Underwriting Agreement, dated as of December 7, 2022, by and among Vor Biopharma Inc. and Evercore Group L.L.C. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, as representatives of the several underwriters named therein
Exhibit 1.1
Execution Draft
VOR BIOPHARMA INC.
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
Underwriting Agreement
December 7, 2022
Evercore Group L.L.C.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
As representatives (the Representatives) of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto
c/o | Evercore Group L.L.C. |
55 East 52nd Street
New York, New York 10055
c/o | Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated |
787 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Vor Biopharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this Agreement), to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the Underwriters) an aggregate of 15,302,267 shares (the Shares) of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (Stock), of the Company.
1. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(a) A registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-263541) (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, or transmitted for filing, 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 Representatives); and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or any part thereof or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that
purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act has been initiated or, to the Companys knowledge, 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 Base 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 Base 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 final prospectus relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the Prospectus; any reference herein to the Base Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, and 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 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Base 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 Base 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) (A) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (B) 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 9(b) of this Agreement);
2
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the Applicable Time is 7:40 a.m. (New York City time) on the date of this Agreement. The Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule II(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 4(a) of this Agreement) (as supplemented by any post-effective amendment thereto) 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 Written 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 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 (as supplemented by any post-effective amendment thereto) 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 Company is not an ineligible issuer in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act. Each Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending, and each such Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the issuance and sale of the Shares did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts with or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein. Except for the Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and electronic road shows, if any, furnished to the Representatives before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Representatives prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any Free Writing Prospectus.
(e) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the 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
3
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 documents were filed with the Commission since the Commissions 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 II(b) hereto;
(f) 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;
(g) Neither the Company nor its subsidiary has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) sustained any material loss or material 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 subsidiary taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiary 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, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise, if any, of stock options or the award, if any, of stock options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Companys 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 its subsidiary 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, prospects or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiary 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, including the issuance and sale of the Shares, or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
4
(h) The Company and its subsidiary have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property, if any, and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by it, 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 materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiary; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiary are held by it under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its subsidiary;
(i) Each of the Company and its subsidiary 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 and/or lease 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, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(j) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform in all material respects to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;
(k) The Shares to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable and will conform in all material respects to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights that have not been complied with or otherwise effectively waived;
(l) The issue and sale of the Shares and the compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement, the Pricing Prospectus and the 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, (A) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or its subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or its subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or its subsidiary is subject, (B) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or its subsidiary, or (C) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or its subsidiary or any of their properties, except, in the case of clause (A) and (C) for such defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to 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 issue and 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, the approval for listing the Shares on The Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq) 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 Underwriters;
5
(m) Neither the Company nor its subsidiary 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 its subsidiary 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 or its subsidiary 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 or violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(n) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions Description of Capital Stock and Shares Eligible for Future Sale, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;
(o) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or its subsidiary or, to the Companys knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is a party or of which any property of the Company or its subsidiary or, to the Companys knowledge, any officer or director of the Company, is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or its subsidiary (or such officer or director), would individually or in the aggregate reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Companys knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others;
(p) The Company is not, and immediately after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares in accordance with this Agreement and the application of the proceeds as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, will not be an investment company, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act);
(q) 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;
(r) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company, are independent public accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(s) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) that (i) complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to the Company, (ii) has been designed by the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide
6
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and (iii) is designed to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and the Companys internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (it being understood that this subsection shall not require the Company to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 as of an earlier date than it would otherwise be required to so comply under applicable law);
(t) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Companys internal control over financial reporting that has materially and adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect, the Companys internal control over financial reporting;
(u) 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 ensure that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiary is made known to the Companys principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in all material respects;
(v) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.;
(w) None of the Company or its subsidiary, any director or officer thereof, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company has (i) directly or indirectly made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful payment, contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense, benefit, or expense to any government official, including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned 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; or (ii) violated or is in violation of any applicable provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law;
