DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SYSTEMS CORP. 3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock (par value $.01 per share) EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
EXECUTION COPY
DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SYSTEMS CORP.
3,000,000 Shares of Common Stock
(par value $.01 per share)
April 10, 2006
UBS Securities LLC
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
Distributed Energy Systems Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with UBS Securities LLC (the “Manager”), as follows:
SECTION 1. Description of Securities. The Company proposes to issue and sell through or to the Manager, as sales agent and/or principal, up to 3,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), on the terms set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement. The Company agrees that whenever it determines to sell the Shares directly to the Manager as principal, it will enter into a separate agreement (each, a “Terms Agreement”) in substantially the form of attached hereto as Annex I, relating to such sale in accordance with Section 3 of this Agreement.
The Company has prepared and filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Act”), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-131305) under the Act (the “registration statement”). Amendments to such registration statement, if necessary or appropriate, have been similarly prepared and filed with the Commission in accordance with the Act. Such registration statement, as so amended, has become effective under the Act.
Except where the context otherwise requires, “Registration Statement,” as used herein, means the registration statement, as amended at the time of such registration statement’s effectiveness for purposes of Section 11 of the Act, as such section applies to the Manager (the “Effective Time”), including (i) all documents filed as a part thereof or incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, (ii) any information contained or incorporated by reference in a prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, to the extent such information is deemed, pursuant to Rule 430B or Rule 430C under the Act, to be part of the registration statement at the Effective Time, and (iii) any registration statement filed to register the offer and sale of
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Shares pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act. Except where the context otherwise requires, “Basic Prospectus,” as used herein, means the prospectus filed as part of each Registration Statement, together with any amendments or supplements thereto as of the date of this Agreement. Except where the context otherwise requires, “Prospectus Supplement,” as used herein, means the final prospectus supplement, relating to the Shares, filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act on or before the second business day after the date hereof (or such earlier time as may be required under the Act), in the form furnished by the Company to the Manager in connection with the offering of the Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, “Prospectus,” as used herein, means the Prospectus Supplement together with the Basic Prospectus attached to or used with the Prospectus Supplement. “Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses,” as used herein, means the documents listed on Schedule A attached hereto. Any reference herein to the registration statement, the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference, or deemed to be incorporated by reference, therein (the “Incorporated Documents”), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”) on or after the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, or the date of such Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, as the case may be, and deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.
SECTION 2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with the Manager that:
(a) the Registration Statement has heretofore become effective under the Act, or, with respect to any registration statement to be filed to register the offer and sale of Shares pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act, will be filed with the Commission and become effective under the Act no later than 10:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date of determination of the public offering price for the Shares; no stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, are contemplated by the Commission;
(b) the Registration Statement (File No. 333-131305) complied when it became effective, complies as of the date hereof and, as amended or supplemented, at the time of purchase, each additional time of purchase, if any, and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered
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(whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares, will comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Act; the conditions to the use of Form S-3 in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby have been satisfied; the Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby complies with, the requirements of Rule 415 under the Act (including, without limitation, Rule 415(a)(5)); the Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Time, 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; each Basic Prospectus complied or will comply, at the time it was or will be filed with the Commission, complies as of the date hereof (if filed with the Commission on or prior to the date hereof) and, at the time of purchase, each additional time of purchase, if any, and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares, will comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Act; at no time during the period that begins on the earlier of the date of such Basic Prospectus and the date such Basic Prospectus was filed with the Commission and ends at the time of purchase did or will any Basic Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and at no time during such period did or will any Basic Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, together with any combination of one or more of the then issued Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; each of the Prospectus Supplement and the Prospectus will comply, as of the date that it is filed with the Commission, the date of the Prospectus Supplement, the time of purchase, each additional time of purchase, if any, and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Act (in the case of the Prospectus, including, without limitation, Section 10(a) of the Act); at no time during the period that begins on the earlier of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and the date the Prospectus Supplement is filed with the Commission and ends at the later of the time of purchase, the latest additional time of purchase, if any, and the end of the period during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares did or will any Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; at no time during the
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period that begins on the date of such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and ends at the time of purchase did or will any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to any statement contained in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information concerning the Manager and furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Manager expressly for use in the Registration Statement, such Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus; each Incorporated Document, at the time such document was filed with the Commission or at the time such document became effective, as applicable, complied, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and did not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(c) prior to the execution of this Agreement, the Company has not, directly or indirectly, offered or sold any Shares by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) or used any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Shares, in each case other than the Basic Prospectuses and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any; the Company has not, directly or indirectly, prepared, used or referred to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus except in compliance with Rules 164 and 433 under the Act; assuming that such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus is so sent or given after the Registration Statement was filed with the Commission (and after such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was, if required pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, filed with the Commission), the sending or giving, by the Manager, of any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus will satisfy the provisions of Rule 164 or Rule 433 (without reliance on subsections (b), (c) and (d) of Rule 164); the conditions set forth in one or more of subclauses (i) through (iv), inclusive, of Rule 433(b)(1) under the Act are satisfied, and the registration statement relating to the offering of the Shares contemplated hereby, as initially filed with the Commission, includes a prospectus that, other than by reason of Rule 433 or Rule 431 under the Act, satisfies the requirements of Section 10 of the Act; neither the Company nor the Manager is disqualified, by reason of subsection (f) or (g) of Rule 164 under the Act, from using, in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares, “free writing prospectuses” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) pursuant to Rules 164 and 433 under the Act; the Company is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) as of the eligibility determination date for purposes of Rules 164 and 433 under the Act with respect to the offering of the Shares contemplated by the Registration Statement; the parties hereto agree and understand that the content of any and all “road shows” (as defined in Rule
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433 under the Act) related to the offering of the Shares contemplated hereby is solely the property of the Company;
(d) in accordance with Rule 2710(b)(7)(C)(i) of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the “NASD”), the Shares have been registered with the Commission on Form S-3 under the Act pursuant to the standards for such Form S-3 in effect prior to October 21, 1992;
(e) as of December 31, 2005, the Company has an authorized and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the section of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus entitled “Capitalization” (and any similar sections or information, if any, contained in any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus), and, as of the time of purchase and any additional time of purchase, as the case may be, the Company shall have an authorized and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the section of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus entitled “Description of Securities” (and any similar sections or information, if any, contained in any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus) (subject, in each case, to the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of stock options and warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus and the grant of options under existing stock option plans described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus); all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock, including the Common Stock, of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws and were not issued in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right; the Shares are duly listed, and admitted and authorized for trading, subject to official notice of issuance, on the Nasdaq National Market (the “Nasdaq”);
(f) the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with full corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses, the Prospectus and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, to execute and deliver this Agreement and will have, at the time of execution thereof, full corporate power and authority to enter into any Terms Agreement and to issue, sell and deliver the Shares as contemplated herein;
(g) the Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where the ownership or leasing of its properties or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, either (i) have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the Company and the
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Subsidiaries (as defined below), taken as a whole, (ii) prevent or materially interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or (iii) result in the delisting of shares of Common Stock from the Nasdaq (the occurrence of any such effect or any such prevention or interference or any such result described in the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) being herein referred to as a “Material Adverse Effect”);
