Interim Operations of the Company The Company covenants and agrees as to itself and its Subsidiaries that during the period from the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time or the date, if any, on which this Agreement is earlier terminated pursuant to Section 7.1, except as (w) disclosed in Section 5.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter, (x) expressly contemplated or permitted by this Agreement, (y) required by applicable Law, or (z) agreed to in writing by Parent, after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Effective Time:
(a) the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be conducted only in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, and the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its business organization and goodwill and the business organization and goodwill of its Subsidiaries and keep available the services of their current officers and employees and preserve and maintain existing relations with customers, suppliers, officers, employees and creditors;
(b) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) enter into any new line of business, (ii) incur or commit to any capital expenditures, or any obligations or liabilities in connection with any capital expenditures during calendar year 2006 other than (x) capital expenditures and obligations or liabilities incurred or committed to in an amount not greater, in the aggregate, than the amount in the Company’s total capital budget for calendar year 2006 approved by the Company Board on January 26, 2006, which has been furnished to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement, plus (y) any other capital expenditure, obligations, liabilities or commitments made by the Company after the date of this Agreement in an aggregate amount not to exceed $10,000,000 provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not commit to incur any expenditure, obligation, liability or other payment with respect to any capital expenditure related to an exploration well in the event the Company’s share or portion of the initial authorization for expenditure with respect to such exploration well exceeds $3,000,000 plus (z) expenditures (or obligations or liabilities related thereto) in connection with acquisitions so long as such expenditures with respect to any individual acquisition do not exceed $1,000,000 or (iii) during any rolling three (3) month period, incur or commit to any capital expenditures contemplated by the Company’s capital budget described in clause (ii) above in an amount that exceeds, by more than thirty percent (30%) the amounts contemplated by such budget to be incurred or committed to during such three (3) month period;
(c) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, amend its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or similar organizational documents;
(d) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries (other than direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiaries) to, declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution, whether payable in cash, stock or any other property or right, with respect to its capital stock;
(e) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to (i) adjust, split, combine or reclassify any capital stock or issue, grant, sell, transfer, pledge, dispose of or encumber any additional shares of, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or options, warrants, calls, commitments or rights of any kind to acquire, any shares of capital stock of any class or of any other such securities or agreements of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than (x) issuances of Company Common Stock pursuant to the Company Options or Performance Stock Awards outstanding on the date of this Agreement (y) issuances of Company Stock Options or Company Stock Awards prior to the Effective Time to directors or new employees in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice, or (ii) except as required pursuant to the terms of the Company Plans in effect on the date of this Agreement, redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire directly or indirectly any of its capital stock or any other securities or agreements of the type described in clause (i) of this Section 5.1(e) other than pursuant to any “cashless” exercise provisions of existing Company Stock Options;
(f) other than (i) as required pursuant to the terms of the Company Plans in effect on the date of this Agreement (ii) as specifically described on Section 5.1(f) of the Company Disclosure Letter or (iii) grants of retention bonuses or adoption of retention plans in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, provided that no such bonuses shall be granted and no awards will be made under any such plans unless the beneficiary thereof agrees to continue his or her employment through the Effective Time and thereafter for a transition period to be determined in the discretion of Parent but not to exceed a time period of 90 days after the Effective Time, and provided further that the aggregate amount of all payments pursuant to such grants, awards or plans after the date hereof shall not exceed $250,000, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (x) grant any increase in the compensation or benefits payable or to become payable by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any former or current director, officer or employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other than to non-officer employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (y) adopt, enter into, amend or otherwise increase, or accelerate the payment or vesting of the amounts, benefits or rights payable or accrued or to become payable or accrued under, any Company Plan (other than entry into employment agreements with new hires in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; provided that such employment agreement shall be terminable at will, without penalty to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries), or (z) grant any severance or termination pay to any officer, director or employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries except termination amounts paid to non-contract employees related to termination of such employee’s employment in the Company’s ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice;
(g) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, change its methods of accounting (other than Tax accounting, which shall be governed by clause (m) below) in effect as of the date of this Agreement, except in accordance with changes in GAAP as concurred to by the Company’s independent auditors;
(h) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to (i) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice acquire any Person or other business organization, division or business by merger, consolidation, purchase of an equity interest or assets, or by any other manner, or (ii) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or pursuant to agreements in effect on the date of this Agreement and set forth in Section 5.1(h) of the Company Disclosure Letter, acquire any assets;
(i) other than the sale or consumption of inventory and Hydrocarbons in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or the sale of any assets pursuant to agreements in effect on the date of this Agreement and set forth in Section 5.1(h) of the Company Disclosure Letter or the sale of obsolete or other Company Assets that are to be replaced or discontinued in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, sell, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of, or agree to sell, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of, any material Company Assets and shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to sell, lease exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of, or agree to sell, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of any material Company Assets;
(j) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, grant any security interest in, or otherwise subject to any other Lien other than Permitted Liens, any of the Company Assets;
(k) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) except as set forth in clause (ii) below, and except for payment of current accounts payable in the ordinary course of business, pay, discharge or satisfy any claims (including claims of stockholders), liabilities or obligations (absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise) where such payment, discharge or satisfaction would require any payment except for the payment, discharge or satisfaction of liabilities or obligations in accordance with the terms of agreements in effect on the date of this Agreement or entered into after the date of this Agreement in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and not in violation of this Agreement, in each case to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound and except for any payments, discharges or settlements that do not exceed $2,000,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, or (ii) compromise, settle, grant any waiver or release relating to any Litigation, other than settlements or compromises of litigation where the amount paid or to be paid does not exceed $2,000,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate;
(l) other than the ordinary advance or reimbursement of expenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, engage in any transaction with (except pursuant to agreements in effect at the time of this Agreement and set forth in Section 3.9(a) or 3.18 of the Company Disclosure Letter), or enter into any agreement, arrangement, or understanding with, directly or indirectly, any of the Company’s affiliates; provided, that for the avoidance of doubt, for purposes of this clause (l), the term “affiliates” shall not include any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than the directors and executive officers thereof;
(m) except as set forth in Section 5.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make or change any material Tax election, change any material method of Tax accounting, grant any material extension of time to assess any Tax or settle any Tax claim, amend any Return in any material respect or settle or compromise any material Tax liability;
(n) the Company shall not intentionally, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to intentionally, take any action that would, or could reasonably be expected to, result in any of its representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement becoming untrue in a manner that would give rise to the failure of the closing condition set forth in Section 6.3(a);
(o) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, adopt or enter into 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 or with respect to an inactive wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company) or any agreement relating to an Acquisition Proposal, except as provided for in Section 5.3;
(p) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) incur or assume any long-term debt, other than any advances, loans or other obligations under the Company Credit Agreement, (ii) incur or assume any short-term Indebtedness other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or any short-term Indebtedness under the Company Credit Agreement, (iii) modify the terms of any Indebtedness to increase the Company’s obligations with respect thereto, provided that the Company may increase the amount outstanding under the Company Credit Agreement and provided further that in addition to any obligations permitted by this section, the Company may incur long-term, short-term or increases in its obligation under existing debt under items (i), (ii) and (iii) in an aggregate amount not to exceed $20,000,000, (iv) assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) for the obligations of any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company), except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in no event exceeding $2,000,000 individually, (v) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than to wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company), or by such Subsidiaries to the Company, other than customary loans or advances to employees in accordance with past practice, or (vi) enter into any material commitment or transaction, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and except as otherwise authorized in Sections 5.2(b), 5.2(h) and 5.2(i);
(q) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into any agreement, understanding or commitment that materially restrains, limits or impedes the Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ ability to compete with or conduct any business or line of business, including geographic limitations on the Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ activities (other than confidentiality agreements and area of mutual interest agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business);
(r) except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or as contemplated by this Agreement, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, modify or amend in any material respect, or terminate, any material contract to which it is a party or waive in any material respect or assign any of its material rights or claims;
(s) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, fail to maintain in full force and effect its existing insurance policies or insurance with respect to its assets and businesses against such liabilities, casualties, risks and contingencies as is customary in the domestic or applicable foreign oil and gas exploration industry; and
(t) the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, enter into an agreement, contract, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 5.1 to the contrary, the Company shall not intentionally, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to intentionally, enter into any transaction or take any other action that would be reasonably likely to have a material adverse impact on, or materially delay, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or that would be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
Obligations of Parent In connection with any registration of Registrable Securities pursuant to this Article 1, Parent shall:
(a) Use its reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to be declared effective by the SEC at the Effective Time or as soon as practicable thereafter and to remain effective until the earlier to occur of (x) the first anniversary of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement (subject to extension to reflect any Suspension Period) and (y) such period as will terminate when all of the securities covered by the Registration Statement have been disposed of in accordance with the intended methods of disposition thereof by the Holders; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing clause (x), with respect to an Offering for which Parent has received notice in accordance with Section 1.3 and which is intended to occur within a reasonable period of time (but no later than 90 days) following such notice, Parent will use its reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to remain effective for such longer period (not to exceed five years after the Registration Statement is first declared effective) as in the opinion of counsel for any underwriters a prospectus is required by law to be delivered in connection with any such Offering by an underwriter or dealer with respect to those Registrable Securities subject to such Offering.