(x) The Company has instituted policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve compliance with anti-corruption laws;
7
(y) The operations of the Company and its subsidiary are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with the 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 the anti-money laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiary conduct business (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 its subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened;
(z) None of the Company or its subsidiary, any director or officer thereof, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or its subsidiary 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, His Majestys Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, Sanctions), nor is the Company or its subsidiary located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of comprehensive Sanctions including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea region of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic and the so-called Luhansk Peoples Republic (the Sanctioned Countries), and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of Sanctions or is a Sanctioned Country, or (ii) 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;
(aa) In the last five years, the Company and its subsidiary have not engaged in any transactions or dealings with any person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions or a Sanctioned Country;
(bb) 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 in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its subsidiary at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders equity and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiary for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
8
(cc) There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered by the Company under the Act except as have been validly waived or complied with in connection with the offering of the Shares;
(dd) The Company and its subsidiary have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as are, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, reasonable and is ordinary and customary for comparable companies in the same or similar businesses; and neither the Company nor its subsidiary has (i) received written notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business;
(ee) The Companys board of directors meets the independence requirements of, and has established an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, in each case, that meets the independence requirements of, the rules and regulations of the Commission and Nasdaq, including the phase-in periods provided by the rules and regulations of the Commission and Nasdaq;
(ff) The Company, its subsidiary and their respective directors, officers and employees, are and for the past three (3) years have been, in compliance with applicable Health Care Laws (defined herein), including, but not limited to, the rules and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Department of Justice, except for such noncompliance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement, Health Care Laws shall mean, as applicable, the federal Anti-kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.), the criminal False Claims Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), applicable criminal laws relating to health care fraud and abuse, including, without limitation, those set forth at 18 U.S.C. §§ 286, 287, 1347 and 1349, the exclusion law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7), the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. §§ 1320d et seq.), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 17921 et seq.) (HIPAA), and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq.), the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq.) and comparable state, local and foreign laws, each as amended from time and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The Company is not a party to or does not have any ongoing reporting obligations pursuant to any corporate integrity agreement, deferred or non-prosecution agreement, monitoring agreement, consent decree, settlement order, plan of correction or similar agreement imposed by any governmental authority. The Company has not received any written notification, correspondence or any other written or oral communication, including, without limitation, any Form FDA 483, notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from the FDA or any similar regulatory authority, or any notification of any pending or, to the Companys knowledge, threatened claim, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action, from any governmental authority alleging or asserting potential or actual material non-compliance by, or material liability of, the Company under any Health Care Laws;
9
(gg) Each of the Company and its subsidiary possesses, and is in compliance with the terms of, all applications, certificates, approvals, clearances, registrations, exemptions, franchises, licenses, permits, consents and other authorizations issued by the appropriate Governmental Authorities and necessary to conduct its business (collectively, Licenses), including, without limitation, all Licenses required by the FDA, or any component thereof, and/or by any other U.S., state, local or foreign government or drug regulatory agency (collectively, the Regulatory Agencies). All such Licenses are in full force and effect and the Company is not in violation of any term or conditions of any such License. Each of the Company and its subsidiary and has fulfilled and performed all of its respective obligations with respect to such Licenses and, no event has occurred which allows, or after notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or results in any other impairment of the rights of the holder of any such License. The Company has not received any written notice of proceedings from the applicable Regulatory Agency proposing to revoke or materially adversely modify any such Licenses and, to the Companys knowledge, no Regulatory Agency has taken any action to limit, suspend or revoke any such License possessed by the Company;
(hh) The pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that are described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus were and, if still pending, are being, conducted in all material respects in accordance with the protocols submitted to the FDA or any foreign governmental body exercising comparable authority, and all applicable laws and regulations; the descriptions of the pre-clinical studies and clinical trials conducted by or, to the Companys knowledge, on behalf of the Company or by a licensor, and the results thereof, contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects; the Company is not aware of any other pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, the results of which materially call into question the results described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; and the Company has not received any written notices or correspondence from the FDA, any foreign, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority or any Institutional Review Board or ethics committee or similar body requiring the termination, suspension, material adverse modification or clinical hold of any pre-clinical studies or clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company or by a licensor;
(ii) Neither the Company or its subsidiary nor any of their respective officers, employees or directors, nor, to the Companys knowledge, any of its respective agents or clinical investigators, or licensors, has, for the past three (3) years, been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. federal or foreign health care program or human clinical research or, is subject to a governmental inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action that could reasonably be expected to result in debarment, suspension, or exclusion, or convicted of any crime or engaged in any conduct that would reasonably be expected to result in debarment under 21 U.S.C. § 335a or comparable foreign law;
10
(jj) (i) During the past three (3) years, (A), the Companys and its subsidiarys information technology assets and equipment, computers, technology systems and other systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, IT Systems) operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiary as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants; (B) the Company and its subsidiary have implemented and maintained reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards designed to maintain and protect its confidential information and the privacy, confidentiality, integrity, operation, and security of all physical storage facilities, IT Systems, and data used by or on behalf of the Company or its subsidiary in connection with the operation of the Company or its subsidiary that is considered personal information, personally identifiable information, sensitive personal information, protected health information, or personal data under applicable law, sensitive personal data, or confidential information (collectively, the Protected Information)); and (C) the Company and its subsidiary have taken reasonable steps designed to protect the IT Systems and Protected Information, and have established and maintained commercially reasonable disaster recovery and security plans, procedures and facilities for the business, including, without limitation, for the IT Systems and Protected Information held or used by or for the Company and its subsidiary; and (D) except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, there have not been any (I) security breaches, attacks, or outages of any such IT Systems, (II) actual security breaches resulting in accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration or unauthorized uses or disclosures of Protected Information, or (III) other security incidents or compromises of any IT Systems or Protected Information, or (IV) notifications by any third parties to the Company or its subsidiary of any of the foregoing.