(h) the Company has no subsidiaries (as defined under the Act) other than Northern Power Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Northern”), Proton Energy Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Proton”), Northern Power Systems Commercial Condominium, a Vermont condominium (“NPS Condo”), and Technology Drive LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company (collectively, the “Subsidiaries”); the Company owns all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each of Northern and Proton; Northern holds a 50% interest in NPS Condo and Proton owns all of the issued and outstanding membership interests of Technology Drive LLC; other than the capital stock or other ownership interests of the Subsidiaries, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any shares of stock or any other equity interests or long-term debt securities of any corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, association or other entity; complete and correct copies of the charters and the bylaws of the Company and each Subsidiary and all amendments thereto have been delivered to you, and no changes therein will be made on or after the date hereof through and including the time of purchase or, if later, any additional time of purchase; each Subsidiary has been duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses, the Prospectus and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any; each Subsidiary is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where the ownership or leasing of its properties or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the outstanding shares of capital stock or other ownership interests of each of the Subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws, were not issued in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right and are owned by the Company subject to no security interest, other encumbrance or adverse claims; and no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue or other rights to convert any obligation into shares of capital stock or ownership interests in the Subsidiaries are outstanding;
(i) the Shares have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of statutory and contractual
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preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights; the Shares, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be free of any restriction upon the voting or transfer thereof pursuant to the Company’s charter or bylaws or any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party;
(j) the capital stock of the Company, including the Shares, conforms in all material respects to each description thereof, if any, contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus; and the certificates for the Shares are in due and proper form;
(k) this Agreement has been and any Terms Agreement will have been, at the time of execution and delivery thereof, duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. This Agreement constitutes and, in the case of any Terms Agreement, will constitute, a valid and binding agreement of the Company and is enforceable, and, in the case of any Terms Agreement, will be enforceable, against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability hereof and thereof may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and moratorium laws in effect from time to time and by equitable principles restricting the availability of equitable remedies. The Company has not entered into any other sales agency or distribution agreements or similar arrangements with any agent or other representative in respect of the Shares and the equity shelf program established by this Agreement;
(l) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in breach or violation of or in default under (nor has any event occurred which, with notice, lapse of time or both, would result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default under or give the holder of any indebtedness (or a person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a part of such indebtedness under) (A) its charter or bylaws, or (B) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit agreement or other evidence of indebtedness, or any license, lease, contract or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound or affected, or (C) any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule, or (D) any rule or regulation of any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq), or (E) any decree, judgment or order applicable to it or any of its properties, except, in the case of clause (B), any such breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(m) the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation by the
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Company of the transactions contemplated hereby will not conflict with, result in any breach or violation of or constitute a default under (nor constitute any event which, with notice, lapse of time or both, would result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default under or give the holder of any indebtedness (or a person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a part of such indebtedness under) (or result in the creation or imposition of a lien, charge or encumbrance on any property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary pursuant to) (A) the charter or bylaws of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or (B) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit agreement or other evidence of indebtedness, or any license, lease, contract or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them or any of their respective properties may be bound or affected, or (C) any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule, or (D) any rule or regulation of any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq), or (E) any decree, judgment or order applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, except, in the case of clause (B), any such conflict, breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(n) no approval, authorization, consent or order of or filing with any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency, or of or with any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, the Nasdaq), or approval of the stockholders of the Company, is required in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, other than (i) registration of the Shares under the Act, which has been effected, (ii) any necessary qualification under the securities or blue sky laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Shares are being offered by the Manager or (iii) under the Conduct Rules of the NASD;
(o) except as described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) no person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to it any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other equity interests of the Company, (ii) no person has any preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock of or other equity interests in the Company, in each case to the extent such rights arise under the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, the Delaware General Corporation Law statute or any contract to which the Company is a party, (iii) no person has the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares and (iv) no person has the right, contractual or otherwise, except such as has been waived or satisfied, to cause the Company to register
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under the Act any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock of or other equity interests in the Company, or to include any such shares or interests in the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby;
(p) each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals and has made all necessary filings required under any applicable law, regulation or rule, and has obtained all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals from other persons, in order to conduct its respective businesses, except for any license, authorization, consent, approval or filing the absence of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of, or in default under, or has received notice of any proceedings relating to revocation or modification of, any such license, authorization, consent or approval or any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, order or judgment applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, except where such violation, default, revocation or modification would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(q) there are no actions, suits, claims, investigations or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened or contemplated to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective directors or officers is or would be a party or of which any of their respective properties is or would be subject at law or in equity, before or by any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency, or before or by any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, the Nasdaq), except any such action, suit, claim, investigation or proceeding which, if resolved adversely to the Company or any Subsidiary, would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(r) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Subsidiaries is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses and the Prospectus, are independent registered public accountants as required by the Act and by the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board;
(s) the financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated, results of operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity and comprehensive loss of the Company for the periods specified and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Act and the Exchange and in conformity with U.S. generally accepted
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accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved; the other financial and statistical data contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus are accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus; and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Act, to the extent applicable;
(t) subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses, the Prospectus and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, in each case excluding any amendments or supplements to the foregoing made after the execution of this Agreement, there has not been (i) any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the business, properties, management, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary, which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock or outstanding indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiaries, other than by virtue of the transactions contemplated hereby, or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary;
(u) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is, and at no time during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares will either of them be, and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares, neither of them will be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);
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(v) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares, neither will be a “holding company” or a “subsidiary company” of a “holding company” or an “affiliate” of a “holding company” or of a “subsidiary company,” as such terms are defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended (the “Public Utility Holding Company Act”);
(w) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all property (real and personal) described in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as being owned by any of them, free and clear of all liens, claims, security interests or other encumbrances, except such as do not materially interfere with the use made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries; all the property described in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as being held under lease by the Company or a Subsidiary is held thereby under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases;
(x) (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses for, or other rights to use, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks (both registered and unregistered), trade names, service names, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary information described in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or which are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted (including the commercialization of products or services described in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as currently under development), except where the failure to own, license or have such rights would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, “Intellectual Property”); (ii) there are no third parties who have or, to the Company’s knowledge, will be able to establish rights to any Intellectual Property, except for, and to the extent of, the ownership rights of the owners of the Intellectual Property which the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus disclose is licensed to the Company; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property owned by the Company or any Subsidiary, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (v) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company or any Subsidiary infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or
