Shares NexImmune, Inc. Common Stock UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
[__] Shares
Common Stock
[__], 2021
BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC.
CANTOR ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & ASSOCIATES, INC.
As Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I
c/o Barclays Capital Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
c/o Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
c/o Raymond ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Ladies and Gentlemen:
NexImmune, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to sell [__] shares (the “Firm Stock”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). In addition, the Company proposes to grant to the underwriters (the “Underwriters”) named in Schedule I attached to this agreement (this “Agreement”) an option to purchase up to [__] additional shares of the Common Stock on the terms set forth in Section 2 (the “Option Stock”). The Firm Stock and the Option Stock, if purchased, are hereinafter collectively called the “Stock”. This Agreement is to confirm the agreement concerning the purchase of the Stock from the Company by the Underwriters.
1. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Company. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that:
(a) The Registration Statement (as defined below) on Form S-1 (File No. 333- 252220) relating to the Stock has (i) been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder; (ii) been filed with the Commission under the Securities Act; and (iii) become effective under the Securities Act. Copies of such registration statement and any amendment thereto have been made available to you as the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the Underwriters. As used in this Agreement:
(i) “Applicable Time” means [__] [A.M.][P.M.] (New York City time) on [__], 2021;
(ii) “Effective Date” means the date and time as of which such registration statement was declared effective by the Commission in accordance with the rules and regulations under the Securities Act;
(iii) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means each “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) relating to the Stock;
(iv) “Preliminary Prospectus” means any preliminary prospectus relating to the Stock included in such registration statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act;
(v) “Pricing Disclosure Package” means, as of the Applicable Time, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, together with the information included in Schedule II hereto and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus filed or used by the Company at or before the Applicable Time, other than a road show that is an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus but is not required to be filed under Rule 433 under the Securities Act;
(vi) “Prospectus” means the final prospectus relating to the Stock, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act;
(vii) “Registration Statement” means, collectively, the various parts of such registration statement, each as amended as of the Effective Date for such part, including any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, all exhibits to such registration statement and including the information deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Securities Act to be part of such registration statement as of the Effective Date;
(viii) “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act or Rule 163B under the Securities Act; and
(ix) “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
Any reference to any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Form S-1 under the Securities Act as of the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be. Any reference to the “most recent Preliminary Prospectus” shall be deemed to refer to the latest Preliminary Prospectus included in the Registration Statement or filed
2
pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act prior to or on the date hereof. Any reference to any amendment or supplement to any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any document filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, and before the date of such amendment or supplement that is incorporated by reference in such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to include any document filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the Effective Date and before the date of such amendment that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement. Any reference herein to the term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include any abbreviated registration statement to register additional shares of Common Stock under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act (the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement”). The Commission has not issued any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and no proceeding or examination for such purpose has been instituted or threatened by the Commission.
(b) From the time of initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any Person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and will be an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(c) The Company (i) has not engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives with entities that are, or are reasonably believed to be, qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than the Representatives to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representatives have been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed or approved for distribution any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Schedule IV hereto.
(d) The Company (i) was not (x) at the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement and (y) at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Stock, (ii) is not on the date hereof and (iii) will not be on the applicable Delivery Date (as defined below), an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act).
(e) The Registration Statement conformed and will conform in all material respects on the Effective Date and on the applicable Delivery Date, and any amendment to the Registration Statement filed after the date hereof will conform in all material respects when filed, to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. The most recent Preliminary Prospectus conformed, and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects when filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and on the applicable Delivery Date to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
3
(f) The Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Date, contain an 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 not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).
(g) The Prospectus will not, as of its date or as of the applicable Delivery Date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).
(h) The Pricing Disclosure Package did not, as of the Applicable Time, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Pricing Disclosure Package made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).
(i) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed in Schedule III hereto, when taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, did not, as of the Applicable Time, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed in Schedule III hereto in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e).
(j) No Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, as of the Applicable Time, when taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication listed on Schedule IV hereto in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e); and the Company has filed publicly on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (“▇▇▇▇▇”) at least 15 calendar days prior to any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act), any confidentially submitted registration statement and registration statement amendments relating to the offer and sale of the Stock. Each Written Testing-the-Waters Communications did not, as of the Applicable Time, and at all times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Stock will not, include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.
4
(k) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conformed or will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder on the date of first use, and the Company has complied with all prospectus delivery and any filing requirements applicable to such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to the Securities Act and rules and regulations thereunder. The Company has not made any offer relating to the Stock that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Representatives, except as set forth on Schedule III hereto. The Company has retained in accordance with the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that were not required to be filed pursuant to the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. The Company has taken all actions necessary so that any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) in connection with the offering of the Stock will not be required to be filed pursuant to the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
(l) The Company has been duly organized, is validly existing and in good standing as a corporation or other business entity under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and is duly qualified to do business and in good standing as a foreign corporation or other business entity in each jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its businesses requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, stockholders’ equity, properties, business or prospects of the Company taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company has all power and authority necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity.
(m) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth under the heading “Capitalization” in each of the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus as of the date or dates set forth therein, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, conform to the description thereof contained in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and were issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws and not in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right. All of the Company’s options, warrants and other rights to purchase or exchange any securities for shares of the Company’s capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, conform to the description thereof contained in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and were issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws and not in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right.
(n) The shares of the Stock to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly authorized and, upon payment and delivery in accordance with this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, will conform to the description thereof contained in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, will be issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws and will be free of statutory and contractual preemptive rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights.
5
(o) The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(p) The issuance and sale of the Stock by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Stock as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, impose any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, license, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws (or similar organizational documents) of the Company; or (iii) result in any violation of any statute or any judgment, order, decree, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or assets, except, with respect to clauses (i) and (iii), conflicts, breaches, violations, liens, charges, encumbrances or defaults that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, registration or qualification with, any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or assets is required for the issue and sale of the Stock by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Stock as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, except for the registration of the Stock under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, filings, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the Exchange Act, and applicable state or foreign securities laws and/or the bylaws and rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (the “FINRA”) in connection with the purchase and sale of the Stock by the Underwriters.
(r) The historical financial statements (including the related notes and supporting schedules) included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the entities purported to be shown thereby at the dates and for the periods indicated and have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein.
(s) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company, whose report appears in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and who have delivered the initial letter referred to in Section 7(g) hereof, are independent public accountants as required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
6
(t) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, the Company maintains internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP, including, but not limited to, internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for its assets, (iii) access to the Company’s assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and(iv) the recorded accountability for the Company’s assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, as of the date of the most recent balance sheet of the Company reviewed or audited by Ernst & Young LLP, there were no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls.
(u)(i) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act), (ii) such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information is accumulated and communicated to management of the Company, including its principal executive officers and principal financial officers, as appropriate and (iii) such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.
(v) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, since the date of the most recent balance sheet of the Company reviewed or audited by Ernst & Young LLP, (i) the Company has not been advised of or become aware of (A) any significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls that could adversely affect the ability of the Company to record, process, summarize and report financial data, or any material weaknesses in internal controls, or (B) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal controls of the Company; and (ii) there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
(w) The section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates” set forth in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus accurately and fully describes, in all material respects, (i) the accounting policies that the Company believes are the most important in the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations and that require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments (“Critical Accounting Policies”); (ii) the judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of Critical Accounting Policies; and (iii) the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions and an explanation thereof.
