Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. 2,978,740 Shares of Common Stock Underwriting Agreement
Exhibit 1.1
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
2,978,740 Shares of Common Stock
April 15, 2025
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇,
New York, New York 10282
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The stockholders named in Schedule II hereto (the “Selling Stockholders”) of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), propose, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to sell to the Underwriter named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriter”) an aggregate of 2,978,740 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Stock”). The shares of Stock the Underwriter agrees to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof are herein collectively called the “Securities”.
1. (a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with the Underwriter that:
(i) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-286548) in respect of the Securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(a)(iii) hereof), is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Rule 163B under the Act is hereinafter called a “Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act is hereinafter called a “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Securities is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);
(ii) (A) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information (as defined in Section 9(c) of this Agreement) or the Selling Stockholder Information (as defined in Section 2(b)(vi) of this Agreement);
(iii) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 7:00 pm (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement. The Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule III(c) hereto, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”), as of the Applicable Time did not, and as of the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a) of this Agreement) will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Time of Delivery, will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information or the Selling Stockholder Information;
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(iv) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information or the Selling Stockholder Information; and no other documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule III(b) hereto;
(v) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and as of the Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information or the Selling Stockholder Information;
(vi) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) sustained any material loss or interference with its business, taken as a whole, from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree or (ii) entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case otherwise than as set forth, incorporated by reference or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise, if any, of stock options or the award, if any, of stock options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or (ii) the issuance, if any, of stock upon conversion of Company securities as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus) or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (y) any Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); as used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” shall mean any material adverse change or effect, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change or effect, in or affecting (i) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (ii) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
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(vii) The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them (other than with respect to Intellectual Property, as defined in subsection (xxv) and addressed exclusively therein), in each case, to the knowledge of the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its subsidiaries;
(viii) Each of the Company and each of its “significant subsidiaries” as defined in Rule 1-02 under Regulation S-X promogulated under the Act (each, a “Significant Subsidiary”) has been (i) duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and each Significant Subsidiary has been listed in the Registration Statement;
(ix) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company, including the Securities to be sold by the Selling Stockholders, have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform in all material respects to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of each Significant Subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims (except as otherwise disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus).
(x) The compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and the Pricing Prospectus will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, (A) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except, in the case of this clause (A) for such defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (B) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (C) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Nasdaq”), the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriter;
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(xi) Neither the Company nor any of its Significant Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) in violation of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii), for such violations and defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(xii) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Stockholders”, and under the caption “Underwriting”, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;
(xiii) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, demands, claims, suits, arbitrations, inquiries or proceedings (“Actions”) pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or such officer or director), would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others; there are no current or pending Actions that are required under the Act to be described in the Registration Statement or the Pricing Prospectus that are not so described in all material respects therein; and there are no statutes, regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus;
(xiv) The Company is not an “investment company”, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(xv) (A) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Securities, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
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(xvi) ▇▇▇▇▇, PLLC, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, and have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and management’s assessment thereof are independent public accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(xvii) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that (i) complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act, (ii) has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and (iii) is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;
(xviii) The date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;
(xix) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to provide reasonable assurance that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective;
(xx) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any employee, agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense (or willfully taken any act in furtherance thereof); (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any direct or indirect unlawful payment in violation of the applicable Anti-Corruption Laws (as defined below); or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the rules and regulations thereunder, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-corruption, anti-bribery or related law, statute or regulation (collectively, “Anti-Corruption Laws”); the Company and its subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance with 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;
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(xxi) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with the requirements of applicable anti-money laundering laws, including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, as amended by the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the anti-money laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulation or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened;