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service described in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as under development, infringe or violate, any patent, trademark, trade name, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (vi) the Company and the Subsidiaries have complied in all material respects with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or any Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect; (vii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no patent or patent application that contains claims that interfere with the issued or pending claims of any of the Intellectual Property owned by the Company or any Subsidiary or that challenges the validity, enforceability or scope of any of the Intellectual Property owned by the Company or any Subsidiary; and (viii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art that may render any patent application filed by the Company or a Subsidiary within the Intellectual Property unpatentable that has not been disclosed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office;
(y) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is engaged in any unfair labor practice; except for matters which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) there is (A) no unfair labor practice complaint pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries before the National Labor Relations Board, and no grievance or arbitration proceeding arising out of or under collective bargaining agreements is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened, (B) no strike, labor dispute, slowdown or stoppage pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and (C) no union representation dispute currently existing concerning the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, no union organizing activities are currently taking place concerning the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and (iii) there has been no violation of any federal, state, local or foreign law relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of employees, any applicable wage or hour laws or any provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (“ERISA”) concerning the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries;
(z) the Company and the Subsidiaries and their respective properties, assets and operations are in compliance with, and the Company and each of the Subsidiaries hold all permits, authorizations and approvals required under, Environmental Laws (as defined below), except to the extent that failure to so comply or to hold such permits, authorizations or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; there are no past, present or, to the Company’s knowledge, reasonably anticipated future events, conditions, circumstances, activities, practices, actions, omissions or plans that could reasonably be expected to give rise to any material costs or liabilities to the
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Company or any Subsidiary under, or to interfere with or prevent compliance in all material respects by the Company or any Subsidiary with, Environmental Laws; except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries (i) is the subject of any investigation, (ii) has received any notice or claim, (iii) is a party to or affected by any pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit or proceeding, (iv) is bound by any judgment, decree or order or (v) has entered into any agreement, in each case relating to any alleged violation of any Environmental Law or any actual or alleged release or threatened release or cleanup at any location of any Hazardous Materials (as defined below) (as used herein, “Environmental Law” means any federal, state, local or foreign law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, order, decree, judgment, injunction, permit, license, authorization or other binding requirement, or common law, relating to health, safety or the protection, cleanup or restoration of the environment or natural resources, including those relating to the distribution, processing, generation, treatment, storage, disposal, transportation, other handling or release or threatened release of Hazardous Materials, and “Hazardous Materials” means any material (including, without limitation, pollutants, contaminants, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes) that is regulated by or may give rise to liability under any Environmental Law);
(aa) all tax returns required to be filed by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries have been timely filed, and all taxes and other assessments of a similar nature (whether imposed directly or through withholding) including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto due or claimed to be due from such entities have been timely paid, other than those being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been provided;
(bb) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries maintain insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses as the Company reasonably deems adequate; such insurance insures against such losses and risks to an extent which is adequate in accordance with customary industry practice to protect the Company and the Subsidiaries and their respective businesses; all such insurance is fully in force on the date hereof and will be fully in force at the time of purchase and any additional time of purchase; neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has reason to believe that it will not be able to renew any such insurance as and when such insurance expires;
(cc) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the last audited consolidated financial statements of the Company incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses and the Prospectus any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree;
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(dd) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has sent or received any communication regarding termination of, or intent not to renew, any of the contracts or agreements referred to or described in any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to, the Registration Statement or any Incorporated Document, and no such termination or non-renewal has been threatened by the Company or any Subsidiary or, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party to any such contract or agreement;
(ee) the Common Stock is an “actively traded security” excepted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule;
(ff) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences;
(gg) the Company has established and maintains and evaluates “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) and “internal control over financial reporting” (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act); such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer by others within those entities, and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to perform the functions for which they were established; the Company’s independent auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies, if any, in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data; and (ii) all fraud, if any, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s internal controls; all material weaknesses, if any, in internal controls have been identified to the Company’s independent auditors; since the date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses; the principal executive officers (or their equivalents) and principal financial officers (or their equivalents) of the Company
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have made all certifications required by the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002 (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act”) and any related rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission, and the statements contained in each such certification are complete and correct; the Company and the Company’s directors and officers are each in compliance in all material respects with all applicable effective provisions of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission and the Nasdaq promulgated thereunder;
(hh) each “forward-looking statement” (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed with a reasonable basis and in good faith;
(ii) all statistical or market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate, and the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources to the extent required;
(jj) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”); and the Company, the Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure continued compliance therewith;
(kk) the operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations 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 or non-governmental authority involving the Company or any of the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened;
(ll) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of
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the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares contemplated hereby, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC;
(mm) no Subsidiary is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company, except as described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(nn) the issuance and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby will not cause any holder of any shares of capital stock, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for capital stock or options, warrants or other rights to purchase capital stock or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any shares of preferred stock of the Company;
(oo) the Company has not received any notice from the Nasdaq regarding the delisting of the Common Stock from the Nasdaq;
(pp) except pursuant to this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any finder’s or broker’s fee or agent’s commission in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or by the Registration Statement;
(qq) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor any of their respective directors, officers, affiliates or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or which has constituted or might reasonably be expected, to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares; and
(rr) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no affiliations or associations between (i) any member of the NASD and (ii) the Company or any of the Company’s officers, directors or 5% or greater security holders or any beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered equity securities that were acquired at any time on or after the 180th day immediately preceding the date the Registration Statement was initially filed with the Commission, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Basic Prospectuses and the Prospectus.
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In addition, any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and delivered to the Manager or counsel for the Manager in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to the Manager.
SECTION 3. Sale and Delivery of Securities. (a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell through the Manager, as sales agent, and the Manager agrees to use its reasonable efforts to sell, as sales agent for the Company, the Shares on the following terms.
(i) The Shares are to be sold on a daily basis or otherwise as shall be agreed to by the Company and the Manager on any day that is a trading day for the Nasdaq (other than a day on which the Nasdaq is scheduled to close prior to its regular weekday closing time). The Company will designate the maximum amount of the Shares to be sold by the Manager daily as reasonably agreed to by the Manager and in any event not in excess of the amount available for issuance under the currently effective Registration Statement. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Manager shall use its reasonable efforts to sell all of the Shares designated. The gross sales of the Shares sold under this Section 3(a) shall be the market price for Shares of the Company’s Common Stock sold by the Manager under this Section 3(a) on the Nasdaq at the time of such sale.
(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may instruct the Manager by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy) not to sell the Shares if such sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by the Company in any such instruction. Furthermore, the Company shall not authorize the issuance and sale of, and the Manager shall not be obligated to use its reasonable efforts to sell, any Share at a price lower than the minimum price therefor designated from time to time by the Company’s board of directors and notified to the Manager in writing. In addition, the Company or the Manager may, upon notice to the other party hereto by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy), suspend the offering of the Shares; provided, however, that such suspension or termination shall not affect or impair the parties’ respective obligations with respect to the Shares sold hereunder prior to the giving of such notice.