(x) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company and any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith.
7
(y) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, (a) the Company has not (i) sustained any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, (ii) issued or granted any securities, other than pursuant to equity incentive plans or similar arrangements described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, other than liabilities and obligations that were incurred in the ordinary course of business, (iv) entered into any material transaction not in the ordinary course of business, or (v) declared or paid any dividend on its capital stock, and (b) since such date, there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any adverse change, or any development involving a prospective adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, stockholders’ equity, properties, management, business or prospects of the Company taken as a whole, in each case except as would not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) The Company does not own any real property. The Company has good and marketable title to all personal property owned by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects, except such liens, encumbrances and defects as are described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company. All assets held under lease by the Company are held by the Company under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases, with such exceptions as do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such assets by the Company.
(aa) The Company has, and is operating in compliance with such permits, licenses, patents, franchises, certificates of need, exemptions and other approvals or authorizations of governmental or regulatory authorities (“Permits”) as are necessary under applicable law to own its properties and conduct its businesses in the manner described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, including, without limitation, all necessary FDA and applicable foreign regulatory agency Permits, except for any of the foregoing that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has fulfilled and performed all of its obligations with respect to the Permits, and no event has occurred that allows, or after notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or results in any other impairment of the rights of the holder or any such Permits, except for any of the foregoing that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received notice of any revocation or modification of any such Permits or has any reason to believe that any such Permits will not be renewed in the ordinary course.
(bb) The Company owns or possesses adequate rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service ▇▇▇▇ registrations, copyrights, licenses, know-how, inventions, domain names, software, systems and technology (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) necessary for the conduct of its respective businesses and has no reason to believe that the conduct of its business will conflict with, and has not received any notice of any claim of conflict with, any such rights of others.
8
(cc) To the Company’s knowledge, the Company owns, possesses, licenses or has other rights to use, on reasonable terms, all patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service ▇▇▇▇ registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of the Company’s business as now conducted or as proposed in the Prospectus to be conducted. There are (a) no rights of third parties to any such Intellectual Property, including no liens, security interests, or other encumbrances; (b) to the Company’s best knowledge, there is no material infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property; (c) there is no pending or, to the Company’s best knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (d) such Intellectual Property has not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, there is no pending or, to the Company’s best knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property, including interferences, oppositions, reexaminations, or government proceedings, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (e) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any other fact which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (f) to the Company’s best knowledge, no employee of the Company is in or has been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company; (g) there is no material patent or published patent application in the U.S. or other jurisdiction which contains claims that dominate or may dominate any Intellectual Property described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being owned by or licensed to the Company or that interferes with the issued or pending claims of any such Intellectual Property; (h) there is no prior art of which the Company is aware that may render any patent held by the Company invalid or any patent application held by the Company unpatentable; and (i) all prior art of which the Company is aware that may be material to the validity of a U.S. patent or to the patentability of a U.S. patent application has been disclosed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and all such prior art has been disclosed to the patent office of other jurisdictions where required. All licenses to which the Company is a party relating to the Intellectual Property are in full force and effect and the Company is not in violation of any term of such license.
(dd) There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company is the subject that would, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or would, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the performance of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others.
(ee) There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Registration Statement or the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement, that are not described and filed as required. The statements made in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, insofar as they purport to constitute summaries of the terms of the contracts and other documents described and filed, constitute accurate summaries of the terms of such contracts and documents in all material respects. The Company has no knowledge that any other party to any such contract or other document has any intention not to render full performance as contemplated by the terms thereof.
9
(ff) [Reserved.]
(gg) The Company carries, or is covered by, insurance from insurers of recognized financial responsibility in such amounts and covering such risks as is, in the Company’s reasonable judgement, adequate for the conduct of its business and the value of its properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries. All policies of insurance of the Company are in full force and effect; the Company is in compliance with the terms of such policies in all material respects; and the Company has not received written notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance; there are no claims by the Company under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; and the Company has no reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(hh) No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company, on the other hand, that is required to be described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus which is not so described.
(ii) No labor disturbance by or dispute with the employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(jj) The Company (i) is not in violation of its charter or by-laws (or similar organizational documents), (ii) is not in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant, condition or other obligation contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, license or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its properties or assets is subject, (iii) is not in violation of any law, statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over it or its property or assets or its own privacy policies or (iv) has not failed to obtain any license, permit, certificate, franchise or other governmental authorization or permit necessary to the ownership of its property or to the conduct of its business, except in the case of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), to the extent any such conflict, breach, violation or default would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(kk) The Company (i) is, and at all times prior hereto was, in compliance with all laws, regulations, ordinances, rules, orders, judgments, decrees, permits or other legal requirements of any governmental authority, including without limitation any international, foreign, national, state, provincial, regional, or local authority, relating to pollution, the protection of human health or safety, the environment, or natural resources, or to use, handling, storage, manufacturing,
10
transportation, treatment, discharge, disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), which compliance includes, without limitation, obtaining, maintaining and complying with all permits and authorizations and approvals required by Environmental Laws to conduct its business, and (ii) has not received written notice or otherwise have knowledge of any actual or alleged violation of Environmental Laws, or of any actual or potential liability for or other obligation concerning the presence, disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except in the case of clause (i) or (ii) where such non-compliance, violation, liability, or other obligation would not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, (x) there are no proceedings that are pending, or known to be contemplated, against the Company under Environmental Laws in which a governmental authority is also a party, other than such proceedings regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed, (y) the Company is not aware of any issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, including any pending or proposed Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position of the Company, and (z) the Company does not anticipate material capital expenditures relating to Environmental Laws.
(ll) The Company has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date hereof, subject to permitted extensions, and has paid all taxes due, and no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company, nor does the Company have any knowledge of any tax deficiencies that have been, or could reasonably be expected to be asserted against the Company, that would, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(mm) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each “employee benefit plan” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”)) for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) would have any liability (each a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and with the requirements of all applicable statutes, rules and regulations including ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) with respect to each Plan subject to Title IV of ERISA (A) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur, (B) no failure to meet the minimum funding standard set forth in Sections 412 of the Code and 303 of ERISA, whether or not waived, has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur, (C) no Plan is or is reasonably expected to be in “at risk” status (within the meaning of Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA), (D) there has been no filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 302(c) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan or the receipt by the Company or any member of its Controlled Group from the PBGC or the Plan administrator of the notice relating to the intention to terminate any Plan or Plans or to appoint a trustee to administer any Plan, (E) no conditions contained in Section
11
303(k)(1)(A) of ERISA for the imposition of a lien shall have been met with respect to any Plan, (F) the fair market value of the assets under each Plan exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan) and (G) neither the Company or any member of its Controlled Group has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan”, within the meaning of Section 4001(c)(3) of ERISA) (“Multiemployer Plan”); (iv) no Multiemployer Plan is, or is expected to be, “insolvent” (within the meaning of Section 4245 of ERISA), or in “endangered” or “critical” status (within the meaning of Section 432 of the Code or Section 304 of ERISA); and (v) each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service that it is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.
