Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished certificates as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (f) of this Section and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request.
10.(a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which the Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “roadshow” as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Act (a “roadshow”), any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse the Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing
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Prospectus or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(b)The Selling Stockholder will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which the Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Selling Stockholder Information provided by the Selling Stockholder, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Selling Stockholder consists of the Selling Stockholder Information relating to the Selling Stockholder; and will reimburse the Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Selling Stockholder shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and provided, further, that the liability of the Selling Stockholder pursuant to this subsection (b) shall not exceed the proceeds (net of any underwriting discounts and commissions but before deducting expenses) from the sale of the Shares sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder (the “Selling Stockholder Proceeds”). As used in this Agreement and an applicable document, “Selling Stockholder Information” shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by the Selling Stockholder expressly for use therein.
(c)The Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company and the Selling Stockholder against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company or the Selling Stockholder may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and will reimburse the Company and the Selling Stockholder for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company or the Selling Stockholder in connection with investigating or defending
20
any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred. As used in this Agreement and an applicable document, “Underwriter Information” shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter expressly for use therein; it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus: the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the third paragraph under the caption “Underwriting”, and the information contained in the eleventh paragraph under the caption “Underwriting.”
(d)Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; provided that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 10 except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 10. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(e)If the indemnification provided for in this Section 10 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other from the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company and the Selling Stockholder on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder on the one hand and the
21
Underwriter on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriter, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Selling Stockholder on the one hand or the Underwriter on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), the Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which the Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission; and (ii) the contribution by the Selling Stockholder pursuant to this subsection (e) shall not exceed the Selling Stockholder Proceeds (reduced by any amounts such Selling Stockholder is obligated to pay under subsection (b) above). No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
(f)The obligations of the Company and the Selling Stockholder under this Section 10 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company and the Selling Stockholder may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each employee, officer and director of the Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer or other affiliate of the Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriter under this Section 10 shall be in addition to any liability which the Underwriter may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Selling Stockholder within the meaning of the Act.
11.The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of the Underwriter or any controlling person of the Underwriter, or the Company, or the Selling Stockholder, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, or any controlling person of the Selling Stockholder, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
12.If for any reason (other than those set forth in clauses (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) of Section 9(h)), any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder as provided herein, the Company will reimburse the Underwriter for all out-of-pocket expenses, including reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriter
22
in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company and the Selling Stockholder shall then be under no further liability to the Underwriter except as provided in Sections 8 and 10 hereof.
13.All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriter shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the Underwriter: in care of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Registration Department; if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary; and if to the Selling Stockholder shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to counsel for the Selling Stockholder at c/o Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Spencer Feldman; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 10(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriter’s Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company or the Selling Stockholder by you upon request. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriter is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies its clients, including the Company and the Selling Stockholder, which information may include the name and address of its clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriter to properly identify its clients.
14.This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriter, the Company and the Selling Stockholder and, to the extent provided in Sections 10 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company, the Selling Stockholder or the Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Shares from the Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
15.Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
16.The Company and the Selling Stockholder acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Selling Stockholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriter, on the other, and does not constitute a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriter, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction the Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or the Selling Stockholder, (iii) the Underwriter has not assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or the Selling Stockholder with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or the Selling Stockholder on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company or the Selling Stockholder except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Company and the Selling Stockholder has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate and (v) none of the activities of the Underwriter in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice or solicitation of any action by the Underwriter with respect to any entity or natural person. The Company and the Selling Stockholder agrees that it will not claim
23
that the Underwriter has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or the Selling Stockholder, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
17.This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter with respect to the subject matter hereof.
18.This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York. The Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter agree that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter agree to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.
19.THE COMPANY, THE SELLING STOCKHOLDER AND THE UNDERWRITER HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
20.This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company and the Selling Stockholder are authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company and the Selling Stockholder relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriter imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
22. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(a)In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
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(b) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(c) As used in this section:
“BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k).
“Covered Entity” means any of the following:
(i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);
(ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or
(iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).