(iii) The Manager hereby covenants and agrees not to make any sales of the Shares on behalf of the Company, pursuant to this Section 3(a), other than (A) by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions between members of the Nasdaq that qualify for delivery of a Prospectus to the Nasdaq in accordance with Rule 153 under the Act (such transactions are hereinafter referred to as “At the Market Offerings”) and (B) such other sales of the Shares on behalf of the Company in its capacity as agent of the Company as shall be agreed by the Company and the Manager. The Company acknowledges and agrees that in the event a sale of the Shares on behalf of the Company would constitute the sale of a “block” under Rule 10b-18(a)(5) under the
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Exchange Act or a “distribution” within the meaning of Rule 100 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act or the Manager reasonably believes it may be deemed an “underwriter” under the Act in a transaction that is not an At the Market Offering, the Manager may request, as a condition of such sale and upon reasonable advance notice to the Company, on or prior to the Settlement Date, the opinions of counsel, accountants’ letters and officers’ certificates pursuant to Section 5 hereof that the Company would be required to provide to the Manager in connection with a sale of the Shares pursuant to a Terms Agreement, each dated the Settlement Date, and such other documents and information as the Manager shall reasonably request.
(iv) The compensation to the Manager for sales of the Shares, as an agent of the Company, shall be 4% of the first $15 million of gross sales price of the Shares sold pursuant to this Section 3(a), and 3% of any gross sales price of the Shares sold pursuant to this Section 3(a) in excess of $15 million, and such rate of compensation shall not apply when the Manager acts as principal. The remaining proceeds, after further deduction for any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales, shall constitute the net proceeds to the Company for such Shares (the “Net Proceeds”).
(v) The Manager shall provide written confirmation to the Company following the close of trading on the Nasdaq each day in which the Shares are sold under this Section 3(a) setting forth the amount of the Shares sold on such day, the Net Proceeds to the Company, and the compensation payable by the Company to the Manager with respect to such sales.
(vi) Settlement for sales of the Shares pursuant to this Section 3(a) will occur on the third business day following the date on which such sales are made (each such day, a “Settlement Date”). On each Settlement Date, the Shares sold through the Manager for settlement on such date shall be issued and delivered by the Company to the Manager against payment of the Net Proceeds for the sale of such Shares. Settlement for all such Shares shall be effected by free delivery of the Shares to the Manager’s account at The Depository Trust Company in return for payments in same day funds delivered to the account designated by the Company. If the Company shall default on its obligation to deliver the Shares on any Settlement Date, the Company shall (A) hold the Manager harmless against any loss, claim or damage arising from or as a result of such default by the Company and (B) pay the Manager any commission to which it would otherwise be entitled absent such default. If the Manager breaches this Agreement by failing to deliver proceeds on any Settlement Date for the Shares delivered by the Company, the Manager will pay the Company interest based on the effective overnight Federal Funds rate.
(vii) At each Settlement Date and Filing Date (as defined below), the Company shall be deemed to have affirmed each representation and warranty contained in this Agreement. The Company covenants and agrees with the Manager that (A) with respect to each of the Company’s first three fiscal quarters, on or prior
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to the date on which the Company shall be obligated to file a quarterly report on Form 10-Q in respect of such quarter and (B) with respect to the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter for year 2005 and for each year thereafter, on or prior to the date on which the Company shall be obligated to file its annual report on Form 10-K (each such date, a “Filing Date”), the Company will make such filing setting forth, with regard to such quarter, the number of the Shares sold through the Manager as agent pursuant to this Section 3(a) in At the Market Offerings, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to such sales of the Shares pursuant to this Section 3(a). Any obligation of the Manager to use its reasonable efforts to sell the Shares on behalf of the Company shall be subject to the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the continuing satisfaction of the additional conditions specified in Section 5 of this Agreement.
(b) (i) If the Company wishes to issue and sell the Shares other than as set forth in Section 3(a) of this Agreement (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Manager of the proposed terms of such Placement. If the Manager, acting as principal, wishes to accept such proposed terms (which it may decline to do for any reason in its sole discretion) or, following discussions with the Company, wishes to accept amended terms, the Manager and the Company will enter into a Terms Agreement setting forth the terms of such Placement.
(ii) The terms set forth in a Terms Agreement will not be binding on the Company or the Manager unless and until the Company and the Manager have each executed such Terms Agreement accepting all of the terms of such Terms Agreement. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Terms Agreement, the terms of such Terms Agreement will control.
(c) (i) Under no circumstances shall the number of the Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement exceed the number set forth in Section 1 or the number of shares of the Common Stock available for issuance under the currently effective Registration Statement.
(ii) If either party has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Shares, it shall promptly notify the other party and sales of the Shares under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party. The Manager shall calculate on a weekly basis the average daily trading volume (as defined by Rule 100 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock.
(d) Each sale of the Shares to the Manager shall be made in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and, if applicable, a Terms Agreement, which will provide for the sale of such Shares to, and the purchase thereof by, the Manager. A
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Terms Agreement may also specify certain provisions relating to the reoffering of such Shares by the Manager. The commitment of the Manager to purchase the Shares pursuant to any Terms Agreement shall be deemed to have been made on the basis of the representations and warranties of the Company herein contained and shall be subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth. Each Terms Agreement shall specify the number of the Shares to be purchased by the Manager pursuant thereto, the price to be paid to the Company for such Shares, any provisions relating to rights of, and default by, underwriters acting together with the Manager in the reoffering of the Shares, and the time and date (each such time and date being referred to herein as a “Time of Delivery”) and place of delivery of and payment for such Shares. Such Terms Agreement shall also specify any requirements for opinions of counsel, accountants’ letters and officers’ certificates pursuant to Section 5 of this Agreement and any other information or documents required by the Manager.
SECTION 4. Covenants of the Company. The Company agrees with the Manager:
(a) During the period in which a prospectus relating to the Shares is required to be delivered under the Act (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule), to notify the Manager promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement has become effective or any subsequent supplement to any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus has been filed; to prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Manager’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus that, in the Manager’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the offering of the Shares by the Manager; and to cause each amendment or supplement to any Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Act or, in the case of any Incorporated Document, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed.
(b) To promptly advise the Manager, confirming such advice in writing, of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information with respect thereto, or of notice of institution of proceedings for, or the entry of a stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and, if the Commission should enter a stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, to use its best efforts to obtain the lifting or removal of such order as soon as possible; to promptly advise the Manager of any proposal to amend or supplement the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus, and to provide the Manager and its counsel copies of any such documents for review and comment a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing and to file no such amendment or supplement (other than any
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prospectus supplement relating to the offering of other securities (including, without limitation, the Common Stock)) to which the Manager shall object in writing.