(nn) The statistical and market-related data included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) and the consolidated financial statements of the Company included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably believes to be reliable in all material respects.
(oo) The Company is not, and as of the applicable Delivery Date and, after giving effect to the offer and sale of the Stock and the application of the proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, will not be, (i) an “investment company” or a company “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, or (ii) a “business development company” (as defined in Section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act).
(pp) The statements set forth in each of the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Capital Stock”, “ Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders,” and “Underwriting,” insofar as they purport to summarize the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate summaries in all material respects.
(qq) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right (other than rights that have been waived in writing or otherwise satisfied) to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company owned or to be owned by such person or to require the Company to include such securities in the securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement or in any securities being registered pursuant to any other registration statement filed by the Company under the Securities Act.
(rr) The Company is not a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against it or the Underwriters for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Stock.
12
(ss) The Company has not sold or issued any securities that would be integrated with the offering of the Stock contemplated by this Agreement pursuant to the Securities Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or the interpretations thereof by the Commission.
(tt) The Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, its affiliates have not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to constitute, or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company in connection with the offering of the shares of the Stock.
(uu) The Stock has been approved for listing, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution on, The Nasdaq Global Market.
(vv) The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of any Delivery Date and completion of the distribution of the Stock, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Stock other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to which the Representatives have consented in accordance with Section 1(i) or 5(a)(vi), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus set forth on Schedule III hereto and, in connection with the Directed Share Program described in Section 3, the enrollment materials prepared by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. on behalf of the Company.
(ww) To the Company’s knowledge, it is not in violation of, and the Company has not received notice of, any violation with respect to any federal or state law relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of employees, nor any applicable federal or state wage and hour laws, nor any state law precluding the denial of credit due to the neighborhood in which a property is situated, the violation of any of which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(xx) Neither the Company nor any of the Company’s directors or officers, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agents or employees of the Company, has in the course of its actions for, or on behalf of, the Company: (i) made any unlawful contribution, gift, or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect bribe, kickback, rebate, payoff, influence payment, or otherwise unlawfully provided anything of value, to any “foreign official” (as defined in the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (collectively, the “FCPA”)) or domestic government official; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the FCPA, the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ of the United Kingdom, as amended (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇”), or any other applicable anti-corruption or anti-bribery statute or regulation. The Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates, have conducted their respective businesses in compliance with the ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and all other applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery statutes or regulations, and will institute and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(yy) The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in all material respects in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of the jurisdictions where the Company conducts its business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, that have
13
been issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator or non-governmental authority involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(zz) Neither the Company nor any of the Company’s directors or officers, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agents, employees or affiliates of the Company is: (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”); or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Crimea); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing or facilitating the activities of any person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of such financing or facilitation and currently is the subject or target of Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction whether as an underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. The Company has not knowingly engaged in for the past five years, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any individual or entity, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction, is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(aaa) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as applicable, the Company (i) is and during the past five years has been in compliance with all statutes, rules and regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, advertising, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any product manufactured or distributed by the Company, including, without limitation, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.), the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §201 et seq.), the federal Anti-kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.), the administrative False Claims Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), the Civil Monetary Penalties Law(42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), 18 U.S.C. §§286 and 287, the exclusion law (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7), the statutes, regulations and directives of Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act), Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) and all other government funded or sponsored healthcare programs including the TRICARE program (32 C.F.R. § 199.17), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, including, without limitation, the collection and reporting requirements, and the processing of any applicable rebate, chargeback or adjustment, under applicable rules and regulations relating to the VA Federal Supply Schedule (38 U.S.C. § 8126) or under any U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs agreement, and any successor government programs, and comparable state laws, and all other local, state, federal, national, supranational and foreign laws, manual provisions, policies and administrative guidance relating to the regulation of the Company (collectively, the “Applicable Laws”), except for such non-compliance as would not,
14
individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) has not received any notice from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging or asserting non-compliance with any Applicable Laws or any licenses, exemptions, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits, registrations and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws (“Authorizations”), except for such non-compliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) possesses all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and are not in violation of any term of any such Authorizations, except for such violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) has not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any such claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action threatened; (v) has not received written notice that any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to materially limit, suspend, materially modify or revoke any Authorizations nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any such limitation, suspension, modification or revocation threatened; (vi) has filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were timely, complete and accurate on the date filed in all material respects (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission); and (vii) is not a party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority. In addition, neither the Company nor any of its directors, officers, employees, or to the Company’s knowledge, any of its agents is or, has been debarred, suspended or excluded, or has been convicted of any crime or knowingly engaged in any conduct that would result in a debarment, suspension or exclusion by the FDA or from any federal or state government health care program.
(bbb) The nonclinical studies and clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company that are described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as applicable, were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with standard medical and scientific research procedures and all applicable statutes, rules and regulations of the FDA and comparable drug regulatory agencies outside of the United States to which it is subject (collectively, the “Regulatory Authorities”), including, without limitation, 21 C.F.R. Parts 50, 54, 56, 58, and 312; the descriptions in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus of the results of such studies and tests are accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly present the data derived from such trials; the Company has no knowledge of any other trials the results of which are inconsistent with or otherwise call into question the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the Company has not received any written notices, correspondence or other communication from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency which would lead to the termination or suspension of any nonclinical studies or clinical trials that are described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or would otherwise adversely affect the results of such studies or trials which are referred to in the Registration Statement, Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, and, to the Company’s knowledge, there are no reasonable grounds for same.
15
(ccc) None of the Directed Shares distributed in connection with the Directed Share Program (each as defined in Section 3) will be offered or sold outside of the United States.
(ddd) The Company has not offered, or caused ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. to offer, Stock to any person pursuant to the Directed Share Program with the specific intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or (ii) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company, its business or its products.
(eee) The Company’s information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and the Company has taken technical and organizational measures reasonably designed to protect information technology and Personal Data (as defined below) used in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company has implemented and maintained reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect its confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including “personal data” as defined by the EU General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) (EU 2016 679) and any personal, personally identifiable, household, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with its business, except to the extent that a failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and, to the knowledge of the Company, there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to any IT System or Personal Data used in connection with the operation of the Company’s business. The Company is presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.
(fff) The Company is, and at all prior times during the past three years, was, in compliance with all applicable data privacy and security laws, statutes, judgements, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or any other governmental or regulatory authority and all applicable laws regarding the collection, use, transfer, export, storage, protection, disposal or disclosure by the Company of Personal Data collected from or provided by third parties (collectively, the “Privacy Laws”), except where the failure to be in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has in place, materially complies with, and takes appropriate steps reasonably designed to (i) ensure compliance with its privacy policies and all third-party contractual obligations regarding Personal Data; and (ii) reasonably protect the security and confidentiality of all Personal Data (collectively, the “Policies”). During the past three years, the Company has provided notice of its privacy policy on its website, which provides accurate and sufficient notice of Company’s then-current privacy practices relating to its subject matter and such privacy policies do not contain any material omissions of the Company’s then-current privacy practices. None of such disclosures made or
16
contained in the privacy policies have been inaccurate, misleading, deceptive or in violation of any Privacy Laws or Policies in any material respect. To the knowledge of the Company, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or any other agreement referred to in this Agreement will not result in a breach of violation of any Privacy Laws or Policies. The Company has not received written notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws and is unaware of any other facts that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably indicate non-compliance with any Privacy Laws or Policies. To the Company’s knowledge, there is no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body pending or threatened alleging non-compliance with Privacy Laws or Policies.
