Document:

Exhibit 10.1

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

 

 

 

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

BETWEEN

 

DONALD D. STELLY

 

AND

LHC GROUP, INC.

 

 

_________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

     

    

 

Table Of Contents

 

Page

 

	1.   Employment	1
	2.   Term	1
	3.   Extent of Service	2
	4.   Compensation and Benefits	2
	(a)   Base Salary	2
	(b)   Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans	2
	(c)   Welfare Benefit Plans	2
	(d)   Expenses	3
	(e)   Fringe Benefits	3
	(f)   Vacation	3
	(g)   Office and Support Staff	3
	(h)   Annual Compensation Review	3
	(i)   One-Time Equity Grant	3
	5.   Change of Control	3
	6.   Termination of Employment	5
	(a)   Death or Retirement	5
	(b)   Disability	5
	(c)   Termination by the Company	5
	(d)   Termination by Executive	6
	(e)   Notice of Termination	6
	(f)   Date of Termination	7
	

     

     

    

	7.   Obligations of the Company upon Termination	7
	(a)   Termination by Executive for Good Reason; Termination by the Company Other Than for Cause or Disability	7
	(b)   Death or Disability	9
	(c)   Cause, Voluntary Termination without Good Reason or Retirement	10
	(d)   Expiration of Term Following Notice	10
	(e)   Resignations	10
	8.   Non-exclusivity of Rights	10
	9.   Full Settlement; No Obligation to Mitigate	10
	10.   Certain Additional Payments by the Company	11
	11.   Costs of Enforcement	12
	12.   Restrictions on Conduct of Executive.	12
	(a)   General	12
	(b)   Definitions	13
	(c)   Restrictive Covenants	15
	(d)   Enforcement of Restrictive Covenants.	17
	13.   Consent to Jurisdiction	18
	14.   Assignment and Successors	18
	15.   Miscellaneous	18
	(a)   Waiver	18
	(b)   Severability	18
	(c)   Other Agents	19
	(d)   Entire Agreement	19
	(e)   Governing Law	19
	(f)   Notices	19
	(g)   Amendments and Modifications	19
	

     

     

    

	(h)   Construction	19
	(i)   Code Section 409A	20
	(j)   Withholding	20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

     

    

AMENDED AND RESTATED

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
(this “Agreement”) by and between LHC Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Donald D.
Stelly (“Executive”), is dated as of June 1, 2016 (the “Agreement Date”).

 

BACKGROUND

 

WHEREAS, the Company and Executive are parties
to that certain Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated as of August 19, 2013 (the “Original Agreement”), pursuant
to which Executive currently serves as an executive officer of the Company;

 

WHEREAS, the Original Agreement will expire
by its terms on August 18, 2016, and the Company desires to retain the services of Executive and engage Executive as President
and Chief Operating Officer from and after the Agreement Date, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and Executive is
willing to serve as such in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and

 

WHEREAS, the Original Agreement, and any other
prior employment agreements between Executive and the Company, shall be terminated upon the Agreement Date and neither party shall
have any further obligations under any such terminated employment agreements.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing
and of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency
of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.                 
Employment. Executive is hereby employed as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. In his capacity
as President and Chief Operating Officer, Executive shall have the duties, responsibilities and authority commensurate with such
position as shall be assigned to him by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. In his capacity as President and Chief Operating
Officer of the Company, Executive will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

 

2.                 
Term. Executive’s employment shall be governed by the terms and conditions of this Agreement for a period beginning
on the Agreement Date and ending on May 31, 2019 (the “Term”). Beginning on June 1, 2019, and on each subsequent June
1 thereafter, the Term shall, without further action by Executive or the Company, be extended by an additional one (1)-year period;
provided, however, that either the Company or Executive may, by notice to the other given at least six (6) months prior to
the scheduled expiration of the Term or any then current renewal term, cause the Term or such then current renewal period to cease
to extend automatically. Upon such notice, the Term shall terminate upon the expiration of the then-current term, including any
prior extensions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, following the occurrence of a Change of Control, the Company may not cause the
Term to expire earlier than the second (2nd) anniversary of the Change of Control.

 

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3.                 
Extent of Service. During the Term, and excluding any periods of vacation, holiday, sick leave and Company-approved
leave of absence to which Executive is entitled in accordance with Company policies, Executive agrees to devote substantially all
of his business time, attention, skill and efforts exclusively to the faithful performance of his duties hereunder. It shall not
be a violation of this Agreement for Executive to (i) devote reasonable time to charitable or community activities, (ii) serve
on corporate, civic, educational or charitable boards or committees, subject to the Company’s standards of business conduct
or other code of ethics, (iii) deliver lectures or fulfill speaking engagements from time to time on an infrequent basis, and/or
(iv) manage personal business interests and investments, subject to the Company’s standards of business conduct or other
code of ethics, and so long as such activities do not interfere in a material manner or on a routine basis with the performance
of Executive’s responsibilities under this Agreement.

 

4.                 
Compensation and Benefits.

 

(a)               
Base Salary. During the Term, the Company will pay to Executive base salary at the rate of Five Hundred Fifty Thousand
Dollars ($550,000) per year (“Base Salary”), less normal withholdings, payable in approximately equal bi-weekly or
other installments as are or become customary under the Company’s payroll practices for its employees from time to time.
The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (or the full Board, if there is no Compensation Committee)
shall review Executive’s Base Salary annually and may increase (but not decrease) Executive’s Base Salary from year
to year. Such adjusted salary then shall become Executive’s Base Salary for purposes of this Agreement. The annual review
of Executive’s salary by the Board will consider, among other things, Executive’s own performance, and the Company’s
performance.

 

(b)              
Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans During the Term, Executive shall be entitled to participate in all incentive,
savings and retirement plans, practices, policies and programs available to senior executive officers of the Company (“Peer
Executives”). Without limiting the foregoing, the following shall apply:

 

(i)                
during the Term, Executive will be entitled to participate in the Company’s executive bonus plan, pursuant to which
he will have an opportunity to receive an annual cash bonus (paid in quarterly installments) based upon the achievement of performance
goals established from year to year by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (such bonus earned at
the stated “goal” level of achievement being referred to herein as the “Target Bonus”); and

 

(ii)              
during the Term, Executive will be eligible for grants, under the Company’s long-term incentive plan or plans, of
stock options and/or restricted stock awards (or such other stock-based awards as the Company makes to Peer Executives). Nothing
herein requires the Board of Directors to make grants of options or other awards in any year.

 

(c)               
Welfare Benefit Plans. During the Term, Executive and Executive’s eligible dependents shall be eligible for
participation in, and shall receive all benefits under, the welfare benefit plans, practices, policies and programs provided by
the Company (including, without limitation, medical, prescription drug, dental, disability, employee life, dependent life, accidental
death and travel accident insurance plans and programs) (“Welfare Plans”) to the extent available to other Peer Executives.

 

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(d)              
Expenses. During the Term, Executive shall be entitled to receive prompt reimbursement for all reasonable expenses
incurred by Executive in the course of performing his duties and responsibilities under this Agreement, in accordance with the
policies, practices and procedures of the Company to the extent available to other Peer Executives with respect to travel, entertainment
and other business expenses.

 

(e)               
Fringe Benefits. During the Term, Executive shall be entitled to fringe benefits in accordance with the plans, practices,
programs and policies of the Company available to other Peer Executives.

 

(f)               
Vacation. During the Term, Executive will be entitled to such paid vacation time as may be provided from time to
time under any plans, practices, programs and policies of the Company available to other Peer Executives.

 

(g)              
Office and Support Staff. During the Term, Executive will be entitled to office, furnishings and equipment of similar
type and quality made available to other Peer Executives. During the Term, Executive will be entitled to secretarial and other
assistance reasonably necessary for the performance of his duties and responsibilities.

 

(h)              
Annual Compensation Review. As set forth in Section 4(a) herein, on an annual basis the Compensation Committee of
the Board of Directors of the Company shall conduct an overall review of Executive’s compensation package including base
salary, short term incentives and long-term incentives. This review shall be based on input from the Chief Executive Officer of
the Company and a review of Executive’s performance and the Company’s performance. In addition, on an annual basis,
the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Chair of the Compensation Committee shall review with Executive his compensation
package, including any compensation surveys and other comparable data used by the Compensation Committee to establish Executive’s
compensation package. As set forth above, this review will not result in a decrease in Executive’s Base Salary from the previous
year.

 

(i)                
One-Time Equity Grant and Cash Bonus. Solely in consideration of Executive’s execution of this Agreement, the
Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has authorized (i) a one-time equity grant in the amount of Thirty Thousand (30,000)
shares of restricted stock to be issued to Executive to be granted June 1, 2016 (the “Grant Date”) and (ii) a one-time
cash bonus in the amount of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00). The Thirty Thousand (30,000) shares of restricted
stock will vest as to twenty percent (20%) of the shares on each of the first five (5) anniversaries of the Grant Date and will
be subject to the terms set forth in this Agreement and in the Company’s standard restricted stock agreement.

 

5.                 
Change of Control. For the purposes of this Agreement, a “Change of Control” shall mean the occurrence
of any of the following events:

 

(a)               
individuals who, on the Agreement Date, constitute the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Incumbent Directors”)
cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of such Board, provided that any person becoming a director after the Agreement
Date and whose election or nomination for election was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the Incumbent Directors then
on the Board shall be an Incumbent Director; provided, however, that no individual initially elected or nominated as a director
of the Company as a result of an actual or threatened election contest with respect to the election or removal of directors (“Election
Contest”) or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of any “person” (such
term for purposes of this Section 5 being as defined in Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange
Act”) and as used in Section 13(d)(3) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) other than the Board (“Proxy Contest”),
including by reason of any agreement intended to avoid or settle any Election Contest or Proxy Contest, shall be deemed an Incumbent
Director; or

 

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(b)              
any person is or becomes a “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or
indirectly, of either (i) thirty-five percent (35%) or more of the then-outstanding shares of common stock of the Company (“Company
Common Stock”) or (ii) securities of the Company representing thirty-five percent (35%) or more of the combined voting power
of the Company’s then outstanding securities eligible to vote for the election of directors (the “Company Voting Securities”);
provided, however, that for purposes of this paragraph (b), the following acquisitions of Company Common Stock or Company
Voting Securities shall not constitute a Change of Control: (A) an acquisition directly from the Company, (B) an acquisition by
the Company or a subsidiary of the Company, (C) an acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained
by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or (D) an acquisition pursuant to a Non-Qualifying Transaction (as defined in
paragraph (c) below); or

 

(c)               
the consummation of a recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, statutory share exchange or similar form
of transaction involving the Company or a subsidiary of the Company (a “Reorganization”), or the sale or other disposition
of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets (a “Sale”) or the acquisition of assets or stock of another
entity (an “Acquisition”), unless immediately following such Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition: (A) all or substantially
all of the individuals and entities who were the beneficial owners, respectively, of the outstanding Company Common Stock and outstanding
Company Voting Securities immediately prior to such Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition beneficially own, directly or indirectly,
more than fifty percent (50%) of, respectively, the then outstanding shares of common stock and the combined voting power of the
then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the entity resulting
from or surviving such Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition (including, without limitation, an entity which as a result of such
transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or stock either directly or through one
or more subsidiary entities, the “Surviving Entity”) in substantially the same proportions as their ownership, immediately
prior to such Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition, of the outstanding Company Common Stock and the outstanding Company Voting Securities,
as the case may be, and (B) no person (other than (x) the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, (y) the Surviving Entity or
its ultimate parent entity, or (z) any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by any of the foregoing)
is the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of thirty-five percent (35%) or more of the total common stock or thirty-five
percent (35%) or more of the total voting power of the outstanding voting securities eligible to elect directors of the Surviving
Entity, and (C) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the Surviving Entity were Incumbent Directors at
the time of the Board’s approval of the execution of the initial agreement providing for such Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition
(any Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition which satisfies all of the criteria specified in (A), (B) and (C) above shall be deemed
to be a “Non-Qualifying Transaction”); or

 

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(d)              
approval by the members or stockholders of the Company, as the case may be, of a complete liquidation or dissolution of
the Company.

 

6.                 
Termination of Employment.

 

(a)               
Death or Retirement. Executive’s employment shall terminate automatically upon Executive’s death or Retirement
during the Term. For purposes of this Agreement, “Retirement” shall mean normal retirement as defined in the Company’s
then-current retirement plan, or if there is no such retirement plan, “Retirement” shall mean voluntary termination
after age sixty-five (65) with at least ten (10) years of service.