(c) To make available to the Manager, as soon as practicable after this Agreement becomes effective, and thereafter from time to time to furnish to the Manager, as many copies of the Prospectus (or of the Prospectus as amended or supplemented if the Company shall have made any amendments or supplements thereto after the effective date of the Registration Statement) as the Manager may request for the purposes contemplated by the Act, in case the Manager is required to deliver (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule), in connection with the sale of the Shares, a prospectus after the nine-month period referred to in Section 10(a)(3) of the Act, or after the time a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement is required pursuant to Item 512(a) of Regulation S-K under the Act, the Company will prepare, at its expense, promptly upon request such amendment or amendments to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as may be necessary to permit compliance with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Act or Item 512(a) of Regulation S-K under the Act, as the case may be.
(d) That, if, at the time this Agreement is executed and delivered, it is necessary for a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement to be filed with the Commission and become effective before the Shares may be sold, the Company will use its best efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or such Registration Statement to be filed and become effective as soon as possible, and the Company will advise the Manager promptly, and, if requested by the Manager, will confirm such advice in writing, (i) when such post-effective amendment or such Registration Statement has become effective, and (ii) if Rule 430A under the Act is used, when the Prospectus is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act (which the Company agrees to file in a timely manner in accordance with such Rules).
(e) Subject to Section 4(b) hereof, to file promptly all reports and documents and any preliminary or definitive proxy or information statement required to be filed by the Company with the Commission in order to comply with the Exchange Act for so long as a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares; to provide the Manager, for its review and comment, with a copy of such reports and statements and other documents to be filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during such period a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing; and to file no such report, statement or document to which the Manager shall have reasonably objected in writing; and to promptly notify the Manager of such filing.
(f) To promptly notify the Manager of the happening of any event within the period during which a prospectus is required to be delivered (whether physically
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or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Shares, which event would require the making of any change in the Prospectus then being used so that the Prospectus would not include an untrue statement of material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, and, during such time, subject to Section 4(b) hereof, to prepare and furnish, at the Company’s expense, to the Manager promptly such amendments or supplements to such Prospectus as may be necessary to reflect any such change.
(g) To furnish such information as may be required and otherwise to cooperate in qualifying the Shares for offering and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of such states or other jurisdictions as the Manager may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to consent to the service of process under the laws of any such jurisdiction (except service of process with respect to the offering and sale of the Shares); and to promptly advise the Manager of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offer or sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose.
(h) To make generally available to its security holders, and to deliver to the Manager, an earnings statement of the Company (which will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act) covering a period of twelve months beginning after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) of the Act) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the termination of such twelve-month period but not later than June 10, 2007.
(i) Whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay all of its expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, such costs, expenses, fees and taxes in connection with (i) the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, each Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus, each Prospectus Supplement, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and the printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Manager (including costs of mailing and shipment), (ii) the registration, issue, sale and delivery of the Shares including any stock or transfer taxes and stamp or similar duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Shares to the Manager, (iii) the producing, word processing and/or printing of this Agreement and any closing documents (including compilations thereof) and the reproduction and/or printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Manager (including costs of mailing and shipment), (iv) the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state laws and the determination of their eligibility for investment under state or foreign law as aforesaid (including the reasonable legal fees and filing fees and other disbursements of counsel for the Manager) and the printing and furnishing of copies of any blue sky
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surveys to the Manager, (v) the listing of the Shares on any securities exchange or qualification of the Shares for quotation on the Nasdaq and any registration thereof under the Exchange Act, (vi) any filing for review of the public offering of the Shares by the NASD, including the reasonable legal fees and other reasonable disbursements of counsel for the Manager relating to NASD matters, and (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel and accountants.
(j) To apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares in the manner set forth under the caption “How We Intend to Use the Proceeds” in the Prospectus.
(k) Not, during the period from the date of this Agreement through the final Filing Date for the sale of the Shares pursuant to Section 3(a) of this Agreement, to sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of the Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for the Common Stock or warrants or other rights to purchase the Common Stock or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Common Stock or permit the registration under the Act of any shares of the Common Stock, except for (i) the registration of the Shares and the sales through the Manager pursuant to this Agreement or to the Manager pursuant to any Terms Agreement, (ii) sales of shares through any dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan of the Company and (iii) options, restricted stock or restricted stock units granted pursuant to employee benefit plans and shares of the Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants, without (A) giving the Manager at least three business days’ prior written notice specifying the nature of the proposed sale and the date of such proposed sale and (B) the Manager suspending activity under this program for such period of time as requested by the Company.
(l) Not, at any time at or after the execution of this Agreement, to offer or sell any Shares by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act), or use any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Shares, in each case other than the Prospectus.
(m) The Company will not, and will cause its Subsidiaries not to, take, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or which will constitute, or has constituted, or might reasonably be expected, to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
(n) To use its best efforts to cause the Common Stock to be listed for quotation on the Nasdaq and to maintain such listing.
(o) At any time during the term of this Agreement, as supplemented from time to time, to advise the Manager, immediately after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof of any information or fact that would alter or affect any
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opinion, certificate, letter and other document provided to the Manager pursuant to Section 5 hereof.
(p) Upon commencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement, and each time that (i) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be amended or supplemented (other than a Prospectus Supplement filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act pursuant to Section 3(a) of this Agreement or relating solely to the offering of securities other than the Shares), (ii) there is filed with the Commission any document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus (other than a Current Report on Form 8-K, unless the Manager shall otherwise reasonably request), or (iii) the Shares are delivered to the Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, to furnish or cause to be furnished to the Manager forthwith a certificate dated and delivered the date of effectiveness of such amendment, the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, or the Time of Delivery, as the case may be, in form satisfactory to the Manager, to the effect that the statements contained in the certificate referred to in Section 5(e) of this Agreement which were last furnished to the Manager are true and correct at the time of such amendment, supplement, filing, or delivery, as the case may be, as though made at and as of such time (except that such statements shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to such time) or, in lieu of such certificate, a certificate of the same tenor as the certificate referred to in said Section 5(e), but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented at the time of delivery of such certificate; provided, however, that any failure by the Company to furnish or cause to be furnished such certificate shall not be a breach of this Agreement, but shall relieve the Manager from any obligation to make such further sales of Shares hereunder until such time as such certificate shall be furnished.
(q) Upon commencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement, and each time that (i) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus is amended or supplemented (other than a Prospectus Supplement filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act pursuant to Section 3(a) of this Agreement or relating solely to the offering of securities other than the Shares), (ii) there is filed with the Commission any document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus (other than a Current Report on Form 8-K, unless the Manager shall otherwise reasonably request), or (iii) the Shares are delivered to the Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, to furnish or cause to be furnished forthwith to the Manager and to counsel to the Manager a written opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel to the Company (“Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Manager, dated and delivered the date of effectiveness of such amendment, the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, or the Time of Delivery, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Manager, of the same tenor as the opinions referred to in Section 5(c) of this Agreement, but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented at the time of delivery of such opinion;
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provided, however, that any failure by the Company to furnish or cause to be furnished such opinion shall not be a breach of this Agreement, but shall relieve the Manager from any obligation to make further sales of Shares hereunder until such time as such opinion shall be furnished.
