86,956,522 Shares KEURIG DR PEPPER INC. COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.01 PER SHARE UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

Exhibit 18

 

Execution Version

 

86,956,522 Shares

 

KEURIG ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ INC.

 

COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.01 PER SHARE

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

February 29, 2024

 

 

February 29, 2024

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC

▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

New York, New York 10036

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The shareholder of Keurig ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), named in Schedule I hereto (the “Selling Shareholder”) proposes to sell to the Underwriter named in Schedule II hereto (the “Underwriter”), an aggregate of 86,956,522 shares of the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Firm Shares”), including the Repurchase Shares (as defined below). The 51,956,522 Firm Shares not constituting Repurchase Shares are hereinafter referred to as the “Initial Firm Shares.” The shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company are hereinafter referred to as the “Common Stock.”

 

The Selling Shareholder also proposes to sell to the Underwriter not more than an additional 13,043,478 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Additional Shares”), if and to the extent that the Underwriter shall have determined to exercise its right to purchase such shares of common stock granted to the Underwriter in Section ‎3 hereof. The Initial Firm Shares, the Repurchase Shares and the Additional Shares are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Shares.”

 

Subject to the sale of the Firm Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriter in compliance with the terms of this Agreement, the Underwriter has agreed to sell to the Company, and the Company has agreed to purchase from the Underwriter (the “Share Repurchase”) an aggregate of 35,000,000 shares of Common Stock (such shares, the “Repurchase Shares”) pursuant to Section 3 of this Agreement. This Agreement is to confirm the agreement concerning the purchase of the Common Stock from the Selling Shareholder by the Underwriter, and the purchase of the Repurchase Shares from the Underwriter by the Company.

 

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-266989), including a prospectus, relating to the Shares. The registration statement as amended at the time it becomes effective, including the information (if any) deemed to be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A or Rule 430B under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus in the form first used to confirm sales of Shares (or in the form first made available to the Underwriter by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) is hereinafter referred to as the “Base Prospectus.” The Base Prospectus, as supplemented by (i) the prospectus supplement, dated August 19, 2022 (the “Resale Prospectus Supplement”), that registers for resale from time to time shares of Common Stock, and (ii) the prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Shares in the form first used to confirm sales of the Shares (or in the form first made available to the Underwriter by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus” and the term “preliminary prospectus” means any preliminary form of the Prospectus, including without limitation, the Time of Sale Prospectus (as defined below).

 

 

For purposes of this Agreement, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the documents and pricing information set forth in Schedule III hereto, and “broadly available road show” means a “bona fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) under the Securities Act that has been made available without restriction to any person. As used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,” “Base Prospectus,” “preliminary prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus” shall include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein as of the date of reference to any such “Registration Statement,” “Base Prospectus,” “preliminary prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus.” The terms “supplement,” “supplemented,” “amendment,” “amended” and “amend” as used herein with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Resale Prospectus Supplement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus shall include all documents subsequently filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein.

 

1.            Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with the Underwriter that:

 

(a)          The Registration Statement has become effective; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission.

 

(b)          (i) Each document, if any, filed or to be filed pursuant to the Exchange Act and incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus complied or will comply when so filed in all material respects with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (ii) the Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (iii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (iv) the Time of Sale Prospectus does not, and at the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and at the Initial Closing Date (as defined in Section ‎5), the Repurchase Closing Date (as defined in Section ‎5) and at any Option Closing Date (as defined in Section 3), the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any 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, (v) each broadly available road show, if any, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, does not contain any 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 and (vi) as of its date and the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, the Prospectus does not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, will not contain any 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, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph do not apply to statements or omissions in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus based upon information relating to the Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by the Underwriter expressly for use therein.

 

 

(c)          The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule III hereto, and electronic road shows, if any, each furnished to the Underwriter before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Underwriter’s prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.

 

(d)          The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has the corporate power and authority to own or lease its property and to conduct its business as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

(e)          Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated, organized or formed, is validly existing as a corporation or other business entity in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, organization or formation (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction), has the corporate or other business entity power and authority to own or lease its property and to conduct its business as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction), except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; all of the issued shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable (to the extent such concepts are applicable under relevant law) and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company (except, for investments in those subsidiaries of the Company set forth together with the Company’s approximate ownership interest in each such subsidiary as of December 31, 2023 on Schedule IV attached hereto and, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares, none of which constitute a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X) and except as required by applicable law, free and clear of any material lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party (other than transfer restrictions under applicable securities laws and liens permitted by the debt instruments (each, as amended and supplemented as of the date hereof) of the Company and its subsidiaries described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

 

(f)           This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Share Repurchase has been duly authorized by the Company.

 

(g)          The authorized capital stock of the Company conforms as to legal matters to the description thereof contained in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

(h)          The shares of Common Stock (including the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder) outstanding as of the date hereof have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

 

(i)           The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement, including the Share Repurchase, will not contravene (i) any provision of applicable law, (ii) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company, (iii) any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iv) any judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary, except, in the cases of clauses (i), (iii) and (iv) above, as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or on the power or ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including the Share Repurchase. No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body, agency or court is required for the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, including the Share Repurchase, except such as may have already been obtained or made or be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares.

 

 

(j)           There has not occurred any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

 

(k)          There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (i) other than proceedings accurately described in all material respects in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and proceedings that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or on the power or ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including the Share Repurchase, or to consummate the transactions contemplated by each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus or (ii) that are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus and are not so described in all material respects; and there are no statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not described or filed as required.