 

(b)              
Disability. If the Company determines in good faith that the Disability (as defined below) of Executive has occurred
during the Term, it may give to Executive written notice of its intention to terminate Executive’s employment. In such event,
Executive’s employment with the Company shall terminate effective on the thirtieth (30th) day after receipt of such written
notice by Executive (the “Disability Effective Date”), provided that, within the thirty (30) days after such receipt,
Executive shall not have returned to full-time performance of Executive’s duties. For purposes of this Agreement, “Disability”
shall have the same meaning as provided in the long-term disability plan or policy maintained by the Company and covering Executive.
If no such long-term disability plan or policy is maintained, “Disability” shall mean the inability of Executive, as
determined by the Board of Directors, to perform the essential functions of his regular duties and responsibilities, with or without
reasonable accommodation, due to a medically determinable physical or mental illness which has lasted (or can reasonably be expected
to last) for a period of six (6) consecutive months.

 

(c)               
Termination by the Company. The Company may terminate Executive’s employment during the Term with or without
Cause. For purposes of this Agreement, “Cause” shall mean:

 

(i)                
any conduct by Executive involving moral turpitude that has a material adverse impact on the Company or on Executive’s
ability to perform his duties hereunder;

 

(ii)              
Executive’s commission or conviction of, or pleading guilty or nolo contendere (or any similar plea
or admission) to, a felony or a criminal act involving dishonesty or other moral turpitude;

 

(iii)            
any failure to abide by any material laws applicable to him in his capacity as an employee or executive of the Company or
applicable to the Company or any of its parents or subsidiaries;

 

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(iv)            
any failure or refusal on the part of Executive to perform his duties under this Agreement or to obey lawful directives
from the Board of Directors or Chief Executive Officer of the Company, or either of their designees, if not remedied within ten
(10) business days after Company’s providing notice thereof;

 

(v)              
any violation of any policy of Company relating to equal employment opportunity, harassment, business conduct or conflict
of interest;

 

(vi)            
use of illegal drugs, abuse of other controlled substances or working under the influence of alcohol or other controlled
substances; and

 

(vii)          
any breach by Executive of any obligation under this Agreement if not remedied within ten (10) business days after Company’s
providing notice thereof.

 

(d)              
Termination by Executive. Executive’s employment may be terminated by Executive during the Term for Good Reason
or no reason. For purposes of this Agreement, unless written consent of Executive is obtained, “Good Reason” shall
mean:

 

(i)                
a material reduction by the Company in Executive’s Base Salary as in effect on the Agreement Date (which reduction
in Base Salary is not permitted by Section 4(a) hereof) or as the same may be increased from time to time;

 

(ii)              
any failure by the Company to comply with and satisfy 16(c) of this Agreement;

 

(iii)            
the material breach by the Company of any of the financial obligations of Company set forth in this Agreement;

 

(iv)            
after the occurrence of a Change of Control, a material diminution in Executive’s position, authority, duties or responsibilities;
or

 

(v)              
after the occurrence of a Change of Control, a change in the geographic location greater than a seventy-five (75)-mile radius
from Lafayette, LA at which Executive must perform services or be required to maintain an office.

 

Any claim of “Good Reason” under
this Agreement shall be communicated by Executive to the Company in writing, which writing shall specifically identify the factual
details concerning the event(s) giving rise to Executive’s claim of Good Reason under this Section 6(d). The Company shall
have an opportunity to cure any claimed event of Good Reason within thirty (30) days of such notice from Executive. Good Reason
shall cease to exist for an event or condition described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above on the ninetieth (90th)
day following its occurrence, unless Executive has given the Company written notice thereof prior to such date.

 

(e)               
Notice of Termination. Any termination by the Company for Cause, or by Executive for Good Reason, shall be communicated
by Notice of Termination to the other party hereto given in accordance with Section 15(f) of this Agreement. For purposes of this
Agreement, a “Notice of Termination” means a written notice which (i) indicates the specific termination provision
in this Agreement relied upon, (ii) to the extent applicable, sets forth in reasonable detail the facts and circumstances claimed
to provide a basis for termination of Executive’s employment under the provision so indicated, and (iii) specifies the termination
date. The failure by Executive or the Company to set forth in the Notice of Termination any fact or circumstance which contributes
to a showing of Good Reason or Cause shall not waive any right of Executive or the Company, respectively, hereunder or preclude
Executive or the Company, respectively, from asserting such fact or circumstance in enforcing Executive’s or the Company’s
rights hereunder.

 

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(f)               
Date of Termination. “Date of Termination” means (i) if Executive’s employment is terminated by
the Company for Cause, or by Executive for Good Reason, the date of receipt of the Notice of Termination or a date within thirty
(30) days after receipt of the Notice of Termination, as specified in such notice, (ii) if Executive’s employment is terminated
by the Company other than for Cause or Disability, the Date of Termination shall be the date of receipt of the Notice of Termination
or a date within ninety (90) days after receipt of the Notice of Termination, as specified in such notice, (iii) if Executive’s
employment is terminated by reason of death or Disability, the Date of Termination shall be the date of death of Executive or the
Disability Effective Date, as the case may be, and (iv) if Executive’s employment is terminated by Executive without Good
Reason, the Date of Termination shall be sixty (60) days following the Company’s receipt of the Notice of Termination, unless
the Company specifies an earlier Date of Termination.

 

7.                 
Obligations of the Company upon Termination.

 

(a)               
Termination by Executive for Good Reason; Termination by the Company Other Than for Cause or Disability. If, during
the Term, the Company shall terminate Executive’s employment other than for Cause or Disability, or Executive shall terminate
employment for Good Reason within a period of one-hundred and eighty (180) days after the occurrence of the event giving rise to
Good Reason, then and, with respect to the payments and benefits described below, only if Executive executes a Release in substantially
the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Release”):

 

(i)                
the Company shall provide to Executive in a single lump sum cash payment within thirty (30) days after the Date of Termination,
or if later, within five (5) days after the Release becomes effective and nonrevocable (but in no event shall such amount be payable
later than March 15 of the year following the year in with Executive’s employment was terminated), the aggregate of the following
amounts:

 

A.               
the sum of the following amounts, to the extent not previously paid to Executive (the “Accrued Obligations”):
(1) Executive’s Base Salary through the Date of Termination, and (2) any accrued pay in lieu of unused vacation (in accordance
with the Company’s vacation policy; and

 

B.                
a severance payment as determined pursuant to clause (x) or (y) below, as applicable:

 

(x)if the Date of Termination occurs
before, or more than two (2) years after, the occurrence of a Change of Control, the severance payment shall be the product of
one-and-a-half (1.5) times the sum of (1) Executive’s Base Salary in effect as of the Date of Termination (ignoring any decrease
in Executive’s Base Salary unless consented to by Executive), and (2) the greater of the average of the annual cash bonuses
earned by Executive for the two (2) fiscal years in which annual bonuses were paid immediately preceding the year in which the
Date of Termination occurs, or Executive’s Target Bonus for the year in which the Date of Termination occurs; or

 

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(y)if the Date of Termination occurs
within two (2) years after the occurrence of a Change of Control, the severance payment shall be the product of two-and-a-half
(2.5) times the sum of (1) Executive’s Base Salary in effect as of the Date of Termination, and (2) the greater of the average
of the annual bonuses earned by Executive for the two fiscal years in which annual bonuses were paid immediately preceding the
year in which the Date of Termination occurs, or Executive’s Target Bonus for the year in which the Date of Termination occurs;
and

 

(ii)              
the Company shall pay to Executive, in a single lump sum cash payment at the time that annual bonuses are paid to Peer Executives,
or such later date as may be required pursuant to Section 15(i), an annual bonus for the year in which the Date of Termination
occurs, equal to (i) the bonus, if any, that would have been earned by Executive under the annual incentive bonus plan for such
year if he had remained employed on such payment date, based on actual performance under applicable financial metrics, multiplied
by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days worked by Executive during such final year and the denominator
of which is three-hundred and sixty-five (365) (the “Prorated Final Year Bonus”); and

 

(iii)            
to the extent not theretofore paid or provided, the Company shall timely pay or deliver, as appropriate, all other benefits
due to Executive pursuant to any employee benefit plans or incentive plans maintained by the Company with respect to services rendered
by Executive prior to the Date of Termination (such other amounts and benefits shall be hereinafter referred to as the “Other
Benefits”).

 

(iv)            
In addition to the payments and benefits described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above, Executive shall be entitled to
the following additional benefits:

 

A.               
If the Date of Termination occurs within two (2) years after the occurrence of a Change of Control, all grants of stock
options and other equity awards granted by the Company and held by Executive as of the Date of Termination will become immediately
vested and exercisable as of the Date of Termination and, to the extent necessary, this Agreement is hereby deemed an amendment
of any such outstanding stock option or other equity award;

 

B.                
If the Date of Termination occurs before a Change of Control or two (2) years following the occurrence of a Change of Control,
then, except as provided below, all grants of stock options and other equity awards granted by the Company and held by Executive
as of the Date of Termination will remain outstanding and will (i) continue to vest and become exercisable in accordance with their
current vesting schedule provided that Executive continues to comply with the provisions of Section 12 hereof following the Date
of Termination and during the Restricted Period (and any unvested award shall be forfeited in the event Executive breaches any
of the provisions of Section 12 during such period), and (ii) continue to vest and become exercisable in accordance with their
current vesting schedule without condition following the end of the Restricted Period provided that Executive complied with the
provisions of Section 12 hereof during the Restricted Period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Executive incurs a tax liability
with respect to an award of restricted stock prior to the time the restrictions on such restricted stock would lapse in accordance
with this Section 7(a)(iv)(B), the restrictions shall lapse on the date such tax liability arises with respect to the number of
whole shares of the Company’s common stock having a fair market value at such time no greater than the amount required to
satisfy all tax withholding requirements applicable thereto. The Company shall withhold such released shares to satisfy such withholding
obligations, and any unvested shares of restricted stock will be subject to the remaining vesting schedule. To the extent necessary,
this Agreement is hereby deemed an amendment of any such outstanding stock option or other equity award; and

 

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C.                
If Executive elects to continue participation in any group medical, dental, vision and/or prescription drug plan benefits
to which Executive and/or Executive’s eligible dependents would be entitled under Section 4980B of the Code (COBRA), then
during the period that Executive is entitled to such coverage under COBRA (the “Coverage Period”), the Company shall
pay the excess of (i) the COBRA cost of such coverage, over (ii) the amount that Executive would have had to pay for such coverage
if he had remained employed during the Coverage Period and paid the active employee rate for such coverage, provided, however,
that the cost so paid on behalf of Executive by the Company will be deemed taxable income to Executive to the extent required by
law, and provided, further, that if Executive becomes eligible to receive group health benefits under a program of a subsequent
employer or otherwise (including coverage available to Executive’s spouse), the Company’s obligation to pay the cost
of health coverage as described herein shall cease, except as otherwise provided by law.

 

If Executive’s employment is terminated
by the Company without Cause prior to the occurrence of a Change of Control and if it can reasonably be shown that Executive’s
termination (i) was at the direction or request of a third party that had taken steps reasonably calculated to effect a Change
of Control after such termination, or (ii) otherwise occurred in anticipation of a Change of Control, and in either case a Change
of Control as defined hereunder does, in fact, occur, then Executive shall have the rights described in this Section 7(a) as if
the Change of Control had occurred on the date immediately preceding the Date of Termination.

 

Executive acknowledges and agrees that the receipt
of severance benefits provided in this Section 7(a) constitutes consideration for the restrictions on the conduct of Executive
contained in Section 12 of this Agreement.

 

(b)              
Death or Disability. If Executive’s employment is terminated by reason of his death or Disability during the
Term, all grants of stock options and other equity awards granted by the Company and held by Executive will become immediately
vested and exercisable as of the Date of Termination (and this Agreement is hereby deemed an amendment of any such outstanding
stock option or other equity award to the extent necessary), and this Agreement shall terminate without further obligations to
Executive or his estate, beneficiaries or legal representatives, other than for payment of Accrued Obligations and the timely payment
or provision of Other Benefits. Accrued Obligations shall be paid to Executive or his estate, beneficiary or legal representative,
as applicable, in a lump sum in cash within thirty (30) days of the Date of Termination. With respect to the provision of Other
Benefits, the term Other Benefits as used in this Section 7(b) shall include, without limitation, and Executive or his estate,
beneficiaries or legal representatives, as applicable, shall be entitled to receive, benefits under such plans, programs, practices
and policies relating to death, disability or retirement benefits, if any, as are applicable to Executive or his family on the
Date of Termination.

