Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Merger (a) The Company agrees that, between the date of this Agreement and the earlier of the Effective Time and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms (the “Pre-Closing Period”), except (i) as required by applicable Law, (ii) with the prior written consent of Parent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, and such consent shall be deemed given if Parent provides no written response within five (5) Business Days after a written request by the Company for such consent), (iii) as expressly contemplated by any other provision of this Agreement or (iv) as set forth in Section 5.01(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company shall, and shall cause the Company Subsidiaries to, use reasonable best efforts (A) to conduct the businesses of the Company Group in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) to: (1) preserve substantially intact the business organization, material assets and material properties of the Company Group, (2) keep available the services of its Key Employees on commercially reasonable terms, (3) maintain in effect all Company Permits and (4) maintain in full force and effect its insurance policies (including, for the avoidance of doubt, paying all premiums thereon and renewing or replacing such insurance policies on or prior to their expiration).
(b) Without limiting Section 5.01(a), and as an extension thereof, except as expressly contemplated by any other provision of this Agreement, as set forth in Section 5.01(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as required by applicable Law, neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary shall, during the Pre-Closing Period, do any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, and such consent shall be deemed given if Parent provides no written response within five (5) Business Days after a written request by the Company for such consent):
(i) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation, bylaws or other similar organizational documents (including the Company Charter and the Company Bylaws), whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise;
(ii) issue, grant, sell, dispose of, encumber or authorize such issuance, sale, disposition or encumbrance of, any Equity Interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (except for the issuance or withholding of Shares issuable pursuant to Company RSUs that are outstanding on the date of this Agreement (in accordance with their existing terms));
(iii) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution, payable in cash, shares, property or otherwise, with respect to any of Equity Interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, except for dividends or other distributions by any direct or indirect wholly owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or any other direct or indirect wholly owned Company Subsidiary;
(iv) adjust, reclassify, combine, split (including any reverse stock split), recapitalize, exchange, subdivide or redeem, repurchase, or purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any Equity Interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(v) sell, transfer, lease, sublease, license, mortgage, pledge, encumber, allow to lapse, assign, abandon, disclaim, dedicate to the public, incur any Lien on (other than a Permitted Lien) or otherwise dispose of, or authorize any of the foregoing with respect to, any of its properties, assets, licenses, operations, rights, businesses or interests therein (but not including Intellectual Property, which is the subject of Section 5.01(b)(xv)) except (A) pursuant to Contracts in force on the date of this Agreement and made available to Parent, (B) such dispositions of assets no longer used in the ordinary course of business of the Company’s or the applicable Company Subsidiary’s business as conducted as of the date of this Agreement, (C) such dispositions among the Company and the wholly-owned Company Subsidiaries, or (D) Company Products to customers in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(vi) acquire (including by amalgamation, merger, consolidation or acquisition of Equity Interests or assets or any other business combination), directly or indirectly, (A) any assets, securities, or interests, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or pursuant to Contracts in effect on the date hereof and made available to Parent, (B) any company, corporation, partnership or other business organization (or any division thereof or any Equity Interest thereof), or (C) any real property;
(vii) (A) repurchase, prepay or incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities, or issue or sell options, warrants, calls or other rights to acquire any of its debt securities, (B) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person (other than a Company Subsidiary) or (C) assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible for the indebtedness or other obligations of another person (other than a guaranty by the Company on behalf of any Company Subsidiary), in each case, except pursuant to borrowings under existing lines of credit, letters of credit or similar arrangements as of the date hereof and Contracts for which are made available to Parent;
(viii) enter into, materially amend, waive any rights under, or voluntarily terminate any Material Contract (or any other Contract that would be deemed a Material Contract if it had been entered into prior to the date of this Agreement), other than (A) with respect to Contracts that are Material Contracts solely as a result of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of Section 3.16(a), in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (B) terminations as a result of a material breach or default of the counterparty, or the expiration of such Contract in accordance with its terms as in effect on the date of this Agreement;
(ix) authorize, or make any commitment with respect to, capital expenditures that exceed $500,000 individually or $1,500,000 in the aggregate;