(xxii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Government, including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or (ii) located, organized, or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions (a “Sanctioned Jurisdiction”); neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is engaged in, or has, since April 24, 2019, engaged in, any dealings or transactions with or involving any individual or entity that was or is, as applicable, at the time of such dealing or transaction, the subject or target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Jurisdiction;
(xxiii) The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein in accordance with GAAP. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Act, to the extent applicable;
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(xxiv) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes and filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof (except as currently being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and for which reserves required by GAAP have been created in the financial statements of the Company or applicable subsidiary), and (ii) there is no tax deficiency that has been, or would reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets;
(xxv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries (i) own or otherwise possess adequate rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights and registrations and applications thereof, licenses, know-how, software, systems and technology (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures and other intellectual property) (together, “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses, (ii) do not, to the knowledge of the Company, through the conduct of their respective businesses, infringe, violate or conflict with any such right of others and (iii) have not received any written notice of any claim of infringement, violation or conflict with, any such rights of others;
(xxvi) The Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are, to the Company’s knowledge, adequate for and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, and to the knowledge of the Company, are free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs and malware and other corruptants; the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards designed to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses, and there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to the same, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same, in each case, which would reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; the Company and its subsidiaries are presently in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification;
(xxvii) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included or incorporated by reference in any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith;
(xxviii) Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects;
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(xxix) There is and has been no material failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications;
(xxx) Neither the Company nor any of its controlled affiliates has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities;
(xxxi) The Company and each of its subsidiaries have such permits, licenses, approvals, consents, franchises, exemptions, notifications, certificates of need and other approvals or authorizations of governmental or regulatory authorities (“Permits”) as are necessary under applicable law to own their respective properties and conduct their respective businesses in the manner described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, except for any of the foregoing that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. All such Permits are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Permits or the failure of such Permits to be in full force and effect would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred which allows, or after notice or lapse of time would reasonably be expected to allow, revocation, termination or other impairment of any such Permit, except where the failure to so fulfill or perform, or the occurrence of such event, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries are operating in compliance with the terms all such Permits, except where the failure to hold or operate in compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any proceedings related to the revocation or modification of any such Permits that, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(xxxii) During the past three (3) years, each of the Company and its subsidiaries has operated and currently is in compliance with all applicable statutes, regulations, or other rules or policies administered or enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), or any comparable governmental or regulatory authority (collectively “Food Laws”), except where any failures comply with such applicable Food Laws would not, whether individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. During the past three (3) years, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any material Form-483s from the FDA or other material notice of inspectional observations or deficiencies, warning letters, untitled letters, untitled letters, written notices of violation or non-compliance, or similar written communications from the FDA, USDA, or any other comparable state, federal, or foreign governmental or regulatory authority asserting material noncompliance with any applicable Food Laws, and, to the knowledge of the Company, neither the FDA, USDA, nor any other comparable governmental or regulatory authority has threatened such action. Neither the Company nor any subsidiary has received written notice of any pending or threatened claim, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, audit, investigation, arbitration or other action from the FDA, USDA or any comparable governmental or regulatory authority alleging that any operation or activity is in material violation of any applicable Food Laws, which if the subject of an unfavorable decision, outcome, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The manufacture, storage, distribution, processing, import and export of any of the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ products is being conducted in compliance with all applicable Food Laws, except for such failures to comply as would not, whether individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. During the past three (3) years, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has initiated any material recalls, field notifications, field corrections, market withdrawals or replacements, warnings, safety alerts, or other notices of action relating to an alleged lack of safety, quality or regulatory compliance of the Company’s or any subsidiary’s products (collectively, “Safety Notices”). There are no unresolved Safety Notices, or, to the knowledge of the Company, material product complaints with respect to the Company’s or any subsidiary’s products, and to the knowledge of the Company, there are no facts that would be reasonably likely to result in (i) a material Safety Notice, or (ii) a termination or suspension of marketing or distribution of any of the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ products;
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(xxxiii) The Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are insured against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, prudent for the businesses in which they are engaged and as required by law;
(xxxiv) 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;
(xxxv) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, 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 Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement;
(xxxvi) No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would result in a Material Adverse Effect;
(xxxvii) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) the Company and each of its subsidiaries is in compliance with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, codes or rules of common law, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have received and are in compliance with all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses, (C) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, and (D) there are, to the knowledge of the Company, no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental entity, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or a violation of or liability under any applicable Environmental Laws. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, there are no proceedings that are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceedings regarding which it is reasonably believed that no monetary sanctions of $300,000 or more will be imposed. In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on the business, operations and properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, in the course of which it identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws, or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties); on the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus;
