Form of Underwriting Agreement

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Underwriting Agreements
EX-1.1 2 d39834dex11.htm EX-1.1 EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

Weber Inc.

Class A Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

 

 

Underwriting Agreement

[•], 2021

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC,

BofA Securities, Inc.,

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

As representatives (the “Representatives”) of the several Underwriters

named in Schedule I hereto,

c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street

New York, New York 10282

c/o BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Ave

New York, New York 10179

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Weber 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 Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as Representatives, an aggregate of [•] shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), of the Company and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to [•] additional shares of Class A Common Stock. The aggregate of [•] shares of Class A Common Stock to be sold by the Company is herein called the “Firm Shares” and the aggregate of [•] additional shares of Class A Common Stock to be sold by the Company is herein called the “Optional Shares”. The Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof are herein collectively called the “Shares.”

In connection with the offering contemplated by this Agreement, the “Reorganization Transactions” (as defined in the Registration Statement and the Preliminary Prospectus (each as defined below)), were or will be effected, pursuant to which the Company will become the sole managing member of Weber HoldCo LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and will operate and control all of the business and affairs of Weber HoldCo LLC and, through Weber HoldCo LLC and its subsidiaries, conduct its business. The Company and Weber HoldCo LLC are collectively referred to herein as the “Weber Parties.”


1. Each Weber Party, jointly and severally, represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

(i) A registration statement on Form S–1 (File No. 333-257824) (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 the Representatives, 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 has been filed with the Commission; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act has been initiated or threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus included in the Initial Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) 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 the information contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof and deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Act to be part of the Initial Registration Statement at the time it was declared effective, 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 Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Shares that was included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(a)(iii) hereof) is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; such final prospectus, in the form first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on 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”);

(ii) (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(c) of this Agreement);

(iii) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is [•]:[•] [am/pm] (Eastern 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 each Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a)

 

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of this Agreement) will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each 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 each Time of Delivery, will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;

(iv) 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 each 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;

(v) Neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree or (ii) entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Weber Parties and their subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Weber Parties and their subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise, 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 Company’s 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 Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries or (y) any Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); as used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” shall mean any material adverse change or effect, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change or effect, in or affecting (i) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (ii) the ability of Weber Parties to perform their respective 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, including the Reorganization Transactions;

 

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(vi) The Weber Parties and their subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus or where failure to have such good and marketable title or free and clear title would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Weber Parties and their subsidiaries are held by them under, to the Company’s knowledge, 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 Weber Parties and their subsidiaries;

(vii) Each of the Weber Parties and each of their respective “significant subsidiaries” (as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X under the Act) has been (i) duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus and (ii) duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification; except, in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and each significant subsidiary of each Weber Party has been listed in the Registration Statement;

(viii) On or prior to the First Time of Delivery, the Company will have an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, immediately after giving effect to the Reorganization Transactions (including the issuance of the Firm Shares and the use of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Pricing Prospectus), the Company would have an issued share capital as set forth under the pro forma as adjusted column of the capitalization table in the section of the Pricing Prospectus entitled “Capitalization,” 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 to the description of the capital stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of Weber HoldCo LLC and each subsidiary of the Weber Parties have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of each subsidiary of the Weber Parties are owned directly or indirectly by the Weber Parties, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, except for such liens or encumbrances described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(ix) The Shares have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provide herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable and will conform in all material respects to the description of such Shares contained in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the capital stock,. The issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights;

(x) The issue and sale of the Shares and the compliance by the Weber Parties with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and the Pricing Prospectus, including the Reorganization Transactions, 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 Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries are a party or by which the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries are bound or to which any of the property or assets

 

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of the Weber Parties or any of their subsidiaries are subject, except, in the case of this clause (A) for such defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (B) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries, or (C) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the either Weber Party or any of its respective subsidiaries or any of their properties, except in the case of this clause (C), as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Shares or the consummation by the Weber Parties of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act, the approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the underwriting terms and arrangements and such consents, approvals, authorizations, 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;

(xi) Neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) in violation of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii), for such defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xii) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the capital stock, under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock”, and under the caption “Underwriting”, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;

(xiii) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which either Weber Party or any of their respective subsidiaries is a party or of which any property or assets of the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries is the subject, which would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Weber Parties’ knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others;

