SHLS 8-K
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. (SHLS)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 10, 2023 (
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
N/A
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class |
Trading |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
On March 7, 2023, Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), by and among the Company, Shoals Parent LLC, Solon Holdco I, LLC and Solon Holdco II, LLC as selling stockholders (the “Selling Stockholders”), and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, as the underwriter (the “Underwriter”), relating to the public offering of 24,501,650 shares of Class A common stock by the Selling Stockholders (the “Offering”). The Underwriting Agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnification obligations of the Company and the Underwriter, as well as termination and other customary provisions. Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the Selling Stockholders have granted the Underwriter an option to purchase up to an additional 3,675,247 shares of Class A common stock.
The Offering was made pursuant to the Company’s automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-268610) that became effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) when filed with the SEC on November 30, 2022, and a related prospectus supplement dated March 7, 2023.
The Offering closed on March 10, 2023. The Company will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock by the Selling Stockholders.
The foregoing summary of the Underwriting Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of such agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto, and is incorporated by reference herein.
Kirkland and Ellis LLP has issued an opinion, dated March 10, 2023, regarding certain legal matters with respect to the Offering, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto.
This Current Report on Form 8-K does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Forward Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K includes certain statements that are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding uses of cash, estimates and forecasts of revenue and other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity and expectations. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of the Company’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets, as well as other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
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| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 1.1 | Underwriting Agreement, dated March 7, 2023, by and among Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., Shoals Parent LLC, the selling stockholders party thereto and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, as the underwriter. | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, dated March 10, 2023. | |
| 23.1 | Consent of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). | |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. | ||||||
| Date: March 10, 2023 | By: | /s/ Jason Whitaker | ||||
| Jason Whitaker | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||
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Exhibit 5.1
| 601 Lexington Avenue | ||||
| New York, NY 10022 | ||||
| United States | Facsimile: | |||
| +1 212 446 4900 | ||||
| +1 212 446 4800
www.kirkland.com |
March 10, 2023
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.
1400 Shoals Way
Portland, Tennessee, 37148
| Re: | Registration Statement on Form S-3 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are acting as special counsel to Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation and filing by the Company of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (as amended or supplemented, the “Registration Statement”), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on November 30, 2022, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the General Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Securities Act, of an unspecified amount of the following securities: (i) Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”); (ii) preferred stock of the Company, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”); (iii) subscription rights to purchase Class A Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Warrants (as defined below) or Units (as defined below) or any combination thereof; (iv) warrants to purchase Class A Common Stock or Preferred Stock (the “Warrants”); (v) units of the Company consisting of two or more of any combination of Class A Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Warrants and Subscription Rights (the “Units” and, together with the Class A Common Stock, the Preferred Stock, the Subscription Rights and the Warrants, the “Covered Securities”), in one or more offerings from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis.
Pursuant to the Registration Statement, the Selling Stockholders (as defined below) has proposed to sell 24,501,650 shares of Class A Common Stock (the “Firm Secondary Shares”) and up to an additional 3,675,247 shares of Class A Common Stock (the “Option Secondary Shares” and, together with the Firm Secondary Shares, the “Shares”) to cover the exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares of Class A Common Stock). The Shares are proposed to be sold to the Underwriter (as defined below) pursuant to that certain Underwriting Agreement, dated as of March 7, 2023 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), by and among the Company, Shoals Parent LLC, the selling stockholders named in Schedule II thereto (the “Selling Stockholders”) and Morgan Stanley & Co LLC, as the underwriter named in Schedule I thereto (the “Underwriter”).
Austin Bay Area Beijing Boston Brussels Chicago Dallas Hong Kong Houston London Los Angeles Munich Paris Salt Lake City Shanghai Washington, D.C.
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.
March 10, 2023
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In connection with this advice and the registration, issuance and sale of the Shares, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such documents, corporate records and other instruments as we have deemed necessary for the purposes of this opinion, including: (i) the organizational documents of the Company, (ii) minutes and records of the corporate proceedings of the Company with respect to the registration of the Shares, including the proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Company, (iii) the Registration Statement and the exhibits thereto, (iv) the base prospectus, dated November 30, 2022, filed with the Registration Statement relating to the offering of the Shares, (v) the preliminary prospectus supplement, dated March 7, 2023, in the form filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act relating to the offering of the Shares (the “Preliminary Prospectus Supplement”), (vi) the final prospectus supplement, dated March 7, 2023, in the form filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act relating to the offering of the Shares (the “Final Prospectus Supplement” and, together with the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, the “Prospectus Supplement”) and (vii) the Underwriting Agreement.
For purposes of this opinion, we have assumed the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies and the authenticity of the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies. We have also assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of the signatures of persons signing all documents in connection with which this opinion is rendered, the authority of such persons signing on behalf of the parties thereto other than the Company and the due authorization, execution and delivery of all documents by the parties thereto other than the Company. We have not independently established or verified any facts relevant to the opinions expressed herein, but have relied upon statements and representations of the officers and other representatives of the Company and others as to factual matters.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing qualifications, assumptions and limitations and the further limitations set forth below, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and non-assessable.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K and its incorporation into the Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus Supplement constituting the part of the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.
March 10, 2023
Page 3
Our advice on every legal issue addressed in this letter is based exclusively on the federal securities laws of the United States and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (including the applicable provisions of the Delaware constitution and reported judicial decisions interpreting these laws), in each case as currently in effect, and represents our opinion as to how that issue would be resolved were it to be considered by the highest court in the jurisdiction which enacted such law. The manner in which any particular issue relating to the opinions would be treated in any actual court case would depend in part on facts and circumstances particular to the case and would also depend on how the court involved chose to exercise the wide discretionary authority generally available to it. This letter is not intended to guarantee the outcome of any legal dispute which may arise in the future.