“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.
“U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Signature Pages to Follow]
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us one for the Company and the Underwriter plus one for each counsel and the Selling Stockholder counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement among the Underwriter, the Company and the Selling Stockholder.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| | ||
| VERTEX, INC. | ||
| | ||
| | ||
| By: | /s/Bryan Rowland | |
| | Name: | Bryan Rowland |
| | Title: | General Counsel |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
| THE 2009 JEFFREY R. WESTPHAL | ||
| GENERATION-SKIPPING TRUST | ||
| | ||
| | ||
| By: | /s/ Jeffrey R. Westphal | |
| | Name: | Jeffrey R. Westphal |
| | Title: | Co-Trustee |
| | ||
| | ||
| By: | /s/ Lisa M. Wollan | |
| | Name: | Lisa M. Wollan |
| | Title: | Co-Trustee |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
Accepted as of the date hereof: November 17, 2022
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. LLC | | ||
| | ||
| | ||
By: | /s/ William Connolly | | |
Name: | William Connolly | | |
Title: | Partner, Managing Director | |
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
SCHEDULE I
(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package:
None.
(b) Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference:
None.
(c) Information other than the Pricing Prospectus that comprise the Pricing Disclosure Package:
The public offering price per share for the Shares is $15.15
The number of Shares purchased by the Underwriter is 1,500,000
(d) Written Testing-the-Waters Communications:
None.
Exhibit A
Vertex, Inc.
Lock-Up Agreement
November 17, 2022
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
200 West Street
New York, NY 10282-2198
Re: Vertex, Inc. - Lock-Up Agreement
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that you, as underwriter (the “Underwriter”), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement with Vertex, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and The 2009 Jeffrey R. Westphal Generation-Skipping Trust, providing for a public offering (the “Public Offering”) of shares (the “Shares”) of Class A common stock of the Company (the “Class A Common Stock” and together with the Class B common stock of the Company, the “Common Stock”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
In consideration of the agreement by the Underwriter to offer and sell the Shares, and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period beginning from the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date set forth on the final prospectus supplement used to sell the Shares (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned shall not, and shall not cause or direct any of its affiliates to, (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, lend or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock of the Company (such options, warrants or other securities, collectively, “Derivative Instruments”), including without limitation any such shares or Derivative Instruments now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned, (ii) engage in any hedging or other transaction or arrangement (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale, loan, pledge or other disposition (whether by the undersigned or someone other than the undersigned), or transfer of any of the economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any shares of Common Stock of the Company or Derivative Instruments, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise (any such sale, loan, pledge or other disposition, or transfer of economic consequences, a “Transfer”) or (iii) otherwise publicly announce any intention to engage in or cause any action or activity described in clause (i)
above or transaction or arrangement described in clause (ii) above. The undersigned represents and warrants that the undersigned is not, and has not caused or directed any of its affiliates to be or become, currently a party to any agreement or arrangement that provides for, is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in any Transfer during the Lock-Up Period other than as would be permitted under clauses (i) through (xi) below.