(xiv) Neither Weber Party is and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof, will be, an “investment company”, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

(xv) 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 in Rule 405 under the Act;

 

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(xvi) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an independent public accountant as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;

(xvii) Each Weber Party and its subsidiaries 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”)) , including, but not limited to, disclosure controls and procedures, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting, an internal audit function and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”) that (i) complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act, (ii) has been designed by the Weber Parties’ principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and (iii) is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and any Weber Party’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and each Weber Party is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;

(xviii) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Internal Controls over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Internal Controls;

(xix) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each Weber Party;

(xx) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, affiliate, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries has (i) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense (or taken any act in furtherance thereof); (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any direct or indirect unlawful payment; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the rules and regulations thereunder, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-corruption, anti-bribery or related law, statute or regulation (collectively, “Anti-Corruption Laws”); the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with Anti-Corruption Laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representations and warranties contained herein; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of its affiliates will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of Anti-Corruption Laws;

(xxi) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries 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

 

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laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries, threatened;

(xxii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, affiliate, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Government, including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), (ii) located, organized, or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions (a “Sanctioned Jurisdiction”), and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (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 (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; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is knowingly engaged in, or has, at any time in the past five years, knowingly engaged in, any dealings or transactions with or involving any individual or entity that was or is, as applicable, at the time of such dealing or transaction, the subject or target of Sanctions; the Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, and maintain, policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve continued compliance with Sanctions;

(xxiii) The financial statements included 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 subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with 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 in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Act, to the extent applicable;

 

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(xxiv) Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries own or otherwise possess adequate rights to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights and registrations and applications thereof, licenses, know-how, software, systems and technology (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) and other intellectual property (“Intellectual Property”) used in the conduct of their respective businesses and do not, through the conduct of their respective businesses, infringe, violate or conflict with any Intellectual Property right of others. The Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim of material infringement, violation or conflict with, any such rights of others. To the Weber Parties’ and each of their respective subsidiaries’ knowledge, no third party is infringing any Intellectual Property owned by the Weber Parties or their respective subsidiaries in any material respect;

(xxv) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Weber Parties and their subsidiaries have implemented and maintained reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) collected, used, processed, stored or disclosed in connection with their businesses, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Weber Parties and their subsidiaries are presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all applicable judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations, in each case, to the extent relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification;

(xxvi) No material labor disputes against Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Weber Parties, is threatened;

(xxvii) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included in any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith;

(xxviii) Nothing has come to the attention of either Weber Party that has caused either Weber Party to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects;

(xxix) Solely to the extent that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) have been applicable to the Company, there has been no failure on the part of the Company to comply in all material respects with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications;

 

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(xxx) Neither Weber Party nor any affiliate of the Weber Parties has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares;

(xxxi) The Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries have such permits, licenses, approvals, consents, franchises, certificates of need and other approvals or authorizations of governmental or regulatory authorities (“Permits”) as are necessary under applicable law to own their respective properties and conduct their respective businesses in the manner described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, except for any of the foregoing that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries has received notice of any proceedings related to the revocation or modification of any such Permits that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxxii) Except as described in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company has not sold or issued any shares of capital stock during the six-month period preceding the date of the Prospectus, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulations D or S of, the Act, other than shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, stock option plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, restricted stock units, rights or warrants;

(xxxiii) The Weber Parties and their subsidiaries taken as a whole are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are, in the Weber Parties’ reasonable judgment, prudent and customary in the business in which it is engaged; and none of the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxxiv) (A) The Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, applicable laws (including common law), regulations, ordinances, rules, orders, judgments, decrees, permits or other legal requirements of any governmental authority, including without limitation any international, national, state, provincial, regional, or local authority, relating to the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, including their impact on human health or safety (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) have received all Permits required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses, and are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, such Permits, (iii) have not received notice of any Actions that are pending or threatened against any of the Weber Parties or their respective subsidiaries under Environmental Laws; (B) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to any of the Weber Parties or their respective subsidiaries, except in the case of each of (A) and (B) above, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (C) except as described in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) there is no proceeding that is pending or, to the Weber Parties’ knowledge, contemplated, against any of the Weber Parties or their respective subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceeding regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of

 