 

(l)           Each preliminary prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, complied when so filed in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

(m)         The Company is not required, and after giving effect to the Share Repurchase will not be required, to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(n)          The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits, or other authorizations (“Permits”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, and have fulfilled all material obligations with respect to such Permits, except where the failure to possess such Permits or perform such obligations would not singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; and except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any Permit or has any knowledge that any such Permits will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except for such revocations, modifications or renewals as would not singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

 

(o)          No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company and its subsidiaries, is contemplated or threatened, except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

(p)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, requirements, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in such notice, except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

(q)          There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which would, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

(r)           Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus and as would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (i) each employee benefit pension plan, within the meaning of Section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) subject to Title IV of ERISA that is maintained and established by the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Company within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA or any entity that would be regarded as a single employer with the Company under Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to 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) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code, whether or not waived, has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (iv) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (v) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA) not waived by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (“PBGC”) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; and (vi) neither the Company, and to the knowledge of the Company, nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the PBGC, in the ordinary course and without default) with respect to the termination of a Plan (or the withdrawal from a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA).

 

 

(s)          The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the applicable entity deems are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses, as applicable; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has any 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 at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business.

 

(t)           There are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement, except as such have been duly waived or complied with in connection with the sale of the Shares contemplated hereby.

 

(u)          (i) None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, nor any director of the Company, or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer, employee, agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment, giving or receipt of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) (“Government Official”) in order to influence official action, or to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; and (ii) the Company and each of its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representations and warranties contained herein.

 

 

(v)          The operations of the Company and each of its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and each of its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(w)         (i) None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or any director or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer, employee, agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by one or more Persons that are:

 

(A)          the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or

 

(B)          located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, the Crimea Region and the non-government controlled areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria or any other Covered Region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065).

 

(ii)          For the past three years, except as would not result in a violation of Sanctions by any person, the Company and each of its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, and are not now engaged in, and will not engage in any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

 

(x)           The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property that are material to their respective businesses, taken as a whole, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries, except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) would not singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

 

(y)          Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole: (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or possess the right to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names copyrights, know-how and trade secrets (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”) necessary for the conduct of their businesses as currently conducted; (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, conduct of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses, as currently conducted, does not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise conflict with any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; and (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim against the Company concerning the foregoing.

 

(z)          [Reserved]

 

(aa)        (i) The Company and each of its subsidiaries have complied and are presently in compliance, in all material respects, with all internal and external privacy policies, contractual obligations, industry standards, applicable laws, statutes, judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or other governmental or regulatory authority and any other legal obligations, in each case, relating to the collection, use, transfer, import, export, storage, protection, disposal and disclosure by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of personal, personally identifiable, household, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Data Security Obligations”, and such data, “Data”); (ii) the Company has not received any notification of or complaint regarding and is unaware of any other facts that, individually or in the aggregate, would result in a material non-compliance with any Data Security Obligation; and (iii) of there is no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened alleging non-compliance with any Data Security Obligation.

 

(bb)        The Company and each of its subsidiaries have, in all material respects, taken technical and organizational measures necessary to protect the information technology systems and Data used in connection with the operation of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company and its subsidiaries have used reasonable efforts to establish and maintain, and have established, maintained, implemented and complied with, in all material respects, reasonable information technology, information security, cyber security and data protection controls, policies and procedures, including oversight, access controls, encryption, technological and physical safeguards and business continuity/disaster recovery and security plans that are designed to protect against and prevent breach, destruction, loss, unauthorized distribution, use, access, disablement, misappropriation or modification, or other compromise or misuse of or relating to any information technology system or Data used in connection with the operation of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses (“Breach”). To the knowledge of the Company, there has been no material Breach, and the Company and its subsidiaries have not been notified of and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any material Breach.

 

 

(cc)        The Company and each of its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or have requested extensions thereof (except where the failure to file would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole) and have paid all taxes required to be paid thereon (except for cases in which the failure to file or pay would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or, except as currently being contested in good faith and for which reserves required by generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) have been created in the financial statements of the Company), and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency that has been asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets which, singly or in the aggregate, has had a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

(dd)        The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes thereto, comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the dates shown and its results of operations and cash flows for the periods shown, and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby except for any normal year-end adjustments in the Company’s quarterly financial statements. The other financial information included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and presents fairly in all material respects the information shown thereby. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

 

(ee)        Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”), who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, delivered its respective reports with respect to such audited consolidated financial statements and schedules filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement and included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), as applicable, in each case, during the periods covered by such financial statements.

 

 

(ff)          The Company maintains a system of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that have been designed by, or under the supervision of, its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. 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 authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management's general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the Company's internal controls.

 

(gg)        To the Company’s knowledge, the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

(hh)        As of the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, none of (A) the Time of Sale Prospectus or (B) any free writing prospectus, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will 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.

 

(ii)          The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares in violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

(jj)          No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included or incorporated by reference in any of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed by the Company without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

2.            Representations and Warranties of the Selling Shareholder. The Selling Shareholder represents and warrants to and agrees with the Underwriter that:

 

(a)          This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Shareholder.

 

 

(b)          The execution and delivery by the Selling Shareholder of, and the performance by the Selling Shareholder of its obligations under, this Agreement will not contravene (i) any provision of applicable law, (ii) the organizational documents of the Selling Shareholder, (iii) any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Selling Shareholder or (iv) any judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Selling Shareholder, except in the case of (i), (iii) and (iv) as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Selling Shareholder’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement. No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body, agency or court is required for the performance by the Selling Shareholder of its obligations under this Agreement, except (i) such as may have already been obtained, (ii) such as may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares or (iii) such that would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Selling Shareholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(c)          The Selling Shareholder has, and on the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date and any Option Closing Date will have, valid title to, or a valid “security entitlement” within the meaning of Section 8-501 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code in respect of, the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder free and clear of all security interests, claims, liens, equities or other encumbrances and the legal right and power, and all authorization and approval required by law, to enter into this Agreement and to sell, transfer and deliver the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder or a security entitlement in respect of such Shares.