If the undersigned is not a natural person, the undersigned represents and warrants that no single natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), other than a natural person, entity or “group” (as described above) that has executed a Lock-Up Agreement in substantially the same form as this Lock-Up Agreement, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the common equity interests, or 50% or more of the voting power, in the undersigned.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock of the Company:
(i)as a bona fide gift or gifts, or by will or intestacy upon the death of the undersigned, provided that the donee or donees, beneficiary or beneficiaries, heir or heirs or legal representatives thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), reporting that such transfer of the undersigned’s shares, shall be required or voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period, other than a Form 5 if the date by which a Form 5 is required to be filed in connection with such transfer occurs during the Lock-Up Period;
(ii)to any trust, partnership, limited liability company or other entity created for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, provided that the trustee of the trust agrees that the trust, or the partnership, limited liability company or other entity agrees that it, shall be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting such transfer of the undersigned’s shares, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period;
(iii)if the undersigned is a trust, to a trustor, trustee or beneficiary of the trust or to the estate of a trustor, trustee or beneficiary of such trust, provided that the transferees agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting such transfer of the undersigned’s shares, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period;
(iv)if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, (A) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity that is an affiliate (as defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of the undersigned, or (B) to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned, or (C) as part of a distribution by the undersigned to its stockholders, partners, members or other equityholders or to the estate of any such stockholders, partners, members or other equityholders, provided in each case that the transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting such
transfer of the undersigned’s shares, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period;
(v)to the Company as the result of a vesting, conversion, exercise or exchange of any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to any existing employee benefit plans described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (in each case, as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), including shares of Common Stock surrendered or transferred to the Company in connection with a “cashless” or “net exercise” to cover tax withholding obligations of the undersigned in connection with such vesting, conversion, exercise or exchange, provided that any shares of Common Stock received upon such conversion, exercise or exchange shall be subject to the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that if the undersigned is required to file a report under the Exchange Act, the undersigned shall include a statement in such report to the effect that the filing relates to the conversion, exercise or exchange of securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to existing employee benefit plans;
(vi)pursuant to a change of control (as defined below) of the Company that has been approved by the Company’s board of directors, provided that in the event that the change of control is not completed, the Shares owned by the undersigned that are subject to the restrictions contained in this Lock-Up Agreement shall remain so restricted in accordance with this Lock-Up Agreement;
(vii)to the Company in connection with the conversion of shares of Class B common stock of the Company held by the undersigned as of the date of the Underwriting Agreement into shares of Class A Common stock, provided that any shares of Class A Common Stock received by the undersigned as a result of such conversion shall be subject to the restrictions set forth herein;
(viii)(A) to the Underwriter pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement or (B) in connection with a sale of the undersigned’s Shares acquired in open market transactions after completion of the Public Offering, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, or other public announcement shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with subsequent sales of Common Stock or other securities acquired in such open market transactions; and
(ix)with the prior written consent of the Underwriter.
For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, (i) “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin (including, without limitation, any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law) and (ii) “change of control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any person or group of persons (other than one or more of the pre-Public Offering stockholders), becomes the beneficial owner of more than 90% of the voting capital stock of the Company.
The undersigned now has, and, except as contemplated by clause (i) through (ix) above, for the duration of this Lock-Up Agreement will have, good and marketable title to the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock of the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, and claims whatsoever.
Nothing in this Lock-Up Agreement shall prevent the establishment by the undersigned of any contract, instruction or plan (a “Plan”) that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) under the Exchange Act; provided, that it shall be a condition to the establishment of any such Plan that no sales of Common Stock shall be made pursuant to such a Plan prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period; and provided further, such a Plan may only be established if no public announcement of the establishment or the existence thereof, and no filing with SEC under the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be made voluntarily by the undersigned, the Company or any other person, prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period.
This agreement shall automatically terminate upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the date the Company provides the Underwriter with written notice that it does not intend to proceed with the Public Offering, but only in the event such notice is given prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement; (ii) the date of the termination of the Underwriting Agreement, if prior to the payment for and delivery of any Shares to the Underwriter; (iii) the date the Underwriter, if prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, is no longer participating as an Underwriter; or (iv) December 16, 2022, if the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by that date.
The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock of the Company except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriter has not provided any recommendation or investment advice nor has the Underwriter solicited any action from the undersigned with respect to the offering of the securities and the undersigned has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.
This Lock-Up Agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and when so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriter are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| | ||
| THE 2009 JEFFREY R. WESTPHAL | ||
| GENERATION-SKIPPING TRUST | ||
| | ||
| | ||
| By: | | |
| | Name: | Jeffrey R. Westphal |
| | Title: | Co-Trustee |
| | ||
| | ||
| By: | | |
| | Name: | Lisa M. Wollan |
| | Title: | Co-Trustee |