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(xxxviii) There are no debt securities of the Company, or of any of the Company’s subsidiaries, that are rated by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act; and
(xxxix) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(b) Each of the Selling Stockholders severally and not jointly represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriter and the Company that:
(i) All consents, approvals, authorizations and orders necessary for the execution and delivery by such Selling Stockholder of this Agreement and the Power of Attorney and the Custody Agreement referred to below, and for the sale and delivery of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, have been obtained, except for the registration under the Act of the Shares and such consents, approvals, authorizations and orders as may be required under state or non-US securities or blue sky laws, the rules and regulations of FINRA or the approval for listing on the Nasdaq or such other approvals as have been or will be made or obtained on or prior to the First Time of Delivery; and such Selling Stockholder has full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, the Power-of-Attorney and the Custody Agreement and to sell, assign, transfer and deliver the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder;
(ii) The sale of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder and the compliance by such Selling Stockholder with this Agreement, the Power of Attorney and the Custody Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not (A) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any statute, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling Stockholder is a party or by which such Selling Stockholder is bound or to which any of the property or assets of such Selling Stockholder is subject, (B) result in any violation of the provisions of (i) the articles or certificate of organization, incorporation or formation, or bylaws, operating agreements, trust agreements or other constituent documents of such Selling Stockholder (or similar applicable organizational document), (ii) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over such Selling Stockholder or any property or assets of such Selling Stockholder, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (B) (ii), for such conflicts, defaults, breaches or violations that would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of such Selling Stockholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Custody Agreement and perform its obligations under the Power of Attorney; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental body or agency is required for the performance by such Selling Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement, the Power of Attorney and the Custody Agreement and the consummation by such Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Power of Attorney and the Custody Agreement in connection with the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, except the registration under the Act of the Securities and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws or non-US laws, the rules and regulations of FINRA or the listing on the Nasdaq in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications that have already been obtained, made or waived in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriter;
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(iii) Such Selling Stockholder has, and immediately prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a) hereof) such Selling Stockholder will have, good and 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 Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder at the Time of Delivery, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; and, upon delivery of such Securities and payment therefor pursuant hereto, good and valid title to such Securities, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, will pass to the Underwriter;
(iv) On or prior to the date of the Pricing Prospectus, such Selling Stockholder has executed and delivered to the Underwriter an agreement substantially in the form of Annex I hereto.
(v) Such Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities;
(vi) To the extent that any statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto are made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Selling Stockholder which constitutes Selling Stockholder Information (as defined below), such Registration Statement and Preliminary Prospectus did, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will, when they become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall (A) not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information and (B) be limited to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to such Selling Stockholder furnished to the Company in writing by such Selling Stockholder expressly for use in the Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto, it being understood and agreed that the only information furnished by such Selling Stockholder consists of the name of such Selling Stockholder, the number of offered shares and the address and other information of such Selling Stockholder which appear in the Pricing Prospectus or any Prospectus in the table (and corresponding footnotes) under the caption “Principal and Selling Stockholders” (with respect to each Selling Stockholder, the “Selling Stockholder Information”);
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(vii) In order to document the Underwriter’s compliance with the reporting and withholding provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), with respect to the transactions herein contemplated, such Selling Stockholder is and will be eligible to (and will deliver to you prior to or at the Time of Delivery) a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 establishing a complete exemption from U.S. backup withholding;
(viii) All sums payable by any Selling Stockholder under this Agreement shall be paid free and clear of and without deductions or withholdings of any present or future taxes or duties, unless the deduction or withholding is required by law, in which case the Selling Stockholder 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;
(ix) If any sum payable by a Selling Stockholder under this Agreement is subject to tax in the hands of the Underwriter or taken into account as a receipt in computing the taxable income of the Underwriter (excluding net income taxes on underwriting commissions payable hereunder), the sum payable to the Underwriter under this Agreement shall be increased to such sum as will ensure that the Underwriter shall be left with the sum it would have had in the absence of such tax;
(x) Certificates in negotiable form or book-entry securities entitlements representing all of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder have been placed in custody under a Custody Agreement, in the form heretofore furnished to you (the “Custody Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by such Selling Stockholder to Computershare Inc., as custodian (the “Custodian”), and such Selling Stockholder has duly executed and delivered a Power of Attorney, in the form heretofore furnished to you (the “Power of Attorney”), appointing the persons indicated in Schedule II hereto, and each of them, as such Selling Stockholder’s attorneys-in-fact (the “Attorneys-in-Fact”) with authority to execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of such Selling Stockholder, to determine the purchase price to be paid by the Underwriter to the Selling Stockholders as provided in Section 2 hereof, to authorize the delivery of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder and otherwise to act on behalf of such Selling Stockholder in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Custody Agreement;