 

(d)          Upon payment for the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder pursuant to this Agreement, delivery of such Shares, as directed by the Underwriter, to Cede & Co. (“Cede”) or such other nominee as may be designated by the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), registration of such Shares in the name of Cede or such other nominee and the crediting of such Shares on the books of DTC to securities accounts of the Underwriter (assuming that neither DTC nor the Underwriter has notice of any adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code (the “UCC”)) to such Shares), (A) DTC shall be a “protected purchaser” of such Shares within the meaning of Section 8-303 of the UCC, (B) under Section 8-501 of the UCC, the Underwriter will acquire a valid security entitlement in respect of such Shares and (C) no action based on any “adverse claim”, within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC, to such Shares may be successfully asserted against the Underwriter with respect to such security entitlement; for purposes of this representation, the Selling Shareholder may assume that when such payment, delivery and crediting occur, (x) such Shares will have been registered in the name of Cede or another nominee designated by DTC, in each case on the Company’s share registry in accordance with its certificate of incorporation, bylaws and applicable law, (y) DTC will be registered as a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of Section 8-102 of the UCC and (z) appropriate entries to the account of the Underwriter on the records of DTC will have been made pursuant to the UCC.

 

 

(e)          The Selling Shareholder has delivered to the Underwriter an executed lock-up agreement in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Lock-up Agreement”).

 

(f)           The Selling Shareholder has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares in violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

(g)          The Selling Shareholder is not prompted by any information concerning the Company or its subsidiaries which is not set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus to sell its Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(h)          (i) the Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) the Time of Sale Prospectus does not, and at the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and at the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date and any Option Closing Date (as defined in Section ‎5), the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any 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, and (iii) the Prospectus does not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any 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 the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph 2(g) are limited in all respects to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Selling Shareholder furnished to the Company in writing by the Selling Shareholder expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto, it being understood and agreed that for purposes of this Agreement, the only information furnished by the Selling Shareholder consists of the name of the Selling Shareholder, the number of offered shares and the address and other information with respect to the Selling Shareholder (excluding percentages) which appear in the Registration Statement or any Prospectus in the table (and corresponding footnotes) under the caption “The Selling Shareholder” (the “Selling Shareholder Information”).

 

(i)           (i) None of the Selling Shareholder or any of its subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Selling Shareholder, any director, officer, employee, agent, representative, or affiliate thereof, is a Person that is, or is owned or controlled by one or more Persons that are:

 

(A)          the subject of any Sanctions, or

 

 

(B)           located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, the Crimea Region and the non-government controlled areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria or any other Covered Region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065).

 

(ii)           The Selling Shareholder will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:

 

(A)          to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or

 

(B)           in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).

 

(iii)          For the past five years, the Selling Shareholder has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

 

(iv)          (a) None of the Selling Shareholder or any of its subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Selling Shareholder, any director, officer, employee, agent, representative, or affiliate thereof has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment giving or receipt of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any Government Official in order to influence official action, or to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; (b) the Selling Shareholder and each of its subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representations and warranties contained herein; and (c) neither the Selling Shareholder nor any of its subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws.

 

 

(v)           The operations of the Selling Shareholder and each of its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable Anti-Money Laundering Laws, and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Selling Shareholder or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Selling Shareholder, threatened.

 

(j)           The Selling Shareholder represents and warrants that it is not (i) an employee benefit plan subject to Title I of ERISA, (ii) a plan or account subject to Section 4975 of the Code or (iii) an entity deemed to hold “plan assets” of any such plan or account under Section 3(42) of ERISA, 29 C.F.R. 2510.3-101, or otherwise.

 

(k)          The Selling Shareholder represents that no stamp, documentary, issuance, registration, transfer, withholding, capital gains, income or other taxes or duties are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriter, the Company or any of its subsidiaries or to any taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (i) the execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement by the Selling Shareholder, (ii) the sale and delivery of the Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriter or purchasers procured by the Underwriter, or (iii) the resale and delivery of such Shares by the Underwriter in the manner contemplated herein.

 

(l)           The Selling Shareholder has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 20(a) has, to the extent permitted by law, legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the jurisdiction of the Specified Courts (as defined in Section 20(a)), and has the power to designate, appoint and empower, and pursuant to Section 20(b), has legally, validly and effectively designated, appointed and empowered an agent for service of process in any suit or proceeding based on or arising under this Agreement in any of the Specified Courts.

 

3.            Agreements to Sell and Purchase. The Selling Shareholder hereby agrees to sell to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter, upon the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter stated, agrees to purchase the Shares from the Selling Shareholder at $28.90 a share (the “Purchase Price”). Subject to the sale of the Firm Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriter pursuant to this Agreement, the Underwriter hereby agrees to sell to the Company, and the Company hereby agrees to purchase from the Underwriter, the Repurchase Shares at a price per share equal to the Purchase Price. Upon completion of the Share Repurchase, the Company shall retire the Repurchase Shares and the Repurchase Shares will no longer be outstanding.

 

 

On the basis of the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement, and subject to its terms and conditions, the Selling Shareholder agrees to sell to the Underwriter the Additional Shares, and the Underwriter shall have the right to purchase up to 13,043,478 Additional Shares at the Purchase Price, provided, however, that the amount paid by the Underwriter for any Additional Shares shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on such Additional Shares. The Underwriter may exercise this right in whole or from time to time in part by giving written notice not later than 30 days after the date of this Agreement. Any exercise notice shall specify the number of Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriter and the date on which such shares are to be purchased. Each purchase date must be at least one business day after the written notice is given and may not be earlier than the closing date for the Firm Shares or later than ten business days after the date of such notice. On each day, if any, that Additional Shares are to be purchased (an “Option Closing Date”), the Underwriter agrees to purchase the number of Additional Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Underwriter may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date as the number of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule II hereto opposite the name of the Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares.

 

4.            Terms of Public Offering. The Selling Shareholder is advised by the Underwriter that it proposes to make a public offering of the Shares as soon after the Registration Statement and this Agreement have become effective as in the Underwriter’s judgment is advisable.

 

5.            Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Initial Firm Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder shall be made to the Selling Shareholder in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Shares for the account of the Underwriter at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on March 5, 2024, or at such other time on the same or such other date, not later than March 30, 2024, with respect to any Shares purchased by the Company in the offering as shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter. The time and date of such payment are hereinafter referred to as the “Initial Closing Date.”