(x) except to the extent required by applicable Law, or as otherwise required pursuant to the terms of any Plan in effect as of the date hereof or entered into, amended or modified after the date of this Agreement in a manner not in contravention with this Section 5.01(b)(x), (A) increase the compensation payable or to become payable or the benefits provided to any Employee or Non-Employee Service Provider (except for increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice to Employees who are not Key Employees of not more than ten percent (10%) on an individual basis, and not more than ten percent (10%) in the aggregate, in annual base salary or wages in connection with promotions), (B) establish, adopt, enter into, terminate or amend any Plan, or establish, adopt or enter into any plan, agreement, program, policy, trust, fund or other arrangement that would be a Plan if it were in existence as of the date of this Agreement, (C) grant any retention, severance, termination pay, deferred compensation, change in control, transaction bonus or other incentive compensation (or enter into or amend any plan, agreement, program, policy or other arrangement providing for the foregoing), (D) grant any equity or equity-based awards to, or discretionarily accelerate the vesting or payment of any equity or equity-based awards held by, any Employee or Non-Employee Service Provider, (E) establish, adopt, enter into or amend any collective bargaining agreement or similar labor agreement, (F) hire any employees who, upon hire, would be a Key Employee, (G) terminate the employment of any Key Employee other than for cause; or (H) take any action that is reasonably likely to result in a reduction in force or terminations employment that would give rise to notice or payment in lieu of notice obligations under the WARN Act;
(xi) (A) settle (or propose to settle) any Action, other than (1) settlements for monetary damages (net of insurance proceeds) involving not more than $250,000 in the aggregate and that do not (x) require any material actions or impose any restrictions or future payment obligations on the business or operations of the Company Group, or after the Effective Time, Parent or its Subsidiaries or (y) include the admission of wrongdoing by any member of the Company Group and (2) stockholder litigation, which is the subject of, and settled in accordance with, Section 6.10 or (B) settle or propose to settle any investigation or inquiry by any Governmental Authority, including by entering into any consent decree or other similar agreement;
(xii) (A) change the Company’s financial accounting policies or procedures in effect as of December 31, 2023, other than as required by applicable Law or GAAP or (B) write up, write down or write off the book value of any of the Company’s assets, other than (1) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (2) as may be required by applicable Law or GAAP, as approved by the Company’s independent public accountants;
(xiii) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for a complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries;
(xiv) (A) materially change or adopt (or file a request to change or adopt) any method of Tax accounting or any annual Tax accounting period, (B) make, change or rescind any material Tax election, (C) file any material Tax Return relating to the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries that has been prepared in a manner that is inconsistent with past practice, as applicable, (D) settle or compromise any material claim, investigation, audit or controversy relating to Taxes, (E) surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund, (F) file any material amended Tax Return, (G) enter into any closing agreement with respect to any material amount of Tax or (H) waive or extend the statute of limitations with respect to any Tax Return other than pursuant to extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(xv) abandon, disclaim, dedicate to the public, allow to lapse, sell, assign, transfer, license, sublicense, dispose of, or incur any Lien (other than Permitted Liens) on, or otherwise fail to take any action necessary to maintain, enforce, or protect, any material Owned Intellectual Property, other than non-exclusive licenses granted in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(xvi) enter into, amend, waive or terminate (other than expirations or terminations in accordance with their terms) any Affiliate Transaction;
(xvii) enter into any new line of business outside the existing businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement; or
(xviii) agree, resolve, announce an intention, enter into any formal or informal Contract or otherwise make a commitment, to do any of the foregoing.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Closing The Company covenants and agrees that prior to the Closing Date: (a) the Company shall conduct its business and operations only in the usual and ordinary course of business; (b) Except as contemplated by this Agreement, and as necessary to effect the proposals contained in the Company Proxy Statement to be filed (the “Company Proxy Statement”), the Company shall not directly or indirectly do any of the following: (i) sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber any of its assets; (ii) amend or propose to amend its Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws; (iii) split, combine or reclassify any outstanding shares of its capital stock, or declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution payable in cash, stock, property or otherwise with respect to shares of its capital stock; (iv) redeem, purchase or acquire or offer to acquire any shares of its capital stock or other securities; (v) create any subsidiaries; (vi) enter into or modify any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement with respect to any of the foregoing; (c) Except as contemplated by this Agreement, and those items contained in the Company Proxy Statement to be filed, the Company shall not (i) issue, sell, pledge or dispose of, or agree to issue, sell, pledge or dispose of, any additional shares of, or any options, warrants, conversion privileges or rights of any kind to acquire any shares of, its capital stock; (ii) acquire (by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets or otherwise) any corporation, partnership or other business organization or division or the material assets thereof; (iii) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money, issue any debt securities or guarantee any indebtedness to others; or (iv) enter into or modify any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement with respect to any of the foregoing; (d) the Company shall notify ADS promptly of any material adverse event or circumstance affecting ADS (including the filing of any material litigation against the Company or the existence of any dispute with any person or entity which involves a reasonable likelihood of such litigation being commenced); (e) the Company shall comply in all material respects with all legal requirements and contractual obligations applicable to its operations and business and pay all applicable taxes; and