(kk) (A) The Company has at all times in the past three (3) years complied, in all material respects, with all (1) data protection, privacy and security policies applicable to the Company, (2) contractual obligations of the Company concerning data protection, privacy, and security with respect to Protected Information, and (3) applicable laws, statutes, regulations, and directives and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Protected Information or to the protection of such IT Systems and Protected Information from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, including, to the extent applicable, HIPAA, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (collectively, the Data Protection Requirements); (B) the Company has at all times, to the extent required by applicable Data Protection Requirements, provided adequate notice to and obtained any necessary consents from data subjects for any past and present collection, use, disclosure, international transfer and other processing of Protected Information by or for the Company; and (C) the Company (1) has not in the past three (3) years received written notice of any actual liability under or relating to, or actual violation of, any of the Data Protection Requirements; (2) is not currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation, or other corrective action (I) mandated or requested by any legal or regulatory authority relating to any Data Protection Requirement or (II) necessitated by any kind of security breach of, attack on, or outage of any IT System; and (3) is not a party to any order, decree, or agreement by any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority that imposes any obligation or liability relating to any Data Protection Requirement.
11
(ll) Except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company owns or has valid and enforceable licenses or other rights to all patents, copyrights, copyrightable works, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and service names (including all applications and registrations relating to any of the foregoing), and all inventions, know-how, trade secrets and other proprietary or confidential information (whether or not patentable), systems or procedures and all other technology and intellectual property rights necessary for the conduct, or the proposed conduct, of the business of the Company in the manner described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus (collectively, the Company Intellectual Property); the Company Intellectual Property disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as being owned by the Company is owned by the Company free and clear of all material liens, security interests, and encumbrances, and to the Companys knowledge, there are no rights of third parties to such Company Intellectual Property; to the Companys knowledge, the Company Intellectual Property is valid, enforceable and subsisting; and other than as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) the Company is not obligated to pay a material royalty, grant a material license, or provide other material consideration to any third party in connection with the Company Intellectual Property, (ii) no action, suit, claim or other proceeding is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened, alleging that the conduct of the business of the Company in the manner described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus is infringing, misappropriating, diluting or otherwise violating any intellectual property rights of others, (iii) no action, suit, claim or other proceeding is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened, challenging the validity, enforceability, scope, registration, ownership or use of any of the Company Intellectual Property, (iv) no action, suit, claim or other proceeding is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened, challenging the Companys rights in or to any Company Intellectual Property, (v) to the Companys knowledge, no third party has any ownership right in or to any Company Intellectual Property in any field of use that is exclusively licensed to the Company, other than any licensor to the Company of such Company Intellectual Property, (vi) no employee, consultant or independent contractor of the Company is, to the Companys knowledge, in violation in any material respect of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement, or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer or independent contractor where the basis of such violation relates to such employees employment or independent contractors engagement with the Company or actions undertaken while employed or engaged with the Company, (vii) the Company has taken reasonable measures to protect its material confidential information and material trade secrets and to maintain and safeguard the material Company Intellectual Property, including the execution of appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, and (viii) the Company has complied with the material terms of each agreement pursuant to which the Company Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company, and all such agreements are in full force and effect; except in each of (i)(viii) such as would not, if determined adversely to the Company, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
12
(mm) All patents and patent applications within the Company Intellectual Property disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as being owned by the Company have, to the knowledge of the Company, been duly and properly filed and maintained; to the knowledge of the Company, there are no material defects in any of such patents or patent applications; to the knowledge of the Company, the parties prosecuting such applications have complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO) in connection with such applications; and the Company is not aware of any facts required to be disclosed to the USPTO that were not disclosed to the USPTO and which would preclude the grant of a patent in connection with any such application or could form the basis of a finding of invalidity with respect to any patents that have issued with respect to such applications; except such as would not, if determined adversely to the Company, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(nn) Any statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate in all material respects, and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources, if required;
(oo) The Company and its subsidiary possess all 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 having jurisdiction over the Company and its subsidiary that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in 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, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company or its subsidiary has received written notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, permit or authorization;
(pp) All tax returns of the Company and its subsidiary required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown as due on such returns or that otherwise have been assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except: (i) assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with the applicable accounting principles, or (ii) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(qq) The Company 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 the Shares;
(rr) The Company is not a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finders fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares;
(ss) No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company, on the other, that is required by the Act to be described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and that is not so described in such documents and in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;
13
(tt) There are no contracts, arrangements or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and filed as required;
(uu) From the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement relating to the Shares with the Commission through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an emerging growth company as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Act (an Emerging Growth Company);
(vv) The Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and are listed on Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Shares from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. To the Companys knowledge, it is in compliance with all applicable listing requirements of Nasdaq;