 

Payment for the Repurchase Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder shall be made to the Selling Shareholder in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Shares for the account of the Underwriter at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on March 8, 2024, or at such other time on the same or such other date, not later than March 30, 2024, with respect to any Shares purchased by the Company in the offering as shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter. The time and date of such payment are hereinafter referred to as the “Repurchase Closing Date.” In addition, subject to the sale of the Firm Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriter in compliance with the terms of this Agreement, payment of the aggregate purchase price for the Repurchase Shares shall be made by the Company to the Underwriter in immediately available funds by wire transfer to an account specified by the Underwriter, against delivery of such Repurchase Shares for the account of the Company on the same date as the Repurchase Closing Date.

 

Payment for any Additional Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder shall be made to such Selling Shareholder in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Additional Shares for the account of the Underwriter at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in Section ‎3 or at such other time on the same or on such other date, in any event not later than March 30, 2024, as shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter.

 

 

The Initial Firm Shares, Repurchase Shares and Additional Shares shall be registered in such names and in such denominations as the Underwriter shall request not later than one full business day prior to the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be. The Initial Firm Shares, Repurchase Shares and Additional Shares shall be delivered to the Underwriter on the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date or an Option Closing Date, as the case may be, for the account of the Underwriter. The Purchase Price payable by the Underwriter shall be reduced by (i) any transfer taxes paid by, or on behalf of, the Underwriter in connection with the transfer of the Shares to the Underwriter duly paid and (ii) any withholding required by law.

 

6.            Conditions to the Underwriter’s Obligations. The obligations of the Selling Shareholder to sell the Shares to the Underwriter and the obligations of the Underwriter to purchase and pay for the Shares on the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as applicable, are subject to the condition that the Registration Statement became effective prior to the execution of this Agreement.

 

The obligations of the Underwriter are subject to performance by the Company and the Selling Shareholder of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following further conditions:

 

(a)          Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Initial Closing Date:

 

(i)           no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission;

 

(ii)          there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any of the securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act; and

 

(iii)         there shall not have occurred any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus that, in the Underwriter’s judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in the Underwriter’s judgment, impracticable to market the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

 

 

(b)          The Underwriter shall have received on the Initial Closing Date (i) a certificate, dated the Initial Closing Date and signed by an executive officer of the Company, to the effect set forth in Sections ‎6(a)(i) and ‎6(a)(ii) above and to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct as of the Initial Closing Date and that the Company has complied with all of the agreements and satisfied all of the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder on or before the Initial Closing Date and (ii) a certificate, dated the Initial Closing Date, of the Selling Shareholder to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Selling Shareholder contained in this Agreement are true and correct as of the Initial Closing Date and that the Selling Shareholder has complied with all of the agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder on or before the Initial Closing Date.

 

The officer signing and delivering such certificate pursuant to Section 6(b)(i) may rely upon the best of his or her knowledge as to proceedings threatened.

 

(c)          The Underwriter shall have received on the Initial Closing Date (i) an opinion and negative assurance letter of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Arps, Slate, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside counsel for the Company, dated the Initial Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter and (ii) an opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Will & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, special tax counsel for the Company, dated the Initial Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter.

 

(d)          The Underwriter shall have received on the Initial Closing Date, an opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside Dutch counsel for the Selling Shareholder, dated the Initial Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter.

 

(e)          The Underwriter shall have received on the Initial Closing Date an opinion and negative assurance letter of ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside counsel for the Underwriter, dated the Initial Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter.

 

(f)           The Underwriter shall have received, on each of the date hereof and the Initial Closing Date, a letter dated the date hereof or the Initial Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter, from Deloitte, independent public accountants, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information pertaining to the Company contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus; provided that the letter delivered on the Initial Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than the date hereof.

 

 

(g)          The Lock-up Agreements between the Underwriter, the Selling Shareholder, certain shareholders, the directors and certain officers of the Company shall be in full force and effect on the Initial Closing Date.

 

(h)          The Underwriter shall have received on the Initial Closing Date a certificate, dated the Initial Closing Date and signed by the chief financial officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter.

 

(i)           Substantially concurrently with the consummation of the offering of the Firm Shares on the Repurchase Closing Date, the Share Repurchase shall be consummated.

 

(j)           The obligations of the Underwriter to purchase Additional Shares hereunder are subject to the delivery to the Underwriter on the applicable Option Closing Date of the following:

 

(i)           a certificate, dated the Option Closing Date and signed by an executive officer of the Company, confirming that the certificate delivered on the Repurchase Closing Date pursuant to Section 6(b)(i) hereof remains true and correct as of such Option Closing Date;

 

(ii)          a certificate, dated the Option Closing Date, confirming that the certificate delivered on the Repurchase Closing Date pursuant to Section 6(b)(ii) hereof remains true and correct as of such Option Closing Date;

 

(iii)         an opinion and negative assurance letter of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Arps, Slate, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside counsel for the Company, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 6(c)(i) hereof;

 

(iv)         an opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Will & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, special tax counsel for the Company, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 6(c)(ii) hereof;

 

(v)          An opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside Dutch counsel for the Selling Shareholder, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 6(d)(ii) hereof;

 

(vi)         an opinion and negative assurance letter of ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, outside counsel for the Underwriter, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 6(e) hereof;

 

 

(vii)        a letter dated the Option Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter, from Deloitte, independent public accountants, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Underwriter pursuant to Section 6(f) hereof; provided that the letter delivered on the Option Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than two business days prior to such Option Closing Date;

 

(viii)       a letter dated the Option Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter, from Deloitte, independent public accountants, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Underwriter pursuant to Section 6(g) hereof; provided that the letter delivered on the Option Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than two business days prior to such Option Closing Date;

 

(ix)         a certificate, dated the Option Closing Date and signed by the chief financial officer of the Company, in form and substance provided pursuant to Section 6(i) hereof; and

 

(x)          such other documents as the Underwriter may reasonably request with respect to the good standing of the Company and other matters related to the sale of such Additional Shares.