(ggg) No forward looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included in any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement in connection with the offering of the Stock shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.
2. Purchase of the Stock by the Underwriters. On the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants contained in, and subject to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement, the Company agrees to sell [__] shares of the Firm Stock to the several Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase the number of shares of the Firm Stock set forth opposite that Underwriter’s name in Schedule I hereto. The respective purchase obligations of the Underwriters with respect to the Firm Stock shall be rounded among the Underwriters to avoid fractional shares, as the Representatives may determine.
In addition, the Company grants to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to [__] additional shares of Option Stock. Such option is exercisable in the event that the Underwriters sell more shares of Common Stock than the number of shares of Firm Stock in the offering and as set forth in Section 3 hereof. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of shares of Option Stock (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representatives may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of shares of Option Stock to be sold on such Delivery Date as the number of shares of Firm Stock set forth in Schedule I hereto opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of shares of Firm Stock.
The purchase price payable by the Underwriters for both the Firm Stock and any Option Stock is $[__] per share.
The Company is not obligated to deliver any of the Firm Stock or Option Stock to be delivered on the applicable Delivery Date, except upon payment for all such Stock to be purchased on such Delivery Date as provided herein.
17
3. Offering of Stock by the Underwriters. Upon authorization by the Representatives of the release of the Firm Stock, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Stock for sale upon the terms and conditions to be set forth in the Prospectus.
It is understood that approximately [__] shares of the Firm Stock (the “Directed Shares”) will initially be reserved by the several Underwriters for offer and sale upon the terms and conditions to be set forth in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA to employees of the Company and persons having business relationships with the Company who have heretofore delivered to ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. offers or indications of interest to purchase shares of Firm Stock in form satisfactory to ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. (such program, the “Directed Share Program”) and that any allocation of such Firm Stock among such persons will be made in accordance with timely directions received by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. from the Company; provided that under no circumstances will ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. or any Underwriter be liable to the Company or to any such person for any action taken or omitted in good faith in connection with such Directed Share Program. It is further understood that any Directed Shares not affirmatively reconfirmed for purchase by any participant in the Directed Share Program by [__] A.M., New York City time, on the date hereof or otherwise are not purchased by such persons will be offered by the Underwriters to the public upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.
The Company agrees to pay all fees and disbursements incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program and any stamp duties or other taxes incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program.
4. Delivery of and Payment for the Stock. Delivery of and payment for the Firm Stock shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the second full business day following the date of this Agreement or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. This date and time are sometimes referred to as the “Initial Delivery Date”. Delivery of the Firm Stock shall be made to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives and of the respective aggregate purchase prices of the Firm Stock being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Firm Stock through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.
The option granted in Section 2 will expire 30 days after the date of this Agreement and may be exercised in whole or from time to time in part by written notice being given to the Company; provided that if such date falls on a day that is not a business day, the option granted in Section 2 will expire on the next succeeding business day. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of shares of Option Stock as to which the option is being exercised, the names in which the shares of Option Stock are to be registered, the denominations in which the shares of Option Stock are to be issued and the date and time, as determined by the Representatives, when the shares of Option Stock are to be delivered; provided, however, that this date and time shall not be earlier than the Initial Delivery Date nor earlier than the second business day after the date on which the
18
option shall have been exercised nor later than the fifth business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised. Each date and time the shares of Option Stock are delivered is sometimes referred to as an “Option Stock Delivery Date”, and the Initial Delivery Date and any Option Stock Delivery Date are sometimes each referred to as a “Delivery Date”.
Delivery of the Option Stock by the Company and payment for the Option Stock by the several Underwriters through the Representatives shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in the preceding paragraph or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. On each Option Stock Delivery Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered the Option Stock to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives and of the respective aggregate purchase prices of the Option Stock being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Option Stock through the facilities of DTC unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.
5. Further Agreements of the Company and the Underwriters. (a) The Company agrees:
(i) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representatives and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the last Delivery Date except as provided herein; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Representatives with copies thereof; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Stock for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding or examination for any such purpose, or any notice from the Commission objecting to the use of the form of Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to use promptly its best efforts to obtain its withdrawal.
(ii) To furnish promptly to each of the Representatives and to counsel for the Underwriters a signed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission, and each amendment thereto filed with the Commission, including all consents and exhibits filed therewith.
19
(iii) To deliver promptly to the Representatives such number of the following documents as the Representatives shall reasonably request: (A) conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission and each amendment thereto (in each case excluding exhibits other than this Agreement and the computation of per share earnings), (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amended or supplemented Prospectus, and (C) each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus; and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required at any time after the date hereof in connection with the offering or sale of the Stock or any other securities relating thereto and if at such time any events shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus that will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.
(iv) To file promptly with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that may, in the judgment of the Company or the Representatives, be required by the Securities Act or requested by the Commission.
(v) Prior to filing with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, to furnish a copy thereof to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters and obtain the consent of the Representatives to the filing.
(vi) Not to make any offer relating to the Stock that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Representatives.
(vii) To comply with all applicable requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act with respect to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. If at any time after the date hereof any events shall have occurred as a result of which any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or supplement any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that will correct such conflict, statement or omission or effect such compliance.
20
(viii) As soon as practicable after the Effective Date (it being understood that the Company shall have until at least 410 days or, if the fourth quarter following the fiscal quarter that includes the Effective Date is the last fiscal quarter of the Company’s fiscal year, 455 days after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter), to make generally available (which may be satisfied by filing with ▇▇▇▇▇ to the Company’s security holders and the Representatives an earnings statement of the Company (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158).
(ix) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Representatives may reasonably request to qualify the Stock for offering and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of Canada and such other jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Stock; provided, that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction, or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be subject.