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$300,000 or more will be imposed, (ii) neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries is aware of any facts or issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that would reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position of the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries, and (iii) neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws;

(xxxv) Except as would not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, the Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries possess, and are in compliance with the terms of, all certificates, authorizations, franchises, licenses and permits (“Business Licenses”) necessary to the conduct of the business now conducted and the Weber Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Business Licenses;

(xxxvi) No Weber Party has, directly or indirectly, including through any of their respective subsidiaries, extended or maintained credit, or arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed any extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan to or for any of their directors or executive officers that was outstanding at or after the time of the first public filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission;

(xxxvii) Except for cases in which the failure to file or pay would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Weber Parties and each of their subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date hereof, and have paid all taxes due thereon. Except for cases where a tax deficiency would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries, and (ii) the Weber Parties have not received any written notice from any taxing authorities asserting any tax deficiency against the Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries;

(xxxviii) There are no contracts or other documents of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement which are not described or filed as required pursuant to the requirements of Form S-1;

(xxxix) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries have (A) operated and currently operate their respective businesses in a manner compliant with all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations, all contractual obligations and all Weber Parties’ policies (internal and posted) related to privacy and data security applicable to the Weber Parties’, and their respective subsidiaries’, collection, use, handling, transfer, transmission, storage, disclosure and/or disposal of the data of their respective customers, employees and other third parties (the “Privacy and Data Security Laws”) and (B) implemented, monitored and have been and are in compliance with, applicable administrative, technical and physical safeguards and policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with Privacy and Data Security Laws and (ii) except as described in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, there has been no loss or unauthorized access, use, modification or breach of security of customer, employee or third party data maintained by or on behalf of the Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries, and neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries has notified, nor has the current intention to notify, any customer, governmental entity or the media of any such event with regard to any material data breach;

 

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(xl) (i) Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), sponsored, maintained or contribute to by the Company or its subsidiaries may have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to, ERISA and the Code, except for such noncompliance that, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) for each employee benefit plan sponsored, maintained or contributed to by the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, the minimum funding standard of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, as applicable (each such plan, an “ERISA Plan”), has been satisfied and is reasonably expected to be satisfied in the future (without taking into account any waiver thereof or extension of any amortization period); (iii) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any ERISA Plan that, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) premiums due but not delinquent under Section 4007 of ERISA) with respect to any ERISA Plan (including a “multiemployer plan”, within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA), except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (v) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the PBGC or any other governmental agency or any foreign regulatory agency with respect to any Plan that, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect; and (vi) none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (x) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all ERISA Plans by the Company in the current fiscal year of the Company compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s recently completed fiscal year; or (y) a material increase in the Company “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year; and

(xli) There are no debt securities or preferred stock of, or guaranteed by, the Company that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.

2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company agrees to 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 $[•] (the “Purchase Price”), the number of Firm Shares (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) as set forth opposite the Underwriters’ respective names in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Company agrees to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the Purchase Price (provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the

 

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Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares), that portion of the number of Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase, as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriters’ respective names in Schedule I hereto, and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to [•] Optional Shares, at the Purchase Price, provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares. Any such election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice from the Representatives to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement and setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by the Representatives but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless the Representatives and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice. The right to purchase the Optional Shares or any portion thereof may be exercised from time to time and to the extent not previously exercised may be surrendered and terminated at any time upon notice by the Representatives to the Company.

3. Upon the authorization by you 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 Disclosure Package 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, 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(s) 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 Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on [•], 2021 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by the Representatives in each written notice given by the Representatives of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Shares, 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 Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery”, each such time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery”, and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.

(b) The documents to be delivered at each 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(l) hereof will be delivered at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, 425 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (the “Closing

 

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Location”), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at [•] p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such 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 are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

5. The Company and, for purposes of Sections 5(e) and 5(l) only, Weber HoldCo LLC, agrees with each of the Underwriters:

(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action that would reasonably be expected to subject it to service of process in any jurisdiction it is not now so subject or to subject themselves to taxation in excess of a nominal amount in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction;

(c) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement 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 you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the

 

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Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, to notify you and upon your request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case 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 your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;

(d) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act) (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);