 

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(c)               
Cause, Voluntary Termination without Good Reason or Retirement. If Executive’s employment shall be terminated
for Cause during the Term, or if Executive voluntarily terminates employment during the Term without Good Reason or by reason of
his Retirement, this Agreement shall terminate without further obligations to Executive, other than for payment of Accrued Obligations
and the timely payment or provision of Other Benefits.

 

(d)              
Expiration of Term Following Notice. If either party gives notice under Section 2 to cause the Term to cease to extend
automatically, this Agreement shall terminate without further obligations to Executive upon the expiration of the then-current
term, provided, however, that if it is the Company who gives notice to Executive under Section 2 to cause the Term to cease
to extend automatically, then upon Executive’s termination of employment following such notice, all grants of stock options
and other equity awards granted by the Company and held by Executive as of the Date of Termination will remain outstanding and
will continue to vest and become exercisable in accordance with their current vesting schedule for so long as Executive voluntarily
complies with the restrictions of Section 13 hereof following the Date of Termination as if such restrictions applied to Executive.
Any unvested award shall be forfeited upon Executive’s failure to comply with any of the restrictions of Section 13 as if
such restrictions applied to Executive. To the extent necessary, this Agreement is hereby deemed an amendment of any such outstanding
stock option or other equity award.

 

(e)               
Resignations. Termination of Executive’s employment for any reason whatsoever shall constitute Executive’s
resignation as an officer of the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates.

 

8.                 
Non-exclusivity of Rights. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent or limit Executive’s continuing or future
participation in any employee benefit plan, program, policy or practice provided by the Company and for which Executive may qualify,
except as specifically provided herein. Amounts which are vested benefits or which Executive is otherwise entitled to receive under
any employee benefit plan, policy, practice or program of the Company, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies at or
subsequent to the Date of Termination shall be payable in accordance with such plan, policy, practice or program except as explicitly
modified by this Agreement.

 

9.                 
Full Settlement; No Obligation to Mitigate. The Company’s obligation to make the payments provided for in this
Agreement and otherwise to perform its obligations hereunder shall not be affected by any set-off, counterclaim, recoupment, defense
or other claim, right or action which the Company may have against Executive or others. In no event shall Executive be obligated
to seek other employment or take any other action by way of mitigation of the amounts payable to Executive under any of the provisions
of this Agreement and, except as explicitly provided herein, such amounts shall not be reduced whether or not Executive obtains
other employment.

 

    	10

     

    

 

10.             
Certain Additional Payments by the Company.

 

(a)               
Notwithstanding any other contrary provisions in any plan, program or policy of the Company, if all or any portion of the
benefits payable under this Agreement, either alone or together with other payments and benefits which Executive receives or is
entitled to receive from the Company, would constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Company shall reduce Executive’s payments and
benefits payable under this Agreement to the extent necessary so that no portion thereof shall be subject to the excise tax imposed
by Section 4999 of the Code, but only if, by reason of such reduction, the net after-tax benefit shall exceed the net after-tax
benefit if such reduction were not made. “Net after-tax benefit” for these purposes shall mean the sum of (i) the total
amount payable to Executive under the Agreement, plus (ii) all other payments and benefits which Executive receives or is then
entitled to receive from the Company that, alone or in combination with the payments and benefits payable under the Agreement,
would constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code (each such benefit hereinafter
referred to as an “Additional Parachute Payment”), less (iii) the amount of federal income taxes payable with respect
to the foregoing calculated at the maximum marginal income tax rate for each year in which the foregoing shall be paid to Executive
(based upon the rate in effect for such year as set forth in the Code at the time of the payment under the Agreement), less (iv)
the amount of excise taxes imposed with respect to the payments and benefits described in (i) and (ii) above by Section 4999 of
the Code. The parachute payments reduced shall be those that provide Executive the best economic benefit and to the extent any
parachute payments are economically equivalent with each other, each shall be reduced pro rata; provided, however, that
Executive may elect to have the non-cash payments and benefits due Executive reduced (or eliminated) prior to any reduction of
the cash payments due under this Agreement.

 

(b)              
All determinations required to be made under this Section 10 shall be made by the accounting firm that was the Company’s
independent auditor prior to the Change of Control or any other third party acceptable to Executive and the Company (the “Accounting
Firm”). The Accounting Firm shall provide detailed supporting calculations both to the Company and Executive. All fees and
expenses of the Accounting Firm shall be borne solely by the Company as set forth in Section 11(b) hereof. Absent manifest error,
any determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding upon the Company and Executive.

 

(c)               
For purposes of determining whether and the extent to which any payments would constitute a “parachute payment”
(i) no portion of any payments or benefits that Executive shall have waived at such time and in such manner as not to constitute
a “payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b) of the Code shall be taken into account, (ii) no portion of the payments
shall be taken into account which, in the opinion of tax counsel (“Tax Counsel”) reasonably acceptable to Executive
and selected by the Accounting Firm, does not constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2)
of the Code (including by reason of Section 280G(b)(4)(A) of the Code) and, in calculating the excise tax, no portion of such payments
shall be taken into account which, in the opinion of Tax Counsel, constitutes reasonable compensation for services actually rendered,
within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(4)(B) of the Code, in excess of the “base amount” (within the meaning set forth
in Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code) allocable to such reasonable compensation, and (iii) the value of any non-cash benefit or any
deferred payment or benefit included in the payments shall be determined by the Accounting Firm in accordance with the principles
of Sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the Code.

 

    	11

     

    

 

11.             
Costs of Enforcement.

 

(a)               
In any action taken in good faith relating to the enforcement of this Agreement or any provision herein, Executive shall
be entitled to reimbursement for any and all costs and expenses incurred by him in enforcing or establishing his rights thereunder,
including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, whether suit be brought or not, and whether or not incurred in arbitration,
trial, bankruptcy or appellate proceedings, but only if and to the extent Executive is successful in asserting such rights. If
Executive becomes entitled to recover fees and expenses under this Section 11(a), the reimbursement of an eligible expense shall
be made within ten (10) business days after delivery of Executive’s respective written requests for payment accompanied with
such evidence of fees and expenses incurred as the Company reasonably may require, but in no event later than March 15 of the year
after the year in which such rights are established.

 

(b)              
Executive shall also be entitled to be paid all reasonable legal fees and expenses, if any, incurred in connection with
any tax audit or proceeding to the extent attributable to the application of Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code to any payment
or benefit hereunder. Such reimbursement of expenses shall be made on a current basis, as incurred, and in no event later than
December 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the taxes that are the subject of the audit or proceeding are remitted
to the taxing authority, or where as a result of such audit or proceeding no taxes are remitted, December 31 of the year following
the calendar year in which the audit is completed or there is a final and nonappealable settlement or other resolution of the proceeding.

 

12.             
Restrictions on Conduct of Executive.

 

(a)               
General. Executive and the Company understand and agree that the purpose of the provisions of this Section 12 is
to protect legitimate business interests of the Company, as more fully described below, and is not intended to impair or infringe
upon Executive’s right to work, earn a living, or acquire and possess property from the fruits of his labor. Executive hereby
acknowledges that Executive has received good and valuable consideration for the post-employment restrictions set forth in this
Section 12 in the form of the compensation and benefits provided for herein. Executive hereby further acknowledges that the post-employment
restrictions set forth in this Section 12 are reasonable and that they do not, and will not, unduly impair his ability to earn
a living after the termination of this Agreement.

 

    	12

     

    

 

In addition, the parties acknowledge: (A) that
Executive’s services under this Agreement require unique expertise and talent in the provision of Competitive Services and
that Executive will have substantial contacts with customers, suppliers, advertisers and vendors of the Company; (B) that pursuant
to this Agreement, Executive will be placed in a position of trust and responsibility and he will have access to a substantial
amount of Confidential Information and Trade Secrets and that the Company is placing him in such position and giving him access
to such information in reliance upon his agreement to abide by the covenants set forth in this Section 12; (C) that due to Executive’s
unique experience and talent, the loss of Executive’s services to the Company under this Agreement cannot reasonably or adequately
be compensated solely by damages in an action at law; (D) that Executive is capable of competing with the Company; and (E) that
Executive is capable of obtaining gainful, lucrative and desirable employment that does not violate the restrictions contained
in this Agreement.

 

Therefore, Executive shall be subject to the
restrictions set forth in this Section 12.

 

(b)              
Definitions. The following capitalized terms used in this Section 12 shall have the meanings assigned to them below,
which definitions shall apply to both the singular and the plural forms of such terms:

 

“Competitive Services” means
the business of providing post-acute healthcare services to patients through home nursing agencies, hospices, community based/private
duty agencies and long-term acute care hospitals.

 

“Confidential Information”
means all information regarding the Company, its activities, business or clients that is the subject of reasonable efforts by the
Company to maintain its confidentiality and that is not generally disclosed by practice or authority to persons not employed by
the Company, but that does not rise to the level of a Trade Secret. “Confidential Information” shall include, but is
not limited to, financial plans and data concerning the Company; management planning information; business plans; operational methods;
market studies; marketing plans or strategies; product development techniques or plans; customer lists; customer files, data and
financial information, details of customer contracts; current and anticipated customer requirements; identifying and other information
pertaining to business referral sources; past, current and planned research and development; business acquisition plans; and new
personnel acquisition plans. “Confidential Information” shall not include information that has become generally available
to the public by the act of one who has the right to disclose such information without violating any right or privilege of the
Company. This definition shall not limit any definition of “confidential information” or any equivalent term under
state or federal law.

 

“Determination Date” means
the date of termination of Executive’s employment with the Company for any reason whatsoever or any earlier date (during
the Term) of an alleged breach of the Restrictive Covenants by Executive.

 

“Person” means any individual
or any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association or other entity or enterprise.

 

    	13

     

    

 

“Principal or Representative”
means a principal, owner, partner, stockholder, joint venturer, investor, member, trustee, director, officer, manager, employee,
agent, representative or consultant.

 

“Protected Customers” means
any Person to whom the Company has sold its products or services or solicited to sell its products or services, other than through
general advertising targeted at consumers, during the twelve (12) months prior to the Determination Date.

 

“Protected Employees” means
employees of the Company who were employed by the Company or its affiliates at any time within six (6) months prior to the Determination
Date, other than those who were discharged by the Company or such affiliated employer without cause.

 

“Restricted Period” means
the Term, and if Executive’s employment is terminated for any reason during the Term or if Executive has given notice to
the Company under Section 2 to cause the Term to cease to extend automatically, the Restricted Period shall mean the Term plus
twenty-four (24) months (or the Term plus six (6) months if Executive’s termination occurs within two (2) years after the
occurrence of a Change of Control); provided, however, that the Restricted Period shall end with respect to the covenants
in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) of Section 12(c) on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Date of Termination in the event
the Company breaches its obligation, if any, to make any payment required under Section 7(a)(i).

 

“Restricted Territory” means
the geographical territories described on Exhibit B hereto. The Company and Executive agree that Exhibit B shall
be periodically reviewed and updated as necessary to maintain a current and complete description of the geographic territories
in which the Company does business.

 

“Restrictive Covenants” means
the restrictive covenants contained in Section 12(c) hereof.

 

“Third Party Information”
means confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the Company’s and its affiliates’ part to maintain
the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes.

 

“Trade Secret” means all
information, without regard to form, including, but not limited to, technical or nontechnical data, a formula, a pattern, a compilation,
a program, a device, a method, a technique, a drawing, a process, financial data, financial plans, product plans, distribution
lists or a list of actual or potential customers, advertisers or suppliers which is not commonly known by or available to the public
and which information: (A) derives economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily
ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (B) is the subject
of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. Without limiting the foregoing, Trade Secret means
any item of confidential information that constitutes a “trade secret(s)” under the common law or statutory law of
the State of Louisiana.

 

    	14

     

    

 

“Work Product” means all
inventions, innovations, improvements, developments, methods, processes, programs, designs, analyses, drawings, reports, and all
similar or related information (whether or not patentable) that relate to the Company’s or its affiliates’ actual or
anticipated business, research and development, or existing or future products or services and that are conceived, developed, contributed
to, made, or reduced to practice by Executive (either solely or jointly with others) while employed by the Company or its affiliates.

 

(c)               
Restrictive Covenants.

 

(i)                
Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Confidential Information and Trade Secrets. Executive understands and agrees
that the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets constitute valuable assets of the Company and its affiliated entities, and
may not be converted to Executive’s own use. Accordingly, Executive hereby agrees that Executive shall not, directly or indirectly,
at any time during the Restricted Period reveal, divulge, or disclose to any Person not expressly authorized by the Company any
Confidential Information, and Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, at any time during the Restricted Period use or make
use of any Confidential Information in connection with any business activity other than that of the Company. Throughout the Term
and at all times after the date that this Agreement terminates for any reason, Executive shall not directly or indirectly transmit
or disclose any Trade Secret of the Company to any Person, and shall not make use of any such Trade Secret, directly or indirectly,
for himself or for others, without the prior written consent of the Company. The parties acknowledge and agree that this Agreement
is not intended to, and does not, alter either the Company’s rights or Executive’s obligations under any state or federal
statutory or common law regarding trade secrets and unfair trade practices.