 

7.            Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with the Underwriter as follows:

 

(a)          To furnish to the Underwriter, without charge, two signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference) and to furnish to the Underwriter in New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period mentioned in Section ‎7(e) or ‎7(f) below, as many copies of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as the Underwriter may reasonably request.

 

(b)          Before amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, to furnish to the Underwriter a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement and not to file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Underwriter reasonably objects, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.

 

(c)          To furnish to the Underwriter a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and not to use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus to which the Underwriter reasonably objects.

 

 

(d)          Not to take any action that would result in the Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

 

(e)          If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being used to solicit offers to buy the Shares at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement then on file, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriter and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Time of Sale Prospectus is delivered to a prospective purchaser, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will no longer conflict with the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.

 

(f)           If, during such period after the first date of the public offering of the Shares as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is required by law to be delivered in connection with sales by the Underwriter or a dealer, any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriter and to the dealers (whose names and addresses the Underwriter will furnish to the Company) to which Shares may have been sold by the Underwriter and to any other dealers upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.

 

(g)          To endeavor to qualify the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriter shall reasonably request; provided that the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.

 

 

(h)          To make generally available to the Company’s security holders and to the Underwriter as soon as practicable an earnings statement covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, provided that the Company will be deemed to have complied with such requirement by filing such earnings statement on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (or any successor system).

 

(i)           If the Selling Shareholder is not a U.S. person for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Company will deliver to the Underwriter (or its agent), on or before the Initial Closing Date, (i) a certificate with respect to the Company’s status as a “United States real property holding corporation,” dated not more than thirty (30) days prior to the Initial Closing Date, as described in Treasury Regulations Sections 1.897-2(h) and 1.1445-2(c)(3), and (ii) proof of delivery to the IRS of the required notice, as described in Treasury Regulations Section 1.897-2(h)(2).

 

The Company also covenants with the Underwriter that, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, it will not, and will not publicly disclose an intention to, during the period ending 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Restricted Period”), (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (3) file any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.

 

The restrictions contained in the preceding paragraph shall not apply to (A) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (B) the issuance by the Company of shares of Common Stock upon the exercise or settlement (including any “net” or “cashless” exercises or settlements) of options, restricted stock units, warrants or similar securities or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof as described in each of the Time of Sale Prospectus and Prospectus, (C) the issuance by the Company of any shares of Common Stock, or securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s incentive plans that are in effect as of the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and Prospectus, (D) facilitating the establishment of a trading plan on behalf of a shareholder, officer or director of the Company pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period, (E) the repurchase of any shares of Common Stock pursuant to existing agreements or rights providing for an option to repurchase or a right of first refusal on behalf of the Company pursuant to the Company’s repurchase rights or agreements that were in existence on the date hereof and described in the Prospectus (including the information incorporated by reference therein), (F) the issuance by the Company of shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock in connection with (1) the acquisition by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of the securities, business, technology, property or other assets of another person or entity or pursuant to an employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection with such acquisition, and the issuance of any such securities pursuant to any such agreement, or (2) the Company’s joint ventures, commercial relationships and other strategic transactions, provided the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that the Company may sell or issue or agree to sell or issue pursuant to this clause (F) shall not exceed 5% of the total number of shares of capital stock outstanding immediately following the offering of the Firm Shares contemplated by this Agreement.

 

 

8.            Covenants of the Selling Shareholder. The Selling Shareholder covenants with the Underwriter as follows:

 

(a)          The Selling Shareholder will deliver to the Underwriter (or its agent), prior to or at the Initial Closing Date, a properly completed and executed Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form W-9 or an IRS Form W-8, as appropriate, together with all required attachments to such form.

 

(b)          The Selling Shareholder will deliver to the Underwriter (or its agent), on the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Selling Shareholder undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as the Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing Certification.

 

(c)          All sums payable by the Selling Shareholder under this Agreement shall be paid free and clear of and without deductions or withholdings of any present or future taxes or duties, unless such deduction or withholding is required by law, in which case the Selling Shareholder shall pay such additional amount as will result in the receipt by the Underwriter of the full amount that would have been received had no deduction or withholding been made. For the avoidance of doubt, no additional amounts shall be payable by the Company or the Selling Shareholder in respect of taxes or duties imposed on a net income basis due to some connection of the Underwriter with the jurisdiction imposing the tax other than the entering into of this Agreement or receipt of payments hereunder.

 

 

(d)          All sums payable to the Underwriter under this Agreement shall be considered exclusive of any value added or similar taxes. Where the Selling Shareholder is obliged to pay value added or similar tax on any amount payable hereunder to the Underwriter, the Selling Shareholder shall in addition to the sum payable hereunder pay an amount equal to any applicable value added or similar tax, provided that the Underwriter has issued a valid invoice to the Selling Shareholder.

 

9.            Expenses. Whether or not the transactions contemplated in this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company agrees to pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of their obligations under this Agreement, including: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel, the Company’s accountants and counsel for the Selling Shareholder in connection with the registration and delivery of the Shares under the Securities Act and all other fees or expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and amendments and supplements to any of the foregoing, including all printing costs associated therewith, and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriter and dealers, in the quantities hereinabove specified, (ii) all costs and expenses related to the transfer and delivery of the Shares to the Underwriter, including any transfer or other taxes payable thereon, (iii) the cost of printing or producing any Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares under state securities laws and all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section ‎7(g) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum, (iv) all filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriter incurred in connection with the review and qualification of the offering of the Shares by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (provided that the amount payable by the Company with respect to fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter pursuant to subsections (iii) and (iv) shall not exceed $30,000 in the aggregate), (v) all costs and expenses incident to listing the Shares on the NYSE, (vi) the cost of printing certificates representing the Shares, (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent, registrar or depositary, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics and fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, (ix) the document production charges and expenses associated with printing this Agreement and (x) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company hereunder for which provision is not otherwise made in this Section. It is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section, Section ‎11 entitled “Indemnity and Contribution” and the last paragraph of Section ‎‎13 below, the Underwriter will pay all of its costs and expenses, including fees and disbursements of its counsel, stock transfer taxes payable on resale of any of the Shares by them and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.