None of the opinions or other advice contained in this letter considers or covers any foreign or state securities (or “blue sky”) laws.
This opinion is limited to the specific issues addressed herein, and no opinion may be inferred or implied beyond that expressly stated herein. No opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement, other than as to the specific issues addressed herein. This opinion speaks only as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to revise or supplement this opinion.
This opinion is furnished to you in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement and in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5)(i) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act, and is not to be used, circulated, quoted or otherwise relied upon or otherwise referred to by any other person for any other purposes.
| Sincerely, |
| /s/ Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
| Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
Exhibit 1.1
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.
24,501,650 Shares of Class A Common Stock
Underwriting Agreement
March 7, 2023
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
1585 Broadway
New York, New York 10036
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The stockholders of Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), named in Schedule II hereto (the “Selling Stockholders”) propose, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of 24,501,650 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“Stock”), of the Company and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to 3,675,247 additional shares of Stock. The aggregate of 24,501,650 shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders is herein called the “Firm Shares” and the 3,675,247 additional shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders is herein called the “Optional Shares”. The Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof are herein collectively called the “Shares”. Any term used and not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Pricing Prospectus (as defined below). If no other Underwriters are listed on Schedule I hereto, all references to the Underwriters shall refer only to Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.
1. (a) Each of the Company and Shoals Parent LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Parent”), represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:
(i) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-268610) in respect of the Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; any preliminary prospectus (including any preliminary prospectus supplement) relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but
excluding Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(a)(iii) hereof), is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, such Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Rule 163B under the Act is hereinafter called a “Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act is hereinafter called a “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication”; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);
(ii) (A) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and (B) each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information (as defined in Section 9(c) of this Agreement);
(iii) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 4:50 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule III(c) hereto, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”), as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of each the Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4(a) of this Agreement) will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and each Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable
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Time, did not, and as of each Time of Delivery, will not, include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;
(iv) The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and no such or any other documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth in Schedule III(b) hereto;
(v) The Registration Statement, at the time it was declared effective conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, on the date when such Prospectus, amendment or supplement is filed, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and as of each Time of Delivery, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information;
(vi) None of the Company, Parent and any of Parent’s direct or indirect subsidiaries (the “Subsidiaries”) has, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, (i) sustained any material loss or interference with its business, taken as a whole, from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree or (ii) entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, there has not been (x) any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of (i) the exercise or settlement (including any
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“net” or “cashless” exercises or settlements), if any, of stock options, restricted stock units, incentive units or other equity awards or the award, if any, of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, incentive units or other equity awards in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s and Parent’s equity plans that are described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or (ii) the issuance, if any, of stock upon the exercise or conversion of Company’s and Parent’s securities as described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus) or, except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, long-term debt of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries or (y) any Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); as used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” shall mean any material adverse change or effect, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change or effect, in or affecting (i) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (ii) the performance by the Company and Parent of the obligations under this Agreement to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(vii) The Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property and good and marketable title to all material personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus or such as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries are held by them under, to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, valid, subsisting and enforceable leases (subject to the effects of (A) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights or remedies of creditors generally; (B) the application of general principles of equity (including without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, regardless of whether enforcement is considered in proceedings at law or in equity); and (C) applicable law and public policy with respect to rights to indemnity and contribution) with such exceptions as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(viii) Each of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries has been (i) duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except, in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified, validly existing or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and each subsidiary of the Company that is a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Act has been listed in the Registration Statement;
(ix) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company, including the Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders, have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform, in all material respects, to the description of the Stock contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and
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issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all material liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, except for such liens or encumbrances described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(x) [reserved];
(xi) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and compliance with the terms and provisions thereof and, to the extent applicable, the compliance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and the Pricing Prospectus will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, (A) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary is subject, (B) the certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other applicable organizational document) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (C) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary or any of their properties, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (C) for such conflicts, defaults, breaches, or violations that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the sale of the Shares by the Selling Stockholders or the consummation by the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act, the approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the underwriting terms and arrangements, the approval for listing of the Shares on the Exchange (as defined below) and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters;
(xii) None of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary is (i) in violation of its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other applicable organizational document), (ii) in violation of any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except, in the case of the foregoing clauses (ii) and (iii), for such defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(xiii) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Stock, under the caption “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Class A Common Stock”, and under the caption “Underwriting”, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair in all material respects;
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(xiv) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary or, to the Company’s or Parent’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company or Parent is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary or, to the Company’s and Parent’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company or Parent is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary (or such officer or director), would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the Company’s and Parent’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or others;
(xv) The Company is not an “investment company” required to be registered as such under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Investment Company Act”);
(xvi) (1) (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (2) at the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post- effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Shares, and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined under Rule 405 under the Act;
(xvii) BDO USA, LLP, which has audited certain financial statements of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, is an independent public accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(xviii) The Company and Parent maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that (i) complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act, (ii) has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and (iii) is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company’s and Parent’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and neither the Company nor the Parent is aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;
(xix) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s or Parent’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially and adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect, the Company’s or Parent’s, as applicable, internal control over financial reporting;