 

Anything herein to the contrary
notwithstanding, Executive shall not be restricted from disclosing or using Confidential Information or any Trade Secret that is
required to be disclosed by law, court order or other legal process; provided, however, that in the event disclosure is
required by law, Executive shall provide the Company with prompt notice of such requirement so that the Company may seek an appropriate
protective order prior to any such required disclosure by Executive.

 

Executive acknowledges that any and all
Confidential Information is the exclusive property of the Company and agrees to deliver to the Company on the Date of Termination,
or at any other time the Company may request in writing, any and all Confidential Information which he may then possess or have
under his control in whatever form same may exist, including, but not by way of limitation, hard copy files, soft copy files, computer
disks, and all copies thereof.

 

(ii)              
Nonsolicitation of Protected Employees. Executive understands and agrees that the relationship between the Company
and each of its Protected Employees constitutes a valuable asset of the Company and may not be converted to Executive’s own
use. Accordingly, Executive hereby agrees that during the Restricted Period, Executive shall not directly or indirectly on Executive’s
own behalf or as a Principal or Representative of any Person or otherwise solicit or induce any Protected Employee to terminate
his employment relationship with the Company or to enter into employment with any other Person.

 

    	15

     

    

 

(iii)            
Restriction on Relationships with Protected Customers. Executive understands and agrees that the relationship between
the Company and each of its Protected Customers constitutes a valuable asset of the Company and may not be converted to Executive’s
own use. Accordingly, Executive hereby agrees that, during the Restricted Period and in the Restricted Territory, Executive shall
not, without the prior written consent of the Company, directly or indirectly, on Executive’s own behalf or as a Principal
or Representative of any Person, solicit, divert, take away or attempt to solicit, divert or take away a Protected Customer for
the purpose of providing or selling Competitive Services; provided, however, that the prohibition of this covenant shall
apply only to Protected Customers with whom Executive had Material Contact on the Company’s behalf during the twelve (12)
months immediately preceding the Date of Termination; and, provided further, that the prohibition of this covenant shall
not apply to the conduct of general advertising activities. For purposes of this Agreement, Executive had “Material Contact”
with a Protected Customer if (a) he had business dealings with the Protected Customer on the Company’s behalf; (b) he was
responsible for supervising or coordinating the dealings between the Company and the Protected Customer; or (c) he obtained Trade
Secrets or Confidential Information about the customer as a result of his association with the Company.

 

(iv)            
Noncompetition with the Company. In consideration of the compensation and benefits being paid and to be paid by the
Company to Executive hereunder, Executive understands and agrees that, during the Restricted Period and within the Restricted Territory,
he shall not, directly or indirectly, carry on or engage in Competitive Services on his own or on behalf of any Person, or any
Principal or Representative of any Person; provided, however, that the provisions of this Agreement shall not be deemed
to prohibit the ownership by Executive of any securities of the Company or its affiliated entities or not more than five percent
(5%) of any class of securities of any corporation having a class of securities registered pursuant to the Exchange Act. Executive
acknowledges that the Restricted Territory is reasonable because the Company carries on and engages in Competitive Services throughout
the Restricted Territory and that in the performance of his duties for the Company he is charged with operating on the Company’s
behalf throughout the Restricted Territory.

 

(v)              
Ownership of Work Product. Executive acknowledges that the Work Product belongs to the Company or its affiliates
and Executive hereby assigns, and agrees to assign, all of the Work Product to the Company or its affiliates. Any copyrightable
work prepared in whole or in part by Executive in the course of his work for any of the foregoing entities shall be deemed a “work
made for hire” under the copyright laws, and the Company or such affiliate shall own all rights therein. To the extent that
any such copyrightable work is not a “work made for hire,” Executive hereby assigns and agrees to assign to the Company
or such affiliate all right, title, and interest, including without limitation, copyright in and to such copyrightable work. Executive
shall promptly disclose such Work Product and copyrightable work to the Board of Directors and perform all actions reasonably requested
by the Board (whether during or after the Term) to establish and confirm the Company’s or such affiliate’s ownership
(including, without limitation, assignments, consents, powers of attorney, and other instruments).

 

    	16

     

    

 

(vi)            
Third Party Information. Executive understands that the Company and its affiliates will receive Third Party Information.
During the Term and thereafter, and without in any way limiting the provisions of Section 12(c)(i) above, Executive will hold Third
Party Information in the strictest confidence and will not disclose to anyone (other than personnel of the Company or its affiliates
who need to know such information in connection with their work for the Company or its affiliates) or use, except in connection
with his work for the Company or its affiliates, Third Party Information unless expressly authorized by a member of the Board of
Directors in writing.

 

(vii)          
Use of Information of Prior Employers. During the Term, Executive will not improperly use or disclose any confidential
information or trade secrets, if any, of any former employers or any other person to whom Executive has an obligation of confidentiality,
and will not bring onto the premises of the Company or any of its affiliates any unpublished documents or any property belonging
to any former employer or any other person to whom Executive has an obligation of confidentiality unless consented to by in writing
the former employer or person. Executive will use in the performance of his duties only information which is (i) generally known
and used by persons with training and experience comparable to Executive’s and which is (x) common knowledge in the industry
or (y) is otherwise legally in the public domain, (ii) is otherwise provided or developed by the Company or its affiliates or (iii)
in the case of materials, property or information belonging to any former employer or other person to whom Executive has an obligation
of confidentiality, approved for such use in writing by such former employer or person.

 

(d)              
Enforcement of Restrictive Covenants.

 

(i)                
Rights and Remedies Upon Breach. In the event Executive breaches, or threatens to commit a breach of, any of the
provisions of the Restrictive Covenants, the Company shall have the right and remedy to enjoin, preliminarily and permanently,
Executive from violating or threatening to violate the Restrictive Covenants and to have the Restrictive Covenants specifically
enforced by any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, it being agreed that any breach or threatened breach of the Restrictive
Covenants would cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy to the Company.
Such right and remedy shall be independent of any others and severally enforceable, and shall be in addition to, and not in lieu
of, any other rights and remedies available to the Company at law or in equity.

 

(ii)              
Severability of Covenants. Executive acknowledges and agrees that the Restrictive Covenants are reasonable and valid
in time and scope and in all other respects. The covenants set forth in this Agreement shall be considered and construed as separate
and independent covenants. Should any part or provision of any covenant be held invalid, void or unenforceable, such invalidity,
voidness or unenforceability shall not render invalid, void or unenforceable any other part or provision of this Agreement. If
any portion of the foregoing provisions is found to be invalid or unenforceable because its duration, the territory, the definition
of activities or the definition of information covered is considered to be invalid or unreasonable in scope, the invalid or unreasonable
term shall be redefined, or a new enforceable term provided, such that the intent of the Company and Executive in agreeing to the
provisions of this Agreement will not be impaired and the provision in question shall be enforceable to the fullest extent of the
applicable laws.

 

    	17

     

    

 

(iii)            
Reformation. The parties hereunder agree that it is their intention that the Restrictive Covenants be enforced in
accordance with their terms to the maximum extent possible under applicable law. The parties further agree that, in the event any
tribunal of competent jurisdiction shall find that any provision hereof is not enforceable in accordance with its terms, the tribunal
shall reform the Restrictive Covenants such that they shall be enforceable to the maximum extent permissible at law.

 

13.             
Consent to Jurisdiction. The Company and Executive irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of
the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana, in any judicial proceeding brought to enforce this Agreement. The parties
agree that any forum is an inconvenient forum and that a lawsuit (or non-compulsory counterclaim) brought by one party against
another party, in a court of any jurisdiction other than the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana should be forthwith
dismissed or transferred to 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana.

 

14.             
Assignment and Successors.

 

(a)               
This Agreement is personal to Executive and without the prior written consent of the Company shall not be assignable by
Executive otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be enforceable
by Executive’s legal representatives.

 

(b)              
This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and its successors and assigns.

 

(c)               
The Company will require any Surviving Entity resulting from a Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition (if other than the Company)
to assume expressly and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required
to perform it if no Reorganization, Sale or Acquisition had taken place. As used in this Agreement, “Company” shall
mean the Company as hereinbefore defined and any successor to its business and/or assets as aforesaid which assumes and agrees
to perform this Agreement by operation of law, or otherwise.

 

15.             
Miscellaneous.

 

(a)               
Waiver. Failure of either party to insist, in one or more instances, on performance by the other in strict accordance
with the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver or relinquishment of any right granted in this Agreement
or of the future performance of any such term or condition or of any other term or condition of this Agreement, unless such waiver
is contained in a writing signed by the party making the waiver.

 

(b)              
Severability. If any provision or covenant, or any part thereof, of this Agreement should be held by any tribunal
of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, either in whole or in part, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability
shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions or covenants, or any part thereof, of this
Agreement, all of which shall remain in full force and effect.

 

    	18

     

    

 

(c)               
Other Agents. Nothing in this Agreement is to be interpreted as limiting the Company from employing other personnel
on such terms and conditions as may be satisfactory to it, except that this Section 15(c) shall not override the provision of Section
6(d)(i).

 

(d)              
Entire Agreement. Except as provided herein, this Agreement contains the entire agreement between the Company and
Executive with respect to the subject matter hereof and, from and after the Agreement Date, this Agreement shall supersede any
other agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, including without limitation, the Prior Agreement.

 

(e)               
Governing Law. Except to the extent preempted by federal law, and without regard to conflict of laws principles,
the laws of the State of Louisiana shall govern this Agreement in all respects, whether as to its validity, construction, capacity,
performance or otherwise.

 

(f)               
Notices. All notices, requests, demands and other communications required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing
and shall be deemed to have been duly given if delivered or three days after mailing if mailed, first class, certified mail, postage
prepaid:

 

	 	To the Company:	LHC Group, Inc.
	 	 	901 Hugh Wallis Road South
	 	 	Lafayette, LA 70508
	 	 	Attention: Legal Department
	 	 	 
	 	To Executive:	To the address of Executive on file with the Company

 

Any party may change the address to which notices, requests, demands
and other communications shall be delivered or mailed by giving notice thereof to the other party in the same manner provided herein.

 

(g)              
Amendments and Modifications. This Agreement may be amended or modified only by a writing signed by both parties
hereto, which makes specific reference to this Agreement.

 

(h)              
Construction. Each party and his or its counsel have reviewed this Agreement and have been provided the opportunity
to revise this Agreement and accordingly, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved
against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of this Agreement. Instead, the language of all parts of
this Agreement shall be construed as a whole, and according to its fair meaning, and not strictly for or against either party.

 

    	19

     

    

 

(i)                
Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any amount or benefit that would
constitute non-exempt “deferred compensation” for purposes of Section 409A of the Code would otherwise be payable or
distributable under this Agreement by reason of Executive’s separation from service during a period in which he is a Specified
Employee (as defined below), then, subject to any permissible acceleration of payment by the Company under Treas. Reg. Section
1.409A-3(j)(4)(ii) (domestic relations order), (j)(4)(iii) (conflicts of interest), or (j)(4)(vi) (payment of employment taxes):

 

(i)                
if the payment or distribution is payable in a lump sum, Executive’s right to receive payment or distribution of such
non-exempt deferred compensation will be delayed until the earlier of Executive’s death or the first day of the seventh (7th)
month following Executive’s separation from service; and

 

(ii)              
if the payment or distribution is payable over time, the amount of such non-exempt deferred compensation that would otherwise
be payable during the six (6)-month period immediately following Executive’s separation from service will be accumulated
and Executive’s right to receive payment or distribution of such accumulated amount will be delayed until the earlier of
Executive’s death or the first day of the seventh (7th) month following Executive’s separation from service,
whereupon the accumulated amount will be paid or distributed to Executive and the normal payment or distribution schedule for any
remaining payments or distributions will resume.

 

For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Specified
Employee” has the meaning given such term in Code Section 409A and the final regulations thereunder (“Final 409A Regulations”),
provided, however, that, as permitted in the Final 409A Regulations, the Company’s Specified Employees and its application
of the six-month delay rule of Code Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) shall be determined in accordance with rules adopted by the Board
of Directors or a committee thereof, which shall be applied consistently with respect to all nonqualified deferred compensation
arrangements of the Company, including this Agreement.

