No Solicitation (a) Each Stockholder hereby covenants and agrees that, from and after the date hereof until the Termination Date, except as expressly contemplated by this Proxy and Agreement, such Stockholder shall not, and shall cause its Representatives not to, directly or indirectly: (i) solicit, initiate, propose or induce the making, submission or announcement of, or knowingly encourage, facilitate or assist, any offer, inquiry, indication of interest or proposal that constitutes, or is reasonably expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal; (ii) furnish to any Person or Group (other than Acquiror, its Subsidiaries or any of their respective Representatives in their capacity as such) any non-public information relating to such Stockholder, its Covered Shares or the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or afford to any Person or Group (other than Acquiror, its Subsidiaries or any of their respective Representatives in their capacity as such) access to the business, properties, assets, books, records or other non-public information, or to any personnel, of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, in any such case in connection with any Acquisition Proposal or with the intent to induce the making, submission or announcement of, or to knowingly encourage, facilitate or assist, an Acquisition Proposal or the making of any offer, inquiry, indication of interest or proposal that constitutes or would reasonably be expected to lead to an Acquisition Proposal; (iii) participate or engage in discussions or negotiations with any Person or Group with respect to an Acquisition Proposal or with respect to any inquiries from Persons relating to any offer, indication of interest or proposal relating to an Acquisition Proposal (other than informing such Persons of the provisions contained in this Section 3.3); (iv) approve, endorse or recommend any offer, inquiry, indication of interest or proposal that constitutes, or would reasonably be expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal; (v) enter into any letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, merger agreement, acquisition agreement or other Contract (whether written, oral, binding or non-binding) relating to an Acquisition Proposal or Acquisition Transaction; or (vi) authorize or commit to do any of the foregoing; provided, that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, nothing shall prohibit any Stockholder or its Representatives from taking any action which the Company is permitted to take in compliance with Section 5.4 of the Merger Agreement, including, from the date of the Merger Agreement until the Company’s receipt of Requisite Stockholder Approval and following the execution and delivery of an Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement, (x) participating or engaging in discussions or negotiations with; or (y)
(1) furnishing any non-public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, or (2) affording access to the business, properties, assets, books, records or other non-public information, or to any personnel, of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, in each case, any Person or Group or their respective Representatives that has made, renewed or delivered to the Company a bona fide written Acquisition Proposal after the date of the Merger Agreement that did not result from a material breach of Section 5.4(a) of the Merger Agreement, in each case, if the Company and the Company Special Committee has determined in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisor and outside legal counsel) that an Acquisition Proposal either constitutes a Superior Proposal or is reasonably likely to lead to a Superior Proposal. Each Stockholder hereby represents and warrants that such Stockholder has read Section 5.4 of the Merger Agreement and agrees not to facilitate or participate in any actions prohibited thereby.
(b) Each Stockholder will promptly (and, in any event, within 36 hours from the receipt thereof) notify the Company and Acquiror in writing if an Acquisition Proposal is received by, any non-public information is requested from, or any discussions or negotiations are sought to be initiated or continued with, such Stockholder or any of its Representatives with respect to an Acquisition Proposal or potential Acquisition Proposal. Such notice must include (A) the identity of the Person or Group making such Acquisition Proposal, request or seeking of discussions or negotiations; and (B) a summary of the material terms, conditions or other aspects of such Acquisition Proposal, request or seeking of discussions or negotiations and, if in writing, a copy thereof and all written materials received in connection therewith. Thereafter, each Stockholder must keep the Company and Acquiror reasonably informed, on a prompt basis (and in any event within 24 hours), of the status and terms of, any developments regarding, any such Acquisition Proposal (including any amendments thereto) and the status of any such discussions or negotiations, including by providing copies of all written materials sent to or from such Stockholder or any of its Representatives relating to such Acquisition Proposal. The parties acknowledge that notice provided by each Stockholder to the Special Committee satisfies that Stockholder’s obligation to provide notice to the Company under this subsection.
No Solicitation by Parent (a) From and after the date of this Agreement and until the earlier of the Initial Company Merger Effective Time and termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII, Parent and its officers and directors will, will cause Parent’s Subsidiaries and their respective officers and directors to, and will use their reasonable best efforts to cause the other Representatives of Parent and its Subsidiaries to, immediately cease, and cause to be terminated, any discussions or negotiations with any Person conducted heretofore by Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or Representatives with respect to any inquiry, proposal or offer that constitutes or would reasonably be expected to lead to a Parent Competing Proposal. Parent will immediately terminate any physical and electronic data access related to any potential Parent Competing Proposal previously granted to such Persons.