(ww) All of the information provided to the Representatives or to counsel for the Representatives by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares, to the knowledge of the Companys counsel, officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Shares, is true, complete, correct and compliant with FINRA rules and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules is true, complete and correct;
(xx) The Company is in compliance, in all material respects, with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(yy) The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commissions rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price per share of $4.042, the number of Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto.
3. Upon the authorization by the Representatives of the release of the Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in definitive or book-entry form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight hours prior notice to the Company shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to the Representatives,
14
through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (DTC), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives at least forty-eight hours in advance. The Company 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, with respect to the Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on December 9, 2022 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Shares 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 8 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(k) hereof, will be delivered electronically or at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 (the Closing Location), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held telephonically or at the Closing Location at 10:00 a.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 4, 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.
5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representatives and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commissions close of business on the second business day following the date of this Agreement or such earlier time as may be required under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by the Representatives promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise the Representatives, 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 the Representatives with copies thereof; to file promptly all materials 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 advise the Representatives, 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 relating to the Shares or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;
15
(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Representatives may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may request and to use reasonable commercial efforts 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), to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction (where not otherwise required) or subject itself to taxation in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise subject to taxation as of the date hereof;
(c) If by the third anniversary (the Renewal Deadline) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Shares remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form satisfactory to you and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be;
(d) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement (or such other time as may be agreed to by the Representatives and the Company) and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as the Representatives 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 in order to comply with the Act, to notify the Representatives and before amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, to furnish you a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement and not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which you reasonably object, and upon your request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities (whose name and address the Underwriters shall furnish to the Company) as many written and electronic copies as the Representatives 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 any 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 issue of the Prospectus, upon request by the Representatives but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such 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;
16
(e) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commissions Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (EDGAR)) 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 (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);
(f) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 90 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, loan, hedge, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with or confidentially submit to 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, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing or (ii) enter into any hedging, 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 the Shares to be sold hereunder or pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement) or (iii) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, in each case, without the prior written consent of the Representatives; provided, however, that the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to (1) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (2) any shares of Stock or any securities or other awards (including without limitation options, restricted stock or restricted stock units) convertible into, exercisable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of Stock pursuant to any stock option plan, incentive plan or stock purchase plan of the Company (collectively, Company Stock Plans) or otherwise in equity compensation arrangements described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, provided that any directors or officers who are the recipients thereof have provided to the Representatives a signed lock-up letter substantially in the form of Annex I hereto, (3) any shares of Common Stock issued upon the conversion, exercise or exchange of convertible, exercisable or exchangeable securities outstanding on the date of this Agreement, in each case if such convertible, exercisable or exchangeable securities is described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, provided that any directors or officers who are the recipients thereof have provided to the Representatives a signed lockup-letter substantially in the form of Annex I hereto, (4) the filing by the Company of any registration statement on Form S-8 or a successor form thereto relating to any Company Stock Plan or options granted outside of a Company Stock Plan, each as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (5) any shares of Stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of Stock issued in connection with any joint venture, commercial or collaborative relationship or the acquisition or license by the Company of the securities, businesses,
17
property or other assets of another person or entity or pursuant to any employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection with any such acquisition, (6) shares of Stock sold pursuant to the Open Market Sale AgreementSM entered into on March 14, 2022, by and between the Company and Jefferies LLC or other at-the-market sales agreement in place as of the date of this Agreement, and (7) any securities issued by the Company pursuant to that certain Securities Purchase Agreement by and among the Company and RA Capital Healthcare Fund, LP and RA Capital Nexus Fund, LP, dated December 7, 2022; provided that in the case of clause (5) the aggregate number of shares that the Company may sell or issue or agree to sell or issue pursuant to clause (5), (x) shall not exceed 5% of the total number of shares of Stock issued and outstanding immediately following the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) and (y) the recipients thereof provide to the Representatives a signed lock-up letter substantially in the form of Annex I hereto; provided further, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph, that clause (6) hereof shall apply only (x) for the period beginning on and including the date of the Prospectus through and including the date that is 45 days after the date of the Prospectus, sales in an aggregate amount not to exceed 175,000 shares, and (y) for the period beginning on and including the date that is 46 days after the date of the Prospectus and continuing to the end of the Lock-Up Period, sales in any amount thereunder.