 

(j)                
Withholding. The Company or its subsidiaries, if applicable, shall be entitled to deduct or withhold from any amounts
owing from the Company or any such affiliate to Executive any federal, state, local or foreign withholding taxes, excise taxes,
or employment taxes (“Taxes”) imposed with respect to Executive’s compensation or other payments from the Company
or any of its affiliates. In the event the Company or its affiliates do not make such deductions or withholdings, Executive shall
indemnify the Company and its affiliates for any amounts paid with respect to any such Taxes.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signatures
on Next Page]

 

 

 

    	20

     

    

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have
duly executed and delivered this Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

	 	 	LHC GROUP, INC.
	 	 	 
	 	 	By:  	/s/ Keith G. Myers
	 	 	 	Keith G. Myers
	 	 	 	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 
	 	 	EXECUTIVE:
	 	 	 
	 	 	/s/ Donald D. Stelly
	 	 	Donald D. Stelly

 

 

 

 

 

    	21

     

    

EXHIBIT A

 

Form of Release

 

THIS RELEASE ("Release") is granted
effective as of the ____ day of _________, 20__, by ________ ("Executive") in favor of LHC Group, Inc. (the "Company").
This is the Release referred to that certain Employment Agreement effective as of _________, 20__ by and between the Company and
Executive (the "Employment Agreement"), with respect to which this Release is an integral part.

 

FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION of the payments and
benefits provided by Section 7 of the Employment Agreement and the Company's other promises and covenants as recited in the Employment
Agreement, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Executive, for himself, his successors and assigns, now
and forever hereby releases and discharges the Company and all its past and present officers, directors, stockholders, employees,
agents, parent corporations, predecessors, subsidiaries, affiliates, estates, successors, assigns, benefit plans, consultants,
administrators, and attorneys (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Releasees") from any and all claims, charges,
actions, causes of action, sums of money due, suits, debts, covenants, contracts, agreements, promises, demands or liabilities
(hereinafter collectively referred to as "Claims") whatsoever, in law or in equity, whether known or unknown, which Executive
ever had or now has from the beginning of time up to the date this Release ("Release") is executed, including, but not
limited to, claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and all of its amendments), the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, or any other
federal or state statutes, all tort claims, all claims for wrongful employment termination or breach of contract, and any other
claims which Executive has, had, or may have against the Releasees on account of or arising out of Executive's employment with
or termination from the Company; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Release shall in any way diminish or impair
(i) any rights of Executive to the benefits conferred or referenced in the Employment Agreement or Executive's Retention Bonus
Agreement with the Company, (ii) any rights to indemnification that may exist from time to time under the Company’s bylaws,
certificate of incorporation, Louisiana law or otherwise, or (iii) Executive's ability to raise an affirmative defense in connection
with any lawsuit or other legal claim or charge instituted or asserted by the Company against Executive.

 

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
Executive hereby acknowledges and covenants that in consideration for the sums being paid to him he has knowingly waived any right
or opportunity to assert any claim that is in any way connected with any employment relationship or the termination of any employment
relationship which existed between the Company and Executive. Executive further understands and agrees that he has knowingly relinquished,
waived and forever released any and all remedies arising out of the aforesaid employment relationship or the termination thereof,
including, without limitation, claims for backpay, front pay, liquidated damages, compensatory damages, general damages, special
damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages, costs, expenses and attorneys' fees. Nothing in this Release shall constitute a waiver
of Executive's right to file an administrative charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or other government agency
authorized to handle administrative employment claims, but Executive shall not receive or accept, and waives his right to, any
monetary relief or remedies obtained on his behalf by any agency, organization, or other person.

 

    	A-1

     

    

 

Executive specifically acknowledges and agrees
that he has knowingly and voluntarily released the Company and all other Releasees from any and all claims arising under the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq., which Executive ever had or now has from the
beginning of time up to the date this Release is executed, including but not limited to those claims which are in any way connected
with any employment relationship or the termination of any employment relationship which existed between the Company and Executive.
Executive further acknowledges and agrees that he has been advised to consult with an attorney prior to executing this Release
and that he has been given twenty one (21) days to consider this Release prior to its execution. Executive also understands that
he may revoke this Release at any time within seven (7) days following its execution. Executive understands, however, that this
Release shall not become effective and that none of the consideration described above shall be paid to him until the expiration
of the seven day revocation period.

 

Executive agrees never to seek reemployment
or future employment with the Company or any of the other Releasees.

 

Executive acknowledges that the terms of this
Release must be kept confidential. Accordingly, Executive agrees not to disclose or publish to any person or entity, except as
required by law or as necessary to prepare tax returns, the terms and conditions or sums being paid in connection with this Release.

 

It is understood and agreed by Executive that
the payment made to him is not to be construed as an admission of any liability whatsoever on the part of the Company or any of
the other Releasees, by whom liability is expressly denied.

 

This Release is executed by Executive voluntarily
and is not based upon any representations or statements of any kind made by the Company or any of the other Releasees as to the
merits, legal liabilities or value of his claims. Executive further acknowledges that he has had a full and reasonable opportunity
to consider this Release and that he has not been pressured or in any way coerced into executing this Release.

 

Executive acknowledges and agrees that this
Release may not be revoked at any time after the expiration of the seven-day revocation period and that he will not institute any
suit, action, or proceeding, whether at law or equity, challenging the enforceability of this Release. Executive further acknowledges
and agrees that, with the exception of an action to challenge his waiver of claims under the ADEA, he shall not ever attempt to
challenge the terms of this Release, attempt to obtain an order declaring this Release to be null and void, or institute litigation
against the Company or any other Releasee based upon a claim which is covered by the terms of the release contained herein, without
first repaying all monies paid to him under Section 7 of the Employment Agreement. Furthermore, with the exception of an action
to challenge his waiver of claims under the ADEA, if Executive does not prevail in an action to challenge this Release, to obtain
an order declaring this Release to be null and void, or in any action against the Company or any other Releasee based upon a claim
which is covered by the release set forth herein, Executive shall pay to the Company and/or the appropriate Releasee all their
costs and attorneys' fees incurred in their defense of Executive's action.

 

    	A-2

     

    

 

This Release and the rights and obligations
of the parties hereto shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Louisiana. If any provision hereof
is unenforceable or is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be fully severable, and this document and its terms shall
be construed and enforced as if such unenforceable provision had never comprised a part hereof, the remaining provisions hereof
shall remain in full force and effect, and the court construing the provisions shall add as a part hereof a provision as similar
in terms and effect to such unenforceable provision as may be enforceable, in lieu of the unenforceable provision.

 

This document contains all terms of the Release
and supersedes and invalidates any previous agreements or contracts. No representations, inducements, promises or agreements, oral
or otherwise, which are not embodied herein shall be of any force or effect.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned acknowledges
that he has read these three pages and he sets his hand and seal this ____ day of ____________, 20___.

 

 

 

 

Sworn to and subscribed

before me this _____ day of

______________, 20___.

 

_____________________

Notary Public

 

My Commission Expires:

 

_____________________

 

 

 

 

    	A-3

     

    

EXHIBIT B

 

Restricted Territory

 

The Restricted Territory shall include the following counties and parishes in the states
where the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates conduct business:

 

ALABAMA

Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Choctaw,
Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia,
Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone,
Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell,
Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

 

ARIZONA

Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai

 

ARKANSAS

Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clark, Cleburne,
Cleveland, Conway, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot
Spring, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Lonoke,
Madison, Marion, Miller, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope,
Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington,
White, Woodruff, Yell

 

CALIFORNIA

Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, Merced, San Joaquin, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus,
Tehama

 

COLORADO

Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Conejos, Costilla, Denver, Douglas, El
Paso, Elbert, Huerfano, Jefferson, Larimer, Lincoln, Rio Grande, Saguache, Teller, Washington, Weld

 

FLORIDA

Alachua, Citrus, Escambia, Lake, Levy, Marion, Okaloosa, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sumter,
Walton

 

GEORGIA

Atkinson, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa,
Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Clinch, Cobb, Colquitt, Cook, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, Decatur, Dekalb, Douglas, Echols, Fannin,
Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Grady, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Harris, Heard, Henry, Irwin, Jackson,
Lanier, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Rabun, Rockdale, Spalding,
Stephens, Thomas, Tift, Towns, Troup, Turner, Union, Walker, Walton, Ware, White, Whitfield, Worth

 

    	B-1

     

    

IDAHO

Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Bonneville, Butte,
Camas, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, Custer, Elmore, Franklin, Freemont, Gem, Gooding, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lincoln,
Madison, Minidoka, Oneida, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Shoshone, Teton, Twin Falls

 

ILLINOIS

Alexander, Bond, Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles,
Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene,
Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Iroquois, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Kane, Kankakee, Knox, Lake, Lasalle, Lawrence,
Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Massac, McHenry, Mclean, Menard, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery,
Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, Saline, Sangamon, Scott, Shelby,
St. Clair, Stark, Tazewell, Union, Vermillion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, Woodford

 

KENTUCKY

Allen, Anderson, Boone, Bourbon, Boyle, Butler, Caldwell, Campbell, Casey, Christian,
Clark, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Garrard, Grayson, Green, Hardin,
Harrison, Hart, Henderson, Hickman, Jessamine, Kenton, Lincoln, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Madison, Marshall, Mercer, Metcalfe,
McCreary, Monroe, Nicholas, Owen, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Scott, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren, Wayne, Webster,
Woodford

 

LOUISIANA

Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo,
Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline,
Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, La Salle, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison,
Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St.
Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne,
Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, Winn

 

MARYLAND

Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Jurisdiction of Baltimore City, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll,
Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Talbot,
Washington, Wicomico, Worcester.

 

MISSISSIPPI

Adams, Amite, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke,
Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, Desoto, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys,
Issaquena, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Leflore,
Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike,
Pontotoc, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tunica, Union, Walthall,
Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, Yazoo

 

    	B-2

     

    

MISSOURI

Audrain, Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Butler, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cedar, Christian,
Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Lawrence, Laclede, Lincoln, Marion, McDonald,
Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, New Madrid, Newton, Ozark, Pemiscot, Pike, Pulaski, Polk, Ralls, Reynolds, Scott, Shelby, St.
Charles, St. Louis, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Warren, Wayne, Webster, Wright

 

NORTH CAROLINA

Alamance, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Columbus, Craven,
Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir,
Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Rockingham, Sampson, Vance,
Wake, Warren, Wayne, Wilson

 

OHIO

Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Coshocton, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison,
Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Licking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross,
Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, Washington

 

OREGON

Benton, Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington,
Yamhill

 

RHODE ISLAND

Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence, Washington

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun,
Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence,
Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick,
Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richard, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg, York

 

TENNESSEE

Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll, Carter,
Cheatham, Chester, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Davidson, Decatur, Dekalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress,
Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grainger, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardeman, Hardin, Hawkins, Haywood, Henderson, Henry,
Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, Macon, Madison,
Marion, Marshall, Maury, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Montgomery, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Polk, Putnam,
Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Rutherford, Scott, Sequatchie, Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sullivan, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Unicoi,
Union, Van Buren, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Weakley, White, Williamson, Wilson

 

    	B-3

     

    

TEXAS

Andrews, Angelina, Armstrong, Borden, Bowie, Briscoe, Camp, Carson, Cass, Castro, Cherokee,
Collin, Crane, Crosby, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, Donley, Ector, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Floyd, Franklin, Garza,
Glasscock, Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Hale, Hall, Hardin, Harrison, Hartley, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Howard, Hunt, Hutchinson, Jefferson,
Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lamb, Liberty, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Marion, Martin, Midland, Moore, Morris, Nacogdoches, Oldham, Orange,
Panola, Parker, Pecos, Polk, Potter, Rains, Randall, Reagan, Red River, Reeves, Rockwell, Rusk, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Somervell,
Swisher, Tarrant, Terry, Titus, Tyler, Upshur, Upton, Ward, Winkler, Wise, Wood

 

VIRGINIA

Bedford, Bedford City, Bland, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Galax City,
Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, Roanoke, Roanoke City, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe

 

WASHINGTON

Adams, Clallam, Cowlitz, Ferry, Grant, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Lewis, Lincoln,
Mason, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum

 

WEST VIRGINIA

Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier,
Hampshire, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia,
Monroe, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor,
Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood, Wyoming

 

WISCONSIN

Dodge, Fond Du Lac, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sheboygan,
Walworth, Washington, Waukesha

 

 

 

B-4Exhibit 10.20

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of March 18, 2016, between CLS Holdings USA Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and collectively, the “Purchasers”).

 

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Rule 506 promulgated thereunder, the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as follows:

 

ARTICLE I.