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(xx) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company and the Subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective;
(xxi) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and Parent;
(xxii) None of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries has in the last five years (i) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense (or taken any act in furtherance thereof); (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any direct or indirect unlawful payment; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-corruption, anti-bribery or related law, statute or regulation (collectively, “Anti-Corruption Laws”); the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have in the last five years conducted their businesses in compliance with Anti-Corruption Laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with applicable Anti-Corruption Laws; none of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of Anti-Corruption Laws;
(xxiii) The operations of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted in the last five years in compliance with the requirements of applicable anti-money laundering laws, including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, as amended by the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the anti-money laundering laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries conduct business (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, threatened;
(xxiv) None of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Government, including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, the United Nations Security Council, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary located, organized, or resident in a country or territory that is itself the subject or target of Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic,” or so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic” or any other Covered Region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065, and the Crimea region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria), and the Company, Parent and
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the Subsidiaries will not directly or, knowingly, indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of Sanctions or (ii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions; none of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary is engaged in, or has, at any time in the past five years, engaged in, any dealings or transactions with or involving any individual or entity that was or is, as applicable, at the time of such dealing or transaction, the subject or target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned jurisdiction; the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have instituted, and maintain, policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve continued compliance with Sanctions;
(xxv) The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly, in all material respects and in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus under the Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Act, to the extent applicable;
(xxvi) The Company was and is in compliance with any applicable provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith that the Company was required to be in compliance with upon the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, including Section 402 related to loans;
(xxvii) The Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries own or have a valid right to use all patents, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks and trade names and all other worldwide intellectual property and proprietary rights (including all registrations and applications for registration of, and all goodwill associated with, any of the foregoing) (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”), in each case, to the extent used in or reasonably necessary to the conduct of their respective businesses as now conducted by them, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The material Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries and, to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge,
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the material Intellectual Property Rights exclusively licensed to the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, are subsisting and, to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, any such Intellectual Property Rights that have been registered are valid and enforceable, and there is no pending or, to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or written claim by others against the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary challenging the validity, scope or enforceability of, or any rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries in, any such Intellectual Property Rights, except for office actions or similar communications in connection with the ordinary course prosecution of any such Intellectual Property Rights. Neither the Company, Parent nor any Subsidiary has received any written pending claim against the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries alleging any infringement, misappropriation or other violation of Intellectual Property Rights of a third party by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, no third party is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated in the past six (6) years, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, neither the Company, Parent nor any Subsidiary infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated in the past six (6) years, any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All employees or contractors engaged in the development of material Intellectual Property Rights currently used in or reasonably necessary to the conduct of the businesses of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, on behalf of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary have executed an invention assignment agreement whereby such employees or contractors presently assign all of their right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights to the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary, and to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, no such agreement has been materially breached or violated. The Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries use, and have used, reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of all material Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries the value of which to the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary is contingent upon maintaining the confidentiality thereof, and to the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, no such Intellectual Property Rights have been disclosed other than to employees, representatives and agents of the Company, Parent or the Subsidiaries or other persons, all of whom are bound by written confidentiality agreements or legally binding professional responsibilities, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
(xxviii) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (A) the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have in the past five (5) years complied and are presently in compliance with all of its internal and external privacy policies, its contractual obligations, applicable laws, statutes, judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or other governmental or regulatory authority and any other legal obligations, in each case, to the extent binding on the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries and relating to the collection, use, transfer, import, export, storage, protection, disposal and disclosure by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries of, to the extent protected by applicable law or otherwise governed by a legal contractual obligation of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, personal or personally identifiable data or information or other
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regulated personal information (“Data Security Obligations”, and such data and information, “Personal Data”); (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have not received any written pending claim of or written pending complaint regarding non-compliance with any Data Security Obligation by the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries; and (C) there is no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body pending or, to the Company’s, Parent’s or the Subsidiaries’ knowledge, threatened, against the Company, Parent, or any Subsidiary, alleging non-compliance with any Data Security Obligations by the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary;
(xxix) The Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ respective information technology assets and equipment, computers, information technology systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, data and databases (including Personal Data and the confidential data and information of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained, processed or stored by or on behalf of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries) used in connection with the operation of the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ respective businesses (“IT Systems and Data”) are adequate in all material respects for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company’s, Parent’s and the Subsidiaries’ as currently conducted. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have taken reasonable steps to protect the IT Systems and Data, and without limiting the foregoing, the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries have used reasonable efforts to establish and maintain, and have established, maintained, implemented and complied with, reasonable information technology, information security, cyber security and data protection controls, policies and procedures designed to protect against and prevent breach, loss, misappropriation, or unauthorized distribution, use, access, disablement, destruction or modification, or other compromise or misuse of or relating to any IT Systems and Data (“Breach”). To the knowledge of the Company, Parent and the Subsidiaries, there has been no such Breach in the past five (5) years, except for such Breach that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and
(xxx) The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(b) Each of the Selling Stockholders, severally and not jointly, represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters and the Company and Parent that:
(i) All consents, approvals, authorizations and orders necessary for the execution and delivery by such Selling Stockholder of this Agreement and the Custody Agreement referred to below, and for the sale and delivery of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, have been obtained; except for such consents, approvals, authorizations and orders as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters, the approval of the underwriting terms and arrangements by FINRA or the approval for listing on Nasdaq and except where the failure to obtain any such consent, approval, authorization or order would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on the ability of such Selling Stockholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and such Selling Stockholder has full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and the Custody Agreement and to sell, assign, transfer and deliver the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder;