(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 either Section 13 or Section 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 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 for such quarter in reasonable detail, provided that no reports, documents or other information need to be furnished pursuant to this Section 5(f) to the extent that they are available on EDGAR;
(h) 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 either Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, to furnish to the Representatives copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to the Representatives (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; and (ii) such additional information concerning the business and financial condition of the Company as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request (such financial statements to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of the Company are consolidated in reports furnished to its stockholders generally or to the Commission), provided, that no reports, documents or other information needs to be furnished pursuant to this Section 5(g) to the extent that they are available on EDGAR;
(i) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption Use of Proceeds;
18
(j) To use its best efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, the Shares on Nasdaq;
(k) 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;
(l) Upon reasonable request of any Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to such Underwriter an electronic version of the Companys trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by such 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 or transferred;
(m) To promptly notify the Representatives 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; and
(n) To deliver to each Underwriter (or its agent), on or prior to the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as each Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing Certification.
6. (a) The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representatives, 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; each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, 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 Representatives is listed on Schedule II(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; and the Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions under Rule 433 under the Act to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show;
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication 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 Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare
19
and furnish without charge to each 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 covenant shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication prepared or authorized by the Company 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 Representatives 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) or (a)(8) 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 Representatives that are listed on Schedule II(d) hereto; and the Company reconfirms that the Underwriters have been authorized to act on its behalf in engaging in Testing-the-Waters Communications; and
(e) Each Underwriter represents and agrees that any Testing-the-Waters Communications undertaken by it were with entities that such 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) or (a)(8) under the Act.
7. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Companys counsel and accountants 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, the Base Prospectus, 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 Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing any Agreement among Underwriters, 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 5(b) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey (iv) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on Nasdaq; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Shares (such fees and expenses of counsel in an aggregate amount not to exceed $35,000); (vi) the cost of preparing stock certificates; (vii) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar or dividend disbursing agent; 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. It is understood, however, that, (x) except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9, 10 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters
20
will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make; and (y) subject to the Companys and the Representatives prior written approval of each such expense, the Underwriters and the Company shall each pay 50% of the cost of chartering any aircraft to be used by the representatives of the Company and the employees of the Representatives in connection with the road show or any testing-the-waters meetings by the Company and the Underwriters, provided that both representatives of the Company and employees of the Representatives are on board the aircraft.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at the Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its 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 5(a) hereof; all materials 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 filings 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 or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act 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 the Representatives reasonable satisfaction;
(b) Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to the Representatives such written opinion or opinions, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) Cooley LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives their written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives
(d) Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., intellectual property counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives their written opinion dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives;
(d) 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, Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to the Representatives a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives;
21
(e) (i) Neither the Company nor its subsidiary shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included 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 the exercise of stock options outstanding under Company Stock Plans or granted outside of a Company Stock Plan as described in the Pricing Prospectus, or the award of stock options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company Stock Plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus) or long-term debt of the Company or its subsidiary 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 or its subsidiary, 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, including the issuance and sale of the Shares, 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;
(f) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Companys debt 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 Companys debt securities;
(g) 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 New York Stock Exchange or on Nasdaq; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Companys 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 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;
22
(h) The Shares at the Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on Nasdaq;
(i) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each person or entity listed on Schedule III hereto, substantially to the effect set forth in Annex I hereto in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives;
(j) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and
(k) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of the Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to the Time of Delivery, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request.