 

 

The provisions of this Section shall not supersede or otherwise affect any agreement that the Company and the Selling Shareholder may otherwise have for the allocation of such expenses among themselves.

 

10.          Covenants of the Underwriter. The Underwriter covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the Company being required to file with the Commission under Rule 433(d) a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company thereunder, but for the action of the Underwriter.

 

11.          Indemnity and Contribution. (a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and each affiliate of the Underwriter within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any reasonably incurred and documented legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act, any Company information that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any “road show” as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act (a “road show”), the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of, or are based upon, 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, except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any such untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to the Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by the Underwriter expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the information described as such in paragraph (c) below. The Company agrees and confirms that reference to “Affiliates” of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC that appear in this Agreement shall be understood to include Mitsubishi UFJ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Securities Co., Ltd.

 

(b)          The Selling Shareholder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act, any Company information that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any road show, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of, or are based upon, 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, but only with reference to the Selling Shareholder Information relating to the Selling Shareholder. The liability of the Selling Shareholder under the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement and under the indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 11 shall be limited to an amount equal to the aggregate net proceeds after underwriting commissions and discounts, but before expenses, received by the Selling Shareholder from the sale of Shares sold by the Selling Shareholder under this Agreement.

 

 

(c)          The Underwriter agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Selling Shareholder, the directors of the Company, the officers of the Company who sign the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Selling Shareholder within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act, any Company information that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any road show, or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of, or are based upon, 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, but only with reference to information relating to the Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by the Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any issuer free writing prospectus, road show or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus: the information concerning stabilizing transactions, short sales and other information appearing in the fifteenth paragraph under the caption “Underwriting.”

 

(d)          In case any proceeding (including any governmental investigation) shall be instituted involving any person in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to Section ‎11(a), ‎11(b) or ‎11(c), such person (the “indemnified party”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnity may be sought (the “indemnifying party”) in writing and the indemnifying party, upon request of the indemnified party, shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party and any others the indemnifying party may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any indemnified party shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the reasonably incurred and documented fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of such counsel; (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified; (iii) the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party; and (iv) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood that the indemnifying party shall not, in respect of the legal expenses of any indemnified party in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for (i) the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for the Underwriter and all persons, if any, who control the Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or who are affiliates of the Underwriter within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act, (ii) the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for the Company, its directors, its officers who sign the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of either such Section and (iii) the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for the Selling Shareholder and all persons, if any, who control the Selling Shareholder within the meaning of either such Section, and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. In the case of any such separate firm for the Underwriter and such control persons and affiliates of the Underwriter, such firm shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter. In the case of any such separate firm for the Company, and such directors, officers and control persons of the Company, such firm shall be designated in writing by the Company. In the case of any such separate firm for the Selling Shareholder and such control persons of the Selling Shareholder, such firm shall be designated in writing by the Selling Shareholder. The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the 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 the second and third sentences of this paragraph, 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 prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party, in form and substance satisfactory to the indemnified party, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

 

(e)          To the extent the indemnification provided for in Section ‎11(a), ‎11(b) or ‎11(c) is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the indemnifying party or parties on the one hand and the indemnified party or parties on the other hand from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause ‎11(e)(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 ‎11(e)(i) above but also the relative fault of the indemnifying party or parties on the one hand and of the indemnified party or parties on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Shareholder on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Selling Shareholder bear to the result of the price at which the Underwriter sells the Shares less the price at which the Underwriter purchases the Shares from the Selling Shareholder. The relative fault of the Company and the Selling Shareholder together on the one hand, and the Underwriter on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by either the Company or the Selling Shareholder or by the Underwriter, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

(f)           The Company, the Selling Shareholder and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just or equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section ‎11 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in Section ‎11(e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in Section ‎11(e) shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, 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 ‎11, the Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that the 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 remedies provided for in this Section ‎11 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any indemnified party at law or in equity.

 

 

(g)          The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in this Section ‎11 and the representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the Selling Shareholder contained in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriter, any person controlling the Underwriter or any affiliate of the Underwriter, or by or on behalf of the Selling Shareholder or any person controlling the Selling Shareholder, or by or on behalf of the Company, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (iii) acceptance of and payment for any of the Shares.

 

12.          Termination. The Underwriter may terminate this Agreement by notice given by the Underwriter to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to or on the Initial Closing Date, the Repurchase Closing Date or any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on, or by, as the case may be, any of the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE American, the NASDAQ Global Market, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or the Chicago Board of Trade, (ii) trading of any securities of the Company shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market, (iii) a material disruption in securities settlement, payment or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred, (iv) any moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by Federal or New York State authorities or (v) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis that, in the Underwriter’s judgment, is material and adverse and which, singly or together with any other event specified in this clause (v), makes it, in the Underwriter’s judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offer, sale or delivery of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus.

 

13.          Effectiveness. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.

 

If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Underwriter because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company or the Selling Shareholder to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any reason the Company or the Selling Shareholder shall be unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Company or the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, will reimburse the Underwriter for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the fees and disbursements of its counsel) reasonably incurred by the Underwriter in connection with this Agreement or the offering contemplated hereunder.

 

 

14.          Entire Agreement. (a) This Agreement, together with any contemporaneous written agreements and any prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement) that relate to the offering of the Shares, represents the entire agreement between the Company and the Selling Shareholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriter, on the other, with respect to the preparation of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, the conduct of the offering, and the purchase and sale of the Shares.

 

(b)          The Selling Shareholder and the Company each acknowledge that in connection with the offering of the Shares: (i) the Underwriter has acted at arm’s length, is not an agent of, and owes no fiduciary duties to, the Selling Shareholder or the Company or any other person, (ii) the Underwriter owes the Selling Shareholder and the Company only those duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement, any contemporaneous written agreements and prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement), if any, (iii) the Underwriter may have interests that differ from those of the Selling Shareholder and the Company and (iv) none of the activities of the Underwriter in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriter with respect to any entity or natural person. The Selling Shareholder and the Company each waive to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Underwriter arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Shares.