(x) For a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to, directly or indirectly, (A) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the Stock and shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans existing on the date hereof or pursuant to currently outstanding options, warrants or rights not issued under one of those plans), or sell or grant options, rights or warrants with respect to any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the grant of options, restricted stock units or other rights pursuant to option plans existing on the date hereof or disclosed in the Prospectus), (B) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of such shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (C) file, confidentially submit or cause to be confidentially submitted or filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into Common Stock or any other securities of the Company (other than any registration statement on Form S-8), or (D) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, in each case without the prior written consent of Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co., on behalf of the Underwriters, and to cause each officer, director and substantially all security holders of the Company to furnish to the Representatives, prior to the Initial Delivery Date, a letter or letters, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Lock-Up Agreements”); provided however, that the Company may: (i) issue shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock in connection with the acquisition or license by the Company of the securities, business, property, technology or other assets of another person or business entity or pursuant to any employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection
21
with any such acquisition; (ii) issue shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, or enter into an agreement to issue shares of Common Stock, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock in connection with any merger, joint venture, strategic alliance or partnership) as long as, with respect to (i) and (ii), (x) the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, that the Company may issue or agree to issue, shall not exceed 5% of the total outstanding shares of Common Stock immediately following the issuance of the Stock, and (y) the recipients of such securities provide to the Representatives a signed Lock-Up Agreement and (iii) assist any stockholder of the Company in the establishment of a trading plan by such stockholder pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that such plan does not provide for the transfer or any sale of shares of Common Stock during the Lock-Up Period, and the establishment of such plan does not require or otherwise result in any public filings or other public announcement of such plan during such Lock-Up Period and such plan is otherwise permitted to be implemented during the Lock-Up Period pursuant to the terms of the Lock-Up Agreement between such stockholder and the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Stock.
(xi) The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to enforce all existing agreements between the Company and any of its securityholders that prohibit the sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation of any of the Company’s securities in connection with the Company’s initial public offering until, in respect of any particular securityholder, the earlier to occur of (i) the expiration of the Lock-Up Period or (ii) the expiration, which shall not be amended or otherwise modified, of any similar arrangement entered into by such securityholder with the Representatives; to direct the transfer agent to place stop transfer restrictions upon any such securities of the Company that are bound by such existing “lock-up”, “market stand-off”, “holdback” or similar provisions of such agreements for the duration of the periods contemplated in the preceding clause; and not to release or otherwise grant any waiver of such provisions in such agreements during such periods without the prior written consent of the Representatives, on behalf of the Underwriters.
(xii) If Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co., in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a Lock-Up Agreement for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver in accordance with FINRA Rule 5131 (which may include issuing a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto), and containing such other information as Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. may require with respect to the circumstances of the release or waiver and/or the identity of the officer(s) and/or director(s) with respect to which the release or waiver applies, in accordance with FINRA Rule 5131.
(xiii) To apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Stock being sold by the Company substantially in accordance with the description as set forth in the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds.”
22
(xiv) To file with the Commission such information as may be required by Rule 463 under the Securities Act.
(xv) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act by 10:00 P.M., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing pay the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement.
(xvi) In connection with the Directed Share Program, to ensure that the Directed Shares will be restricted from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation to the same extent as sales and dispositions of Common Stock by the Company are restricted pursuant to Section 5(a)(x), and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. will notify the Company as to which Directed Share Participants will need to be so restricted. At the request of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc., the Company will direct the transfer agent to place stop transfer restrictions upon such securities for such period of time as is consistent with Section 5(a)(x).
(xvii) The Company will promptly notify the Representatives if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (A) the time when a prospectus relating to the offering or sale of the Stock or any other securities relating thereto is not required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) and (B) completion of the Lock-Up Period.
(xviii) If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission. The Company will promptly notify the Representatives of (A) any distribution by the Company of Written Testing-the-Waters Communications and (B) any request by the Commission for information concerning the Written Testing-the-Waters Communications.
(xix) The Company will not take, and will use its reasonable best efforts to ensure that its affiliates do not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that reasonably would be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company in connection with the offering of the Stock.
23
(xx) The Company, during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(xxi) The Company will do and perform all things required or necessary to be done and performed under this Agreement by it prior to each Delivery Date, and to satisfy all conditions precedent to the Underwriters’ obligations hereunder to purchase the Stock.
(xxii) The Company will deliver to each Underwriter (or its agent), on or prior to the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers or applicable exemption certificate (the “FinCEN Certification”), together with copies of identifying documentation, of the Company and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as each Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the FinCEN Certification.
(b) Each Underwriter severally agrees that such Underwriter shall not include any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) in any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) used or referred to by such Underwriter without the prior written consent of the Company (any such issuer information with respect to whose use the Company has given its consent, “Permitted Issuer Information”); provided that (i) no such consent shall be required with respect to any such issuer information contained in any document filed by the Company with the Commission prior to the use of such free writing prospectus, and (ii) “issuer information”, as used in this Section 5(b), shall not be deemed to include information prepared by or on behalf of such Underwriter on the basis of or derived from issuer information.
6. Expenses. The Company agrees, whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay all expenses, costs, fees and taxes incident to and in connection with (a) the authorization, preparation, issuance, sale, resale and delivery of the Stock and any stamp duties or other taxes payable in that connection, and the preparation and printing of certificates for the Stock; (b) the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, and any amendment or supplement thereto; (c) the distribution of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, and any amendment or supplement thereto, all as provided in this Agreement; (d) the production and distribution of this Agreement, any supplemental agreement among Underwriters, and any other related documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Stock; (e) any required review by the FINRA of the terms of sale of the Stock (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters); (f) the listing of the Stock on The Nasdaq Global Market and/or any other exchange; (g) the qualification of the Stock under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(a)(ix) and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters); (h) the preparation, printing and distribution of one or more versions of the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus for distribution in Canada, including in the form of a Canadian “wrapper” (including related fees and expenses of Canadian counsel to the Underwriters), provided that, for
24
purposes of clauses (e) and (g) above, the amount of counsel fees to be paid for by the Company shall not be greater than $35,000 in the aggregate; (i) the offer and sale of shares of the Stock by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program, including the fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters related thereto, the costs and expenses of preparation, printing and distribution of the Directed Share Program material and all stamp duties or other taxes incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program; (j) the investor presentations on any “road show” or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Stock, including, without limitation, expenses associated with any electronic road show, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and 50% the cost of any aircraft that is used to transport representatives from both the Company and the Underwriters in connection with the road show (with the other 50% being paid by the Underwriters); and (k) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement; provided that, except as provided in this Section 6 and in Section 11, the Underwriters shall pay their own costs and expenses, including the costs and expenses of their counsel, any transfer taxes on the Stock which they may sell and the expenses of advertising any offering of the Stock made by the Underwriters and any transfer taxes payable in connection with their respective sales of Stock to the Underwriters and reimburse the Company for their pro rata share of the fees and expenses paid by the Company in connection with the offering of the Stock.
7. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The respective obligations of the Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on each Delivery Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 5(a)(i). The Company shall have complied with all filing requirements applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus used or referred to after the date hereof; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been issued and no proceeding or examination for such purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and any request of the Commission for inclusion of additional information in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise shall have been complied with. If the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 P.M., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement.
(b) No Underwriter shall have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or prior to such Delivery Date that the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Pricing Disclosure Package, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, is material or omits to state a fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
25
(c) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form and validity of this Agreement, the Stock, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for the Underwriters, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(d) Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. shall have furnished to the Representatives its written opinion, as counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(e) Intellectual property counsel to the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives its written opinion, as counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(f) The Representatives shall have received from ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion and negative assurance letter, dated such Delivery Date, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Stock, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Pricing Disclosure Package and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(g) At the time of execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP, a letter, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the date hereof (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, and (ii) stating, as of the date hereof (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date hereof), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings.