DEFINITIONS

 

1.1   Definitions.  In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement: (a) capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined herein have the meanings given to such terms in the Notes (as defined herein), and (b) the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:

 

“Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.6.

 

“Action” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).

 

“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.

 

“Business Day” means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, any day which is a federal legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York or Arizona are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.

 

“Closing(s)” means the one or more closings of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.2.

“Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto in connection with a Closing, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount as to such Closing and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities as to such Closing, in each case, have been satisfied or waived.

 

“Closing Statement” means the Closing Statement in the form on Annex A attached hereto.

 

“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and any other class of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or changed.

 

“Common Stock Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common Stock.

   

“Disclosure Schedules” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1.

 

“Effective Date” means the earliest of (a) the SEC Effective Date, (b) the date that all of the Registrable Securities have been sold pursuant to Rule 144 or may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions, or (c) following the one year anniversary of the Closing Date, provided that a holder of Registrable Securities is not an Affiliate of the Company, the date that all of the Registrable Securities may be sold pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(1) of the Securities Act without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions and Company counsel has delivered to such holders a standing written unqualified opinion that resales may then be made by such holders of the Registrable Securities pursuant to such exemption which opinion shall be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to such holders.

 

“Evaluation Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(q).

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or options to employees, officers, directors, advisors or independent contractors of the Company pursuant to any agreement or any stock or option plan or equity incentive plan duly adopted for such purpose, (b) shares of Common Stock, warrants or options to employees,

officers, directors, advisors or independent contractors of the Company for products, services or other compensatory purposes, (c) securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities, (d) securities issuable pursuant to any contractual antidilution obligations of the Company in effect as of the date of this Agreement, provided that such obligations have not been materially amended since the date of this Agreement, (e) shares of Common Stock issued for consideration other than cash pursuant to a merger, consolidation, acquisition, or similar business combination approved by the Board of Directors and (f) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by the Board of Directors, except for a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities.

 

“Filing Date” means the date the Registration Statement is filed with the Commission.

  

“First Closing” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 2.1.

“FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“GAAP” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

 

“Indebtedness” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(jj).

 

“Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(o).

 

“Legend Removal Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.1(c).

 

“Liens” means a lien, charge, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.

 

“Material Adverse Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1(b).

 

“Material Permits” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(m).

 

“Maximum Rate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 5.17.

 

“Note” means the 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Note due, subject to the terms therein, eighteen (18) months from the date of issuance, issued by the Company to the Purchaser hereunder, in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto.

“Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.

 

“Principal Amount” means, as to each Purchaser, the amounts set forth below such Purchaser’s signature block on the signature pages hereto next to the heading “Principal Amount” in United States Dollars.

 

“Proceeding” means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened.

 

“Public Information Failure” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.3(b).

 

“Public Information Failure Payments” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.3(b).

 

“Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.9.

 

“Registrable Securities” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

“Registration Rights Agreement” means the Registration Rights Agreement, dated the date hereof, among the Company and the Purchasers, in the form of Exhibit B attached hereto.

“Registration Statement” means the registration statement that the Company is required to file pursuant to this Agreement to register the Underlying Shares. The Registration Statement shall register all Underlying Shares in connection with each Tranche.

 

“Required Approvals” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).

 

“Required Minimum” means, as of any date, the maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock potentially issuable in the future pursuant to the Transaction Documents, including any Underlying Shares issuable upon conversion in full of all Notes (including Underlying Shares issuable as payment of interest on the Notes), ignoring any conversion or exercise limits set forth therein, and assuming that the conversion price is at all times on and after the date of determination 100% of the then conversion price on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of determination.

 

“Robinson Brog” means Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C., with offices located at 875 Third Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

“Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same effect as such Rule.

“SEC Effective Date” means the date the Registration Statement is declared effective by the Commission or otherwise goes effective without Commission action.

“SEC Reports” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

 

“Securities” means the Notes and the Underlying Shares.

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act.

 

“Subscription Amount” means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be paid for Notes purchased hereunder as specified below such Purchaser’s name on the signature page of this Agreement and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,” in United States dollars and in immediately available funds.

 

“Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company as set forth on Schedule 3.1(a) and shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.

 

“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading.

 

“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE MKT; the Nasdaq Capital Market; the Nasdaq Global Market; the Nasdaq Global Select Market; the New York Stock Exchange; OTC Markets or the OTC Bulletin Board (or any successors to any of the foregoing).

 

“Tranche(s)” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 2.1.

 

“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Notes, the Registration Rights Agreement, all exhibits and schedules thereto and hereto and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.

 

“Transfer Agent” means VStock Transfer, LLC the current transfer agent of the Company, with a mailing address of 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, NY 11598 and a phone number of (212) 828-8436, and any successor transfer agent of the Company.

 

“Transfer Agent Instruction Letter” means the letter from the Company to the Transfer Agent which instructs the Transfer Agent to issue Underlying Shares pursuant to the Transaction Documents, in the form of Exhibit C attached hereto.

 

“Underlying Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issued and issuable upon conversion or redemption of the Notes and issued and issuable in lieu of the cash payment of interest on the Notes in accordance with the terms of the Notes.

 

ARTICLE II.

PURCHASE AND SALE

 

2.1   Purchase.  The Purchasers will purchase an aggregate of up to $500,000 in Subscription Amount corresponding to an aggregate of up to $555,555 in Principal Amount of Notes. The purchase will occur in up to five (5) tranches (each a “Tranche,” and collectively the “Tranches”), with the first Tranche of $200,000 being closed upon The Closing Date. The second Tranche will be for $50,000 and will occur on the first Friday which is a Trading Day after the Filing Date.  The third Tranche will be for $50,000 and will occur on the first Friday which is a Trading Day at least three (3) Trading Days after the date that the Company receives initial comments from the Commission on the Registration Statement or the date that the Company is notified by the Commission that the Registration Statement will not be reviewed.  The fourth Tranche will be for $100,000 and will occur on the first Friday which is a Trading Day at least three (3) Trading Days after the SEC Effective Date. The fifth Tranche will be $100,000 and will occur on the first Friday which is a Trading Day after the thirty (30) day anniversary of the SEC Effective Date.  If the Company has complied with the closing conditions set forth in Section 2.4(b), except as set forth in the following sentence, the Purchasers shall be required to fund the second through fifth Tranches.  The Purchasers shall not be required to fund any of the second through fifth Tranches if clauses (a), (c) and (d) of the Equity Conditions (as defined in the Notes) are not met on each of the applicable Closing Dates, in which case, the Closing Date shall be delayed until such Equity Conditions are satisfied.

 

2.2   Closing.  On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto with respect to the First Closing, the Company agrees to sell, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase, such Purchaser’s Closing Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser (an aggregate of up to $500,000 in Subscription Amount corresponding to an aggregate of up to $555,555 in Principal Amount of Notes).  At each Closing, each Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via wire transfer or a certified check, immediately available funds equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser, and the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its respective Note, as determined pursuant to Section 2.3(a), and the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in Section 2.3 deliverable at the First Closing.  Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.3 and 2.4 for each Closing, each Closing shall occur at the offices of Robinson Brog or such other location as the parties shall mutually agree. 

2.3   Deliveries.

 

(a)   On or prior to each Closing Date (except as noted), the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each Purchaser the following:

 

(i)   as to the First Closing, this Agreement duly executed by the Company;

 

(ii)  the Transfer Agent Instruction Letter duly executed by the Company and the Transfer Agent;

 

(iii)  a Note with a principal amount equal to such Purchaser’s Principal Amount as to the applicable Closing, registered in the name of such Purchaser; and

(iv)  as to the First Closing, the Registration Rights Agreement, duly executed by the Company.

(b)   On or prior to the applicable Closing Date, each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Company, as applicable, the following:

 

(i)   as to the First Closing, this Agreement duly executed by such Purchaser;

 

(ii) such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as to the applicable Closing by wire transfer to the account specified in writing by the Company; and

(iii) as to the First Closing, the Registration Rights Agreement duly executed by the Purchaser.

2.4   Closing Conditions.

 

(a)   The obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with each Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

 

(i)  the accuracy in all material respects on the applicable Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate as of such date);

 

(ii)  all obligations, covenants and agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed at or prior to the applicable Closing Date shall have been performed; and

 

(iii)  the delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.3(b) of this Agreement.

 

(b)   The respective obligations of the Purchasers hereunder in connection with each Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

(i)   the accuracy in all material respects on the applicable Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein);

 

(ii)  all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to the applicable Closing Date shall have been performed;

 

(iii)  the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.3(a) of this Agreement;

 

(iv)   there is no existing Event of Default (as defined in the Notes) and no existing event which, with the passage of time or the giving of notice, would constitute an Event of Default;

 

(v)   there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date hereof; and

  

(vi)   from the date hereof to the applicable Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission  or the Company’s principal Trading Market and, at any time prior to the applicable Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity of such magnitude in its effect on, or any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of such Purchaser makes it impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Securities at the applicable Closing.

 

ARTICLE III.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

3.1   Representations and Warranties of the Company.  Except as set forth in the disclosure schedules provided by the Company to the Purchasers (the “Disclosure Schedules”), which Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof and shall qualify any representation or otherwise made herein to the extent of the disclosure contained in the corresponding section of the Disclosure Schedules, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to each Purchaser as of the date hereof:

 

(a)   Subsidiaries.  All Subsidiaries of the Company are set forth on Schedule 3.1(a).  The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and

free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  If the Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.

 

(b)   Organization and Qualification.  The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.  Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document; (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.

  

(c)   Authorization; Enforcement.  The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals.  This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which the Company is a party have been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when executed by the other parties hereto or thereto and  delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally; (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies; and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

 

(d)   No Conflicts.  The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not: (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents; (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien (except Liens in favor of the Purchasers) upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected; or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

  

(e)   Filings, Consents and Approvals.  The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filing with the Commission of the Registration Statement, (ii) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.14 of this Agreement, (iii) the notice and/or application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the issuance and sale of the Securities and the listing of the Underlying Shares for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby and (iv) the filing of Form D with the Commission and such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).

 

(f)   Issuance of the Securities.  The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents.  The Underlying Shares, when issued in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents.  The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock a number of shares of Common Stock for issuance of the Underlying Shares at least equal to 300% of the Required Minimum on the date hereof. 

(g)   Capitalization.  The capitalization of the Company is as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g ), which Schedule 3.1(g) shall also include the number of shares of Common Stock owned beneficially, and of record, by Affiliates of the Company as of the date hereof. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), the Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the exercise of stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act.   No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities and securities issued to employees and other service providers of the Company pursuant to the Company’s stock option plans and other than as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents.  The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Purchasers) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities.  No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities.  There are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.

 

(h)   SEC Reports; Financial Statements.  The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the one (1) year preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension.  As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of

filing.  Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

 

	
(i)

	
Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments.  Since the date of the latest unaudited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC Report filed prior to the date hereof: (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission; (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting; (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock; and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option plans and other than as set forth on Schedule 3.1(i).  The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information.  Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement, no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, properties, operations, assets or financial condition, that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least one (1) Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.

(j)   Litigation.  Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(j), there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty.  There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any

investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company.    The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.

 

(k)   Labor Relations.  No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good.  To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary, is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters.  The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(l)   Compliance.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as has not had or could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

  

(m)   Regulatory Permits.  The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.

(n)   Title to Assets.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii) Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP and, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties.  Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.

 

(o)   Intellectual Property.  Except as set forth in Schedule 3.1(o), the Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights as described in the SEC Reports as necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as presently conducted and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”).  None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest unaudited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights.  The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their confidential intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(p)   Transactions with Affiliates and Employees.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for: (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered; (ii) reimbursement for

expenses incurred on behalf of the Company; and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option or stock award agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.

 

(q)   Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the applicable Closing Date.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, he Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, the Company and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms.  The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the end of the period covered by the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation Date”).  The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date.  Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries.

 

(r)   Certain Fees.  Other than as set forth on Schedule 3.1(r), no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiaries to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  The Purchasers shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

  

(s)   Private Placement.  Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, no registration under the Securities Act is required for the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the Purchasers as contemplated

hereby. The issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder does not contravene the rules and regulations of the Trading Market.

 

(t)   Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(u)   Registration Rights.  Other than the Purchasers and as set forth on Schedule 3.1(u), no Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiaries.

 

(v)   Listing and Maintenance Requirements.  The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration.  The Company has not, in the twelve (12) months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements.

 

(w)   Application of Takeover Protections.  The Company and the Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Company’s certificate of incorporation (or similar charter documents) or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Purchasers as a result of the Purchasers and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Securities and the Purchasers’ ownership of the Securities.