9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such 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 Base 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 each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such 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 Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company 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 Base Prospectus any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus,
23
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 Base 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 for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred. As used in this Agreement with respect to an Underwriter and an applicable document, Underwriter Information shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein; it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the fifth paragraph under the caption Underwriting, and the information contained in the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth paragraph under the caption Underwriting.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) of this Section 9 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 9 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 9. 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 any statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
24
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) 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 on the one hand and the Underwriters 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 on the one hand and the Underwriters 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 on the one hand and the Underwriters 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 bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, 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 on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). 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 (d) 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 (d), no Underwriter shall 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 such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. 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. The Underwriters obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each employee, officer and director of each Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer or other affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters 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 within the meaning of the Act.
25
10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares which it has agreed to purchase hereunder at the Time of Delivery, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein. If within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Shares on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term Underwriter as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at the Time of Delivery, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at the Time of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you and the Company as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at the Time of Delivery, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
26
11. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, 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 any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company shall not then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason, any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company as provided herein or the Underwriters decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out-of-pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
13. In all dealings hereunder, the Representatives shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by the Representatives jointly or by the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives in care of Evercore Group L.L.C, 55 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10055, Attention: ECM General Counsel, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, 787 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10019; and 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; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters Questionnaire, or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company by the Representative upon request; provided, however, that notices under subsection 5(e) shall be in writing, and if to the Representatives shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as the representatives at Evercore Group L.L.C., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10055, Attention: ECM General Counsel, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, 787 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10019. 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 Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
15. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 10 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company or any 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 any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
27
16. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term business day shall mean any day when the Commissions office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
17. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arms-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
18. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
19. 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 agrees 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 agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.
20. The Company and each of the Underwriters 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.
21. 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. This Agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com or www.echosign.com) or other transmission method of any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
28
22. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company and the Underwriters 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/or the Underwriters, as applicable, relating to that treatment and structure, without 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.
23. 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.
(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.
29
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters and the Company. It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in a form of Agreement among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company for examination upon request, but without warranty on your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.
[Signature page follows]
30
Execution Draft
Very truly yours, | ||
Vor Biopharma Inc. | ||
By: | /s/ Robert Ang | |
Name: | Robert Ang | |
Title: | President and CEO |
Accepted as of the date hereof:
Evercore Group L.L.C.
By: | /s/ Maren Winnick | |
Name: | Maren Winnick | |
Title: | Senior Managing Director |
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
By: | /s/ Ken Clausman | |
Name: | Ken Clausman | |
Title: | Managing Director |
On behalf of each of the Underwriters
SCHEDULE I | ||||
Underwriter | Total Number of Shares to be Purchased | |||
Evercore Group L.L.C. | 5,661,839 | |||
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | 5,049,748 | |||
JMP Securities LLC | 1,147,670 | |||
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. | 1,147,670 | |||
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated | 1,147,670 | |||
Wedbush Securities Inc. | 1,147,670 | |||
|
| |||
Total: | 15,302,267 | |||
|
|
I-1
SCHEDULE II
(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 $4.30.
The number of Shares purchased by the Underwriters is 15,302,267.
Concurrent Private Offering:
The Company has agreed to issue to RA Capital Healthcare Fund, LP and RA Capital Nexus Fund, LP 11,627,907 shares of Stock at $4.30 per share in a concurrent private offering.
The Company has agreed to register on Form S-3 with the SEC the shares issued in the concurrent private offering. In the event the applicable registration statement has not become effective by December 31, 2022, the Company has agreed to issue to RA Capital Healthcare Fund, LP and RA Capital Nexus Fund, LP an aggregate of 116,279 warrants to purchase 116,279 shares of Stock with an exercise price of $4.30 per share. The term of the warrant is one year.
(d) Written Testing-the-Waters Communications:
None.
SCHEDULE III
Robert Ang
Tirtha Chakraborty
Nathan Jorgensen
Eyal Attar
Matthew Patterson
Daniella Beckman
David Lubner
Sven (Bill) Ante Lundberg
Kush Parmar
Joshua Resnick
5AM Ventures VI, LP
5AM Opportunities I, LP
ANNEX I
Form of Lock-up Agreement
VOR BIOPHARMA INC.