Conduct of Business by the Company 5.1 Until the earlier of the IPO or the Option Expiration Date (as defined in Section 7.1), the Company and UPC agree to the following: The Company's activities will include, but not be limited to, providing telecommunications services (listed in Exhibit A hereto) to business customers in Europe (defined in Exhibit B hereto), both inside and outside the UPC Affiliate Area. Expansion by the Company outside of Europe, excluding the activities included in the Cignal's current business plan as presented to the Board of Directors of Cignal, will be at the discretion of the Company but will require UPC consent, for which a consideration may be agreed upon at the time of such expansion; provided, however, that the Company shall not in any event be required to conduct any activity if (A) such activity would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (B) such activity would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court, or (C) such activity would constitute a taxable transaction, for which no tax ruling or exemption, satisfactory to UPC, is available; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.2 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company or the Option Expiration Date, the Company and UPC agree to the following:
(i) to set up local Company entities identified in Exhibit C and to contribute the existing relevant business customers and associated revenues; and (ii) to the extent legally possible, to grant for value to the Company from its current operations exclusive rights of use on commercial arms-length terms, on an un-encumbered basis (to the explicit exclusion of Mundi Telecom), required to support the Company's subscriber base at the Closing Date; provided, however, that UPC shall not in any event be required to take any of the actions in (i) or (ii) above if (A) such action would result in a breach or violation of any indenture or financing arrangement, among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (B) such activity would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (C) such action would require consent or approval from any municipality, workers council, trade union or shareholder, and such consent or approval is withheld, (D) such activity would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court, or (E) such activity would constitute a taxable transaction, for which no tax ruling or exemption, satisfactory to UPC, is available; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.3 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company or such time when UPC and the Company have entered into a separate agreement with regard to their affiliate relationship, such agreement to be on terms no less favorable than those provided below, UPC and the Company agree to the following: The Company will have the exclusive right (subject to any restriction imposed by applicable laws, including without limitation any law regulating competition) to the use of the existing UPC fiber footprint for a term of seven years for the purpose of the Company's activities. The Company will be UPC's primary vehicle to provide national and international, retail and wholesale, CLEC products and services to business customers throughout Europe for a period of not less than seven years. The Company will have the sales and marketing functions to serve business customers, with the exception of the legacy chello broadband N.V. ("CHELLO") customers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, UPC shall not in any event be required to take any of the actions in this clause 5.3 if such action would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.4 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company or such time when UPC and the Company have entered into a separate agreement with regard to their affiliate relationship, such agreement to be on terms no less favorable than those provided below, UPC and the Company agree to the following: For any acquisitions completed by UPC which extend its existing fiber footprint and in which it has at least a majority ownership interest, UPC will, to the extent legally possible or allowed for pursuant to the transaction documents underlying any such acquisition, grant for value to the Company the rights of use of relevant assets and infrastructure (in the form of either IRU contracts, leasing agreements, distribution contracts and/or other legal contracts and arrangements) on a preferred basis (as described in Exhibit D) without any obligation on the part of the Company to contribute to the associated UPC acquisition costs; provided, however, that UPC shall not in any event be required to make any of the above grants if (A) such grant would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (B) such grant would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court, or (C) such grant would constitute a taxable transaction, for which no tax ruling or exemption, satisfactory to UPC, is available; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.5 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company or such time when UPC and the Company have entered into a separate agreement with regard to their affiliate relationship, such agreement to be on terms no less favorable than those provided below, UPC and the Company agree to the following: For any acquisitions completed by UPC in which all or a material portion of the acquired operations directly relate to the Company's activities and will result in a majority ownership by UPC of that acquired business, UPC will, to the extent legally possible or allowed for pursuant to the transaction documents underlying any such acquisition, offer to transfer, for value, the relevant operations or a material portion thereof; provided, however, that UPC shall not in any event be required to make any of the above transfers if (A) such transfer would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (B) such transfer would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court, or (C) such transfer would constitute a taxable transaction, for which no tax ruling or exemption, satisfactory to UPC, is available; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.6 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company and the Option Expiration Date, UPC will use reasonable efforts to integrate any acquired business customer which falls within the Company's activities; provided, however, that UPC shall not in any event be required to take any of the above actions if (A) such actions would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties, (B) such actions would result in a breach of any law, regulation, government policy, license, governmental or regulatory approval, judgement or order of any court, or (C) such actions would constitute a taxable transaction, for which no tax ruling or exemption, satisfactory to UPC, is available; provided further, however, that UPC and the Company shall use their reasonable efforts to resolve any impediment created under (A), (B) or (C), so long as such efforts do not require the expenditure of cash to third parties, are in accordance with prudent business practices and are not impracticable.