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(ii) The sale of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder and the compliance by such Selling Stockholder with this Agreement and the Custody Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated, will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any statute, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling Stockholder is a party or by which such Selling Stockholder is bound or to which any of the property or assets of such Selling Stockholder is subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the Partnership Agreement, as applicable, of the Selling Stockholder (or similar applicable organizational document) or any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over such Selling Stockholder or any of its subsidiaries, as applicable, or any property or assets of such Selling Stockholder, except for any such conflict, breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, affect the validity of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder or reasonably be expected to materially impair the ability of such Selling Stockholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental body or agency is required for the performance by such Selling Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement and the Custody Agreement and the consummation by such Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Custody Agreement in connection with the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, except the registration under the Act of the Shares and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters or such that, if not obtained, would not, individually or in the aggregate, affect the validity of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder or reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect the ability of such Selling Stockholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(iii) Such Selling Stockholder has, and immediately prior to each applicable Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) such Selling Stockholder will have, good and valid title to, or a valid “security entitlement” within the meaning of Section 8-501 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code in respect of, the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder at such Time of Delivery, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; and, upon delivery of such Shares and payment therefor pursuant hereto, good and valid title to such Shares, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, will pass to the several Underwriters;
(iv) [reserved];
(v) Such Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;
(vi) To the extent that any statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto are made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company in writing by such Selling Stockholder pursuant to Item 7 of Form S–3 expressly for use therein (all such
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information, the “Selling Stockholders Information”), such Registration Statement and Preliminary Prospectus did, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will, when they become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading it being understood and agreed for the purposes of this Agreement, the Selling Stockholders Information for such Selling Stockholder consists only of (A) such Selling Stockholder’s legal name, address and Stock beneficially owned by such Selling Stockholder before and after the offering contemplated hereby and (B) the other information with respect to such Selling Stockholder (excluding percentages) which appear under the caption “Selling Stockholders” in the Preliminary Prospectus;
(vii) Such Selling Stockholder will deliver to the Underwriters prior to or at the First Time of Delivery a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 (or other applicable form or statement specified by Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof);
(viii) Such Selling Stockholder will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject or the target of comprehensive Sanctions, or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions, or (ii) in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any Money Laundering Laws or any Anti-Corruption Laws;
(ix) Such Selling Stockholder is not prompted by any material information concerning the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is not disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus to sell its Shares pursuant to this Agreement;
(x) Certificates in negotiable form or book-entry securities entitlements representing all of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder have been or, solely to the extent such Shares are issuable to such Selling Stockholder upon the conversion by such Selling Stockholder of units of Parent, will be prior to the applicable Time of Delivery, placed in custody under a Custody Agreement, in the form heretofore furnished to the Underwriters (the “Custody Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by such Selling Stockholder on or prior to the date hereof between the Selling Stockholders and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as custodian; and
(xi) The Shares held in custody for such Selling Stockholder under the Custody Agreement are or, solely to the extent such Shares are issuable to such Selling Stockholder upon the conversion by such Selling Stockholder of units of Parent, will be prior to the applicable Time of Delivery subject to the interests of the Underwriters hereunder; the arrangements made by such Selling Stockholder for such custody are to that extent irrevocable; the obligations of the Selling Stockholders hereunder shall not be terminated by operation of law, whether by the death or incapacity of any individual Selling Stockholder or, in the case of an estate or trust, by the death or incapacity of any executor or trustee or the termination of such estate or trust, or in the case of a partnership or corporation, by the dissolution of such partnership, limited liability company
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or corporation, or by the occurrence of any other event; and if any individual Selling Stockholder or any such executor or trustee should die or become incapacitated, or if any such estate or trust should be terminated, or if any such partnership, limited liability company or corporation should be dissolved, or if any other such event should occur, before the delivery of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder, certificates representing the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder hereunder shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholders in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and of the Custody Agreements.
2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Selling Stockholders agree, severally and not jointly, to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Selling Stockholders, at a purchase price per share of $24.25, the number of Firm Shares (to be adjusted by the Underwriters so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders as set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule II hereto by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased by all of the Underwriters from the Selling Stockholders hereunder and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Selling Stockholders, severally and not jointly, as and to the extent indicated in Schedule II hereto agree to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Selling Stockholders, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2 (provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares), that portion of the number of Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by the Underwriters so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.
The Selling Stockholders hereby, severally and not jointly, grant to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to 3,675,247 Optional Shares, at the purchase price per share set forth in the paragraph above (provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares). Any such election to purchase Optional Shares shall be made in proportion to the maximum number of Optional Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders as set forth in Schedule II hereto. The Underwriters may exercise the option to purchase Optional Shares at any time in whole, or from time to time in part, on or before the thirtieth day following the date of the Prospectus, by written notice from the Underwriters to the Selling Stockholders and the Company setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by the Underwriters but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless the Underwriters, the Selling Stockholders and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.
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3. Upon the authorization by the Underwriters of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.
4. (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in definitive or book-entry form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as the Underwriters may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Selling Stockholders shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholders to the Underwriters, through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the accounts specified by the Selling Stockholders to the Underwriters at least forty-eight hours in advance. The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on March 10, 2023 or such other time and date as the Underwriters and the Selling Stockholders may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by the Underwriters in each written notice given by the Underwriters of their election to purchase such Optional Shares, or such other time and date as the Underwriters, the Selling Stockholders may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery”, each such time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery”, and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.
(b) The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(l) hereof will be delivered at the offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP located at 450 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (the “Closing Location”), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 3:00 p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(c) Each of the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters are acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders with respect to the offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Company, Parent, the Selling Stockholders or any other person. Additionally, no Underwriter is advising the Company, Parent, the Selling Stockholders or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders shall consult with their own advisors concerning such matters and each shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and no Underwriter shall have any responsibility or liability to the Company, Parent or the Selling Stockholders with respect thereto. Any review by the Underwriters of the Company, the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company or the Selling Stockholders. Moreover, the Selling Stockholders acknowledge and agree that, although the Underwriters may be required or choose to provide the Selling Stockholders with certain Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS disclosures in connection with the offering, the Underwriters are not making a recommendation to any Selling Stockholder to participate in the offering, enter into a “lock-up” agreement, or sell any Shares at the price determined in the offering, and nothing set forth in such disclosures is intended to suggest that the Underwriters are making such a recommendation.
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5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:
(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Underwriters and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be disapproved by the Underwriters promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise the Underwriters, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Underwriters with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares; to advise the Underwriters, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such steps including, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at its own expense, as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Shares by the Underwriters (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
(b) If required by Rule 430B(h) under the Act, to prepare a form of prospectus in a form approved by the Underwriters and to file such form of prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than may be required by Rule 424(b) under the Act; and to make no further amendment or supplement to such form of prospectus which shall be disapproved by the Underwriters promptly after reasonable notice thereof.
(c) If by the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, the Underwriters notify the Company that any of the Shares remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters. If at the Renewal Deadline the Company is no longer eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company will, if it has not already done so, file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the
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Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be;
(d) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Underwriters may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Underwriters may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation (where not otherwise required) or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction (where not otherwise required);
(e) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as the Underwriters may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, to notify the Underwriters and upon their request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as the Underwriters may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon the Underwriters’ request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as the Underwriters may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;
(f) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”)), but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);
(g) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act;
(h) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Company Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with or confidentially submit to the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares,
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including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Stock or any LLC interests or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing; provided that confidential or non-public submissions to the Commission of any registration statements under the Act may be made if (w) no public announcement of such confidential or non-public submission shall be made, (x) if any demand was made for, or any right exercised with respect to, such registration of shares of Stock or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into Stock, no public announcement of such demand or exercise of rights shall be made, (y) the Company shall provide written notice at least three business days prior to such confidential or non-public submission to each Underwriter and (z) no such confidential or non-public submission shall become a publicly filed registration statement during the Company Lock-Up Period, or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Stock or any LLC Interests or any such other securities, in cash or otherwise (other than (a) the Shares to be sold hereunder or pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement, (b) the issuance by the Company of shares of Stock, options to purchase shares of Stock, including nonqualified stock options and incentive stock options, and other equity incentive compensation, including restricted stock or restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, dividend equivalents and Stock-based awards, pursuant to equity plans described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (c) any shares of Stock issued upon the exercise of options or the settlement of restricted stock units or other equity-based compensation described in clause (b) granted under such equity plans described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, or under equity plans or similar plans of companies acquired by the Company in effect on the date of acquisition, (d) the filing by the Company of any registration statement on Form S-8 with the Commission relating to the offering of securities pursuant to the terms of such equity plans described in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, (e) the issuance by the Company of shares of Stock or securities convertible into shares of Stock in connection with an acquisition or business combination, provided that the aggregate number of shares of Stock issued pursuant to this clause (e) during the Lock-Up Period shall not exceed 10% of the total number of shares of Stock issued and outstanding on the closing date of the offering, and provided further that, in the case of any issuance pursuant to this clause (e) exceeding 0.5% of shares of Stock issued and outstanding on the closing date of the offering, any recipient of shares of Stock shall have executed and delivered to the Underwriters a lock-up letter as described in Section 8(i), and (f) any issuance or distribution of Stock and/or units of Parent or Shoals Management Holdings, LLC (“Management Holdings”) by the Company, Parent and/or Management Holdings in connection with any conversion, exchange, redemption and/or repurchase of the Company’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Class B Common Stock”), and/or units of Parent or Management Holdings), without the prior written consent of each Underwriter;
(i) During a period of three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, to furnish to its stockholders as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year an annual report (including a balance sheet and statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries certified by independent public accountants) and, as soon as practicable after the end of each of the first three quarters of each fiscal year (beginning with the fiscal quarter ending after the effective date of the Registration Statement), to make available to its stockholders consolidated summary financial information of the Company and its subsidiaries for such quarter in reasonable detail; provided, however, that the Company may satisfy the requirements of this Section 5(f) by filing such information through EDGAR;
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(j) During a period of three years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of either Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, to furnish to the Underwriters copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to the Underwriters as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of securities of the Company is listed; provided, however, that the Company may satisfy the requirements of this Section 5(g) by filing such information through EDGAR;
(k) [reserved];
(l) [reserved];
(m) To file with the Commission such information on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K as may be required by Rule 463 under the Act;
(n) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b), the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 3a(c) of the Commission’s Informal and Other Procedures (16 CFR 202.3a);
(o) Upon request of any Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to such Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by such Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Shares (the “Underwriter Use”); provided, however, that the Underwriter Use shall be solely for the purpose described above, is permitted without any fee and may not be assigned or transferred or extended to any person other than such Underwriter; and
(p) [Reserved].
6. (a) Each of the Company and Parent represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Underwriters, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; each Selling Stockholder, severally and not jointly, represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company, Parent and the Underwriters, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus; and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company, Parent and the Underwriters, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission; any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company, Parent and the Underwriters is listed on Schedule III(a) hereto;
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and the Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions under Rule 433 under the Act to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show;
(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would
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include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Underwriters and, if requested by the Underwriters, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission;
(d) The Company represents and agrees that (i) it has not engaged in, or authorized any other person to engage in, any Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the prior consent of the Underwriters with entities that the Company reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Act; and (ii) it has not distributed, or authorized any other person to distribute, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, other than those distributed with the prior consent of the Underwriters that are listed on Schedule III(d) hereto; and the Company reconfirms that the Underwriters have been authorized to act on its behalf in engaging in Testing-the-Waters Communications;
(e) Each Underwriter represents and agrees that any Testing-the-Waters Communications undertaken by it were with entities that such Underwriter reasonably believes are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8) or (a)(10) under the Act.
7. The Company and each of the Selling Stockholders covenant and agree with one another and with the several Underwriters that (a) the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, reproduction and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers; (ii) the cost of printing or producing any this Agreement, the Blue Sky Memorandum, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iii) reasonable and documented expenses incurred in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(b) hereof, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey; (iv) [reserved]; and (v) reasonable and documented filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, any required review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the terms of the sale of the Shares in an amount not to exceed $25,000; (b) the Company will pay or cause to be paid: (i) the cost of preparing stock certificates; if applicable (ii) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar, and (iii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section; and (c) each Selling Stockholder will pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to the performance of such Selling Stockholder’s obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section, including (i) any fees and expenses of counsel for such Selling Stockholder , (ii) [reserved], and (iii) reasonable and documented expenses and taxes incident to the sale and delivery of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder to the Underwriters hereunder. In connection with clause (c)(iii) of the preceding sentence, the Underwriters agree to pay New York State stock transfer tax, and each Selling Stockholder agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for associated carrying costs if such tax
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payment is not rebated on the day of payment and for any portion of such tax payment not rebated. It is understood, however, that the Company shall bear, and the Selling Stockholders shall not be required to pay or to reimburse the Company for, the cost of any other matters not directly relating to the sale and purchase of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement, and that, except as provided in this Section, and Sections 9 and 12 hereof, the Underwriters will pay (i) all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, stock transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make, and (ii) in connection with any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, the travel, lodging and meal expenses of the Underwriters; provided, however, the Underwriters and the Company agree that the Underwriters shall pay or cause to be paid fifty percent (50%) of the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with such road show.
8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders herein are, at and as of the Applicable Time and such Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall have performed all of its and their obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Pricing Prospectus, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the Underwriters’ reasonable satisfaction;
(b) Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to the Underwriters such written opinion or opinions, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Underwriters their written opinion and negative assurance letter in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, dated such Time of Delivery;
(d) Bass Berry & Sims PLC, counsel for the each Selling Stockholder, shall have furnished to the Underwriters its written opinion with respect to the Selling Stockholders in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, dated such Time of Delivery;
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(e) On the date of the Prospectus upon the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, BDO USA, LLP shall have furnished to the Underwriters a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters;
(f) [reserved];
(g) (i) Neither the Company, Parent nor any Subsidiary, taken as a whole, shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Pricing Prospectus any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary or any change or effect, or any development involving a prospective change or effect, in or affecting (x) the business, properties, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary, taken as a whole, except as set forth or contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus, or (y) the ability of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary to perform their obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is in the Underwriters’ judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(h) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the debt securities of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the debt securities of the Company, Parent or any Subsidiary;
(i) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on the Exchange; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on the Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Exchange”); (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in the Underwriters’ judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;
(j) [reserved];
(k) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each stockholder of the Company listed on Schedule IV hereto, substantially to the effect set forth in Annex I hereto in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters;
(l) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the second New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement;
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(m) Each of the Company, the Selling Stockholders and Parent shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company, Selling Stockholders and Parent, respectively, satisfactory to the Underwriters as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company, Selling Stockholders and Parent, respectively, herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance in all material respects (except to the extent already qualified by materiality) by the Company, Selling Stockholders and Parent of all of their respective obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to such other matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request, and the Company and Parent shall have furnished or caused to be furnished certificates as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (e) of this Section 8; and
(n) At each Time of Delivery, the Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters certificates of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters.
9. (a) The Company and Parent, jointly and severally, will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basis Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “roadshow” as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Act (a “roadshow”), any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company and Parent shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(b) Each of the Selling Stockholders, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with Selling Stockholder Information furnished to the Company by such
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Selling Stockholder expressly for use therein; and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that such Selling Stockholder shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; provided, further, that the liability of such Selling Stockholders pursuant to this subsection (b) shall not exceed the net proceeds after underwriting commissions and discounts but before deducting expenses from the sale of Shares sold by the Selling Stockholders hereunder (“Selling Stockholder Proceeds”).
(c) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company, Parent or such Selling Stockholder may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any roadshow, or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; and will reimburse the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company, Parent or such Selling Stockholder in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred. As used in this Agreement with respect to an Underwriter and an applicable document, “Underwriter Information” shall mean the written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Underwriters expressly for use therein; it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the information contained in the fourteenth, fifteenth and seventeenth paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting”.
(d) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) (b) or (c) of this Section 9 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; provided that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9 except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party,
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be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred and documented by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(e) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, Parent or the Selling Stockholders on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company, Parent the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to
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contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint and the Selling Stockholders obligations in this subsection (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their Selling Stockholder Proceeds and not joint.
(f) The obligations of the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each employee, officer and director of each Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and each broker-dealer or other affiliate of any Underwriter; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and Parent and to each person, if any, who controls the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder within the meaning of the Act.
10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase hereunder at a Time of Delivery, the Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the Underwriters or another party or other parties satisfactory to the Company and the Selling Stockholders to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein. If within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter the Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to the Underwriters to purchase such Shares on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, the Underwriters notify the Company and the Selling Stockholders that the Underwriters have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company or the Selling Stockholders notifies the Underwriters that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, the Underwriters or the Company or the Selling Stockholders shall have the right to postpone such Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in the Underwriters’ opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter by the other, non-defaulting Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Stockholders as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, then the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such Time of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter by the other, non-defaulting Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Stockholders as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all of the Shares to be purchased at such Time of
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Delivery, or if the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement (or, with respect to a Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Selling Stockholders to sell the Optional Shares) shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter, the Company or the Selling Stockholders, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.
11. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, Parent, the Selling Stockholders and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, Parent, or any of the Selling Stockholders, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, Parent or any controlling person of any Selling Stockholder, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, neither the Company, Parent nor the Selling Stockholders shall then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but, if for any other reason any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholders as provided herein, or the Underwriters decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, then each of the Selling Stockholders pro rata (based on the number of Shares to be sold by each of the Selling Stockholders hereunder) will reimburse the Underwriters for all documented out-of-pocket expenses approved in writing by the Underwriters, including reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred and documented by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof.
13. The Company, Parent and each of the Selling Stockholders acknowledge and agree that (a) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Shares and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, and does not constitute a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters, (b) in connection with the offering of the Shares and the process leading thereto, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, Parent or any Selling Stockholder, or its respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder with respect to the offering of the Shares or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any of its subsidiaries, Parent or any Selling Stockholder on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder with respect to the offering of the Shares except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of each of the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders, (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory, investment or tax advice with respect to the offering of the Shares and the
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Company, Parent and each of the Selling Stockholders have consulted its own respective legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate, and (f) none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person.
14. In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company and the Selling Stockholders, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department; if to any Selling Stockholder shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to counsel for the Selling Stockholder at its address set forth in Schedule II hereto; if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth on the cover of the Registration Statement, Attention: General Counsel; and if to any stockholder that has delivered a lock-up letter described in Section 8(j) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail to his or her respective address provided in Schedule IV hereto or such other address as such stockholder provides in writing to the Company; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(d) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters’ Questionnaire or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company or the Selling Stockholders by the Underwriters on request; provided further that notices under subsection 5(e) shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
15. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and each person who controls the Company, Parent, any Selling Stockholder or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
16. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
17. Each of the Company, Parent and each of the Selling Stockholders acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction among the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has
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advised or is currently advising the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) each of the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. Each of the Company, Parent and each Selling Stockholder agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, Parent or any Selling Stockholder, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
18. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company, Parent, the Selling Stockholders and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
19. This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York. The parties agree that any suit or proceeding arising in respect of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement will be tried exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York or, if that court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, in any state court located in The City and County of New York and the Company and each Selling Stockholder agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of, and to venue in, such courts.
20. Each of the Company, Parent, each Selling Stockholder and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
21. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
22. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
23. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders are authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriters imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
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24. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(a) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(b) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(c) As used in this section:
“BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k).
“Covered Entity” means any of the following:
(i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);
(ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or
(iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).
“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.
“U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
If the foregoing is in accordance with the Underwriters’ understanding, the Underwriters should please sign and return to us counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement among each of the Underwriters, the Company, Parent and the Selling Stockholders.
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| Very truly yours, | ||
| Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. | ||
| By: |
/s/ Dominic Bardos | |
| Name: Dominic Bardos | ||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Shoals Parent LLC | ||
| By: |
/s/ Dominic Bardos | |
| Name: Dominic Bardos | ||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Solon Holdco I, LLC | ||
| By: |
/s/ Dean Solon | |
| Name: Dean Solon | ||
| Title: President | ||
| Solon Holdco II, LLC | ||
| By: |
/s/ Dean Solon | |
| Name: Dean Solon | ||
| Title: President | ||
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Accepted as of the date hereof
in New York, New York
| Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ Daniel J. F. McCullogh | |
| Name: Daniel J. F. McCullogh | ||
| Title: Vice President | ||
ANNEX I
Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.
Lock-Up Agreement
[•], 2023
[•]
c/o [•]
c/o [•]
Re: Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.—Lock-Up Agreement
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that you, as underwriters (the “Underwriters”), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), with Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Shoals Parent LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and the selling stockholders identified therein, providing for a public offering of shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”), of the Company (the “Shares”) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
As used herein, the term “Common Stock” collectively refers to the Company’s Class A Common Stock and the Company’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Class B Common Stock”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have their meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.
In consideration of the agreement by the Underwriters to offer and sell the Shares, and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period beginning from the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continuing to and including the date 30 days after the date set forth on the final prospectus used to sell the Shares (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned shall not, and shall not cause or direct any of its affiliates to, (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, lend or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any common units of Shoals Parent LLC (“Parent”), or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of Common Stock of the Company or common units of Parent, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or
that represent the right to receive shares of Common Stock of the Company or any common units of Parent (such options, warrants or other securities, collectively, “Derivative Instruments”), including without limitation any such shares, units or Derivative Instruments now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned (collectively, the “Securities”), (ii) engage in any hedging or other transaction or arrangement (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale, loan, pledge or other disposition (whether by the undersigned or someone other than the undersigned), or transfer of any of the economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of the Securities, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise (any such sale, loan, pledge or other disposition, or transfer of economic consequences, a “Transfer”) or (iii) otherwise publicly announce any intention to engage in or cause any action or activity described in clause (i) above or transaction or arrangement described in clause (ii) above. The undersigned represents and warrants that the undersigned is not, and has not caused or directed any of its affiliates to be or become, currently a party to any agreement or arrangement that provides for, is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in any Transfer during the Lock-Up Period. For the avoidance of doubt, the undersigned agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed or other Shares the undersigned may purchase in the offering.
If the undersigned is not a natural person, the undersigned represents and warrants that no single natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), other than a natural person, entity or “group” (as described above) that has executed a Lock-Up Agreement in substantially the same form as this Lock-Up Agreement, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the common equity interests, or 50% or more of the voting power, in the undersigned.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may Transfer the Securities during the Lock-Up Period:
| (i) | the Shares to be sold by the undersigned pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement and any reclassification, conversion or exchange in connection with such sale of Shares; |
| (ii) | as a bona fide gift or gifts, or as charitable contributions, provided that the donee or donees thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (iii) | to any trust, partnership, limited liability company or any other entity for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, provided that the trustee of the trust agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
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| (iv) | to any beneficiary of or estate of a beneficiary of the undersigned pursuant to a trust, will, other testamentary document or intestate succession or applicable laws of descent, provided that the beneficiary or the estate of a beneficiary thereof agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that any such transaction shall not involve a disposition for value and that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (v) | to a partnership, limited liability company or other entity of which the undersigned and the immediate family of the undersigned are the legal and beneficial owner of all the outstanding equity securities or similar interests, provided that such partnership, limited liability company or other entity agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (vi) | by operation of law, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order of a court (including a divorce settlement, divorce decree or separation agreement) or regulatory agency, provided that the transferee or transferees thereof agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (vii) | in transactions relating to shares of Common Stock acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the public offering, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of such shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (viii) | by (A) the exercise of stock options solely with cash granted pursuant to equity incentive plans described in the Registration Statement, and the receipt by the undersigned from the Company of shares of Common Stock upon such exercise; (B) transfers of shares of Common Stock to the Company upon the “net” or “cashless” exercise of stock options or other equity awards granted pursuant to equity incentive plans described in the Registration Statement; (C) transfers of shares of Common Stock of the Company for the primary purpose of satisfying any tax or governmental withholding obligation with respect to [(i)] any award of equity-based compensation granted pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans[, or (ii) any conversion, exchange or redemption of Class B Common Stock and/or units of Parent or Shoals Management Holdings, LLC (“Management Holdings”) into/for shares of Class A Common Stock]1; or (D) forfeitures of shares of Common Stock to the Company to satisfy tax withholding requirements of the undersigned or the Company upon the vesting, during the Lock-Up Period, of equity based awards granted under equity incentive plans or pursuant to other stock purchase arrangements, in each case described in the Registration Statement; provided that, in each case, the underlying shares of Common Stock shall continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Lock Up Agreement, and provided further that, if required, any public report or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature of the transaction; |
| (ix) | pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of the Company’s capital stock after the consummation of the public offering, involving a change of control of the Company, or group of persons, shall become, after the closing of the transaction, the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 |
| 1 | NTD: bracketed text applicable only to CEO. |
3
| and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of total voting power of the voting securities of the Company), provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock shall remain subject to the provisions of this Lock-Up Agreement; |
| (x) | to the Company in connection with the repurchase by the Company from the undersigned of shares of Common Stock of the Company or Derivative Instruments pursuant to a repurchase right arising upon the termination of the undersigned’s employment with the Company; provided that such repurchase right is pursuant to contractual agreements with the Company; and provided further that, if required, any public report or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature of the transaction; |
| (xi) | the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock; provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Lock-Up Period and (ii) no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act shall be made by or on behalf of the undersigned or the Company regarding the establishment of such plan during the Lock-Up Period; |
| (xii) | if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, by (A) distributions of shares of Common Stock or any Derivative Instrument to limited partners, general partners, members, stockholders holders of similar interests of the undersigned (or in each case its nominee or custodian) or to any investment holding company controlled or managed by the undersigned or (B) transfers of shares of Common Stock or any Derivative Instrument to affiliates (as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) or other entities controlled or managed by the undersigned or any of its affiliates (other than the Company and its subsidiaries); provided that each distributee and transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, and provided further that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Lock-Up Period; [or] |
| (xiii) | [in an amount that does not exceed an aggregate of 20,000 shares of Common Stock; or]2 |
| (xiv) | [to the Company, Parent and/or Management Holdings pursuant to any conversion, exchange and/or redemption of Class B Common Stock and/or units of Parent or Management Holdings into/for shares of Class A Common Stock; provided that any shares of Class A Common Stock received by the undersigned pursuant to such conversion, exchange and/or redemption shall continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Lock-Up Agreement, and provided further that, if required, any public report or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature of the transaction]3 |
| (xv) | with the prior written consent of the Underwriters. |
For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin, and “change of control” shall mean any bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction approved
| 2 | NTD: bracketed text applicable only to CEO, CFO and GC lock up. |
| 3 | NTD: bracketed text applicable only to CEO lock up. |
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by the board of directors of the Company the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company, shall become, after the closing of the transaction, the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of total voting power of the voting stock of the Company. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, if the undersigned is a corporation, the corporation may transfer the capital stock of the Company to any wholly-owned subsidiary of such corporation; provided, however, that in any such case, it shall be a condition to the transfer that the transferee execute an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding such capital stock subject to the provisions of this Agreement and there shall be no further transfer of such capital stock except in accordance with this Agreement, and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value.
The undersigned agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s Securities except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.
This Lock-Up Agreement will automatically terminate upon the earliest to occur, if any, of (a) the date that the Company and the Selling Stockholders advise the Underwriters, in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that they have determined not to proceed with the public offering, (b) the date that the Underwriters advise the Company and the Selling Stockholders, in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that the Underwriters have determined not to proceed with the public offering (c) the date of termination of the Underwriting Agreement if prior to the closing of the public offering, or (d) March 31, 2023 if the public offering of the Shares has not been completed by such date.
| Very truly yours, |
| Exact Name of Shareholder |
| Authorized Signature |
| Title |
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