(e) (i) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any Class A Common Stock of the Company (the “Securities”) , or any options or warrants to purchase shares of Securities or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Securities or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Securities or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc.; provided, however, that the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to: (1) the Shares to be sold hereunder; (2) shares issued pursuant to employee stock option, profits interests, long term incentive plan or other incentive plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement or as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; (3) the issuance by the Company of Class A Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Class A Common Stock, including nonqualified stock options and incentive stock options, and other equity incentive compensation, including restricted stock or restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, dividend equivalents and stock-based awards, pursuant to equity plans or as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (4) any shares of Class A Common Stock issued upon the exercise of options, the settlement of restricted stock units, the conversion of profits interests units into Class A Common Stock or other equity-based compensation described in clause (3); (5) the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8 in connection with the registration of securities granted or to be granted under the Company’s equity compensation plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus; (6) the distribution of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and LLC Units in connection with the Reorganization Transactions; and (7) the issuance of up to 10% of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (assuming all outstanding LLC Units are exchanged for newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-to-one basis) or any such substantially similar securities in connection with the acquisition of, a joint venture with or a merger with, another company, provided that each recipient of such shares pursuant to this clause (7) shall, on or prior to such issuance, execute a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of Annex II hereto with respect to the remaining portion of the Lock-Up Period;

 

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(ii) If Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc., in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions in lock-up letters pursuant to Section 1(b)(iv) or Section 8(j) hereof, in each case for an officer or director of the Company (including any person who is named in the Registration Statement to become a director of the Company at a future date), and provide the Weber Parties with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Weber Parties agree to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Annex I hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver;

(f) 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 Weber Parties and their consolidated subsidiaries certified by independent public accountants) and, as soon as practicable after the end of each of the first three quarters of each fiscal year (beginning with the fiscal quarter ending after the effective date of the Registration Statement), to make available to its stockholders consolidated summary financial information of the Weber Parties and their subsidiaries for such quarter in reasonable detail;

(g) During a period of two years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, to furnish to you copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to you (i) as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of securities of the Company is listed; and (ii) such additional information concerning the business and financial condition of the Company as you may from time to time reasonably request (such financial statements to be on a consolidated basis to the extent the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries are consolidated in reports furnished to its stockholders generally or to the Commission), provided that such information shall be deemed furnished if filed with EDGAR;

(h) 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 under the caption “Use of Proceeds”;

(i) To use its best efforts to list for trading[, subject to official notice of issuance,] the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”);

(j) To file with the Commission such information on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K as may be required by Rule 463 under the Act; and

(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 3a(c) of the Commission’s Informal and Other Procedures (16 CFR 202.3a).

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; and 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;

 

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(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 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 representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication 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 Communication, 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;

(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 Weber Parties covenant and agree with the several Underwriters that (a) the Weber Parties will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Weber Parties’ 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, 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, 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 reasonable and documented 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 the Exchange; (v) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the terms of the sale of the Shares (together with any counsel

 

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fees and disbursements incurred pursuant to clause (iii) in an amount not to exceed $35,000 for such fees and disbursements of counsel only); (vi) the cost of preparing stock certificates; if applicable (vii) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar, (viii) any transfer taxes payable in connection with the transfer of the Shares to the Underwriters, and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters 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.

8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Weber Parties herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and such Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Weber Parties shall have performed all of their obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose 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 your reasonable satisfaction;

(b) Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you such written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;

(c) Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel for the Weber Parties, shall have furnished to you their written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you;

(d) On the date of this Agreement, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, (i) Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you, containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (except that, in any letter dated at a Time of Delivery, the specified “cut-off” date referred to in the comfort letters shall be a date no more than three business days prior to such Time of Delivery), and (ii) the Company shall have furnished to the you a certificate, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you, of its chief financial officer with respect to certain financial data contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, providing “management comfort” with respect to such information;

 

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(e) (i) Neither Weber Party nor any of its respective subsidiaries 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 or long-term debt of the Weber Parties or any of their respective subsidiaries or any change or effect, or any development involving a prospective change or effect, in or affecting (x) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Weber Parties and their respective subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (y) the ability of the Weber Parties to perform their 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 such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(f) [Reserved];

(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 Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on the Exchange; (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 is so material and adverse that it makes it in your judgment impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in this Agreement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(h) The Shares to be sold at such Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed, subject to official notice of issuance, on the Exchange;

(i) The Weber Parties shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each officer, director, and equityholder of the Weber Parties listed on Schedule III hereto, substantially to the effect set forth in Annex II hereto;

(j) The Weber Parties shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the second New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement; and

(k) The Weber Parties shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Weber Parties reasonably satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Weber Parties herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Weber Parties of all of their respective obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to such other matters as you may reasonably request, and the Weber Parties shall have furnished or caused to be furnished certificates as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (f) of this Section 8.