5.7 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company or the Option Expiration Date, UPC and the Company agree that irrespective of the price paid by UPC in the acquisitions described in Article 5.5 above, valuation of such acquisitions will need to be agreed upon by UPC, the Company and the Shareholders Representative, or otherwise through the independent appraisal process described in Article 10.1 of this Agreement.
5.8 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company and the Option Expiration Date, the Company and UPC agree to the following: For any acquisition consummated by the Company directly, any such acquisition may be funded through the incurrence of debt or the issue of stock. The Company will fund its operations in the first instance with debt (including vendor financing) to the extent reasonably practicable; provided, however, that the Company will not be obligated to incur any indebtedness if such incurrence would, in the opinion of the Management Board of the Company, unduly prejudice its operating and financial flexibility. The availability and cost of such debt, as well as the Company's debt capacity, will be determined by the Management Board of the Company in consultation with internationally recognised banks and/or investment banks based on the Company's business plan and the Company's then current financial position; provided, however, that the Company shall not in any event be required to incur such debt if such incurrence would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties. If the Company requires additional funding beyond its determined debt capacity, then such funding shall come from UPC or other parties in the form of equity at the time such funding is provided.
5.9 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company and the Option Expiration Date, the Company and UPC agree that any shareholder loans, including accrued interest, provided by UPC and/or its affiliates to the Company after the date hereof will be repaid by the Company either (a) from available cash or (b) from proceeds of the Company IPO (if consummated), subject to acceptability of such use of proceeds by the IPO underwriters; provided, however, that the Company shall not in any event be required to take any of the above actions if such actions would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties.
5.10 Until the earlier of the IPO of the Company and the Option Expiration Date, the Company and UPC agree to that if for any reason such shareholder loans may not be repaid at the time of the IPO, they will immediately convert to equity in the Company at a price equal to the high end of the initial filing range utilised to market the IPO (the "IPO Filing Price"); provided, however, that UPC and the Company shall not in any event be required to take any of the above actions if such actions would result in a breach or violation of any agreement or contract among UPC, UGC or the Company, respectively, and any third parties.
5.11 The Shareholder agrees that any lawsuit against UPC, the Company or any affiliates of UPC or the Company under this Article 5 can only be brought if it is supported in writing by Shareholders owning directly or indirectly the majority of the aggregate equity interest in the Company owned by all Shareholders.
5.12 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall retain the right to dispose of any assets or operations, without compensation to the Company therefor, at any time, that are unrelated to the Company's activities, including, but not limited to, the disposition of the businesses of Cesky Mobil AS and Priority Wireless Communication Gmbh.
5.13 Notwithstanding the foregoing, UPC retains the right to allow third parties to participate in the Company's or its subsidiaries' activities, as shareholders or otherwise, to the extent that UPC is required, as of the date hereof, to do so pursuant to any agreement or contract among UPC or any affiliate of UPC, or UGC or any affiliate of UGC, respectively, and any such third parties. In addition, until the earlier of the IPO of the Company and the Option Expiration Date, with the consent of the Shareholders Representative, UPC may allow third parties to participate in the Company's or its subsidiaries' activities, as shareholders or otherwise.
5.14 For the purpose of this Article 5:
Conduct of Business of Parent Except as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time (unless the Company shall otherwise agree in writing and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement), Parent will conduct its operations according to its ordinary and usual course of business consistent with past practice and shall use all reasonable efforts to preserve intact its current business organizations, keep available the service of its current officers and employees, maintain its material Permits and Contracts and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent will not, without the prior written consent of the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld):
(i) issue, sell, grant, dispose of, pledge or otherwise encumber, or authorize or propose the issuance, sale, disposition or pledge or other encumbrance of (A) any additional shares of capital stock of any class (including the shares of Parent Common Stock), or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for any shares of capital stock, or any rights, warrants, options, calls, commitments or any other agreements of any character to purchase or acquire any shares of capital stock or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for, any shares of capital stock or (B) any other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for, shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof;
(ii) redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, or propose to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, any of its outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock;
(iii) split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any shares of Parent Common Stock or declare, set aside for payment or pay any dividend, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distribution in respect of any capital stock of Parent or otherwise make any payments to stockholders in their capacity as such, other than the declaration and payment of regular quarterly cash dividends on the Parent Common Stock in an amount no greater than $.72 per share per annum and in accordance with past dividend policy and other than the declaration and payment of dividends on Parent Preferred Stock pursuant to Parent's Certificate of Incorporation as in effect on the date hereof and except for dividends by a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent;
(iv) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries (other than the Merger), except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(v) adopt any amendments to its Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws or alter through merger, liquidation, reorganization, restructuring or in any other fashion the corporate structure or ownership of any direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent, except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(vi) make, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to make, any material acquisition, by means of merger, consolidation or otherwise, or material disposition, of assets or securities;
(vii) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, incur, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to incur, any material indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness or make any material loans, advances or capital contributions to, or material investments in, any other person other than Parent or any Parent Subsidiary;
(viii) change any method of accounting or accounting practice by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, except for any such required change in GAAP or applicable statutory accounting principles;
(ix) permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to materially change its investment guidelines or policies and approved programs or transactions or conduct transactions in investments except in material compliance with the investment guidelines and policies of such Parent Insurance Subsidiary and all applicable insurance Laws;
(x) enter, or permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to enter, into any material reinsurance, coinsurance or similar Contract, whether as reinsurer or reinsured, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(xi) (x) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would make any representation and warranty of Parent hereunder inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), (y) omit, or agree or commit to omit, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to omit, or agree or commit to omit, to take any action necessary to prevent any such representation or warranty from being inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), provided however that Parent shall be permitted to take or omit to take such action which can be cured, and in fact is cured, at or prior to the Effective Time or (z) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would result in, or is reasonably likely to result in, any of the conditions of the Merger set forth in Article VII not being satisfied; or
(xii) authorize, recommend, propose or announce an intention to do any of the foregoing, or enter into any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing.
Conduct of Business by Parent Except for matters set forth in Section 8.01 of the Parent Disclosure Letter, otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, required by applicable Law or consented to in writing by Weyerhaeuser, from the date hereof to the Effective Time, Parent shall, and shall cause each Parent Subsidiary to, conduct its business in the usual, regular and ordinary course in substantially the same manner as previously conducted and, to the extent consistent therewith, use all commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its current business organization, maintain its material Governmental Approvals and Third Party Approvals, keep available the services of its current officers and employees and keep its relationships with customers, suppliers, licensors, licensees, distributors and others having business dealings with it to the end that its goodwill and ongoing business shall be unimpaired in any material respect at the Effective Time. In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except for matters set forth in Section 8.01 of the Parent Disclosure Letter or otherwise expressly permitted by this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents or required by applicable Law, from the date hereof to the Effective Time, Parent shall not, and shall not permit any Parent Subsidiary to, do any of the following without the prior written consent of Weyerhaeuser, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed:
(a) (i) declare, set aside or pay any dividends or other distributions in respect of its shares of capital stock or other equity interests, other than dividends and distributions by any direct or indirect wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary to its parent, (ii) split, combine or reclassify any of its capital stock or other equity interests, or issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for its shares of capital stock or other equity interests, other than any such transaction by a direct or indirect wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary which remains a direct or indirect wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction, or (iii) purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire or amend the terms of any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests or any rights, warrants, options or other equity awards to acquire, directly or indirectly, any such shares of capital stock or other equity interests;