(xi) The Securities held in custody for such Selling Stockholder under the Custody Agreement are subject to the interests of the Underwriter hereunder; the arrangements made by such Selling Stockholder for such custody, and the appointment by such Selling Stockholder of the Attorneys-in-Fact by the Power of Attorney, are to that extent irrevocable; the obligations of the Selling Stockholders hereunder shall not be terminated by operation of law, whether by the death or incapacity of any Selling Stockholder or by the occurrence of any other event; if any Selling Stockholder should die or become incapacitated before the delivery of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, certificates representing the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholders in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and of the Custody Agreement; and actions taken by the Attorneys-in-Fact pursuant to the Powers of Attorney shall be as valid as if such death, incapacity, termination or other event had not occurred, regardless of whether or not the Custodian, the Attorneys-in-Fact, or any of them, shall have received notice of such death, incapacity, termination or other event;
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(xii) Such Selling Stockholder will not knowingly directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of Sanctions, or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions, or (ii) 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 Money Laundering Laws or any Anti-Corruption Laws;
(xiii) Such Selling Stockholder represents and warrants that it is not (i) an employee benefit plan subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“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; and
(xiv) Such Selling Stockholder is not prompted by any material information concerning the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is not disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus to sell its Securities pursuant to this Agreement.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, each of the Selling Stockholders agrees, severally and not jointly, to sell to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter agrees to purchase from each of the Selling Stockholders, at a purchase price per share of $90.60 , the Securities.
3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Securities, the Underwriter proposes to offer the Securities for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Securities to be purchased by the Underwriter hereunder, in definitive or book-entry form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Underwriter may request upon at least twenty-four hours’ prior notice to the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholders to the Underwriter, through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of the Underwriter, against payment by the Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the account(s) specified by the Custodian to the Representatives at least forty-eight hours in advance. The Company and the Selling Stockholders will cause the certificates, if any, representing the Securities to be made available for checking and packaging at least twenty-four hours prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) with respect thereto at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “Designated Office”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Securities, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on April 17, 2025 or such other time and date as the Underwriter, the Company and the Attorneys-in-Fact may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Securities is herein called the “Time of Delivery”.
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(b) The documents to be delivered at the Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the Securities, will be delivered at the offices of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ (the “Closing Location”), and the Securities will be delivered at the Designated Office, all the Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location on the New York Business Day next preceding the Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
5. The Company agrees with the Underwriter:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed (other than, in each case, by filing or amending a document incorporated by reference therein) and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Securities, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such steps including, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Securities by the Underwriter (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, to prepare a form of prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and to make no further amendment or supplement to such form of prospectus which shall be disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice thereof;
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(c) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may reasonably request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Securities, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation, to subject itself to taxation for doing business in any jurisdiction in which it was not otherwise subject to taxation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(d) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriter with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act or the Exchange Act, to notify you and upon your request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to the Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case the Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Securities at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of the Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to the Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
(e) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System), but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);
(f) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 90 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Securities, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Stock or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise (other than the Securities to be sold hereunder or pursuant to the Company’s KSOP, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of the date of this Agreement), without the prior written consent of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC;
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(g) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act; and
(h) Upon request of the Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to the Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by the Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Securities (the “License”); provided, however, that the License shall be used solely for the purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be assigned or transferred.
6. (a) The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Underwriter, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; each Selling Stockholder represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Underwriter, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free writing prospectus; and the Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission; any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Underwriter is listed on Schedule III hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending;
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Underwriter and, if requested by the Underwriter, will prepare and furnish without charge to the Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information or the Selling Stockholder Information;
(d) The Company represents and agrees that (i) it has not engaged in, or authorized any other person to engage in, any Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the prior consent of the Underwriter with entities that the Company reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Act; and (ii) it has not distributed, or authorized any other person to distribute, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, other than those distributed with the prior consent of the Underwriter; and the Company reconfirms that the Underwriter has been authorized to act on its behalf in engaging in Testing-the-Waters Communications; and
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(e) The Underwriter represents and agrees that any Testing-the-Waters Communications undertaken by it were with entities that such Underwriter reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Act.