 

15.          Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. (a) In the event that the Underwriter is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from the Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United State.

 

(b)          In the event that the Underwriter is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of the Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against the Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

For purposes of this Section a “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k). “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b). “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable. “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the ▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

 

16.          Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

 

17.          Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.

 

18.          Headings. The headings of the sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed a part of this Agreement.

 

19.          Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and effective only upon receipt and if to the Underwriter shall be delivered, mailed or sent to the Underwriter in care of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC at ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department; if to the Company shall be delivered, mailed or sent to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel; if to the Selling Shareholder shall be delivered, mailed or sent to Piet ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇.

 

20.          Submission to Jurisdiction; Appointment of Agents for Service. (a) The Selling Shareholder irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any New York State or United States Federal court sitting in The City of New York (the “Specified Courts”) over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the offering of the Shares (each, a “Related Proceeding”). The Selling Shareholder irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any Related Proceeding brought in such a court and any claim that any such Related Proceeding brought in such a court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. To the extent that the Selling Shareholder has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise) from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process with respect to itself or its property, the Selling Shareholder irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, such immunity in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding.

 

 

(b)          The Selling Shareholder herby irrevocably appoints C T Corporation, with offices at ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ as its agent for service of process in any Related Proceeding and agrees that service of process in any such Related Proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. The Selling Shareholder waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Shareholder represents and warrants that such agent has agreed to act as the Selling Shareholder’s agent for service of process, and the Selling Shareholder agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect.

 

21.          Judgment Currency. If for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert a sum due hereunder into any currency other than United States dollars, the Underwriter and the Selling Shareholder agree, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the rate of exchange used shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Underwriter could purchase United States dollars with such other currency in The City of New York on the business day preceding that on which final judgment is given. The obligation of the Selling Shareholder with respect to any sum due from it to the Underwriter or any person controlling the Underwriter shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first business day following receipt by the Underwriter or controlling person of any sum in such other currency, and only to the extent that the Underwriter or controlling person may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency. If the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to the Underwriter or controlling person hereunder, the Selling Shareholder agrees as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the Underwriter or controlling person against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to the Underwriter or controlling person hereunder, the Underwriter or controlling person agrees to pay the Selling Shareholder an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to the Underwriter or controlling person hereunder.

 

[SIGNATURE PAGES FOLLOW]

 

 

	Very truly yours,
	KEURIG ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ INC.
	By:
		Name:
		Title:
	JAB BEVCO B.V.
	By:
		Name:
		Title:
	By:

 

 

Accepted as of the date hereof
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. LLC
By:
	Name:
	Title:

 

 

Schedule I

 

Selling Shareholder		Number of Firm Shares To Be Sold
JAB BevCo B.V.			86,956,522
Total:			86,956,522

 

 

Schedule II

 

Underwriter		Number of Firm Shares To Be Purchased
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC			86,956,522
Total:			86,956,522

 

 

Schedule III

 

Time of Sale Prospectus

 

1.

Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated February 29, 2024, Resale Prospectus Supplement and Base Prospectus.

 

2.

Free writing prospectuses filed by the Company under Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act: Issuer free writing prospectus filed February 29, 2024.

 

3.

Pricing information provided orally by the Underwriter:

 

Number of Shares:     86,956,522 shares of common stock

 

Number of Shares Purchased by KDP:     35,000,000 shares of common stock

 

Price to the Public:      $29.10

 

 

Exhibit A

 

FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

 

               [●], 2024

 

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC

 

c/▇

▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned understands that ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC (the “Underwriter”) proposes to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Keurig ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the Selling Stockholder named in Schedule I thereto (the “Selling Stockholder”), providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) by the Underwriter of shares of the common stock, par value $0.01 per share of the Company (the “Common Stock”).

 

To induce the Underwriter to continue its efforts in connection with the Public Offering, the undersigned hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, it will not, and will not publicly disclose an intention to, during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending [180]¹/[45]² days after the date of the final prospectus supplement (the “Restricted Period”) relating to the Public Offering (the “Prospectus”), (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock beneficially owned (as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), by the undersigned or any other securities so owned convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, in cash or otherwise or (3) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.

 

The foregoing restrictions shall not apply to:

 

(a) transactions relating to shares of Common Stock or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with subsequent sales of Common Stock or other securities acquired in such open market transactions,

 

¹ For JAB.

 

² For D&Os.

 

 

(b) transfers or dispositions of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible or exercisable or exchangeable into Common Stock (i) as a bona fide gift or charitable contribution, or for bona fide estate planning purposes, (ii) if the undersigned is a natural person, to any member of the undersigned’s immediate family (as defined below) or to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned or if the undersigned is a trust, to a trustor, a trustee or a beneficiary of the trust or to the estate of a trustor, trustee or beneficiary of such trust, (iii) if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity, (1) to limited partners, members, stockholders or holders of similar equity interests in the undersigned (or in each case its nominee or custodian) or (2) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity (or in each case its nominee or custodian) that is an affiliate (as defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of the undersigned, or to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned, (iv) upon death or by will, testamentary document or intestate succession to the legal representative, heir, beneficiary or a member of the immediate family of the undersigned, or (v) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (b)(i) through (b)(iv); provided that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (b)(i) through (b)(iii) and (b)(v), (x) each donee or distributee shall sign and deliver a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this agreement for the balance of the Restricted Period and (y) no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period, other than as a result of the filing of a Form 4 required by another event that is otherwise permissible under this agreement.

