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 Pending Closing Between the date of this Agreement and the Funding and Consummation Date, the Company will, except as set forth on Schedule 7.2: (i) carry on its business in substantially the same manner as it has heretofore and not introduce any material new method of management, operation or accounting; (ii) use its reasonable efforts to maintain its properties and facilities, including those held under leases, in as good working order and condition as at present, ordinary wear and tear excepted; (iii) perform in all material respects all of its obligations under agreements relating to or affecting its respective assets, properties or rights; (iv) use its reasonable efforts to keep in full force and effect present insurance policies or other comparable insurance coverage; (v) use its reasonable efforts to maintain and preserve its business organization intact, retain its respective present key employees and maintain its relationships with suppliers, customers and others having business relations with the Company; (vi) use its reasonable efforts to maintain compliance with all Licenses, laws, rules and regulations, consent orders, and all other orders of applicable courts, regulatory agencies and similar governmental authorities applicable to it; (vii) maintain present debt and lease instruments and not enter into new or amended debt or lease instruments without the knowledge and consent of TCI (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), provided that debt and/or lease instruments may be replaced without the consent of TCI if such replacement instruments are on terms at least as favorable to the Company as the instruments being replaced; and (viii) maintain or reduce present salaries and commission levels for all officers, directors, employees and agents except for ordinary and customary bonus and salary increases for employees in accordance with past practices.
Conduct of Business of the Company Except as contemplated by this Agreement or in connection with the IPO Transaction or as described on Exhibit B or in Section 4.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time, the Company will and will cause each of its subsidiaries to conduct its operations in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and, to the extent consistent therewith, with no less diligence and effort than would be applied in the absence of this Agreement, use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its current business organizations, keep available the service of its current officers and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers, distributors, lessors, creditors, employees, contractors and others having business dealings with it with the intention that its goodwill and ongoing businesses shall be unimpaired at the Effective Time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement and except as contemplated by this Agreement or in connection with the IPO Transaction or as described on Exhibit B or in Section 4.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, prior to the Effective Time, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries will, without the prior written consent of AREP Oil & Gas: (a) amend its Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws (or other similar governing instrument); (b) authorize for issuance, issue, sell, deliver or agree or commit to issue, sell or deliver (whether through the issuance or granting of options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions, rights to purchase or otherwise) any stock of any class or any other debt or equity securities or equity equivalents (including any stock options or stock appreciation rights); (c) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock, declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, stock or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its capital stock, make any other actual, constructive or deemed distribution in respect of its capital stock or otherwise make any payments to stockholders in their capacity as such, or redeem or otherwise acquire any of its securities or any securities of any of its subsidiaries; (d) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than the Merger); (e) alter through merger, liquidation, reorganization, restructuring or any other fashion the corporate structure of any subsidiary; (f) (i) incur or assume any long-term or short-term debt or issue any debt securities in each case, except for borrowings under lines of credit in the ordinary course of business, or modify or agree to any amendment of the terms of any of the foregoing; (ii) assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) for the obligations of any other person except for obligations of subsidiaries of the Company incurred in the ordinary course of business; (iii) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to or investments in any other person (other than to subsidiaries of the Company or customary loans or advances to employees in each case in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice); (iv) pledge or otherwise encumber shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries; or (v) mortgage or pledge any of its material assets, tangible or intangible, or create or suffer to exist any material Lien thereupon; (g) except as may be required by Applicable Law, enter into, adopt or amend or terminate any bonus, special remuneration, compensation, severance, stock option, stock purchase agreement, retirement, health, life, or disability insurance, severance or other employee benefit plan agreement, trust, fund or other arrangement for the benefit or welfare of any director, officer, employee or consultant in any manner or increase in any manner the compensation or fringe benefits of any director, officer or employee or pay any benefit not required by any plan and arrangement as in effect as of the date of this Agreement (including the granting of stock appreciation rights or performance units); (h) grant any severance or termination pay to any director, officer, employee or consultant, except payments made pursuant to written agreements outstanding on the date of this Agreement, the terms of which are in all material respects completely and correctly disclosed on Schedule 4.1(h) or as required by applicable federal, state or local law or regulations; (i) acquire, sell, lease, license, transfer, distribute or otherwise dispose of any material assets in any single transaction or series of related transactions, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices; (j) except as may be required as a result of a change in law or in GAAP, materially change any of the accounting principles, practices or methods used by it; (k) acquire (by merger, consolidation or acquisition of stock or assets) any corporation, partnership or other entity or division thereof or any equity interest therein; (l) make any material tax election or settle or compromise any material income tax liability or permit any material insurance policy naming it as a beneficiary or loss-payable to expire, or to be canceled or terminated, unless a comparable insurance policy reasonably acceptable to AREP Oil & Gas is obtained and in effect; (m) fail to file any tax returns when due (or, alternatively, fail to file for available extensions) or fail to cause such tax returns when filed to be complete and accurate in all material respects; (n) fail to pay any taxes or other material debts when due; (o) settle or compromise any pending or threatened suit, action or claim that (i) relates to the transactions contemplated hereby or (ii) the settlement or compromise of which would be material to the Company; (p) take any action or fail to take any action that could reasonably be expected to limit the utilization of any of the net operating losses, built-in losses, tax credits or other similar items of the Company or its subsidiaries under Section 382, 383, 384 or 1502 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder; or (q) take or agree in writing or otherwise to take any of the actions described in Sections 4.1(a) through 4.1(p) (and it shall use all reasonable efforts not to take any action that would make any of the representations or warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement (including the exhibits hereto) untrue or incorrect).
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 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.