(r) That upon commencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement, and each time that (i) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus is amended or supplemented (other than a Prospectus Supplement filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act pursuant to Section 3(a) of this Agreement or relating solely to the offering of securities other than the Shares), (ii) there is filed with the Commission any document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus (other than a Current Report on Form 8-K, unless the Manager shall otherwise reasonably request), or (iii) the Shares are delivered to the Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, Shearman & Sterling LLP, counsel to the Manager, shall deliver a written opinion, dated and delivered the date of effectiveness of such amendment, the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, or the Time of Delivery, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Manager.
(s) Upon commencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement, and each time that (i) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be amended or supplemented to include additional amended financial information, (ii) at the Manager’s oral or written request and upon reasonable advance oral or written notice to the Company, the Shares are delivered to the Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, (iii) the Company shall file an annual report on Form 10-K or (iv) at the Manager’s request and upon reasonable advance notice to the Company, there is filed with the Commission any document (other than an annual report on Form 10-K) incorporated by reference into the Prospectus which contains additional amended financial information, to cause the Accountants, or other independent accountants satisfactory to the Manager, forthwith to furnish the Manager a letter, dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment, the date of filing of such supplement or other document with the Commission, or the Time of Delivery, as the case may be, in form satisfactory to the Manager, of the same tenor as the letter referred to in Section 5(d) of this Agreement, but modified to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented at the date of such letter.
(t) That it consents to the Manager trading in the Common Stock for the Manager’s own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of the Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement or pursuant to a Terms Agreement.
(u) If, to the knowledge of the Company, any condition set forth in Section 5(a) or 5(g) of this Agreement shall not have been satisfied on the applicable Settlement Date, to offer to any person who has agreed to purchase the Shares from the Company as the result of an offer to purchase solicited by the Manager the right to refuse to purchase and pay for such Shares.
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(v) Not to at any time, directly or indirectly, take any action intended, or which might reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which will constitute, stabilization of the price of shares of the Common Stock to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Shares; and not to invest in futures contracts, options on futures contracts or options on commodities, unless the Company is exempt from the registration requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “Commodity Act”), or otherwise complies with the Commodity Act. The Company will not engage in any activities bearing on the Commodity Act, unless such activities are exempt from the Commodity Act or otherwise comply with the Commodity Act.
(w) To disclose in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in its annual report on Form 10-K the number of the Shares sold through the Manager under this Agreement, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to sales of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter.
(x) That each acceptance by the Company of an offer to purchase the Shares hereunder, and each execution and delivery by the Company of a Terms Agreement, shall be deemed to be an affirmation to the Manager that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or made pursuant to this Agreement are true and correct as of the date of such acceptance or of such Terms Agreement as though made at and as of such date, and an undertaking that such representations and warranties will be true and correct as of the Settlement Date for the Shares relating to such acceptance or as of the Time of Delivery relating to such sale, as the case may be, as though made at and as of such date (except that such representations and warranties shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented relating to such Shares).
SECTION 5. Conditions of the Manager’s Obligations. The obligations of the Manager hereunder and under any Terms Agreement are subject to (i) the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company on the date hereof, any applicable date referred to in Section 4(p) of this Agreement, the date of any executed Terms Agreement and as of each Settlement Date and Time of Delivery, (ii) the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and (iii) the following additional conditions precedent.
(a) (i) No stop order with respect to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the Act or proceedings initiated under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Act, and no order directed at or in relation to any document incorporated by reference therein and no order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and no suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or to the knowledge of the Company or the Manager of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes, has occurred; (ii) the Registration Statement and all amendments thereto shall not contain an untrue
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statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (iii) none of the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus, and no amendment or supplement thereto, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; (iv) no Basic Prospectus or Prospectus, together with any combination of one or more of the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and no amendment or supplement thereto, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; and (v) none of the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.
(b) No material and unfavorable change, financial or otherwise (other than as referred to in the Registration Statement and Prospectus), in the business, condition or prospects of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, shall occur or become known and no transaction which is material and unfavorable to the Company (other than as referred to in the Registration Statement and Prospectus) shall have been entered into by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) The Company shall have delivered to the Manager, at every date specified in Section 4(q) of this Agreement, an opinion of Company Counsel, addressed to the Manager, and dated as of such date, and in form satisfactory to the Manager, in the form set forth in Exhibit A hereto as modified as contemplated by Section 4(q) of this Agreement.
(d) At the dates specified in Section 4(s) of this Agreement, the Manager shall have received from the Accountants letters dated the date of delivery thereof and addressed to the Manager in form and substance satisfactory to the Manager.
(e) The Company shall have delivered to the Manager a certificate, (i) dated as of and delivered at each Filing Date and (ii) dated as of and delivered on the Time of Delivery pursuant to any Terms Agreement, (each, a “Certificate Date”), of two of its executive officers to the effect that (i) the representations and warranties of the Company as set forth in this Agreement are true and correct as of the Certificate Date, (ii) the Company shall perform such of its obligations under this Agreement as are to be performed at or before each such Certificate Date, and (iii) the conditions set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 5 have been met.
In addition, on each Certificate Date, the certificate shall also state that the Shares to be sold on that date have been duly and validly authorized by the Company and
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that all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Shares on that date has been validly and sufficiently taken.
(f) The Manager shall have received, at every date specified in Section 4(r) of this Agreement, the favorable opinion of Shearman & Sterling LLP, counsel to the Manager, dated as of such date, and in form and substance satisfactory to the Manager.
(g) All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Act to have been filed by the Settlement Date or the Time of Delivery, as the case may be, shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
SECTION 6. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Manager, its partners, directors and officers, and any person who controls the Manager within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the successors and assigns of all of the foregoing persons, from and against any loss, damage, expense, liability or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which the Manager or any such person may incur under the Act, the Exchange Act, the common law or otherwise, insofar as such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or in the Registration Statement as amended by any post-effective amendment thereof by the Company) or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as any such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Manager to the Company expressly for use in, the Registration Statement or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in the Registration Statement in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was required to be stated in such Registration Statement or was necessary to make such information not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any Prospectus (the term Prospectus for the purpose of this Section 6 being deemed to include any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to the foregoing), in any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, in any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act) of the Company or in any Prospectus together with any combination of one or more of the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except, with respect to such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, insofar as any such loss, damage,
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expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Manager to the Company expressly for use in, such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was necessary in order to make the statements in such information, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
If any action, suit or proceeding (together, a “Proceeding”) is brought against the Manager or any such person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Company pursuant to the foregoing paragraph, the Manager or such person shall promptly notify the indemnifying party in writing of the institution of such Proceeding and the Company shall assume the defense of such Proceeding, including the employment of counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party and payment of all fees and expenses; provided, however, that the omission to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from any liability which the Company may have to the Manager or any such person or otherwise except to the extent the Company was materially prejudiced by such omission. The Manager or such person shall have the right to employ its or their own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Manager or of such person unless the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by the Company in connection with the defense of such Proceeding or the Company shall not have, within a reasonable period of time in light of the circumstances, employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such Proceeding or such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from, additional to or in conflict with those available to the Company (in which case the Company shall not have the right to direct the defense of such Proceeding on behalf of the indemnified party or parties), in any of which events such fees and expenses shall be borne by the Company, and paid as incurred (it being understood, however, that the Company shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel (in addition to any local counsel) in any one Proceeding or series of related Proceedings in the same jurisdiction representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such Proceeding). The Company shall not be liable for any settlement of any Proceeding effected without its written consent but if settled with the written consent of the Company, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Manager and any such person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested the Company to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by the second sentence of this paragraph, then the Company agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any Proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 60 business days after receipt by the Company of the aforesaid request, (ii) the Company shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of
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such settlement and (iii) such indemnified party shall have given the indemnifying party at least 30 days’ prior notice of its intention to settle. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened Proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or may be a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such Proceeding and does not include an admission of fault or culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of such indemnified party.