 

(c) the establishment of a trading plan on behalf of a shareholder, officer or director of the Company pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by or on behalf of the undersigned or the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period,

 

(d) transfers or sales to the Company in connection with the repurchase of shares of Common Stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) granted under any existing stock incentive plan or stock purchase plan of the Company, which plan is described in the Prospectus (including the information incorporated by reference therein), provided that the underlying shares shall continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this agreement and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of the underlying shares, or other public announcement reporting, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period,

 

 

(e) the transfer of shares of Common Stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) to the Company pursuant to any existing stock incentive plan or stock purchase plan of the Company, which plan is described in the Prospectus (including the information incorporated by reference therein), upon a vesting or settlement event of the Company’s restricted stock units or other securities or upon the exercise of options to purchase the Company’s securities on a “cashless” or “net exercise” basis to the extent permitted by the instruments representing such options (and any transfer to the Company necessary in respect of such amount needed for the payment of taxes, including estimated taxes and withholding tax and remittance obligations, due as a result of such vesting, settlement or exercise whether by means of a “net settlement” or otherwise) so long as such vesting, settlement, “cashless” exercise or “net exercise” is effected solely by the surrender of outstanding options (or the Common Stock issuable upon the exercise thereof) or shares of Common Stock to the Company and the Company’s cancellation of all or a portion thereof to pay the exercise price and/or withholding tax and remittance obligations in connection with the vesting, settlement or exercise of the restricted stock unit, option or other equity award, provided that the shares received upon vesting, settlement or exercise of the restricted stock unit, option or other equity award are subject to this agreement, and provided further that if the undersigned is required to file a report under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, the undersigned shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this subpart (e).

 

(f) the transfer or disposition of the undersigned’s Common Stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) that occurs by operation of law, pursuant to the rules of descent and distribution or pursuant to a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement, provided that each transferee shall sign and deliver a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this agreement and provided further that any associated filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described in this subpart (f),

 

(g) the transfer of shares of Common Stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) pursuant to a bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidated or other similar transaction made to all holders of the capital stock of the Company involving a change of control (as defined below) of the Company which occurs after the consummation of the Public Offering, is open to all holders of the Company capital stock and has been approved by the board of directors of the Company; provided that in the event that the tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Common Stock owned by the undersigned shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in this agreement,

 

(h) pledges of Common Stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) as collateral in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions of a loan agreement and any related pledge and security agreements that were entered into prior to the date hereof (as the same may be amended, supplemented, modified, extended, refinanced, replaced and/or renewed from time to time), and any subsequent foreclosure on such collateral shares pledged in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions of such loan agreement and any related pledge and security agreements, [or]

 

[(i) transfers or sales to the Underwriter pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement[, or][.]]³

 

³ The Lock-up agreement signed by the Selling Stockholder will include this carve-out.

 

 

[(i) [transfers or sales in an aggregate amount of up to, but not more than, 15,000 shares of Common Stock in one or more transactions; provided that no more than one filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act be made during the Restricted Period[, or][.]]⁴

 

[(j) following the expiration of the 30-day option of the Underwriter to purchase up to 13,043,478 Additional Shares from the Selling Stockholder, transfers or sales of any shares not sold pursuant to such option.]⁵

 

For purposes of this agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage, domestic partnership or adoption, not more remote than first cousin and “change of control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company or JAB Holdings B.V. or any of its controlled affiliates, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of the Company, occurring after the consummation of the Public Offering, that has been approved by the board of directors of the Company. The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

 

If the Underwriter waives or terminates any of the restrictions contained in this agreement (or any such other related agreements) with respect to the securities of any officer or director of the Company or the Selling Stockholder (each, a “Lock-Up Release” and such stockholder, the “Triggering Release Party”), the restrictions contained in this agreement (or any such other related agreements) shall be automatically and concurrently waived or terminated, as applicable, to the same extent and on the same terms with respect to the same pro rata percentage of securities of the undersigned (other than the Triggering Release Party) as the percentage of Common Stock (or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) being released in the Lock-Up Release represents with respect to the securities held by the applicable Triggering Release Party; provided that the provisions of this sentence will not apply if (i)(a) the release, waiver or termination is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration that was not otherwise permitted under the terms of agreement (or any such other related agreements) and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this agreement (or any such other related agreements) to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of such transfer; (ii) the Lock-Up Release is granted in connection with a sale of Common Stock (or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) in an underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, whether or not such registration statement is wholly or partially a secondary offering of the Company’s Common Stock or (or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) (other than with respect to the Public Offering); provided that the undersigned is offered the opportunity to participate in such sale and the undersigned is released from its lock-up restrictions set forth herein to the extent of the undersigned’s participation in such underwritten public offering; or (iii) the Lock-Up Release is granted to one or more individual parties in an aggregate amount for all such Lock-Up Releases less than or equal to one percent (1%) of the Company’s total outstanding Common Stock (determined as of immediately following the closing of the Public Offering and assuming conversion, exercise and exchange of all securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock); provided that in the case of directors and officers of the Company, a release under this clause (iii) shall be granted only due to circumstances of emergency and hardship as determined by the Underwriter in its sole discretion. In the event that, as a result of this paragraph, any Common Stock (or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock) are released from the restrictions imposed by this agreement, the Underwriter shall use commercially reasonable efforts to notify the Company within two business days of the effective date of such release, provided that the failure to give such notice shall not give rise to any claim or liability against the Underwriter.

 

⁴ The Lock-up agreements signed by the Company’s directors and officers not participating in the offering will include this carve-out for each such signatory.

 

⁵ The Lock-up agreement signed by the Selling Stockholder will include this carve-out.

 

 

The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriter has not made any recommendation or provided any investment advice to the undersigned with respect to this agreement or the subject matter hereof, and the undersigned has consulted its own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors with respect to this agreement and the subject matter hereof to the extent the undersigned has deemed appropriate.

 

The undersigned understands that, if (i) the Underwriter, on the one hand, or the Company, on the other hand, informs the other in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that it has determined not to proceed with the Public Offering; (ii) the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective by March 15, 2024; or (iii) the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Common Stock to be sold thereunder; then this agreement shall automatically terminate and the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this agreement.

 

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriter are relying upon this agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns. This agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇ or ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

 

Whether or not the Public Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Public Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriter.

 

This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

 

	Very truly yours,
	(Name and Title - Print)
	(Signature)
	(Address)