7. The Company and each of the Selling Stockholders covenants and agrees with the Underwriter that the (a) Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriter and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Securities for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(c) hereof, including the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey (expenses pursuant to this clause (iii) not to exceed $10,000); (iv) the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriter in connection with any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities; (v) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar; and (vi) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section; and (b) such Selling Stockholder will pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to its performance of the Selling Stockholder’s obligations with respect to (i) any fees and expenses of counsel for such Selling Stockholder to the extent not being paid for by the Company, and (ii) all out of pocket expenses and taxes, including any stock, stamp or transfer taxes, incident to the sale and delivery of the Securities to be sold by such Selling Stockholder to the Underwriters hereunder. It is understood, however, that the Company shall bear, and the Selling Stockholders shall not be required to pay or to reimburse the Company for, the cost of any other matters not directly relating to the sale and purchase of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, and that except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriter will pay all of its own costs and expenses, including the fees of its counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Securities by it, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers it may make.
8. The obligations of the Underwriter hereunder, as to the Securities to be delivered at the Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in its discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company and the Selling Stockholders herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and the Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall have performed all of its and their obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act shall have been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;
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(b) ▇▇▇▇▇▇ & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Underwriter, shall have furnished to you such written opinion or opinions and negative assurance letter, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion and negative assurance letter, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you;
(d) On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to or contemporaneously with the execution of this Agreement, and also at the Time of Delivery, Frost, PLLC shall have furnished to you a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you;
(e) ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Selling Stockholders, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, dated the Time of Delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you;
(f) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business, taken as a whole, from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change or effect, or any development involving a prospective change or effect, in or affecting (x) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (y) the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities being delivered at the Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(g) [Reserved];
(h) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the Nasdaq; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on the Nasdaq; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities being delivered at the Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
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(i) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(d) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement;
(j) [Reserved];
(k) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriter executed copies of an agreement from each executive officer, director, and stockholder of the Company listed on Schedule IV hereto, substantially to the effect set forth in Annex I hereto in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to you; and
(l) The Company and the Selling Stockholders shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at the Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company and of an Attorney-in-Fact on behalf of the Selling Stockholders, respectively, reasonably satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Selling Stockholders, respectively, herein at and as of such time, as to the performance by the Company and the Selling Stockholders of all of their respective obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such time, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (f) of this Section and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request.
9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter and each Selling Stockholder against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Underwriter or such Selling Stockholder may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “roadshow” as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Act (a “roadshow”), any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse the Underwriter and such Selling Stockholder for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information or the Selling Stockholder Information.
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(b) Each of the Selling Stockholders, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter and the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Underwriter or the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Selling Stockholder Information; and will reimburse the Underwriter and the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that such Selling Stockholder shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any road show or any Testing-the-Waters Communication in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; provided further, that the liability of such Selling Stockholder pursuant to this Section 9(b) shall not exceed the net proceeds (net of any underwriting discounts and commissions, but before deducting expenses) from the sale of the Securities sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder (the “Selling Stockholder Proceeds”) less any amounts that such Selling Stockholder is obligated to contribute pursuant to Sections 9(e) and 9(f) below.
(c) The Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company and each Selling Stockholder against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company or such Selling Stockholder may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and will reimburse the Company and each Selling Stockholder for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company or such Selling Stockholder in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred (provided that the legal expenses of the Selling Stockholders shall be limited to a single firm acting on behalf of all Selling Stockholders). As used in this Agreement with respect to the Underwriter and an applicable document, “Underwriter Information” shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter expressly for use therein; it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by the Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of the Underwriter: the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the sixth paragraph under the caption “Underwriting”, and the information contained in the twelfth through sixteenth paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting”.