Lock-Up Agreement
December [], 2022
Evercore Group, L.L.C.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
c/o Evercore Group, L.L.C.
55 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10055
c/o Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
787 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Re: | Vor Biopharma Inc. - Lock-Up Agreement |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that you, as representatives (the Representatives), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement on behalf of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to such agreement (collectively, the Underwriters), with Vor Biopharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), providing for a public offering (the Offering) of shares (the Shares) of common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (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 Underwriters 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 90 days after the date set forth on the final prospectus 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, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock (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 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. If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, the undersigned agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed or other Shares the undersigned may purchase in the Offering.
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 (the Exchange Act)), 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 or otherwise dispose of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments:
(i) as a bona fide gift or gifts or as a charitable contribution;
(ii) to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family (as defined below) of the undersigned, or if the undersigned is a trust, to a beneficiary of the trust or to the estate of the beneficiary of such trust;
(iii) in connection with the sale of Common Stock (a) acquired in the Offering (other than any Company-directed Shares acquired by an officer or director of the Company) or (b) acquired in open market transactions after the Offering; provided that if any filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act or other public filing, report or announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock in connection with such transfer or distribution shall be legally required during the Lock-Up Period, such filing, report or announcement shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature and conditions of such transfer;
(iv) if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity (a) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust 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 to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned, or (b) as part of a distribution, transfer or disposition without consideration by the undersigned to its stockholders, partners, members, beneficiaries or other equity holders;
(v) to the Company in connection with the exercise, vesting, exchange or settlement of options, warrants or other rights to acquire shares of Common Stock, including any security convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock, in accordance with their terms (including the vesting or settlement of restricted stock units and including, in each case, by way of net exercise
and/or to cover withholding tax obligations in connection with such exercise, vesting, exchange or settlement) pursuant to an employee benefit plan, option, warrant or other right disclosed in the final prospectus for the Offering, provided that any such shares issued upon exercise, vesting, exchange or settlement of such option, warrant, restricted stock unit or other right (in the case of a net exercise or tax withholding transaction, after giving effect to the settlement of such net exercise or tax withholding transaction) shall be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth herein; provided that any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act reporting a change in beneficial ownership shall indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the applicable circumstances described in this clause, and no other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer;
(vi) by will or intestacy, provided that no public filing, report or announcement shall be voluntarily made and, if required, any public report or filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the transfer of shares by will or intestacy;
(vii) to any immediate family member of the undersigned;
(viii) by operation of law or pursuant to a court order or a settlement agreement related to the distribution of assets in connection with the dissolution of a marriage, domestic partnership or civil union, provided that no public filing, report or announcement shall be voluntarily made and, if required, any public report or filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the transfer of shares by operation of law or pursuant to a court order or a settlement agreement related to the distribution of assets in connection with the dissolution of a marriage, domestic partnership or civil union, as the case may be;
(ix) to the Company pursuant to agreements under which the Company has (a) the option to repurchase such securities or (b) a right of first refusal with respect to transfers of such securities, in each case upon termination of service of the undersigned; provided that any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act reporting a change in beneficial ownership shall indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the applicable circumstances described in this clause, and no other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer;
(x) under a trading plan established pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act that is existing as of the date hereof; provided, however, that any public report or filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the sale occurred pursuant to such trading plan; and
(xi) with the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters.
Additionally, the undersigned may establish a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of the Undersigneds Shares, provided that such plan does not provide for any transfers of Common Stock during the Lock-Up Period and no filing under the Exchange Act nor any other public filing, announcement or disclosure of such trading plan shall be made during the Lock-Up Period.
Further, this Lock-Up Agreement shall not restrict any sale, disposal or transfer of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments to a bona fide third party pursuant to a tender offer for securities of the Company or any merger, consolidation or other business combination involving a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company occurring after the settlement of the Offering, that, in each case, has been approved by the board of directors of the Company; provided that all of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock and Derivative Instruments subject to this Lock-Up
Agreement that are not so transferred, sold, tendered or otherwise disposed of remain subject to this Lock-Up Agreement; and provided, further, that it shall be a condition of transfer, sale, tender or other disposition that if such tender offer or other transaction is not completed, any of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock or Derivative Instruments subject to this Lock-Up Agreement shall remain subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth herein. For the purposes of this paragraph, Change of Control means the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction, the result of which is that any person (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company or its subsidiaries, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of at least 50% of the total voting power of the voting share capital of the Company.