(b) issue, deliver, sell or grant (i) any of its shares of capital stock or other equity interests or (ii) any Voting Parent Debt or Parent Securities, in each case other than (A) the issuance of Parent Common Stock upon the exercise of Parent stock options or in connection with other equity-based awards granted pursuant to the Parent Stock Plan and outstanding on the date hereof and in accordance with their terms, (B) the grant of Parent stock options or other equity-based awards in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice relating to no more than 525,000 shares of Parent Common Stock and (C) any such transaction by a wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary which remains a wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction;
(c) amend its certificate or articles of incorporation or bylaws or comparable organizational documents;
(d) acquire or dispose of, including by entering any lease or option Contract with respect to, any interests in real property, except for (i) acquisitions or dispositions in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (ii) the expiration of any lease or option Contract in accordance with the terms of such Contract;
(e) acquire, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, whether by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing a substantial equity interest in or a substantial portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any business or any partnership, corporation, joint venture, limited liability entity or other business organization or division thereof or any other Person (in each case, other than any acquisition of interests in real property permitted under Section 8.01(d)), with a value or purchase price that, individually or in the aggregate, exceeds $10,000,000, except for acquisitions in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice of assets used in the operation or conduct of the Parent Business;
(f) sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, including by entering any license or lease with respect to, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, any property or asset (in each case, other than sales, transfers or dispositions of interests in real property permitted under Section 8.01(d)) with a value or purchase price that, individually or in the aggregate, exceeds $10,000,000, except for dispositions of obsolete or worn-out assets that are no longer used or useful in the operation or conduct of the Parent Business;
(g) (i) adopt, enter into, terminate, amend, extend or renew any collective bargaining agreement or any Parent Benefit Plan, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of, or pay any bonus to, any Parent Employee, except for increases in base salary or payments of bonuses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) pay or provide to any Parent Employee any benefit not provided for under a Parent Benefit Plan as in effect on the date hereof, other than the payment of base compensation in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or as permitted by clause (ii) above, (iv) except to the extent expressly permitted under Section 8.01(b), grant any awards under any Parent Benefit Plan or remove or modify existing restrictions in any Parent Benefit Plan or awards made thereunder, (v) take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any Parent Benefit Plan, (vi) take any action to accelerate the vesting or payment of any compensation or benefits under any Parent Benefit Plan or (vii) make any material determination under any Parent Benefit Plan that is not in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, except in each case (A) as required to ensure that any Parent Benefit Plan in effect on the date hereof is not then out of compliance with applicable Law, (B) as specifically required pursuant to this Agreement or the terms of any Parent Benefit Plan or (C) as would not result in either the Real Estate Business or the Parent Business incurring any material Liabilities;
(h) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money, issue or sell any debt securities, guarantee or otherwise become contingently liable for any such indebtedness or debt securities of another Person, or enter into any “keep well” or other agreement to maintain any financial statement condition of another Person, except for (i) indebtedness solely between or among Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries, (ii) borrowings under Parent’s existing credit facilities (as in effect on the date hereof or amended after the date hereof not in contravention of this Agreement) in the ordinary course of business, so long as such borrowings would not reasonably be expected to result in the sum of available funds under the Closing Date Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in the New Debt Commitment Letter) together with unrestricted cash on hand of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries being less than $100,000,000 as of immediately prior to the REB Transfer Time, (iii) borrowings that do not exceed the amounts budgeted in the operating plan set forth in Section 8.01(h) of the Parent Disclosure Letter, (iv) short-term borrowings incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (v) letters of credit and surety bonds issued in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(i) encumber or subject any of its material assets to any Liens, other than Parent Permitted Liens and Liens securing indebtedness that would not be prohibited by Section 8.01(h);
(j) (i) make any loan, advance or capital contribution to, or investment in, any Person other than any wholly-owned Parent Subsidiary that, individually or in the aggregate, exceeds $10,000,000 except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (ii) authorize or make any capital expenditure (other than in respect of any acquisition of interests in real property permitted under Section 8.01(d)) in any fiscal quarter that, individually or in the aggregate, exceeds by more than 20% the amounts budgeted for such fiscal quarter in the operating plan set forth in Section 8.01(h) of the Parent Disclosure Letter;
(k) make any material change in its tax accounting or financial accounting methods, principles and practices in effect on the date of the Parent Balance Sheet, except as may be required by a change in GAAP;
(l) make any material Tax election inconsistent with past practice or settle or compromise any material Tax liability or refund;
(m) adopt a plan or agreement of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other material reorganization;
(n) adopt or implement any stockholder rights plan or similar arrangement;
(o) modify, amend, enter into or terminate any Parent Material Contract or waive, release or assign any material rights or claims of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary under any Parent Material Contract, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, other than entry into any Parent Material Contract providing for (i) acquisitions or dispositions that would not be prohibited by Sections 8.01(d), 8.01(e) and 8.01(f), (ii) indebtedness that would not be prohibited by Section 8.01(h), (iii) Liens that would not be prohibited by Section 8.01(i) or (iv) loans, advances, capital contributions, investments or capital expenditures that would not be prohibited by Section 8.01(j) that, in the case of each of clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), does not otherwise require consent under this Section 8.01;
(p) settle any Action if such settlement would require any payment by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary in an amount in excess of $5,000,000 individually or $10,000,000 in the aggregate, or would obligate Parent or any Parent Subsidiary to take any material action or restrict Parent or any Parent Subsidiary in any material respect from taking any action;
(q) engage in any business other than the Parent Business substantially as currently conducted; or
(r) authorize any of, or commit or agree to take any of, the foregoing actions.