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(d) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a),(b) or (c) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; provided that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9 except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable and documented costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(e) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other from the offering of the Securities. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Selling Stockholders bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriter, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault 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 the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand or the Underwriter on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company, each of the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include 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 subsection (e), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which 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 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The liability of each Selling Stockholder under this Section 9(e) is several and not joint and shall be limited to an amount equal to its Selling Stockholder Proceeds less any amounts such Selling Stockholder is obligated to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
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(f) The obligations of the Company and the Selling Stockholders under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company and the Selling Stockholders may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each employee, officer and director of the Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer or other affiliate of the Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriter under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Underwriter may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company and the Selling Stockholders within the meaning of the Act.
10. [Reserved].
11. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriter, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by the Underwriter or any director, officer, employee, affiliate or controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, or any of the Selling Stockholders, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities.
12. [Reserved].
13. In all dealings hereunder, the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement given by you; and in all dealings with any Selling Stockholder hereunder, you and the Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of such Selling Stockholder made or given by any or all of the Attorneys-in-Fact for such Selling Stockholder.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriter shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, Attention: Registration Department; if to any Selling Stockholder shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to each of the Attorneys-in-Fact named in the Power of Attorney, c/o the Company at the address set forth on the cover of the Registration Statement, Attention: General Counsel, with a copy, which shall not constitute notice, to ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇; and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇., Vice President and General Counsel. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
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In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriter is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies its clients, including the Company and the Selling Stockholders, which information may include the name and address of its clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriter to properly identify its clients.
14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriter, the Company and the Selling Stockholders, and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company, any Selling Stockholder or the Underwriter, or any director, officer, employee, or affiliate of the Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
16. The Company and each of the Selling Stockholders, severally and not jointly, acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Selling Stockholders, on the one hand, and the Underwriter, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction the Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or any Selling Stockholder, (iii) the Underwriter has not assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or any Selling Stockholder with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any Selling Stockholder on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company or any Selling Stockholder except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Company or any Selling Stockholder has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate, and (v) 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 Company and each Selling Stockholder agree that it will not claim that the Underwriter has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or any Selling Stockholder, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) among the Company, the Underwriter and the Selling Stockholders, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
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18. This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would results in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York. The Company and each Selling Stockholder agree that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Company and each Selling Stockholder agree to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.
19. The Company, each Selling Stockholder and the Underwriter hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
20. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and 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.
21. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company and the Selling Stockholders are authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company and the Selling Stockholders relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriter’s imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
22. 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 States.
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(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 is 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.
(c) As used in this section:
“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.
26
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement among the Underwriter, the Company and each of the Selling Stockholders.
Any person executing and delivering this Agreement as an Attorney-in-Fact for a Selling Stockholder represents by so doing that such person has been duly appointed as an Attorney-in-Fact by such Selling Stockholder pursuant to a validly existing and binding Power-of-Attorney that authorizes such Attorney-in-Fact to take such action.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
| The Selling Stockholders Named in Schedule II to this Agreement | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| As Attorney-in-Fact acting on behalf of each of the Selling Stockholders named in Schedule II to this Agreement | ||
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
| Accepted as of the date hereof: | ||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| Name: ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: Managing Director | ||
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]
SCHEDULE I
| Underwriter | Total Number of Securities to be Purchased | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC | 2,978,740 | |||
| Total | 2,978,740 | |||
SCHEDULE II
| Total Number of Securities to be Sold | ||||
| The Selling Stockholders: | ||||
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇(a) | 118,340 | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇(b) | 968,006 | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇(b) | 795,599 | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇(b) | 506,214 | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇(b) | 590,581 | |||
| Total | 2,978,740 | |||
| (a) | This Selling Stockholder is represented by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇. |
| (b) | This Selling Stockholder is represented by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and has appointed ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇. as the Attorneys-in-Fact for such Selling Stockholder. |
SCHEDULE III
(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package:
None
(b) Additional Documents Incorporated by Reference:
None
(c) Information other than the Pricing Prospectus that comprise the Pricing Disclosure Package:
The initial public offering price per share for the Securities is $92.75.
The number of Securities purchased by the Underwriter is 2,978,740.