(h) At the time of execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from EisnerAmper LLP, a letter, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the date hereof (i) confirming that they were independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, and (ii) stating, as of the date hereof (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date hereof), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings.
26
(i) With respect to the letter of Ernst & Young LLP, referred to in the preceding paragraph and delivered to the Representatives concurrently with the execution of this Agreement (the “EY initial letter”), the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a letter (the “EY bring-down letter”) of such accountants, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, (ii) stating, as of the date of the EY bring-down letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date of the EY bring-down letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by the EY initial letter, and (iii) confirming in all material respects the conclusions and findings set forth in the EY initial letter.
(j) With respect to the letter of EisnerAmper LLP, referred to in the preceding paragraph and delivered to the Representatives concurrently with the execution of this Agreement (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇ initial letter”), the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a letter (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇ bring-down letter”) of such accountants, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date (i) confirming that they were independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, (ii) stating, as of the date of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ bring-down letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ bring-down letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ initial letter, and (iii) confirming in all material respects the conclusions and findings set forth in the ▇▇▇▇▇▇ initial letter.
(k) [The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives, on each of the date hereof and such Delivery Date, a certificate dated the date hereof or such Delivery Date, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, from the chief financial officer of the Company as to the accuracy of certain financial and other information included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Pricing Disclosure Package.]
(l) The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate, dated such Delivery Date, of its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer as to such matters as the Representatives may reasonably request, including, without limitation, a statement:
(i) That the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company in Section 1 are true and correct on and as of such Delivery Date, and the Company has complied with all its agreements contained herein and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Delivery Date;
27
(ii) That no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued; and no proceedings or examination for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of such officers, threatened;
(iii) That they have examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Pricing Disclosure Package, and, in their opinion, (A) (1) the Registration Statement, as of the Effective Date, (2) the Prospectus, as of its date and on the applicable Delivery Date, and (3) the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not and do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and did not and do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (except in the case of the Registration Statement, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, and (B) since the Effective Date, no event has occurred that should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in order for such documents not to contain a material misstatement or omission that has not been so set forth; and
(iv) To the effect of Section 7(j) (provided that no representation with respect to the judgment of the Representatives need be made) and Section 7(k).
(m) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, (i) the Company shall not have sustained, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, or (ii) since such date, and except as set out or contemplated in the Pricing Disclosure Package, there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, stockholders’ equity, properties, management, business or prospects of the Company taken as a whole, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is, individually or in the aggregate, in the judgment of the Representatives, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Stock being delivered on such Delivery Date on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(n) [Reserved.]
(o) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) (A) trading in securities generally on any securities exchange that has registered with the Commission under Section 6 of the Exchange Act (including the New York Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq Global Select Market, The Nasdaq Global Market or The Nasdaq Capital Market), or (B) trading in any securities of the
28
Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or materially limited or the settlement of such trading generally shall have been materially disrupted or minimum prices shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the Commission, by such exchange or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by federal or state authorities, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in hostilities, there shall have been an escalation in hostilities involving the United States or there shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States, or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities after the date hereof (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such) or any other calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, in each case as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or delivery of the Stock being delivered on such Delivery Date on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(p) The Nasdaq Global Market shall have approved the Stock for listing, subject only to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution.
(q) The Lock-Up Agreements between the Representatives and the officers, directors and substantially all security holders of the Company, delivered to the Representatives on or before the date of this Agreement, shall be in full force and effect on such Delivery Date.
(r) On or prior to each Delivery Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters such further certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(s) FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness or reasonableness of the underwriting, or other arrangements of the transactions, contemplated hereby.
All opinions, letters, evidence and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
8. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors, officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof (including, but not limited to, any loss, claim, damage, liability or action relating to purchases and sales of Stock), to which that Underwriter, affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability
29
or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (A) any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, (B) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, (C) any Permitted Issuer Information used or referred to in any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) used or referred to by any Underwriter, (D) any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Stock, including any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) not constituting an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication (“Marketing Materials”), or (E) any Blue Sky application or other document prepared or executed by the Company (or based upon any written information furnished by the Company for use therein) specifically for the purpose of qualifying any or all of the Stock under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction (any such application, document or information being hereinafter called a “Blue Sky Application”) or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any Marketing Materials or any Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and shall reimburse each Underwriter and each such affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person promptly upon demand for any legal or other documented expenses reasonably incurred by that Underwriter, affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person in connection with investigating or defending or preparing to defend against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such documented expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any such amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any Marketing Materials or any Blue Sky Application, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information consists solely of the information specified in Section 8(e). The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have to any Underwriter or to any affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person of that Underwriter.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors (including any person who, with his or her consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to become a director of the Company), officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof, to which the Company or any such director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration
30
Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Marketing Materials or Blue Sky Application, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Marketing Materials or Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but in each case only to the extent that the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of that Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is limited to the information set forth in Section 8(e). The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability that any Underwriter may otherwise have to the Company or any such director, officer, employee or controlling person.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of any claim or the commencement of any action, the indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the claim or the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under this Section 8 except to the extent it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) by such failure and, provided, further, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 8. If any such claim or action shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. After notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such claim or action, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the indemnified party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that the indemnified party shall have the right to employ counsel to represent jointly the indemnified party and those other indemnified parties and their respective directors, officers, employees and controlling persons who may be subject to liability arising out of any claim in respect of which indemnity may be sought under this Section 8 if (i) the indemnified party and the indemnifying party shall have so mutually agreed; (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party; (iii) the indemnified party and its directors, officers, employees and controlling persons shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to them that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnified parties or their respective directors, officers, employees or controlling persons, on the one hand, and the indemnifying party, on the other hand, and representation of both sets of parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them, and in any such event the fees and expenses of such separate counsel shall be paid by the indemnifying
31
party. No indemnifying party shall (x) without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and does not include a statement as to, or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party, or (y) be liable for any settlement of any such action effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), but if settled with the consent of the indemnifying party or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff in any such action, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 8(a) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request or disputed in good faith the indemnified party’s entitlement to such reimbursement prior to the date of such settlement.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 shall for any reason be unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a) or 8(b) in respect of any loss, claim, damage or liability, or any action in respect thereof, referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, from the offering of the Stock, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, with respect to the statements or omissions that resulted in such loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, with respect to such offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Stock purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters with respect to the shares of the Stock purchased under this Agreement, as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus, on the other hand. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriters, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information
32
and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, for purposes of this Section 8(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(d), in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Stock exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute as provided in this Section 8(d) are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
(e) The Underwriters severally confirm and the Company acknowledges and agrees that the statements regarding delivery of shares by the Underwriters set forth on the cover page of, and the concession and reallowance figures and the paragraph relating to stabilization by the Underwriters appearing under the caption “Underwriting” in, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus are correct and constitute the only information concerning such Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for inclusion in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Marketing Materials.