(b) The Manager agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company, its directors and officers, and any person who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the successors and assigns of all of the foregoing persons, from and against any loss, damage, expense, liability or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which, jointly or severally, the Company or any such person may incur under the Act, the Exchange Act, the common law or otherwise, insofar as such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in and, in conformity with information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Manager to the Company expressly for use with reference to the Manager in the Registration Statement (or in the Registration Statement as amended by any post-effective amendment thereof by the Company), or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Registration Statement in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was required to be stated in such Registration Statement or was necessary to make such information not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Manager to the Company expressly for use in, a Prospectus or a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was necessary in order to make the statements in such information, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
If any Proceeding is brought against the Company or any such person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Manager pursuant to the foregoing paragraph, the Company or such person shall promptly notify the Manager in writing of the institution of such Proceeding and the Manager shall assume the defense of such Proceeding, including the employment of counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party and payment of all fees and expenses; provided, however, that the omission to so notify the Manager shall not relieve the Manager from any liability which the Manager may have to the Company or any such person or otherwise. The Company or such person shall have the right to employ its own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Company or such person
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unless the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by the Manager in connection with the defense of such Proceeding or the Manager shall not have, within a reasonable period of time in light of the circumstances, employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such Proceeding or such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to or in conflict with those available to the Manager (in which case the Manager shall not have the right to direct the defense of such Proceeding on behalf of the indemnified party or parties, although the Manager may employ counsel and participate in the defense thereof and the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Manager), in any of which events such fees and expenses shall be borne by the Manager and paid as incurred (it being understood, however, that the Manager shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel (in addition to any local counsel) in any one Proceeding or series of related Proceedings in the same jurisdiction representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such Proceeding). The Manager shall not be liable for any settlement of any such Proceeding effected without the written consent of the Manager but if settled with the written consent of the Manager, the Manager agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and any such person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested the Manager to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by the second sentence of this paragraph, then the Manager agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any Proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 60 business days after receipt by the Manager of the aforesaid request, (ii) the Manager shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement and (iii) such indemnified party shall have given the Manager at least 30 days’ prior notice of its intention to settle. The Manager shall not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened Proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such Proceeding.
(c) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 6 is unavailable to an indemnified party under subsections (a) and (b) of this Section 6 or insufficient to hold an indemnified party harmless in respect of any losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or claims referred to therein, then each applicable indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or claims (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Manager, on the other hand, from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and of the Manager, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or
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claims, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Manager, on the other hand, shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total proceeds from the offering (net of commissions but before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total commissions received by the Manager bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Shares. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and of the Manager, on the other, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Manager and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, damages, expenses, liabilities and claims referred to in this subsection shall be deemed to include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending any Proceeding.
(d) The Company and the Manager agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in subsection (c) above. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6, the Manager shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the total price at which the Shares were sold by the Manager less the amount of any damage which the Manager has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue statement 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.
(e) The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 6 and the covenants, warranties and representations of the Company contained in this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Manager, its partners, directors or officers or any person (including each partner, officer or director of such person) who controls the Manager within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or by or on behalf of the Company, its directors or officers or any person who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and shall survive any termination of this Agreement or the issuance and delivery of the Shares. The Company and the Manager agree promptly to notify each other of the commencement of any Proceeding against it and, in the case of the Company, against any of the Company’s officers or directors in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares or in connection with the Registration Statement, any Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.
SECTION 7. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto or any Terms Agreement, and the agreements of the Manager
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contained in Section 6 of this Agreement, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Manager or any controlling persons or the Company (or any of their officers, directors or controlling persons), and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
SECTION 8. Termination.
(a) The Company shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate the provisions of this Agreement relating to the solicitation of offers to purchase the Shares in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that (i) if the Shares have been sold through the Manager for the Company, then Sections 4(i) and (v) shall remain in full force and effect, (ii) with respect to any pending sale, through the Manager for the Company, the obligations of the Company, including in respect of compensation of the Manager, shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding the termination and (iii) the provisions of Section 4(i), Section 6 and Section 7 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(b) The Manager shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate the provisions of this Agreement relating to the solicitation of offers to purchase the Shares in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 4(i), Section 6 and Section 7 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Section 8(a) or (b) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 4(i), Section 6 and Section 7 shall remain in full force and effect.
(d) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Manager or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of the Shares, such sale shall settle in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(a)(vi) of this Agreement.
(e) In the case of any purchase by the Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, the obligations of the Manager pursuant to such Terms Agreement shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of the Manager, if, since the time of execution of the Terms Agreement or the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectuses, the Prospectus and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, there shall have occurred any downgrading, or any notice or announcement shall have been given
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or made of (i) any intended or potential downgrading or (ii) any review or possible change that does not indicate an improvement, in the rating accorded any securities of or guaranteed by the Company or any Subsidiary by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as that term is defined in Rule 436(g)(2) under the Act, or, if at any time prior to the Time of Delivery, trading in securities on the NYSE, the AMEX or the Nasdaq shall have been suspended or limitations or minimum prices shall have been established, trading in the securities of the Company on the NYSE, the AMEX or the Nasdaq shall have been suspended, or if a banking moratorium shall have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities, or if the United States shall have declared war in accordance with its constitutional processes or there shall have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity or crisis of such magnitude in its effect on the financial markets of the United States as, in the Manager’s judgment, to make it impracticable to market the Shares. If the Manager elects to terminate its obligations pursuant to this Section 8(e), the Company shall be notified promptly in writing.
SECTION 9. Notices. Except as otherwise herein provided, all statements, requests, notices and agreements under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be in writing and delivered by hand, overnight courier, mail or facsimile and, if to the Manager, shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered or sent to UBS Securities LLC, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, Attention: Syndicate Department, Fax No. (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, with a copy for information purposes to UBS Securities LLC, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇., ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Legal and Compliance Department, Fax No. (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇ and, if to the Company, it shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered or sent to the Company at the offices of the Company at ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, Attention: Chief Executive Officer, Fax No. (▇▇▇) ▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇. Each party to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose.