(b) From and after the date of this Agreement and until the earlier of the Initial Company Merger Effective Time and termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII, Parent and its officers and directors will not, will cause Parent’s Subsidiaries and their respective officers and directors not to, and will use their reasonable best efforts to cause the other Representatives of Parent and its Subsidiaries not to, directly or indirectly:
(i) initiate, solicit, propose, knowingly encourage, or knowingly facilitate any inquiry or the making of any proposal or offer that constitutes, or would reasonably be expected to lead to, a Parent Competing Proposal;
(ii) engage in, continue or otherwise participate in any discussions or negotiations with any Person with respect to, relating to, or in furtherance of a Parent Competing Proposal or any inquiry, proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected to lead to a Parent Competing Proposal;
(iii) furnish any information regarding Parent or its Subsidiaries, or access to the properties, assets or employees of Parent or its Subsidiaries, to any Person in connection with or in response to any Parent Competing Proposal or any inquiry, proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected to lead to a Parent Competing Proposal;
(iv) enter into any letter of intent or agreement in principle, or other agreement providing for a Parent Competing Proposal (other than a confidentiality agreement entered into in compliance with Section 6.4(e)(iv)); or
(v) submit any Parent Competing Proposal to the vote of the stockholders of Parent. provided, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Parent or any of its Representatives may, (A) in response to an unsolicited inquiry or proposal from a third party, seek to clarify the terms and conditions of such inquiry or proposal to determine whether such inquiry or proposal constitutes a Parent Superior Proposal and (B) in response to an unsolicited inquiry or proposal from a third party, inform a third party or its Representative of the restrictions imposed by the provisions of this Section 6.4 (without conveying, requesting or attempting to gather any other information except as otherwise specifically permitted hereunder).
(c) From and after the date of this Agreement, Parent shall promptly (and in any event within 48 hours) notify the Company of the receipt by Parent (directly or indirectly) of any Parent Competing Proposal made on or after the date of this Agreement, any request for information or data relating to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries made by any Person in connection with a Parent Competing Proposal or any request for discussions or negotiations with Parent or a Representative of Parent relating to a Parent Competing Proposal (including the identity of such Person), and Parent shall provide to the Company promptly (and in any event within 48 hours) (i) a redacted copy of any such Parent Competing Proposal made in writing provided to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) if any such Parent Competing Proposal is not (or any portion thereof is not) made in writing, a written summary of the material financial and other terms thereof. Thereafter, Parent shall (A) keep the Company reasonably informed, on a prompt basis (and in any event within 48 hours), of any material development regarding the status or terms of any such Parent Competing Proposal (including any amendments thereto) or material requests and shall promptly (and in any event within 48 hours) apprise the Company of the status of any such discussions or negotiations and (B) provide to the Company as soon as practicable after receipt or delivery thereof (and in any event within 48 hours) copies of all material written correspondence and other material written materials provided to Parent or its Representatives from any Person. Without limiting the foregoing, Parent shall notify the Company if Parent determines in accordance with Section 6.4(e) to begin providing information or to engage in discussions or negotiations concerning a Parent Competing Proposal, prior to providing any such information or engaging in any such discussions or negotiations.
(d) Except as permitted by Section 6.4(e), the Parent Board, including any committee thereof, and its officers and directors will not, and will cause Parent’s Subsidiaries and their respective officers and directors not to, and will use their reasonable best efforts to cause the other Representatives of Parent and its Subsidiaries not to, directly or indirectly:
(i) withhold, withdraw, qualify or modify, or publicly propose or announce any intention to withhold, withdraw, qualify or modify, in a manner adverse to the Company, the Parent Board Recommendation;
(ii) fail to include the Parent Board Recommendation in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus;
(iii) approve, endorse or recommend, or publicly propose or announce any intention to approve, endorse or recommend, any Parent Competing Proposal;
(iv) publicly declare advisable or publicly propose to enter into, any confidentiality agreement, letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, agreement in principle, acquisition agreement, merger agreement, option agreement, joint venture agreement, partnership agreement or other agreement (other than a confidentiality agreement entered into in compliance with Section 6.4(e)(iv)) relating to a Parent Competing Proposal (a “Parent Alternative Acquisition Agreement”);
(v) in the case of a Parent Competing Proposal that is structured as a tender offer or exchange offer pursuant to Rule 14d-2 under the Exchange Act for outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock (other than by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries), fail to recommend, in a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, against acceptance of such tender offer or exchange offer by its stockholders on or prior to ten (10) business days (as such term is used in Rule 14d-9 of the Exchange Act) after commencement of such tender offer or exchange offer;
(vi) if a Parent Competing Proposal shall have been publicly announced or disclosed (other than pursuant to the foregoing clause (v)), fail to publicly reaffirm the Parent Board Recommendation on or prior to five (5) Business Days after the Company so requests in writing; or
(vii) cause or permit Parent to enter into a Parent Alternative Acquisition Agreement (together with any of the actions set forth in the foregoing clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi), a “Parent Change of Recommendation”).