In addition, in the case of transfers pursuant to clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iv), (vi), (vii) and (viii) above, it shall be a condition to such transfer that each transferee, donee or distributee sign and deliver a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this Lock-Up Agreement, except in the case of clauses (a)(vi) and (viii) where a court of competent jurisdiction requires such transfer or distribution be made without such a restriction; provided further that in the case of transfers pursuant to clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iv) and (vii) above, no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act or other public announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; and provided further in the case of transfers pursuant to clauses (a)(i), (ii), (vi) and (vii) above, any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value.
For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, immediate family shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin.
In the event that a holder of at least one percent (1%) of the then outstanding Common Stock (calculated on an as-converted, fully-diluted basis and as of the close of business on the date of the final prospectus used to sell the Shares) who is a party to a lock-up agreement with the Representatives with respect to the Offering (each a Major Holder and, collectively, the Major Holders) is released from its obligations under such lockup agreement, then the same percentage of the total number of outstanding Common Stock held by the undersigned as the percentage of the total number of outstanding Common Stock held by such Major Holder that are the subject of such waiver shall be immediately and fully released on the same terms from the applicable prohibition(s) set forth herein (the Pro-Rata Release); provided that (i) the Representatives shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to provide notice to the Company within two business days of any Pro Rata Release setting forth the number of shares of Common Stock proposed to be released (provided that the failure to provide such notice shall not give rise to any claim or liability against the Representatives or the Underwriters), (ii) upon receipt of such notice from the Representatives, the Company will notify the undersigned of the requested release within five business days, and (iii) the undersigned may require a Pro Rata Release by the Representatives from the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement by (x) providing notice in writing to the Representatives of such requirement and (y) certifying in writing to the Representatives and the Company the total number of shares of Common Stock held by such shareholder as of the time of the request of the Pro Rata Release. If the Company fails to notify the undersigned within five business days of the request of the Release, the failure to give such notice shall not give rise to any claim or liability against the Representatives or the Underwriters.
The Pro Rata Release shall not apply (a)(1) to the extent that the aggregate holding percentage of the Common Stock subject to any such releases or waivers is less than or equal to 1% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding prior to the completion of the Offering (calculated on an as-converted, fully-
diluted basis and as of the close of business on the date set forth on the final prospectus used to sell the Shares), (2) if (x) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not involving a disposition for value, and (y) the transferee agrees in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this Lock-Up Agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of transfer, (b) if the release, in full or in part, of any Common Stock from the restrictions of a lock-up agreement is in connection with an underwritten follow-on offering that includes such released shares of Common Stock (the Follow-On Offering) where the undersigned has been given the opportunity to participate in such Follow-On Offering on a pro rata basis and otherwise on the same terms as any other equity holders participating in such Follow-on Offering, then the Common Stock held by the undersigned shall be released only if the undersigned enters into a new lock-up letter with the underwriters or that Follow-On Offering with respect to the Lock-Up Securities that are not being released, upon terms and conditions reasonably satisfactory to such underwriters but with restrictions that will be no more restrictive than those applicable to any other shareholder participating in the Follow-On Offering or as set forth herein (other than that the expiration of the new lock-up may be up to 90 days from the date of such Follow-On Offering) and only to the extent that the undersigned agrees to participate as a selling stockholder in the Follow-On Offering and to sell any of the Common Stock released from the restrictions of this Lock-Up Agreement in such Follow-On Offering, or (c) if the release or waiver is granted due to circumstances of an emergency or hardship as determined by the Representatives in their sole judgment.
The undersigned now has, and, except as contemplated above, for the duration of this Lock-Up Agreement will have, good and marketable title to the undersigneds shares of Common Stock , free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, and claims whatsoever. The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Companys transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigneds shares of Common Stock, except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
This Lock-Up Agreement (and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Lock-Up Period described herein) and related restrictions shall automatically terminate and be of no further force and effect upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the Company advising the Underwriters in writing prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering; (ii) the termination of the Underwriting Agreement before the closing of the Offering; (iii) the registration statement for the Offering is withdrawn; or (iv) December 31, 2022, if the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by that date.
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters 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 undersigneds heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns. This Lock-Up Agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com or www.echosign.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.
Very truly yours, |
|
Exact Name of Shareholder |
|
Authorized Signature |
|
Title |