(f) The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. (including its affiliates, directors, officers and employees) and each person, if any, who controls ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (“▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Entities”), from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability or any action in respect thereof to which any of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Entities may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action (i) arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any material prepared by or with the approval of the Company for distribution to Directed Share Participants in connection with the Directed Share Program or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) arises out of, or is based upon, the failure of the Directed Share Participant to pay for and accept delivery of Directed Shares that the Directed Share Participant agreed to purchase, or (iii) is otherwise related to the Directed Share Program; provided that the Company shall not be liable under this clause (iii) for any loss, claim, damage, liability or action that is determined in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of
33
the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Entities. The Company shall reimburse the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Entities promptly upon demand for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending or preparing to defend against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such expenses are incurred.
9. Defaulting Underwriters.
(a) If, on any Delivery Date, any Underwriter defaults in its obligations to purchase the Stock that it has agreed to purchase under this Agreement, the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Stock by the non-defaulting Underwriters or other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Stock, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Stock on such terms. In the event that within the respective prescribed periods, the non-defaulting Underwriters notify the Company that they have so arranged for the purchase of such Stock, or the Company notifies the non-defaulting Underwriters that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Stock, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company may postpone such Delivery Date for up to seven full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any such other document or arrangement that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” unless the context requires otherwise, includes any party not listed in Schedule I hereto that, pursuant to this Section 9, purchases Stock that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Stock of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of shares of the Stock that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the total number of shares of all the Stock, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the total number of shares of Stock that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the total number of shares of Stock that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Stock of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; provided that the non-defaulting Underwriters shall not be obligated to purchase more than 110% of the total number of shares of Stock that it agreed to purchase on such Delivery Date pursuant to the terms of Section 2.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Stock of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of shares of Stock that remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the total number of shares of all the Stock, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement
34
shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9 shall be without liability on the part of the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Sections 6 and 11 and except that the provisions of Section 8 shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
10. Termination. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be terminated by the Representatives by notice given to and received by the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Firm Stock if, prior to that time, any of the events described in Sections 7(j), 7(k) and 7(l) shall have occurred or if the Underwriters shall decline to purchase the Stock for any reason permitted under this Agreement.
11. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If (a) the Company shall fail to tender the Stock for delivery to the Underwriters for any reason, or (b) the Underwriters shall decline to purchase the Stock for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses (including fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters) incurred by the Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the proposed purchase of the Stock, and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Representatives. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 10 by reason of the default of one or more Underwriters, the Company shall not be obligated to reimburse any defaulting Underwriter on account of those expenses.
12. Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters’ research analysts and research departments are required to be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and that such Underwriters’ research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company and/or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their independent research analysts and research departments may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by such Underwriters’ investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Underwriters is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
13. No Fiduciary Duty. The Company acknowledges and agrees that in connection with this offering, sale of the Stock or any other services the Underwriters may be deemed to be providing hereunder, notwithstanding any preexisting relationship, advisory or otherwise, between the parties or any oral representations or assurances previously or subsequently made by the Underwriters: (a) no fiduciary or agency relationship between the Company and any other person,
35
on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, exists; (b) the Underwriters are not acting as advisors, expert or otherwise and are not providing a recommendation or investment advice, to the Company, including, without limitation, with respect to the determination of the public offering price of the Stock, and such relationship between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, is entirely and solely commercial, based on arms-length negotiations and, as such, not intended for use by any individual for personal, family or household purposes; (c) any duties and obligations that the Underwriters may have to the Company shall be limited to those duties and obligations specifically stated herein; (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may have interests that differ from those of the Company; and (e) does not constitute a solicitation of any action by the Underwriters. The Company hereby (x) waives any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any breach of fiduciary duty in connection with this offering and (y) agrees that none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. The Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.
14. Notices, etc. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and:
(a) if to the Underwriters, shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to each of (i) Barclays Capital Inc., ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Syndicate Registration, Fax: (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, with a copy, in the case of any notice pursuant to Section 8(c), to the Director of Litigation, Office of the General Counsel, Barclays Capital Inc., ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇; (ii) Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co., ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: General Counsel, Fax: (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇; and (iii) ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc., ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Fax: (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇.
(b) if to the Company, shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: Chief Financial Officer, with a copy to Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: ▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇.
Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof. The Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any request, consent, notice or agreement given or made on behalf of the Representatives.
15. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company, and their respective successors. This Agreement and the terms and provisions hereof are for the sole benefit of only those persons, except that (a) the representations, warranties, indemnities and agreements of the Company contained in this Agreement shall also be deemed to be for the benefit of the directors, officers and employees of the Underwriters and each person or persons, if any, who control any Underwriter
36
within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act, and (b) the indemnity agreement of the Underwriters contained in Section 8(b) of this Agreement shall be deemed to be for the benefit of the directors of the Company, the officers of the Company who have signed the Registration Statement and any person controlling the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, other than the persons referred to in this Section 15, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein.
16. Survival. The respective indemnities, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Stock and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any of them or any person controlling any of them.
17. Definition of the Terms “Business Day” and “Affiliate”. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close, and (b) “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
18. Governing Law. This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York (other than Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law).
19. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
20. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
21. Headings. The headings herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
37
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement between the Company and the Underwriters, please indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| NEXIMMUNE, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
38
| Accepted: | ||
| BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC. | ||
| CANTOR ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. | ||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & ASSOCIATES, INC. | ||
| For themselves and as Representatives of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto | ||
| By BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Authorized Representative | ||
| By CANTOR ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Authorized Representative | ||
| By ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & ASSOCIATES, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Authorized Representative | ||
39
SCHEDULE I
| Underwriters |
Number of Shares of Firm Stock |
|||
| Barclays Capital Inc. |
[__ | ] | ||
| Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. |
[__ | ] | ||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc. |
[__ | ] | ||
| ▇▇▇▇▇ & Company LLC |
[__ | ] | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Total |
[__ | ] | ||
|
|
|
|||
SCHEDULE II
ORALLY CONVEYED PRICING INFORMATION
1. Public offering price per share: $[__]
2. Number of shares offered: [__] shares of Firm Stock and up to [__] additional shares of Option Stock
SCHEDULE III
ISSUER FREE WRITING PROSPECTUS
[None.]
SCHEDULE IV
WRITTEN TESTING-THE-WATERS COMMUNICATIONS
Investor Presentation dated December 2020.
Investor Presentation dated January 2021.
EXHIBIT A
LOCK-UP LETTER AGREEMENT
Barclays Capital Inc.
Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc.
As Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I,
c/o Barclays Capital Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
c/o Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
c/o Raymond ▇▇▇▇▇ & Associates, Inc.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that you and certain other firms (the “Underwriters”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) providing for the purchase by the Underwriters of shares (the “Stock”) of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of NexImmune, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and that the Underwriters propose to reoffer the Stock to the public (the “Offering”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Underwriting Agreement.
In consideration of the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Underwriters, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby irrevocably agrees that, without the prior written consent of Barclays Capital Inc, (“Barclays”) and Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. (“Cantor”) on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common
Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or cause to be confidentially submitted or filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or any other securities of the Company (other than any registration statement on Form S-8), or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing for a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering (such 180-day period, the “Lock-Up Period”).