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Parent, directly or indirectly through its Representatives, may:
(i) after consultation with its outside legal counsel, make such disclosures as the Parent Board or any committee thereof determines in good faith are necessary to comply with Rule 14d-9, Rule 14e-2(a) or Item 1012(a) of Regulation M-A promulgated under the Exchange Act or other disclosure required to be made in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus by applicable U.S. federal securities Laws; provided, however, that if such disclosure has the effect of withdrawing or adversely modifying the Parent Board Recommendation, such disclosure shall be deemed to be a Parent Change of Recommendation and the Company shall have the right to terminate this Agreement as set forth in Section 8.1(d)(i);
(ii) prior to, but not after, the receipt of Parent Stockholder Approval, engage in the activities prohibited by Section 6.4(b)(i), Section 6.4(b)(ii) or Section 6.4(b)(iii) with any Person if Parent receives a bona fide written Parent Competing Proposal from such Person that was not solicited at any time following the execution of this Agreement in breach of the obligations set forth in this Section 6.4; provided, however, that (A) no information that is prohibited from being furnished pursuant to Section 6.4(b) may be furnished until Parent receives an executed confidentiality agreement from such Person containing limitations on the use and disclosure of non-public information furnished to such Person by or on behalf of Parent that are no less favorable to Parent in the aggregate than the terms of the Confidentiality Agreement, as determined by the Parent Board or any committee in good faith after consultation with its legal counsel (provided, further, that such confidentiality agreement does not contain provisions that prohibit Parent from providing any information to the Company in accordance with this Section 6.4 or that otherwise prohibits Parent from complying with the provisions of this Section 6.4), (B) any such non-public information has previously been made available to, or is made available to, the Company prior to or concurrently with (or in the case of oral non-public information only, promptly (and in any event within 48 hours) after) the time such information is made available to such Person, and (C) prior to taking any such actions, the Parent Board or any committee thereof determines in good faith, after consultation with Parent’s financial advisors and outside legal counsel, that such Parent Competing Proposal is, or would reasonably be expected to lead to, a Parent Superior Proposal and (D) prior to taking such actions, the Parent Board determines in good faith after consultation with its outside legal counsel that failure to take such action would be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties owed by the Parent Board to the stockholders of Parent under applicable Law;
(iii) prior to, but not after, the receipt of Parent Stockholder Approval, in response to a bona fide written Parent Competing Proposal from a third party that was not solicited at any time following the execution of this Agreement in breach of the obligations set forth in this Section 6.4, if the Parent Board so chooses, the Parent Board may (x) effect a Parent Change of Recommendation or (y) terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1(c)(ii) in response to a Parent Superior Proposal if:
(A) the Parent Board determines in good faith after consultation with ▇▇▇▇▇▇’s financial advisors and outside legal counsel that such Parent Competing Proposal is a Parent Superior Proposal;
(B) the Parent Board determines in good faith, after consultation with its outside legal counsel, that failure to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation in response to such Parent Superior Proposal would be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties owed by the Parent Board to the stockholders of the Parent under applicable Law;
(C) Parent provides the Company written notice of such proposed action and the basis thereof three (3) Business Days in advance, which notice shall set forth in writing that the Parent Board intends to consider whether to take such action and include a copy of the available proposed Parent Competing Proposal and any applicable transaction and financing documents;
(D) after giving such notice and prior to effecting such Parent Change of Recommendation or terminating this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1(c)(ii), Parent makes itself available to negotiate (and causes its officers, employees, financial advisor and outside legal counsel to be available to negotiate) with the Company (to the extent the Company wishes to negotiate) to make such adjustments or revisions to the terms of this Agreement as would permit the Parent Board not to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation in response thereto; and
(E) at the end of the three (3) Business Day period, prior to taking action to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation or terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1(c)(ii), the Parent Board takes into account any adjustments or revisions to the terms of this Agreement proposed by the Company in writing and any other information offered by the Company in response to the notice, and determines in good faith (1) after consultation with Parent’s financial advisors and outside legal counsel, that the Parent Competing Proposal remains a Parent Superior Proposal and (2) after consultation with Parent’s outside legal counsel, that the failure to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation or terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1(c)(ii), as applicable, in response to such Parent Superior Proposal would be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties owed by Parent Board to the stockholders of the Parent under applicable Law; provided, that in the event of any material amendment or material modification to any Parent Superior Proposal (it being understood that any amendment or modification to the economic terms of any such Parent Superior Proposal shall be deemed material), Parent shall be required to deliver a new written notice to the Company and to comply with the requirements of this Section 6.4(e)(iii) with respect to such new written notice, except that the advance written notice obligation set forth in this Section 6.4(e)(iii) shall be reduced to two (2) Business Days; provided, further, that any such new written notice shall in no event shorten the original three (3) Business Day notice period; and