 

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9. (a) The Weber Parties will, jointly and severally, 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, 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 Weber Parties 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, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus 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 each Weber Party and its directors and officers who sign the Registration Statement against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which each Weber Party 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, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, 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 each Weber Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by each Weber Party 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 Weber Parties 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 and thirteenth paragraphs 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)

 

19


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. The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this Section 9, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request or disputed in good faith the indemnified person’s entitlement to such reimbursement prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

(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 Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties 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

 

20


omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties 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 (e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred and documented by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), 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 (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

(e) The obligations of the Weber Parties under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Weber Parties 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, director and affiliate of the Weber Parties (including any person who, with his or her consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to become a director of the Company) and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.

10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase hereunder at a Time of Delivery, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties reasonably satisfactory to the Company 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 Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or a Weber Party notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the Weber Parties shall have the right to postpone such 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.

 

21


(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 such 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 such 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 of the Shares to be purchased at such 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 (or, with respect to a Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Optional Shares) shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Weber Parties, except for the expenses to be borne by Weber Parties 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.

11. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Weber Parties 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 director, officer, employee, affiliate or controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Weber Parties, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Weber Parties, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties as provided herein, or the Underwriters decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Weber Parties will, jointly and severally, 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 Weber Parties 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 you jointly or by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC on behalf of you as the Representatives.

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 Weber Parties, 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.

 

22


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 each of the representatives in care of (a) Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Registration Department and BofA Securities, Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Facsimile: (646) 855 3073, Attention: Syndicate Department, with a copy to: Facsimile: (212) 230-8730, Attention: ECM Legal; if to the Weber Parties shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Weber HoldCo LLC set forth on the cover of the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary; and if to any stockholder that has delivered a lock-up letter described in Section 8(j) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail to his or her respective address provided in Schedule III hereto or such other address as such stockholder provides in writing to the Weber Parties; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(d) 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 Weber Parties by you on request; provided further that notices under subsection 5(e) shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you as you at Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Control Room; BofA Securities, Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Facsimile: (646) 855 3073, Attention: Syndicate Department, with a copy to: Facsimile: (212) 230-8730, Attention: ECM Legal; and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Facsimile: (212) 622-8358, Attention Equity Syndicate Desk. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters and the Weber Parties and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Weber Parties or any Underwriter, or any director, officer, employee, or affiliate of 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.

15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

16. The Weber Parties acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Weber Parties, 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 any Weber Party, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of any Weber Party with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising any Weber Party on other matters) or any other obligation to any Weber Party except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) each Weber Party has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate, and (v) none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. Each Weber Party 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 any Weber Party, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Weber Parties and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

23


18. This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would results in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York. The Weber Parties agree that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Weber Parties agree to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.

19. Each Weber Party 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.

20. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” “delivery,” and words of like import in or relating to this Agreement or any document to be signed in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to include electronic signatures, deliveries or the keeping of records in electronic form. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature, physical delivery thereof or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, and the parties hereto consent to conduct the transactions contemplated hereunder by electronic means.

21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Weber Parties 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 Weber Parties relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriters imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.

22. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.

(a) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

(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.

 

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(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.

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 among each of the Underwriters and each of the Weber Parties in accordance with its terms.

 

 

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Very truly yours,
Weber Inc.
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:
Weber HoldCo LLC
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


Accepted as of the date hereof
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:
BofA Securities, Inc.
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:

On behalf of each of the Underwriters

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriter

   Total Number of
Firm Shares

to be Purchased
     Number of
Optional
Shares to be
Purchased if
Maximum Option
Exercised
 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

     

BofA Securities, Inc.

     

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

     

BMO Capital Markets Corp.

     

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

     

UBS Securities LLC

     

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

     

KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.