(b) Use its reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement and the related prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, as of the effective date thereof (i) to comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder and (ii) not to contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (as applicable, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.
(c) Prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement and the prospectus (the “Prospectus”) used in connection therewith as may be necessary to make and to keep the Registration Statement effective and to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect to the sale or other disposition of all securities proposed to be registered in such Registration Statement in accordance with the terms of any Offering. A reasonable time prior to the filing of the Registration Statement or any prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, Parent will provide copies of such documents to the Holders participating in such Offering and provide such Holders and their counsel with an adequate opportunity to review and comment thereon.
(d) Furnish to the participating Holders such number of copies of any Prospectus (including any preliminary Prospectus and any amended or supplemented Prospectus), in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, as the Holders may reasonably request in order to effect the offering and sale of the shares of Registrable Securities to be offered and sold, but only while Parent shall be required under the provisions hereof to cause the Registration Statement to remain effective.
(e) Subject to the proviso to Section 1.2, use its reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares of Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement under the securities or “blue sky” laws of such states as the participating Holders shall reasonably request and maintain any such registration or qualification current until the earlier to occur of the time periods set forth in Section 1.4(a).
(f) Promptly notify each Holder at any time when a prospectus relating thereto is required to be delivered under the Securities Act within the appropriate period referred to in Section 1.4(a), of Parent’s becoming aware that the prospectus included in the Registration Statement, or as such prospectus may be amended or supplemented, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in light of the circumstances then existing, and at the request of any such Holder to promptly prepare and furnish to such Holder a number of copies of an amendment or supplemental prospectus as may be necessary so that, as thereafter delivered to the purchasers of such Registrable Securities, such prospectus shall not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances then existing. In the event Parent shall give any such notice, each Holder shall immediately suspend use of the prospectus.
(g) Cause all such Registrable Securities to be listed on each securities exchange on which similar securities issued by Parent are then listed and, if not so listed, to be listed on the Nasdaq National Market or the New York Stock Exchange.
(h) Provide a transfer agent and registrar for all such Registrable Securities not later than the effective date of the Registration Statement.
(i) In connection with any Offering that is to be underwritten, enter into such customary agreements (including underwriting agreements in customary form for similar offerings) and take all such other actions as a Holder or the underwriters reasonably request in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of such Registrable Securities in accordance with terms of any Offering.
(j) Make reasonably available for inspection by any Holder of Registrable Securities, any underwriter participating in any Offering, and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by any such Holder or underwriter, all financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and properties of Parent, and use its reasonable efforts to cause Parent’s officers, directors, employees and independent accountants to supply all information reasonably requested by any such Holder, underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with such Offering (including, with respect to any Offering that is to be underwritten, using its reasonable efforts to furnish to the underwriters for such Offering a cold comfort letter from Parent’s accountant in customary form covering such matters as are customarily covered by such letters).
(k) In connection with any Offering that is to be underwritten, use its reasonable efforts to provide to the underwriters for such Offering a legal opinion of Parent’s outside counsel with respect to the registration statement, each amendment and supplement thereto, the prospectus included therein (including the preliminary prospectus) and such other documents relating thereto in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by legal opinions of such nature.
(l) In connection with any Offering that is to be underwritten, make reasonably available its employees and personnel and otherwise provide reasonable and customary assistance to any underwriters in the marketing of Registrable Securities pursuant to such underwritten Offering.
(m) If requested in writing by the managing underwriters, with respect to any Offering that is to be underwritten, Parent agrees not to effect any public sale or distribution of its equity securities, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for such securities, in each case for its own account, during the time period reasonably requested by the managing underwriters, not to exceed seven days prior to and 60days following the pricing of any underwritten Offering (except as part of such underwritten registration or pursuant to registrations on Form S-4 or Form S-8 or any successor forms).
(n) Reasonably cooperate with the Holders of Registrable Securities to facilitate the timely preparation and delivery of certificates representing Registrable Securities to be Transferred and not bearing any restrictive legends and enable such Registrable Securities to be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Holders may reasonably request at least one business day prior to the closing of any sale of Registrable Securities.