 

(x)   Disclosure.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information.  The Company understands and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.  This Agreement, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct in all material respects and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements

made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.     The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.

(y)   No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of (i) the Securities Act which would require the registration of any such securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.

 

(z)   No General Solicitation. Neither the Company nor any person acting on behalf of the Company has offered or sold any of the Securities by any form of general solicitation or general advertising.  The Company has offered the Securities for sale only to the Purchasers and certain other “accredited investors” within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act.

 

(aa)   Foreign Corrupt Practices.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has: (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity; (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds; (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is  in violation of law; or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.

 

(bb)   Accountants.  The Company’s accounting firm is set forth on Schedule 3.1(bb) of the Disclosure Schedules.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2016.

 

(cc)   No Disagreements with Accountants and Lawyers.  There are no disagreements of any kind presently existing, or reasonably anticipated by the Company to arise, between the Company and the accountants and lawyers formerly or presently employed by the Company and the Company is current with respect to any fees owed to its accountants and lawyers, except where the failure to be current would not reasonably be expected to affect the Company’s ability to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents.

 (dd)   Acknowledgment Regarding Purchasers’ Purchase of Securities.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that each of the Purchasers is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby.  The Company further acknowledges that no Purchaser is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Purchasers’ purchase of the Securities.  The Company further represents to each Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.

  

(ee)   Regulation M Compliance.  The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Company’s placement agent in connection with the placement of the Securities.

 

(ff)   Stock Option Plans. Each stock option granted by the Company under the Company’s stock option plan was granted (i) in accordance with the terms of such stock option plan, and (ii) with an exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date such stock option would be considered granted under GAAP and applicable law. No stock option granted under the Company’s stock option plan has been backdated.  The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is no and has been no Company policy or practice to knowingly grant, stock options prior to, or otherwise knowingly coordinate the grant of stock options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.

 

(gg)   Office of Foreign Assets Control.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company's knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).

 

(hh)   U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation.  The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon Purchaser’s request.

 

(ii)   Bank Holding Company Act.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”).  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.

(jj) Indebtedness.  Schedule 3.1(jj) sets forth as of the date hereof all outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments.  For the purposes of this Agreement, “Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP.  Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(jj), neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.

(kk) Tax Status. Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries each (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply.  There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of no basis for any such claim.

(ll) Seniority.  Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(ll), as of each Closing Date, no Indebtedness or other claim against the Company is senior to the Notes in right of payment, whether with respect to interest or upon liquidation or dissolution, or otherwise, other than indebtedness secured by purchase money security interests (which is senior only as to underlying assets covered thereby) and capital lease obligations (which is senior only as to the property covered thereby).

(mm) Money Laundering.  The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (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 Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.

 

3.2   Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers.  Each Purchaser, for itself and for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of each Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date therein):

 

(a)   Organization; Authority.  Such Purchaser is either an individual or an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents and performance by such Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of such Purchaser.  Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by such Purchaser, and when delivered by such Purchaser in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally; (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies; and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

 

(b)   Own Account.  Such Purchaser understands that the Securities are “restricted securities” and have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Securities or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, has no present intention of distributing any of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law (this representation and warranty not limiting such Purchaser’s right to sell the Securities in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  Such Purchaser is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.

(c)   Purchaser Status.  At the time such Purchaser was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it converts any Notes it will be an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Securities Act.

 

(d)   Experience of Such Purchaser.  Such Purchaser, either alone or together with its representatives, has such knowledge, sophistication and experience in business and financial matters so as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment in the Securities, and has so evaluated the merits and risks of such investment.  Such Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities and, at the present time, is able to afford a complete loss of such investment.

 

(e)   General Solicitation.  Such Purchaser is not purchasing the Securities as a result of any advertisement, article, notice or other communication regarding the Securities published in any newspaper, magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio or presented at any seminar or any other general solicitation or general advertisement.

 

(f)   Certain Transactions and Confidentiality.  Other than consummating the transactions contemplated hereunder, such Purchaser has not directly or indirectly, nor has any Person acting on behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with such Purchaser, executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the securities of the Company during the 20 Trading Days prior to the date hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.  Other than to other Persons party to this Agreement, such Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and terms of this transaction). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to the identification of the availability of, or securing of, available shares to borrow in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.

 

The Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in Section 3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect such Purchaser’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transaction contemplated hereby.

 

ARTICLE IV.

OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES

 

4.1   Transfer Restrictions.

 

(a)   The Securities may only be disposed of in compliance with state and federal securities laws.  In connection with any transfer of Securities other than pursuant to an effective registration statement or Rule 144, to the Company or to an Affiliate of a Purchaser or in connection with a pledge as contemplated in Section 4.1(b), the Company may require the transferor thereof to provide to the Company an opinion of counsel selected by the transferor and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the form and substance of which opinion shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to the effect that such transfer does not require registration of such transferred Securities under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.  As a condition of transfer, any such transferee shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement and shall have the rights and obligations of a Purchaser under this Agreement.

 

(b)   The Purchasers agree to the imprinting, so long as is required by this Section 4.1, of a legend on any of the Securities in the following form:

 

[NEITHER] THIS SECURITY [NOR THE SECURITIES INTO WHICH THIS SECURITY IS CONVERTIBLE] HAS [NOT] BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR THE SECURITIES COMMISSION OF ANY STATE IN RELIANCE UPON EXEMPTIONS FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURIITIES LAWS, AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION THEREFROM, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AS EVIDENCED BY A LEGAL OPINION OF COUNSEL TO THE TRANSFEROR TO SUCH EFFECT, THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH SHALL BE REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMPANY.  THIS SECURITY [AND THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON CONVERSION OF THIS SECURITY] MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT WITH A REGISTERED BROKER-DEALER OR OTHER LOAN WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT IS AN “ACCREDITED INVESTOR” AS DEFINED IN RULE 501(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR OTHER LOAN SECURED BY SUCH SECURITIES.

 

The Company acknowledges and agrees that a Purchaser may from time to time pledge pursuant to a bona fide margin agreement with a registered broker-dealer or grant a security interest in some or all of the Securities to a financial institution, in either case, that is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act and who agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement and, if required under the terms of such arrangement, such Purchaser may transfer pledged or secured Securities to the

pledgees or secured parties as long as they are also "accredited investors" and agree to be bound by this Agreement.  Such a pledge or transfer would not be subject to approval of the Company and no legal opinion of legal counsel of the pledgee, secured party or pledgor shall be required in connection therewith; provided, however, that the transferee shall provide customary investment representations to the Company.  Further, no notice shall be required of such pledge.  At the appropriate Purchaser’s expense, the Company, upon receipt of the investment representations, will execute and deliver such reasonable documentation as a pledgee or secured party of Securities may reasonably request in connection with a pledge or transfer of the Securities.

 

(c)   Certificates evidencing the Underlying Shares shall not contain any legend (including the legend set forth in Section 4.1(b) hereof): (i) while a registration statement covering the resale of such security is effective under the Securities Act; (ii) following any sale of such Underlying Shares pursuant to Rule 144 (unless the transferee is an Affiliate); (iii) if such Underlying Shares are eligible for sale under Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information requirement under Rule 144 as to such Underlying Shares and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions; or (iv) if such legend is not required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the Commission).  The Company shall upon request of a Purchaser and at such Purchaser’s expense cause its counsel to issue a legal opinion to the Transfer Agent promptly after any of the events described in (i)-(iv) in the preceding sentence if required by the Transfer Agent to effect the removal of the legend hereunder (with a copy to the applicable Purchaser and its broker).  If all or any portion of a Note is converted at a time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the resale of the Underlying Shares, or if such Underlying Shares may be sold under Rule 144 and the Company is then in compliance with the current public information requirement under Rule 144, or if the Underlying Shares may be sold under Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information requirement under Rule 144 as to such Underlying Shares and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions, or if such legend is not otherwise required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the Commission) then such Underlying Shares shall be issued free of all legends.  The Company agrees that following the Effective Date or at such time as such legend is no longer required under this Section 4.1(c), it will, no later than three (3) Trading Days following the delivery by a Purchaser to the Company or the Transfer Agent of a certificate representing Underlying Shares issued with a restrictive legend (such third Trading Day, the “Legend Removal Date”), instruct the Transfer Agent to deliver or cause to be delivered to such Purchaser a certificate representing such shares that is free from all restrictive and other legends.  The Company may not make any notation on its records or give instructions to the Transfer Agent that enlarge the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Section 4, except to notify its Transfer Agent if the Registration Statement is not long current or effective.  Certificates for Underlying Shares subject to legend removal hereunder shall be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Purchaser by crediting the

account of the Purchaser’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company System as directed by such Purchaser.

(d)  In addition to such Purchaser’s other available remedies, the Company shall pay to a Purchaser, in cash, as partial liquidated damages and not as a penalty, $1,000 per Trading Day for each Trading Day after the Legend Removal Date with respect to which the Company has not yet instructed its Transfer Agent to deliver such certificate without a legend to Holder.  Nothing herein shall limit such Purchaser’s right to pursue actual damages for the Company’s failure to instruct its Transfer Agent to deliver certificates representing any Securities as required by the Transaction Documents, and such Purchaser shall have the right to pursue all remedies available to it at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief.

(e) Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, agrees with the Company that such Purchaser will sell any Securities pursuant to either the registration requirements of the Securities Act, including any applicable prospectus delivery requirements, or an exemption therefrom, and that if Securities are sold pursuant to a Registration Statement, they will be sold in compliance with the plan of distribution set forth therein, and acknowledges that the removal of the restrictive legend from certificates representing Securities as set forth in this Section 4.1 is predicated upon the Company’s reliance upon this understanding.

 

4.2   Acknowledgment of Dilution.  The Company acknowledges that the issuance of the Securities may result in dilution of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, which dilution may be substantial under certain market conditions.  The Company further acknowledges that its obligations under the Transaction Documents, including, without limitation, its obligation to issue the Underlying Shares pursuant to the Transaction Documents, are unconditional and absolute and not subject to any right of set off, counterclaim, delay or reduction, regardless of the effect of any such dilution or any claim the Company may have against any Purchaser and regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership of the other stockholders of the Company.

 

4.3   Furnishing of Information; Public Information.

 

(a)   Until no Purchaser owns Securities or the first anniversary of the last Closing, whichever is later, the Company covenants to maintain the registration of the Common Stock under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.

 

(b)    At any time during the period commencing on the six (6)-month anniversary of the Closing Date and ending at such time that all of the Securities may be sold without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) and otherwise

without restriction or limitation pursuant to Rule 144, if the Company shall fail for any reason to satisfy the current public information requirement under Rule 144(c) (a “Public Information Failure”) then, in addition to such Purchaser’s other available remedies, the Company shall pay to a Purchaser, in cash, as partial liquidated damages and not as a penalty, by reason of any such delay in or reduction of its ability to sell the Securities, an amount in cash equal to two percent (2%) of the aggregate Subscription Amount of such Purchaser’s Securities on the day of a Public Information Failure and on every thirtieth (30th) day (pro-rated for periods totaling less than thirty (30) days) thereafter until the earlier of (a) the date such Public Information Failure is cured and (b) such time that such public information is no longer required  for the Purchasers to transfer the Underlying Shares pursuant to Rule 144.  The payments to which a Purchaser shall be entitled pursuant to this Section 4.3(b) are referred to herein as “Public Information Failure Payments.”  Public Information Failure Payments shall be paid on the earlier of (i) the last day of the calendar month during which such Public Information Failure Payments are incurred and (ii) the third (3rd) Business Day after the event or failure giving rise to the Public Information Failure Payments is cured.  In the event the Company fails to make Public Information Failure Payments in a timely manner, such Public Information Failure Payments shall bear interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (prorated for partial months) until paid in full. Nothing herein shall limit such Purchaser’s right to pursue actual damages for the Public Information Failure, and such Purchaser shall have the right to pursue all remedies available to it at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief.

4.4   Integration.  The Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities in a manner that would require the registration under the Securities Act of the sale of the Securities or that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities for purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction.

 

4.5   Conversion and Exercise Procedures.  The form of Notice of Conversion included in the Notes sets forth the totality of the procedures required of the Purchasers in order to convert the Notes.  Without limiting the preceding sentences, no ink-original Notice of Conversion shall be required, nor shall any medallion guarantee (or other type of guarantee or notarization) of any Notice of Conversion form be required in order to convert the Note.  No additional legal opinion, other information or instructions shall be required of the Purchasers to convert their Notes.  The Company shall honor conversions of the Notes and shall deliver Underlying Shares in accordance with the terms, conditions and time periods set forth in the Transaction Documents.