The foregoing restrictions are expressly agreed to preclude the undersigned from engaging in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of Common Stock or any other securities of the Company even if such Common Stock or other securities of the Company would be disposed of by someone other than the undersigned, including, without limitation, any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including without limitation any put or call option, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument) with respect to any Common Stock, or any other security of the Company that includes, relates to, or derives any significant part of its value from Common Stock or other securities of the Company.
The foregoing restrictions, including without limitation the immediately preceding sentence, shall not apply to:
| (a) | transactions relating to shares of Common Stock or other securities acquired in the open market after the completion of the Offering or acquired in the Offering from the Underwriters (other than issuer-directed shares of Common Stock purchased in the Offering by an officer or director of the Company); |
| (b) | bona fide gifts, sales or other dispositions of shares of any class of the Company’s capital stock, in each case that are made exclusively between and among the undersigned or members of the undersigned’s family, or affiliates of the undersigned, including its partners (if a partnership) or members (if a limited liability company); provided that it shall be a condition to any transfer pursuant to this clause (b) that (i) the transferee/donee agrees to be bound by the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement (including, without limitation, the restrictions set forth in the preceding sentence) to the same extent as if the transferee/donee were a party hereto, (ii) each party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) shall not be required by law (including without limitation the disclosure requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to make, and shall agree to not voluntarily make, any filing or public announcement of the gift, sale or other disposition prior to the expiration of the 180-day period referred to above, and (iii) the undersigned notifies Barclays and Cantor at least two business days prior to the proposed gift, sale or other disposition; |
Exhibit A-2
| (c) | the exercise of stock options or other equity awards granted pursuant to the Company’s stock option/incentive plans or otherwise outstanding on the date hereof; provided, that the restrictions shall apply to shares of Common Stock issued upon such exercise or conversion; |
| (d) | the establishment of any contract, instruction or plan that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 (a “Rule 10b5-1 Plan”) under the Exchange Act; provided, however, that no sales of Common Stock or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, Common Stock, shall be made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Plan prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period (as the same may be extended pursuant to the provisions hereof); provided further, that the Company is not required to report the establishment of such Rule 10b5-1 Plan in any public report or filing with the Commission under the Exchange Act during the Lock-Up Period and does not otherwise voluntarily effect any such public filing or report regarding such Rule 10b5-1 Plan; |
| (e) | any transfers by will or intestacy, provided, that (1) any transferee agrees to be bound by the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement (including, without limitation, the restrictions set forth in the preceding sentence) to the same extent as if the transferee(s) were a party hereto, (2) no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period and (3) any required filing under the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this clause (e); |
| (f) | any transfers pursuant to a court order or settlement agreement related to the distribution of assets in connection with the dissolution of a marriage or civil union, provided, that (1) no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period and (2) any required filing under the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this clause (f), unless otherwise prohibited by such court order or settlement agreement; |
| (g) | transfers or dispositions of shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, such capital stock to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned in a transaction not involving a disposition for value, or, if the undersigned is a trust, to a trustor or beneficiary of the trust, or, if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the undersigned or as part of a disposition, transfer or |
Exhibit A-3
| distribution by the undersigned to partners, limited partners, stockholders, members or equityholders of the undersigned, provided, in each case, that (1) any transferee agrees to be bound by the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement (including, without limitation, the restrictions set forth in the preceding sentence) to the same extent as if the transferee(s) were a party hereto, (2) no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period and (3) any required filing under the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this clause (g); |
| (h) | the conversion of preferred shares of the Company, or the conversion, exercise or exchange of any other securities of the Company, into Common Stock or any other securities of the Company, provided, that such shares of Common Stock or other securities issued upon conversion, exercise or exchange remain subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement; |
| (i) | any transfers or commitments to transfer pursuant to a merger, consolidation, tender offer or other similar transaction involving a Change of Control (as defined below) or reverse merger, provided, that in the event that such merger, consolidation, tender offer or other such transaction or reverse merger is not completed, such shares of Common Stock or other securities held by the undersigned shall remain subject to the provisions of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement; |
| (j) | the transfer by the undersigned of shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for, Common Stock to the Company upon a vesting or settlement event of the Company’s securities or upon the exercise of options or warrants to purchase the Company’s securities on a “cashless” or “net exercise” basis, in each case pursuant to any equity incentive plan of the Company described in the Prospectus and to the extent permitted by the instruments representing such options or warrants outstanding as of the date of the Prospectus, provided that (1) the shares received upon exercise or settlement of the option are subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement, (2) no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period and (3) any required filing under the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this clause (j), including that the securities remain subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement; |
| (k) | the transfer of shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, shares of Common Stock to the Company in connection with the termination of the undersigned’s employment with the Company, provided, that (1) no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period and (2) any required filing under the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this clause (k); and |
Exhibit A-4
| (l) | transfers that are approved by the prior written consent of Barclays and Cantor. |
“Change of Control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction, in one transaction or a series of related transactions, the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of the voting capital stock of the Company (or the surviving entity).
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) the undersigned agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed Stock, as referred to in FINRA Rule 5131(d)(2)(A) that the undersigned may purchase in the Offering pursuant to an allocation of Stock that is directed in writing by the Company, (ii) Barclays and Cantor agree that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Common Stock, Barclays and Cantor will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver and (iii) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by issuing a press release through a major news service (as referred to in FINRA Rule 5131(d)(2)(B)) or any other method permitted by FINRA Rule 5131 at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Barclays and Cantor hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if both (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration, and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter that are applicable to the transferor, to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of Barclays and Cantor, on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the Lock-Up Period, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock. In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.
It is understood that, if the Company notifies the Underwriters that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering through the Representatives, or if the Underwriters notify the Company that they do not intend to proceed with the Offering, the undersigned will be released from its obligations under this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.
Exhibit A-5
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will proceed with the Offering in reliance on this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.
Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including, without limitation, market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters have not provided any recommendation or investment advice nor have the Underwriters solicited any action from the undersigned with respect to the Offering and the undersigned has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.
This Lock-Up Letter Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York (other than Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law).
This Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the earlier to occur, if any, of (1) the withdrawal by the Company of the registration statement relating to the Offering, (2) the termination of the Underwriting Agreement before the sale of any Stock to the Underwriters or (3) June 30, 2021, in the event that the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by that date.
[Signature page follows]
Exhibit A-6
The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. Any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the heirs and executors (in the case of individuals), personal representatives, successors and assigns of the undersigned.
Very truly yours,
| IF AN INDIVIDUAL: | IF AN ENTITY: | |||||||
| By: |
|
| ||||||
| (duly authorized signature) | (please print complete name of entity) | |||||||
| Name: |
|
By: |
| |||||
| (please print full name) | (duly authorized signature) | |||||||
| Name: |
| |||||||
| (please print full name) | ||||||||
| Title: |
| |||||||
| (please print full title) | ||||||||
EXHIBIT B
Form of Press Release
[Insert date]
NexImmune, Inc. (the “Company”), announced today that Barclays Capital Inc.[ and Cantor ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.], the joint lead book-running managers in the Company’s recent public sale of [__] shares of common stock are [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to [__] shares of the Company’s common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on [insert date], and the shares may be sold or otherwise disposed of on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit B