Conduct of the Business Pending the Closing (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, between the date hereof and the Closing, the Company shall:
(i) conduct the Business only in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ii) use its commercially reasonable efforts to (A) preserve the present business operations, organization (including officers and Employees) and goodwill of the Company and (B) preserve the present relationships with Persons having business dealings with the Company (including customers and suppliers);
(iii) maintain (A) all of the assets and properties of, or used by, the Company consistent with past practice, and (B) insurance upon all of the assets and properties of the Company in such amounts and of such kinds comparable to that in effect on the date of this Agreement;
(iv) (A) maintain the books, accounts and records of the Company in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) continue to collect accounts receivable and pay accounts payable and other Liabilities set forth on the Balance Sheet in the Ordinary Course of Business utilizing normal procedures and without discounting or accelerating payment of such accounts or Liabilities utilizing all available cash and any available line of credit, and (C) comply with all contractual and other obligations of the Company;
(v) comply with the capital expenditure plan of the Company for 2009 set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 6.2(a)(v), including making such capital expenditures in the amounts and at the times set forth in such plan;
(vi) comply in all material respects with all applicable Laws;
(vii) take steps to renew all Permits in a timely manner prior to their lapse; and
(viii) pay all maintenance and similar fees and take all other appropriate actions as necessary to prevent the abandonment, loss or impairment of all Intellectual Property of the Company.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, the Company shall not:
(i) (A) increase the salary or other compensation of any director or Employee of the Company except for normal year-end increases in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) grant any bonus, benefit or other direct or indirect compensation to any Employee or director, (C) increase the coverage or benefits available under any (or create any new) severance pay, termination pay, vacation pay, company awards, salary continuation for disability, sick leave, deferred compensation, bonus or other incentive compensation, insurance, pension or other employee benefit plan or arrangement made to, for, or with any of the directors, officers, Employees, agents or representatives of the Company or otherwise modify or amend or terminate any such plan or arrangement (D) enter into any employment, deferred compensation, stay bonus, severance, special pay, consulting, non-competition or similar agreement or arrangement with any directors or officers of the Company (or amend any such agreement) to which the Company is a party; or (E) pay or make any dividend or distribution of cash or other property with respect to the units or other equity interests of the Company;
(ii) (A) create, incur, assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible with respect to (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) any Indebtedness except (u) the Indebtedness related to the Permitted Exceptions, (x) the Indebtedness reflected in the Balance Sheet, (y) the Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business since the Balance Sheet Date, or (z) the Indebtedness set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 4.5; (B) except in the Ordinary Course of Business, pay, prepay, accelerate, discharge, purchase, repurchase or satisfy any Indebtedness issued or guaranteed by the Company; (C) materially modify the terms of any Indebtedness or other Liability; or (D) make any loans, advances of capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person;
(iii) subject to any Lien or otherwise encumber or, except for Permitted Exceptions, permit, allow or suffer to be subjected to any Lien or otherwise encumbered, any of the Purchased Assets;
(iv) acquire any material properties or assets or sell, assign, license, transfer, convey, lease or otherwise dispose of any of the Purchased Assets (except for fair consideration in the Ordinary Course of Business) of the Company;
(v) except as provided in Section 6.6 hereof, enter into or agree to enter into any merger or consolidation with any Person, and not engage in any new business or invest in, make a loan, advance or capital contribution to, or otherwise acquire the securities of any Person;
(vi) cancel or compromise any debt or claim, or waive or release any material right of the Company except in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(vii) enter into, modify or terminate any labor or collective bargaining agreement or, through negotiation or otherwise, make any commitment or incur any Liability to any labor organization with respect to any Employee;
(viii) introduce any material change with respect to the operation of the Business, including any material change in the types, nature, composition or quality of products or services, or, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, make any change in product specifications or prices or terms of distributions of such products;
(ix) enter into any transaction or enter into, modify or renew any Contract which by reason of its size or otherwise is not in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(x) enter into any Contract, understanding or commitment that restrains, restricts, limits or impedes the ability of the Business, or the ability of Newco or Purchaser, to compete with or conduct any business or line of business in any geographic area or solicit the employment of any persons;
(xi) terminate, amend, restate, supplement or waive any rights under any (A) Material Contract, Real Property Lease, Personal Property Lease or Intellectual Property License, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business or (B) Permit;
(xii) settle or compromise any pending or threatened Legal Proceeding or any claim or claims for, or that would result in a loss of revenue of, an amount that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be greater than $50,000;
(xiii) change or modify its credit, collection or payment policies, procedures or practices, including acceleration of collections or receivables (whether or not past due) or fail to pay or delay payment of payables or other liabilities;
(xiv) take any action which would adversely affect the ability of the parties to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(xv) amend the operating agreement of the Company;
(xvi) agree to materially increase Liabilities from the amounts set forth on the Balance Sheet except in the Ordinary Course of Business under loan or credit agreements or arrangements up to the maximum amounts and other terms as in effect on the date of this Agreement; or
(xvii) agree to do anything (A) prohibited by this Section 6.2, (B) that would make any of the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement or any of the Company Documents untrue or incorrect in any material respect or could result in any of the conditions to the Closing not being satisfied or (C) that could be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company.
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.
Audits, Inspections, Visits and Other Duties FIIOC and FSC shall make available during regular business hours all records and other data created and maintained pursuant to this Contract for reasonable audit and inspection by the Trust, any agent or person designated by the Trust, or any regulatory agency having authority over the Trust. Upon reasonable notice by the Trust, FIIOC and FSC shall make available during regular business hours its facilities and premises employed in connection with its performance of this Contract for reasonable visits by the Trust, any agent or person designated by the Trust, or any regulatory agency having authority over the Trust. FSC shall also inform any agent or person designated by the Trust of the existence and results of any audit, inspection or visit by any regulatory agency having authority over the Trust. FSC shall help facilitate periodic reviews by the Fund’s independent auditors (e.g., SOC 1 reports). FSC shall also maintain a continuing awareness of significant emerging regulatory and legislative developments that may affect the Fund and adopt additional procedures for compliance with regulations if necessary. FSC shall consult with independent accountants, legal counsel, officers of the Fund, and the Fund Treasurer’s Office in establishing such policies.
Operations Pending Closing Between the date hereof and the Closing, except as (a) set forth in this Agreement or the Option Exercise Agreement, (b) contemplated by the applicable subsection of Schedule 5.01, or (c) required by applicable Law or the regulations or requirements of any regulatory organization applicable to WTGS TV, the Seller or the LIN Companies, as the case may be, unless Buyer otherwise consents in writing which request for consent shall be directed to and promptly considered in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Section 5.01 by Buyer and which consent shall (i) not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed in the case of clauses (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (l), (n), (r), (s), (t), (u) or (w), and (ii) which may otherwise be withheld in Buyer’s sole discretion, the LIN Companies shall, and Seller shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause WTGS TV and, prior to the Merger Closing, the LIN Companies to, and the Seller shall, following the Merger Closing and prior to the Closing:
(a) operate the Station in the ordinary course and in all material respects in accordance with the Communications Laws, the FCC Licenses and with all other applicable Laws;
(b) not cause or permit, or agree or commit to cause or permit, by act or failure to act, any of the FCC Licenses to expire or to be revoked, suspended or adversely modified, or take or fail to take any action that would cause the FCC or any other Governmental Authority to institute proceedings (other than proceedings of general applicability) for the suspension, revocation or adverse modification of any of the FCC Licenses listed on Schedule 3.04(a);
(c) other than in the ordinary course of business or for the purpose of disposing of obsolete or worthless assets, not (i) sell, lease, license or dispose of or agree to sell, lease, license or dispose of any material assets unless replaced with similar items of substantially equal or greater value and utility or (ii) create, assume or permit to exist any Liens upon their assets, except for Permitted Liens;
(d) not dissolve, liquidate, merge or consolidate with any other entity;
(e) maintain, repair and replace the Tangible Personal Property, including any Tangible Personal Property which has been damaged prior to Closing, and maintain, repair and replace the Real Property, including any improvements thereon, which has been damaged prior to Closing, in each case in the ordinary course of business;
(i) upon reasonable written advance notice, give Buyer and its representatives reasonable access at reasonable, mutually agreed-upon times during normal business hours to the Station, and furnish Buyer with information relating to the Business that Buyer may reasonably request, provided, however, that such access rights shall not be exercised in a manner that interferes with the Business and (ii) otherwise provide such reasonable assistance and cooperation as may be requested by Buyer from time to time prior to the Closing Date to reasonably facilitate the transition of the Business, including facilities, operations and applicable data, to Buyer upon and effective as of the Effective Time;
(g) except as otherwise required by Law, not enter into, renew or renegotiate any employment agreement with a Transferred Employee providing for annual compensation in excess of $100,000, any severance agreement or any labor, or union agreement or plan, including any Collective Bargaining Agreement, that will be binding upon Buyer after the Closing;
(h) not hire or terminate the employment of any Station general manager or any other Transferred Employee with annual aggregate non-equity compensation, including target bonuses, in excess of $100,000, excluding any terminations for “cause” as reasonably determined by Sellers;
(i) except in the ordinary course of business, not (i) materially increase the compensation or benefits payable to any Transferred Employee, or (ii) modify any severance policy applicable to any Transferred Employee that would result in any material increase in the amount of severance payable to any such Transferred Employee (or would materially expand the circumstances in which such severance is payable);
(j) not sell, lease, license or otherwise dispose of or encumber any Station Asset except (i) pursuant to or in accordance with existing Assumed Contracts or (ii) immaterial Station Assets in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices;
(k) use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the Station’s MVPD carriage existing as of the date of this Agreement;
(l) except for agreements and contracts which can be terminated by WTGS TV, the Seller or LIN Companies, as applicable, without penalty upon notice of ninety (90) days or less, not (i) enter into any agreement or contract that would have been a Material Contract were WTGS TV, the Seller or LIN Companies, as applicable, a party or subject thereto on the date of this Agreement unless such agreement or contract (x) is entered into in the ordinary course of business and (y) does not involve payments by WTGS TV, the Seller or LIN Companies, as applicable, of greater than $250,000 during any twelve (12) month period, (ii) amend in any material respect any Material Contract unless such amendment (x) is effected in the ordinary course of business, (y) does not increase the amount of payments to be made by WTGS TV, the Seller or LIN Companies, as applicable, during any twelve (12) month period by $250,000 or more or (iii) terminate or waive any material right under any Material Contract other than in the ordinary course of business (excluding the expiration of any Material Contract in accordance with its terms) (it being understood that if any such entry into, or amendment or termination of any such agreement or contract is permitted pursuant to this Section 5.1(k) as a result of the references to acts taken in the ordinary course of business, but such action would otherwise be prohibited by any other provision of this Section 5.1, then this Section 5.1(k) shall not be interpreted to permit such action without the prior written consent of Buyer as contemplated hereby);
(m) not enter into any Contract constituting a Sharing Agreement with respect to the Station;
(n) not change any accounting practices, procedures or methods (except for any change required under GAAP or applicable law) or maintain its books and records, in each case in a manner other than in the ordinary course of business;
(o) not make or agree or commit to make any capital expenditure, except (i) for capital expenditures equal to or less than $200,000 in connection with any particular project or equal to or less than $500,000 in the aggregate, and (ii) for emergency commitments or expenditures;
(p) maintain its qualifications to hold the FCC Licenses with respect to the Station and not take any action that will materially impair such FCC Licenses or such qualifications;
(q) promote the programming of the Station (both on-air and using third party media) in the ordinary course of business, taking into account inventory availability;
(r) not adopt, enter into or become bound by any new Employee Plan or amend, modify or terminate any Employee Plan, except (i) to comply with applicable Law, (ii) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices without any additional post-Closing material liability to WTGS TV, the Seller or LIN Companies, as applicable, or (iii) as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement;
(s) keep in full force and effect the material insurance policies set forth on Schedule 3.12 (or other insurance policies comparable in amount and scope);
(t) not make or rescind any election relating to Taxes, settle or compromise any claim, action, suit, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, audit or controversy relating to Taxes, for any taxable period ending on or after September 30, 2012, or change any of its methods of reporting income or deductions on its Income Tax Returns, or the classifications of its existing property and assets, in each case, to the extent such action would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect Buyer or its Affiliates after the Closing;
(u) not (i) enter into or agree or commit to enter into any new Tradeout Agreement relating to the Station with a value in excess of $40,000, and $200,000 in the aggregate, prior to Closing that will not be fully performed prior to the Closing or (ii) make any guarantee of commercial ratings other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(i) utilize the Program Rights only in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (ii) not sell or otherwise dispose of any such Program Rights;
(w) not extend credit to advertisers other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(x) timely make retransmission consent elections with all MVPDs located in or serving the Station’s Markets;
(y) not enter into any retransmission consent agreement relating to the Station other than as set forth on Schedule 5.01(y);
(z) not enter into any Contract with any Affiliate or Subsidiary of Seller that survives the Closing; and
(aa) not agree, commit or resolve to take any actions inconsistent with the foregoing.
Conduct of Business Pending the Closing During the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms or the Closing, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, carry on the Business in the ordinary course of business and, to the extent consistent therewith, use all commercially reasonable efforts to preserve the Business intact and preserve the goodwill of and relationships with Governmental Entities, customers, suppliers, partners, lessors, licensors, licensees, contractors, distributors, agents, officers and employees and others having business dealings with the Business, provided that the foregoing shall not prevent Sellers from rejecting Contracts that are not Assumed Contracts. During the period from the date of this Agreement through the Closing Date, the Company shall endeavor to maintain the Net Receivables Amount, the Inventory Value and each component of Inventory at or in excess of the amounts set forth on Schedule 7.1. Without limiting the generality of the first sentence of this Section 7.1, during the period from the date of this Agreement through the Closing Date, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the prior written consent of Buyer:
(a) abandon any rights under any of the Assumed Contracts; terminate, amend, modify or supplement the terms of any Assumed Contract; or fail to honor or perform, the Assumed Contracts;
(b) other than sales of Inventory in the ordinary course of business or the disposition of obsolete equipment, lease, license, surrender, relinquish, sell, transfer, convey, assign or otherwise dispose of any Acquired Assets;
(c) mortgage, pledge or subject to Liens (other than Permitted Liens), any property, business or any of the Acquired Assets, other than as would not result in any Liability that would be or would increase an Assumed Liability as of or subsequent to the Closing;
(d) incur or permit to be incurred any Liability (other than Accounts Payable or in connection with the performance of Assumed Contracts) that would be or would increase an Assumed Liability as of or subsequent to the Closing;
(e) fail to replenish the Inventory and Supplies of the Business in the ordinary course of business;
(f) increase the salary of any Identified Employee at or after the time such person becomes an Identified Employee, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(g) make or rescind any material Tax election or take any material Tax position (unless required by law) or file any Tax Return or change its fiscal year or financial or Tax accounting methods, policies or practices, or settle any Tax Liability, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to affect the Buyer;
(h) institute, settle or agree to settle any litigation, action or Proceeding before any court or Governmental Entity relating to the Acquired Assets, or modify in any manner that is adverse to the Business or the Acquired Assets, rescind or terminate a material Permit, allowance, or credit (or application therefor) relating to the Business or the Acquired Assets;
(i) transfer or grant any rights under, modify any existing rights under, or enter into any settlement regarding the breach or infringement of, any material Intellectual Property; or
(j) enter into any Contract to do any of the foregoing.