 

4.6   Shareholder Rights Plan.  No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or, with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an “Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company, or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan

or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Securities under the Transaction Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the Purchasers.

 

4.7   Non-Public Information.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf, will provide any Purchaser or its agents or counsel with any information that the Company believes constitutes material non-public information, unless prior thereto such Purchaser shall have entered into a written agreement with the Company regarding the confidentiality and use of such information.  The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.

 

4.8   Use of Proceeds.  The Company shall use the net proceeds hereunder for working capital purposes and for the expenses of this offering and shall not use such proceeds: (a) for the satisfaction of any portion of the Company’s debt (other than payment of trade payables in the ordinary course of the Company’s business and prior practices), (b) for the redemption of any Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents, (c) for the settlement of any outstanding litigation or (d) in violation of FCPA or OFAC regulations.

 

4.9   Indemnification of Purchasers.   Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.9, the Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls such Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Purchaser Parties in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser Party, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (unless such action is based upon a breach of such Purchaser Party’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Purchaser Party may have with any such stockholder or any violations by such  Purchaser Party of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Purchaser Party which constitutes fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or malfeasance).  If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party.  Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the

defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel, a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel.  The Company will not be liable to any Purchaser Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by a Purchaser Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Purchaser Party’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by such Purchaser Party in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents.  The indemnification required by this Section 4.9 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred.  The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party against the Company or others and any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.

 

4.10   Reservation and Listing of Securities.

 

(a)   The Company shall maintain a reserve from its duly authorized shares of Common Stock for issuance pursuant to the Transaction Documents in such amount as may then be required to fulfill its obligations in full under the Transaction Documents.

 

(b)     If, on any date, the number of authorized but unissued (and otherwise unreserved) shares of Common Stock is less than 300% of the Required Minimum on such date, then the Board of Directors shall use commercially reasonable efforts to amend the Company’s certificate or articles of incorporation to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock to at least 300% of the Required Minimum at such time, as soon as possible and in any event not later than the 75th day after such date; provided that the Company will not be required at any time to authorize a number of shares of Common Stock greater than the maximum remaining number of shares of Common Stock that could possibly be issued after such time pursuant to the Transaction Documents.

(c)   The Company shall, if applicable: (i) in the time and manner required by the principal Trading Market, prepare and file with such Trading Market an additional shares listing application covering a number of shares of Common Stock at least equal to the Required Minimum on the date of such application; (ii) take all steps necessary to cause such shares of Common Stock to be approved for listing or quotation on such Trading Market as soon as possible thereafter; (iii) provide to the Purchasers evidence of such listing or quotation; and (iv) maintain the listing or quotation of such Common Stock on any date at least equal to the Required Minimum on such date on such Trading Market or another Trading Market.

4.11   Equal Treatment of Purchasers.  No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any Person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of this Agreement unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to this Agreement. Further, the Company shall not make any payment of principal or interest on the Notes in amounts which are disproportionate to the respective principal amounts outstanding on the Notes at any applicable time.  For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or voting of Securities or otherwise.

 

4.12   Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it, nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it, will execute any Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending on the date that the Notes are no longer outstanding (provided that this provision shall not prohibit any sales made where a corresponding Notice of Conversion is tendered to the Company and the shares received upon such conversion or exercise are used to close out such sale) (a “Prohibited Short Sale”).  Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the press release described in Section 4.14, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Transaction Documents and the Disclosure Schedules.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) except for a Prohibited Short Sale, no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company commencing on the third Trading Day after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the press release as described in Section 4.14, (ii) except for a Prohibited Short Sale, no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the third Trading Day after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the press release as described  in Section 4.14, and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality to the Company or its Subsidiaries commencing on the third Trading Day after the issuance of the press release as described in Section 4.14. 

4.13 Variable Rate Transactions. From the date hereof until such time as no Purchaser holds any of the Underlying Shares, the Company shall be prohibited from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents (or a combination of units thereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction. “Variable Rate Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive, additional shares of Common Stock either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon, and/or varies with, the trading prices of or quotations for the shares of Common Stock at any time after the initial issuance of

such debt or equity securities or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the Common Stock or (ii) enters into an equity line of credit or similar agreement.  Any Purchaser shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages.

4.14 Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity.  The Company shall (a) by 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the date hereof, issue a press release disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and (b) file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act.  From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Purchaser that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to any of the Purchasers by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Company and the Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor the Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of the Purchaser, or without the prior consent of the  Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of the Purchaser, or include the name of the Purchaser in any filing with any regulatory agency or Trading Market other than the Commission, without the prior written consent of the Purchaser, except: (a) as required by federal or state securities law in connection with any registration statement contemplated by this Agreement and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchaser with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b).

4.15 Form D; Blue Sky Filings.  The Company agrees to timely file a Form D with respect to the Securities as required under Regulation D and to provide a copy thereof, promptly upon request of the Purchaser. The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the Securities for, sale to the Purchaser at the applicable Closing under applicable securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the states of the United States, and shall provide evidence of such actions promptly upon request of the Purchaser.

ARTICLE V.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

5.1   Termination.  This Agreement may be terminated by any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the

Company and the other Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the First Closing has not been consummated on or before March 18, 2016; provided, however, that such termination will not affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by any other party (or parties).

 

5.2   Fees and Expenses.  The Company has agreed to reimburse the Purchaser up to $10,000 for its legal fees at the First Closing.  Accordingly, the aggregate amount that the Purchaser is to pay for the Securities at the First Closing shall be reduced by $10,000 in lieu thereof.  The Company shall deliver to each Purchaser, prior to each Closing, a completed and executed copy of the Closing Statement, attached hereto as Annex A.  Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees (including, without limitation, any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company and any conversion or exercise notice delivered by a Purchaser), stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchasers.

 

5.3   Entire Agreement.  The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.

 

5.4   Notices.  Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (i) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via email at the email addresses set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 12:00 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day and confirmed by telephone at the number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto; (ii) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via email at the email addresses set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 12:00 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, and confirmed by telephone at the number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto; (iii) the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service; or (iv) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given.  The addresses for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto; provided that the failure to deliver a notice to each email address set forth on the signature page hereto shall not render such notice invalid so long as such notice was delivered to at least one of the email addresses set forth on the signature page hereto.  Any address for notices may be changed by notice given in accordance with this provision.

 

5.5   Amendments; Waivers.  No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and the Purchasers holding at least 67% in interest of the Securities then outstanding or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such

waived provision is sought.  No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right.

 

5.6   Headings.  The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.

 

5.7   Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns.  The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Purchaser (other than by merger).  Any Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any Person to whom such Purchaser assigns or transfers any Securities, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Securities, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents that apply to the “Purchasers,” including Section 4.1.

 

5.8   No Third-Party Beneficiaries.  This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.9.

 

5.9   Governing Law.  All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof.  Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York.  Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.   If either party shall commence an action, suit or proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in

addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.9, the prevailing party in such action, suit or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.

 

5.10   Survival.  The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closings and the delivery of the Securities.

 

5.11   Execution.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart.  In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.

 

5.12   Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.

 

5.13   Rescission and Withdrawal Right.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in (and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction Documents, whenever any Purchaser exercises a right, election, demand or option under a Transaction Document and the Company does not timely perform its related obligations within the periods therein provided, then such Purchaser may rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in part without prejudice to its future actions and rights; provided, however, that in the case of a rescission of a conversion of a Note, the applicable Purchaser shall be required to return any shares of Common Stock subject to any such rescinded conversion notice concurrently with the return to such Purchaser of the aggregate conversion price paid to the Company for such shares.

 

5.14   Replacement of Securities.  If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction.  The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party

costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Securities.

 

5.15   Remedies.  In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, each of the Purchasers and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents.  The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.

 

5.16   Payment Set Aside. To the extent that the Company makes a payment or payments to any Purchaser pursuant to any Transaction Document or a Purchaser enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other Person under any law (including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.

 

5.17   Usury.  To the extent it may lawfully do so, the Company hereby agrees not to insist upon or plead or in any manner whatsoever claim, and will resist any and all efforts to be compelled to take the benefit or advantage of, usury laws wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, in connection with any claim, action or proceeding that may be brought by any Purchaser in order to enforce any right or remedy under any Transaction Document.  Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in any Transaction Document, it is expressly agreed and provided that the total liability of the Company under the Transaction Documents for payments in the nature of interest shall not exceed the maximum lawful rate authorized under applicable law (the “Maximum Rate”), and, without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall any rate of interest or default interest, or both of them, when aggregated with any other sums in the nature of interest that the Company may be obligated to pay under the Transaction Documents exceed such Maximum Rate.  It is agreed that if the maximum contract rate of interest allowed by law and applicable to the Transaction Documents is increased or decreased by statute or any official governmental action subsequent to the date hereof, the new maximum contract rate of interest allowed by law will be the Maximum Rate applicable to the Transaction Documents from the effective date thereof forward, unless such application is precluded by applicable law.  If under any circumstances whatsoever, interest in excess of the Maximum Rate is paid by the Company to any Purchaser with respect to indebtedness evidenced by the Transaction Documents, such excess shall be applied by such Purchaser to the unpaid principal balance of any such indebtedness or be refunded to the Company, the manner of handling such excess to be at such Purchaser’s election.

 

5.18   Independent Nature of Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights.  The obligations of each Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other Purchaser under any Transaction Document.  Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Each Purchaser shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights, including, without limitation, the rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents, and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an additional party in any proceeding for such purpose.  Each Purchaser has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in its review and negotiation of the Transaction Documents.

 

5.19   Liquidated Damages.  The Company’s obligations to pay any partial liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid partial liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been canceled.

5.20   Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc.  If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.

 

5.21   Construction. The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

 

5.22   WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL.  IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVE FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.

 

 

[Signature Pages Follow]

  

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.

 

	
CLS Holdings USA Inc.

 

 

 

	
Address for Notice:

 

CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

11767 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 115

Miami, Florida  33156

 

	
By:__________________________________________

    Name:  Jeffrey I. Binder

    Title:  Chairman and CEO

 

 

Phone Number (for confirmation of receipt of emails):

 

(305) ___________________________

 

 

With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

Broad and Cassel

1 N. Clematis Street, Suite 500

West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Attention: Kathleen L. Deutsch, P.A.

 

 

	
conversionnotice@broadandcassel.com

 

 

 

 

[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]

 

 

[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO CLS HOLDINGS USA INC.

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.

 

Name of Purchaser: Old Main Capital, LLC                                                                                                                             

Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser: ____________________________________                                                                              

 

Name of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________                                                                                                                                   

Title of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________                                                                                                                               

Email Address of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________                                                                                                            

Facsimile Number of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________  

State of Principal Place of Business:

                                                                                                      

Address for Notice to Purchaser:

 

 

Address for Delivery of Securities to Purchaser (if not same as address for notice):

 

 

 

First Closing Principal Amount:

  

First Closing Subscription Amount:

 

 

EIN Number: _______________________

 

Annex A

CLOSING STATEMENT

Pursuant to the attached Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, the purchasers shall purchase Notes from CLS Holdings USA Inc. (the “Company”).  All funds will be wired into an account maintained by the Company.  All funds will be disbursed in accordance with this Closing Statement.

	Disbursement Date:	March 18, 2016

	
I.   PURCHASE PRICE

 

	 	 	 
	
Gross Proceeds to be Received

	 	
$

	
200,000

	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	
II. DISBURSEMENTS

 

	 	 	 	 
	
Company

	 	
$

	
190,000

	 
	
Company’s counsel (Robinson Brog)

	 	
$

	
10,000

	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	
Total Amount Disbursed:

	 	
$

	
200,000

	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	
WIRE INSTRUCTIONS:

 

See attached

 

	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	
 

Duly executed this __ day of March, 2016:

 

CLS Holdings USA Inc.

 

By: ___________________

      Name: Jeffrey I. Binder

      Title:  Chairman and CEO

 

	 	 	 	 

DISCLOSURE SCHEDULES

The following are the Disclosure Schedules (the “Disclosure Schedules”) referred to in that certain Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 18, 2016 (the “Agreement”), by and between CLS Holdings USA Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages thereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” an collectively, the “Purchasers”).

Schedule 3.1(a) Subsidiaries

Schedule 3.1(g) Capitalization

Schedule 3.1(i) Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments

Schedule 3.1(j) Litigation

Schedule 3.1(o) Litigation

Schedule 3.1(r) Certain Fees

Schedule 3.1(u) Registration Rights

Schedule 3.1(bb) Accountants

Schedule 3.1(jj) Indebtedness

Schedule 3.1(ll) Seniority

 

Exhibit A

Form of 10% Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Note

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit B

Form of Registration Rights Agreement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit C

Form of Transfer Agent Instruction Letter

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