     

Academy Securities, Inc.

     

Cabrera Capital Markets LLC

     

Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC

     

Telsey Advisory Group LLC

     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 


SCHEDULE II

 

(a)

Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package

[Electronic Roadshow dated [   ]]

 

(b)

Additional documents incorporated by reference

[None]

 

(c)

Information other than the Pricing Prospectus that comprise the Pricing Disclosure Package

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

The number of Shares purchased by the Underwriters is [ . . . ].

 

(d)

Written Testing-the-Waters Communications

[                 ]


SCHEDULE III

 

Name of Stockholder

   Address


ANNEX I

[FORM OF PRESS RELEASE]

Weber Inc.

[Date]

Weber Inc. (“Company”) announced today that Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc., the lead book-runners in the recent public sale of                shares of the Company’s common stock, are [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to    shares of the Company’s common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company.    The [waiver] [release] will take effect on                , 20    , and the shares may be sold on or after such date.

This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.


ANNEX II

[FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT]

Weber Inc.

[Date]

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

BofA Securities, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street

New York, New York 10282-2198

c/o BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Ave

New York, New York 10179

 

  Re:

Weber Inc. - Lock-Up Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned understands that you, as representatives (the “Representatives”), propose to enter into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) on behalf of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to such agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”), with Weber Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Weber HoldCo LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, providing for a public offering (the “Offering”) of shares (the “Shares”) of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), of the Company (the “Securities”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.

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 180 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 Securities, or any options or warrants to purchase any Securities, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for or that represent the right to receive any Securities (such options, warrants or other securities, collectively, “Derivative Instruments”), including without limitation any such Securities 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 Securities or Derivative Instruments, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Securities 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. For the avoidance of doubt, 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), 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.

If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. agree that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (ii) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.

The foregoing restrictions shall not apply to:

(A) Transfers of the undersigned’s Securities or Derivative Instruments

(i) as a bona fide gift or gifts, including to charitable organizations, or by will, other testamentary document or intestacy;

(ii) to any trust, partnership, limited liability company or other entity for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned;

(iii) to any immediate family member, other dependent or any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned;

(iv) if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity, (a) transfers 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 (b) distributions of the undersigned’s Securities or Derivative Instruments to limited partners, limited liability company members, stockholders or subsidiaries (or their equivalents under the jurisdiction of organization of the undersigned) of the undersigned;

(v) if the undersigned is a trust, to the beneficiary of such trust;

(vi) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (i) through (v) above;

(vii) to the extent necessary to fund the payment of taxes due with respect to the vesting of restricted stock, stock options or similar rights to purchase Securities pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(viii) to the Company or its subsidiaries upon death, disability or termination of employment, in each case, of the undersigned pursuant to an employment agreement, a shareholders’ agreement (or equivalent) or equity award in existence on the date hereof;


(ix) as a result of the operation of law, or pursuant to an order of a court or regulatory agency, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order of a court (including a divorce settlement, divorce decree or separation agreement) or regulatory agency;

(x) pursuant to tenders, sales or other transfers pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of Shares involving a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company; provided, however that, in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Undersigned’s shares shall remain subject to the provisions of this Lock-Up Agreement;

(xi) to the Company pursuant to the call or put provisions of existing employment agreements and equity grant documents, provided that any filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act in connection with such transfer shall indicate, to the extent permitted by such Section and the related rules and regulations, the reason for such disposition and that such transfer of shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for such capital stock was solely to the Company;

(xii) [to any third-party pledgee in a bona fide transaction as collateral to secure obligations pursuant to lending or other arrangements between such third parties (or their affiliates or designees) and the undersigned and/or its affiliates or any similar arrangement relating to a financing arrangement for the benefit of the undersigned and/or its affiliates, provided that any such pledgee or other party shall, upon foreclosure on the pledged Securities, execute and deliver to the Representatives an agreement in the form of this Lock-Up Agreement;]1

(xiii) acquired by the undersigned in the Offering or in open market transactions subsequent to the closing of the Offering; or

(xiv) with the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities, Inc.;