SECTION 10. Parties at Interest. The Agreement herein set forth and any Terms Agreement have been and are made solely for the benefit of the Manager and the Company and to the extent provided in Section 6 of this Agreement the controlling persons, directors and officers referred to in such section and their respective successors, assigns, heirs, personal representatives and executors and administrators. No other person, partnership, association or corporation (including a purchaser, as such purchaser, from the Manager) shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement and any Terms Agreement.
SECTION 11. No Fiduciary Relationship. The Company hereby acknowledges that the Manager is acting solely as sales agent and/or principal in connection with the purchase and sale of the Company’s securities. The Company further acknowledges that the Manager is acting pursuant to a contractual relationship
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created solely by this Agreement entered into on an arm’s length basis, and in no event do the parties intend that the Manager act or be responsible as a fiduciary to the Company, its management, stockholders or creditors or any other person in connection with any activity that the Manager may undertake or have undertaken in furtherance of the purchase and sale of the Company’s securities, either before or after the date hereof. The Manager hereby expressly disclaims any fiduciary or similar obligations to the Company, either in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions, and the Company hereby confirms its understanding and agreement to that effect. The Company and the Manager agree that they are each responsible for making their own independent judgments with respect to any such transactions and that any opinions or views expressed by the Manager to the Company regarding such transactions, including, but not limited to, any opinions or views with respect to the price or market for the Company’s securities, do not constitute advice or recommendations to the Company. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Manager with respect to any breach or alleged breach of any fiduciary or similar duty to the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions.
SECTION 12. Adjustments for Stock Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share related numbers contained in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any stock split effected with respect to the Shares.
SECTION 13. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement constitute the entire agreement and supersede all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof.
SECTION 14. Counterparts. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement may be signed by the parties in one or more counterparts which together shall constitute one and the same agreement among the parties.
SECTION 15. Law; Construction. This Agreement, any Terms Agreement and any claim, counterclaim or dispute of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement (“Claim”), directly or indirectly, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York.
SECTION 16. Headings. The Section headings in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement have been inserted as a matter of convenience of reference and are not a part of this Agreement or any Terms Agreement.
SECTION 17. Submission to Jurisdiction. Except as set forth below, no Claim may be commenced, prosecuted or continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United
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▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for the Southern District of New York, which courts shall have jurisdiction over the adjudication of such matters, and the Company consents to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with respect thereto. The Company hereby consents to personal jurisdiction, service and venue in any court in which any Claim arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement is brought by any third party against the Manager or any indemnified party. Each of the Manager and the Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) waives all right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement. The Company agrees that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the Company is or may be subject by suit upon such judgment.
SECTION 18. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon the Manager and the Company and their successors and assigns and any successor or assign of any substantial portion of the Company’s and the Manager’s respective businesses and/or assets.
SECTION 19. Miscellaneous. The Manager, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS AG, is not a bank and is separate from any affiliated bank, including any U.S. branch or agency of UBS AG. Because the Manager is a separately incorporated entity, it is solely responsible for its own contractual obligations and commitments, including obligations with respect to sales and purchases of securities. Securities sold, offered or recommended by the Manager are not deposits, are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, are not guaranteed by a branch or agency, and are not otherwise an obligation or responsibility of a branch or agency.
A lending affiliate of the Manager may have lending relationships with issuers of securities underwritten or privately placed by the Manager. To the extent required under the securities laws, prospectuses and other disclosure documents for securities underwritten or privately placed by the Manager will disclose the existence of any such lending relationships and whether the proceeds of the issue will be used to repay debts owed to affiliates of the Manager.
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Manager, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this Agreement and your acceptance shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Manager. Alternatively, the execution of this Agreement by the Company and its acceptance by or on behalf of the Manager may be evidenced by an exchange of telegraphic or other written communications.
| Very truly yours, | ||||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Name: | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Title: | President | |||
| ACCEPTED as of the date first above written | ||||
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Name: | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Title: | Executive Director | |||
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Name: | ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||
| Title: | Executive Director | |||
Annex I
DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SYSTEMS CORP.
TERMS AGREEMENT
[Date]
UBS SECURITIES LLC
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Dear Sirs:
Distributed Energy Systems Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein and in the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated , 2006 (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”), between the Company and UBS Securities LLC, to issue and sell to UBS Securities LLC the securities specified in the Schedule hereto (the “Purchased Securities”).
Each of the provisions of the Equity Distribution Agreement not specifically related to the solicitation by UBS Securities LLC, as agent of the Company, of offers to purchase securities is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and shall be deemed to be part of this Terms Agreement to the same extent as if such provisions had been set forth in full herein. Each of the representations and warranties set forth therein shall be deemed to have been made at and as of the date of this Terms Agreement and the Time of Delivery, except that each representation and warranty in Section 2 of the Equity Distribution Agreement which makes reference to the Prospectus (as therein defined) shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty as of the date of the Equity Distribution Agreement in relation to the Prospectus, and also a representation and warranty as of the date of this Terms Agreement and the Time of Delivery in relation to the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to relate to the Purchased Securities.
An amendment to the Registration Statement (as defined in the Equity Distribution Agreement) or a supplement to the Prospectus, as the case may be, relating to the Purchased Securities, in the form heretofore delivered to the Manager, is now proposed to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Equity Distribution Agreement which are incorporated herein by reference, the Company agrees to issue and sell to UBS Securities LLC and the latter agrees to purchase from the Company the number of shares of the Purchased Securities at the time and place and at the purchase price set forth in the Schedule hereto.
Annex I
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us a counterpart hereof, whereupon this Terms Agreement, including those provisions of the Equity Distribution Agreement incorporated herein by reference, shall constitute a binding agreement between the Manager and the Company.
| By: |
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| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
ACCEPTED as of the date
first above written
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||
| By: |
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| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Schedule to Annex I
Title of Purchased Securities:
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share
Number of Shares of Purchased Securities:
Price to Public:
Purchase Price by UBS Securities LLC:
Method of and Specified Funds for Payment of Purchase Price:
By wire transfer to a bank account specified by the Company in same day funds.
Method of Delivery:
Free delivery of the Shares to the Manager’s account at the Depository Trust Company in return for payment of the purchase price.
Time of Delivery:
Closing Location:
Documents to be Delivered:
The following documents referred to in the Equity Distribution Agreement shall be delivered as a condition to the Closing:
| (1) | The opinion referred to in Section 4(q). |
| (2) | The opinion referred to in Section 4(r). |
| (3) | The accountants’ letter referred to in Section 4(s). |
| (4) | The officers’ certificate referred to in Section 4(p). |
| (5) | Such other documents as the Manager shall reasonably request. |
Schedule A
PERMITTED FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES
None.
Exhibit A
OPINION OF ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ AND ▇▇▇▇ LLP