(iv) prior to, but not after, the receipt of Parent Stockholder Approval, in response to a Parent Intervening Event that occurs or arises after the date of this Agreement and that did not arise from or in connection with a breach of this Agreement by Parent, Parent may, if the Parent Board so chooses, effect a Parent Change of Recommendation (only of the type contemplated by Section 6.4(d)(i) or Section 6.4(d)(ii)) if:
(A) the Parent Board determines in good faith after consultation with ▇▇▇▇▇▇’s financial advisors and outside legal counsel that a Parent Intervening Event has occurred;
(B) the Parent Board determines in good faith, after consultation with its outside legal counsel, that failure to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation in response to such Parent Intervening Event would be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties owed by the Parent Board to the stockholders of Parent under applicable Law;
(C) Parent provides the Company written notice of such proposed action and the basis thereof three (3) Business Days in advance, which notice shall set forth in writing that the Parent Board intends to consider whether to take such action and includes a reasonably detailed description of the facts and circumstances of the Parent Intervening Event;
(D) after giving such notice and prior to effecting such Parent Change of Recommendation, Parent makes itself available to negotiate (and causes its officers, employees, financial advisor and outside legal counsel to be available to negotiate) with the Company (to the extent the Company wishes to negotiate) to make such adjustments or revisions to the terms of this Agreement as would permit the Parent Board not to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation in response thereto; and
(E) at the end of the three (3) Business Day period, prior to taking action to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation, the Parent Board takes into account any adjustments or revisions to the terms of this Agreement proposed by the Company in writing and any other information offered by the Company in response to the notice, and determines in good faith after consultation with Parent’s outside legal counsel, that the failure to effect a Parent Change of Recommendation in response to such Parent Intervening Event would be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties owed by the Parent Board to the stockholders of Parent under applicable Law; provided, that in the event of any material chang
No Solicitations From and after the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time or termination of this Agreement pursuant to ARTICLE X, the Company will not nor will it authorize or permit any of its officers, directors, affiliates or employees or any investment banker, attorney or other advisor or representative retained by it, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit or initiate the making, submission or announcement of any other acquisition proposal, (ii) participate in any discussions or negotiations regarding, or furnish to any person any non-public information with respect to any other acquisition proposal, (iii) engage in discussions with any Person with respect to any other acquisition proposal, except as to the existence of these provisions, (iv) approve, endorse or recommend any other acquisition proposal or (v) enter into any letter of intent or similar document or any contract agreement or commitment contemplating or otherwise relating to any other acquisition proposal.
No Public Solicitation The Purchaser is not subscribing for the Shares as a result of or subsequent to any advertisement, article, notice or other communication published in any newspaper, magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio, or presented at any seminar or meeting, or any solicitation of a subscription by a person not previously known to the Purchaser in connection with investments in securities generally.
Non-Solicitation The Shareholder hereby covenants and irrevocably agrees that it shall, from the date hereof until the earlier of (i) the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article 4 and (ii) the Effective Time:
(a) not, directly or indirectly, through any officer, director, employee, representative (including any financial or other advisor) or agent or otherwise, and shall not permit any such person to:
(i) solicit, assist, initiate, knowingly encourage or otherwise facilitate (including by way of furnishing or providing copies of, access to, or disclosure of, any confidential information, properties, facilities, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or entering into any form of agreement, arrangement or understanding) any inquiry, proposal or offer that constitutes an Acquisition Proposal;
(ii) enter into or otherwise engage or participate in any discussions or negotiations with any Person (other than any Purchaser Party or Purchaser Party Representative) regarding any inquiry, proposal or offer that constitutes or could reasonably be expected to constitute an Acquisition Proposal;
(iii) accept, approve, endorse or recommend, or publicly propose to accept, approve, endorse or recommend any Acquisition Proposal, or take no position or remain neutral with respect to, any public Acquisition Proposal; or
(iv) accept, approve, endorse, recommend or execute or enter into or publicly propose to accept, approve, endorse, recommend or execute or enter into any agreement, letter of intent, understanding or arrangement relating to an Acquisition Proposal.
(b) immediately cease and terminate, and cause to be terminated, any solicitation, encouragement, discussion, negotiation, or other activities commenced prior to the date of this Agreement with any Person (other than any Purchaser Party or Purchaser Party Representative) with respect to any Acquisition Proposal; and
(c) immediately notify the Purchaser and the Company, at first orally, and then promptly and in any event within 24 hours in writing, of any Acquisition Proposal, and shall provide the Purchaser and the Company with copies of all written documents, correspondence or other material received by the Shareholder, its affiliates or its, his, or her Representatives in respect of, from or on behalf of any such Person in connection therewith and if not in writing or electronic form, a description of the material terms of such correspondence sent or communicated to the Shareholder, its affiliates or its, his, or her Representatives.