(B) the delivery of Securities or Derivative Instruments to the Company or its subsidiaries for cancellation (or the withholding and cancellation of Securities or Derivative Instruments by the Company or its subsidiaries) as payment for (i) the exercise price of any options granted in the ordinary course pursuant to any of the Company’s current or future employee or director share option, incentive or benefit plans described in the Registration Statement or (ii) the withholding taxes due upon the exercise of any such option or the vesting of any restricted Securities granted under any such plan, with any Securities received as contemplated by any transaction described in this clause (B) remaining subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement; provided that any Securities received upon such exercise shall be subject to all of the restrictions set forth in this Lock-Up Agreement and provided, further, that any filing required under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto and the transaction codes that any such disposition was made in connection with a “cashless” exercise solely to the Company, or

(C) the establishment of a written plan meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act that does not provide for the sale or transfer of Securities during the Lock-Up Period, provided that (a) no filing by any party under the Exchange Act, or other public announcement shall be made voluntarily in connection with the establishment of such plan and (b) any filing required to be made under the Exchange Act in connection with the establishment of such plan shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the establishment of such plan was pursuant to the circumstances described in this clause.

provided that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (A)(i) through (vii), (a) such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value and (b) each transferee, beneficiary, donee, heir or distributee shall execute and deliver to the Representatives, on behalf of the Underwriters, a lock-up letter in the form of this Lock-Up Agreement; and provided, further, that in the case of any transfer or distribution (other than as a result of the vesting of Shares under restricted stock awards) pursuant to clauses (A)(i) through (vii), (A)(xiii) and (B), no filing by any party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) under the Exchange Act, or other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer or distribution (other than filings on Form 5 or Schedules 13D, 13F or 13G). [Notwithstanding the foregoing, clause (b) above shall not apply with respect to any transfer of shares of Class A Common Stock to charitable organization transferees or recipients (including any direct or indirect member or partner of

 

1 

[NTD: Bracketed language to be included only in the lock-ups of certain applicable non-executive employees.]


the undersigned that receives such shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to a distribution in-kind to such member or partner and is subject to restrictions requiring such shares of Class A Common Stock to be transferred only to charitable organizations pursuant to clause (A)(i) above) in an aggregate amount, together with any such transfers pursuant to any substantially similar lock-up agreement with the Representatives, not to exceed 1.0% of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (treating as outstanding, shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exchange of LLC Units not held by the Company).]2

For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, (i) “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin and (ii) “Change of Control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of a majority of the total voting power of the voting stock of the Company.

The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock of the Company except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

Nothing in this Lock-Up Agreement shall prevent the undersigned from making a demand for, or exercising any right with respect to, the registration of the undersigned’s Securities, except for any such demand or any such exercise that is publicly disclosed (or required to be publicly disclosed) by the undersigned or any of its affiliates prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period; provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to take an action in violation of Section 5(e) of the Underwriting Agreement.

The restrictions described in this Lock-Up Agreement shall not apply to (i) the sale of the undersigned’s Securities or Derivative Instruments to the Company or any of its subsidiaries in connection with the purchase of LLC Units from the undersigned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries with the net proceeds of the public offering as contemplated in the Registration Statement, (ii) any exchange, transfer or sale in connection with, and as contemplated by the Reorganization Transactions (as such term is defined in the Registration Statement) and (iii) any exchange or redemption of LLC Units by the Company pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Weber HoldCo LLC Limited Liability Agreement.

The undersigned understands that, if (i) the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective by December 31, 2021, (ii) either the representatives or the Company advises the other party in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that is has determined to not proceed with the public offering of the Securities, (iii) the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Securities to be sold thereunder, or (iv) the Company files an application to withdraw, and the Securities and Exchange Commission consents to the withdrawal of, the registration statement with respect to the public offering of the Securities, the undersigned shall be automatically released from all restrictions and obligations under this Lock-Up Agreement.

This Lock-Up Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Lock-Up Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that none of the Underwriters has made any recommendation or provided any investment or other advice to the undersigned with respect to this Lock-Up Agreement or the subject matter hereof, and the undersigned has consulted its own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory, tax and other advisors with respect to this Lock-Up Agreement and the subject matter hereof to the extent the undersigned has deemed appropriate.

The undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Agreement. 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 undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.

 

 

2 

[NTD: Bracketed language to be included only in the BDT lock-up.]


[Signature page follows]


Very truly yours,

 

Exact Name of Shareholder

 

Authorized Signature

 

Title