(d) Written Testing-the-Waters Communications
None
SCHEDULE IV
| 1. | Selling Stockholders |
| ▇. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ |
| b. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ |
| c. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ |
| d. | ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| e. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| 2. | Executive Officers |
| ▇. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| b. | ▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| c. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| d. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇. |
| e. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| f. | ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇ |
| 3. | Directors |
| a. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| b. | ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ |
| c. | ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ |
| d. | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ |
ANNEX I
FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Lock-Up Agreement
April 15, 2025
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
New York, NY 10282-2198
| Re: | Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. - Lock-Up Agreement |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. LLC (the “Underwriter”) proposes to enter into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the selling stockholders named therein (the “Selling Stockholders”), providing for a public offering (the “Public Offering”) of shares (the “Shares”) of the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”), pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 15, 2025.
In consideration of the agreement by the Underwriter to offer and sell the Shares, and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period beginning from the date of this agreement (this “Lock-Up Agreement”) and continuing to and including the date 90 days after the date of the final prospectus relating to the Public Offering (the “Prospectus”) (such period, the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned shall not, and shall not cause or direct any of its affiliates to, (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of Common Stock, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock (such shares of Common Stock, options, rights, warrants or other securities, collectively, “Lock-Up Securities”), including without limitation any such Lock-Up Securities now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned, (ii) engage in any hedging or other transaction or arrangement (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale, loan, pledge or other disposition (whether by the undersigned or someone other than the undersigned), or transfer of any of the economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise (any such sale, loan, pledge or other disposition, or transfer of economic consequences, a “Transfer”), (iii) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Lock-Up Securities or (iv) otherwise publicly announce any intention to engage in or cause any action, activity, transaction or arrangement described in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above. The undersigned represents and warrants that the undersigned is not, and has not caused or directed any of its affiliates to be or become, currently a party to any agreement or arrangement that provides for, is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in any Transfer during the Lock-Up Period.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may:
| (a) | transfer the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities (i) as one or more bona fide gifts or charitable contributions, or for bona fide estate planning purposes, (ii) upon death by will, testamentary document or intestate succession, (iii) if the undersigned is a natural person, to any member of the undersigned’s immediate family (for purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, current or former marriage, domestic partnership or adoption, not more remote than first cousin) 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 or beneficiary of the trust or the estate of a beneficiary of such trust, (iv) to a partnership, limited liability company or other entity of which the undersigned and the immediate family of the undersigned are the legal and beneficial owner of all of the outstanding equity securities or similar interests, (v) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (a)(i) through (iv) above, (vi) if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, (A) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity that is an affiliate (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of the undersigned, or to any investment fund or other entity which fund or entity is controlled or managed by the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned, or (B) as part of a distribution by the undersigned to its stockholders, partners, members or other equityholders or to the estate of any such stockholders, partners, members or other equityholders, (vii) by operation of law, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order, divorce settlement, divorce decree or separation agreement, (viii) to the Company from an employee of the Company upon death, disability or termination of employment, in each case, of such employee, (ix) if the undersigned is not an officer or director of the Company, in connection with a sale of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock acquired (A) from the Underwriter in the Public Offering or (B) in open market transactions after the closing date of the Public Offering, (x) to the Company in connection with the vesting, settlement or exercise of restricted stock units, options, warrants or other rights to purchase shares of Common Stock (including, in each case, by way of “net” or “cashless” exercise) that are scheduled to expire or automatically vest during the Lock-Up Period, including any transfer to the Company for the payment of tax withholdings or remittance payments due as a result of the vesting, settlement or exercise of such restricted stock units, options, warrants or other rights, or in connection with the conversion of convertible securities, in all such cases pursuant to equity awards granted under a stock incentive plan or other equity award plan, or pursuant to the terms of convertible securities, each as described in the Registration Statement, the preliminary prospectus relating to the Securities included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the time the Underwriting Agreement is executed and the Prospectus, provided that any securities received upon such vesting, settlement, exercise or conversion shall be subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement, or (xi) with the prior written consent of the Underwriter; provided that (A) in the case of clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) above, such transfer or distribution shall not involve a disposition for value, (B) in the case of clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) above, it shall be a condition to the transfer or distribution that the donee, devisee, transferee or distributee, as the case may be, shall sign and deliver a lock-up agreement in the form of this Lock-Up Agreement, (C) in the case of clauses (a)(ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) above, no filing by any party (including, without limitation, any donor, donee, devisee, transferor, transferee, distributor or distributee) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act), or other public filing, report or announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of Lock-Up Securities shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with such transfer or distribution, and (D) in the case of clauses (a)(i), (vii), (viii), (ix) and (x) above, no filing under the Exchange Act or other public filing, report or announcement shall be voluntarily made, and if any such filing, report or announcement shall be legally required during the Lock-Up Period, such filing, report or announcement shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto (A) the circumstances of such transfer or distribution and (B) in the case of a transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (a)(i) or (vii) above, that the donee, devisee, transferee or distributee has agreed to be bound by a lock-up agreement in the form of this Lock-Up Agreement; 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| (b) | enter into a written plan meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act relating to the transfer, sale or other disposition of the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities, if then permitted by the Company, provided that none of the securities subject to such plan may be transferred, sold or otherwise disposed of until after the expiration of the Lock-Up Period and no public announcement, report or filing under the Exchange Act, or any other public filing, report or announcement, shall be voluntarily made (whether by or on behalf of the undersigned, the Company or any other party) regarding, or that otherwise discloses, the establishment of such plan during the Lock-Up Period, and if any such filing, report or announcement shall be legally required during the Lock-Up Period, such filing, report or announcement shall clearly indicate that that none of the securities subject to such plan may be transferred, sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to such plan until after the expiration of the Lock-Up Period; [and] |
| (c) | transfer the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction that is approved by the Board of Directors of the Company and made to all holders of the Company’s capital stock involving a Change of Control of the Company (for purposes hereof, “Change of Control” shall mean the transfer (whether by tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to a person or group of affiliated persons, of shares of capital stock if, after such transfer, such person or group of affiliated persons would hold at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company (or the surviving entity)); provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction is not completed, the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities shall remain subject to the provisions of this Lock-Up Agreement[.][; and] |
| (d) | [as a sale of shares to the Company pursuant to the concurrent share repurchase described in the Prospectus.]1 |
If the undersigned is not a natural person, the undersigned represents and warrants that no single natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), other than a natural person, entity or “group” (as described above) that has executed a lock-up agreement in substantially the same form as this Lock-Up Agreement, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the common equity interests, or 50% or more of the voting power, in the undersigned.
| 1 | For Selling Stockholder Lock-Up Agreements only. |
The undersigned now has, and, except as contemplated by clauses (a) and (c) of the third paragraph of this Lock-Up Agreement, for the duration of this Lock-Up Agreement will have, good and marketable title to the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims whatsoever. 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 Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriter has not made any recommendation or provided any investment or other advice to the undersigned with respect to this Lock-Up Agreement or the subject matter hereof, and the undersigned has consulted its own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory, tax and other advisors with respect to this Lock-Up Agreement and the subject matter hereof to the extent the undersigned has deemed appropriate. The undersigned further acknowledges and agrees that, although the Underwriter may have provided or hereafter provide to the undersigned in connection with the Public Offering a Form CRS and/or certain other disclosures as contemplated by Regulation Best Interest, the Underwriter has not made and is not making a recommendation to the undersigned to enter into this Lock-Up Agreement or to transfer, sell or dispose of, or to refrain from transferring, selling or disposing of, any shares of Common Stock, and nothing set forth in such disclosures or herein is intended to suggest that the Underwriter is making such a recommendation.
This Lock-Up Agreement shall automatically terminate and the undersigned shall be released from all of his, her or its obligations hereunder upon the earlier of (i) the date on which the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Public Offering is withdrawn, (ii) the date on which for any reason the Underwriting Agreement is terminated (other than the provisions thereof that survive termination) prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, (iii) the date on which the Company notifies the Underwriter, in writing and prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that it does not intend to proceed with the Public Offering and (iv) May 31, 2025, in the event that the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by such date (provided, however, that the Company may, by written notice to the undersigned prior to such date, extend such date by a period of up to an additional 90 days).
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns. The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Agreement. This Lock-Up Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would result in the application of any law other than the laws of the State of New York. This Lock-Up 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.
Very truly yours,
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[Signature Page to Lockup Agreement]