Document:

Exhibit 4.42

 

NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

 

 

NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

 

BETWEEN

 

E-HOUSE (CHINA) HOLDINGS LIMITED

 

and

 

LEJU HOLDINGS LIMITED

 

Dated as of March 10, 2014

 

1

 

NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

 

This Non-Competition Agreement is dated as of March 10, 2014, by and between E-House (China) Holdings Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“E-House”), and Leju Holdings Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“Leju”) (each of E-House and Leju a “Party” and, together, the “Parties”).

 

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Article I hereof.

 

R E C I T A L S

 

WHEREAS, E-House is the registered and beneficial owner of all of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares of Leju;

 

WHEREAS, E-House has been engaged in the Leju Business through Leju and/or Leju’s subsidiaries and VIEs, as more fully described in a draft Registration Statement on Form F-1 confidentially submitted for review and comment by the SEC under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed publicly with the SEC via its EDGAR system (the date of such public filing, the “Live Filing Date”) following the substantial completion of such review and comment and as financial market conditions permit (as so filed, and as amended thereafter from time to time, the “IPO Registration Statement”);

 

WHEREAS, prior to the date hereof, all of the then existing assets and liabilities in connection with the Leju Business have already been transferred to or assumed by Leju and/or its subsidiaries and VIEs;

 

WHEREAS, the Parties currently contemplate that Leju will make an initial public offering pursuant to the IPO Registration Statement; and

 

WHEREAS, the Parties intend in this Agreement to set forth the principal terms and conditions with respect to their agreement not to compete with each other or solicit the employees of each other following;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and provisions contained in this Agreement, the Parties, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

 

ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS.

 

1.1.                            Defined Terms. The following capitalized terms have the meanings given to them in this Section 1.1:

 

“ADSs” means American depositary shares representing Ordinary Shares.

 

“Agreement” means this Non-Competition Agreement, as the same may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof.

 

“E-House” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

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“E-House Business” means any business that is conducted by E-House and its subsidiaries and VIEs and described in its periodic filings with the SEC, other than the Leju Business.

 

“E-House Group” means E-House and its subsidiaries and VIEs, other than Leju and its subsidiaries and VIEs.

 

“Inter-Company Agreements” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Master Transaction Agreement.

 

“IPO Registration Statement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

 

“Leju” has the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.

 

“Leju Business” means the provision of real estate e-commerce, online advertising and listing services as currently conducted or contemplated to be conducted by the Leju Group anywhere in the world, as more completely described in the IPO Registration Statement.

 

“Leju Group” means Leju and its subsidiaries and VIEs.

 

“Live Filing Date” has the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.

 

“Master Transaction Agreement” means the Master Transaction Agreement between the Parties dated the date hereof, as the same may be amended and supplemented in accordance with the provisions thereof.

 

“Non-Competition Period” means the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the later of:

 

(a)                                 the date that is three (3) years after the first date upon which members of the E-House Group cease to own in the aggregate at least twenty percent (20%) of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Leju; and

 

(b)                                 the fifth anniversary of the date of the Live Filing Date.

 

“Ordinary Shares” means the shares of Leju, par value $0.0001 per share (including shares represented by ADSs and held of record by the depositary bank for the ADSs).

 

“Party” or “Parties” has the meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

“Person” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization or a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

 

“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“VIE” of any Person means any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person and is deemed to be a variable interest entity consolidated with such Person for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles in the United States as in effect from time to time. As used herein, “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of  such entity, whether through ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise.

 

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ARTICLE 2. NON-COMPETITION

 

2.1.                            Undertaking of the E-House Group. During the Non-Competition Period, E-House will not, and will cause each of the other members of the E-House Group not to, directly or indirectly, anywhere in the world sell or otherwise provide to any third party any product or service or otherwise engage in any business that competes in any way with the Leju Business, whether as a principal or for its own account, or as a shareholder or other equity owner in any Person (other than Leju); provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any member of the E-House Group from owning beneficially or of record, less than 2% (calculated on an aggregate basis combining any such ownership by any members of the E-House Group) of the equity or its equivalent of any publicly-traded company (other than Leju) that sells or otherwise provides any product or service or otherwise engages in any business that competes in any way with the Leju Business.

 

2.2.                            Undertaking of the Leju Group. During the Non-Competition Period, Leju will not, and will cause each of the other members of the Leju Group not to, directly or indirectly, anywhere in the world sell or otherwise provide to any third party any product or service or otherwise engage in any business that competes in any way with the E-House Business, whether as a principal or for its own account, or as a shareholder or other equity owner in any Person; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any member of the Leju Group from owning beneficially or of record, less than 2% (calculated on an aggregate basis combining any such ownership by any member of the Leju Group) of the equity or its equivalent of any publicly-traded company that sells or otherwise provides any such product or service in competition with the E-House Business.

 

ARTICLE 3. NON-SOLICITATION

 

3.1.                            Non-Solicitation by E-House. During the Non-Competition Period, E-House will not, and will cause each other member of the E-House Group not to, directly or indirectly, hire, or solicit for hire, any active employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the Leju Group, or any former employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the Leju Group within six (6) months of the termination of their employment with or consulting services to the member of the Leju Group, without Leju’s consent; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any solicitation activities through generalized non-targeted advertisement not directed to such employees or individuals that do not result in the hiring of any such employees or individuals by the E-House Group within the Non-Competition Period.

 

3.2.                            Non-Solicitation by Leju. During the Non-Competition Period, Leju will not, and will cause each other member of the Leju Group not to, directly or indirectly, solicit or hire any active employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the E-House Group, or any former employees of or individuals providing consulting services to any member of the E-House Group within six (6) months of the termination of their employment with or consulting to the member of the E-House Group, without E-House’s consent; provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit any solicitation activities through generalized non-targeted advertisement not directed to such employees or individuals that do  not result in the hiring of any such employees or individuals by the Leju Group within the Non-Competition Period.

 

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ARTICLE 4. MISCELLANEOUS

 

4.1.                            Consent of E-House. Any consent of E-House pursuant to this Agreement shall not be effective unless it is in writing and evidenced by the signature of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer or Chief Financial Officer of E-House (or such other person that the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer or board of directors of E-House has specifically authorized in writing to give such consent).

 

4.2.                            Consent of Leju. Any consent of Leju pursuant to this Agreement shall not be effective unless it is in writing and evidenced by the signature of the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of Leju (or such other person that the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or board of directors of Leju has specifically authorized in writing to give such consent).

 

4.3.                            Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement among the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and shall supersede all prior written and oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements and understandings with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

4.4.                            Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A. Subject to Section 6.1 of the Master Transaction Agreement, each of the Parties hereby submits unconditionally to jurisdiction of, and agrees that venue shall lie exclusively in, the federal and state courts located in the City of New York for purposes of the resolution of any disputes arising under this Agreement.

 

4.5.                            Termination; Amendment. This Agreement may be terminated or amended by mutual written consent of the Parties, evidenced by an instrument in writing signed on behalf of each of the Parties.

 

4.6.                            Notices. Notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by a Party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be given in writing to the other Party to the following addresses:

 

if to E-House:

 

Qiushi Building, 11/F

383 Guangyan Road, Zhabei District

Shanghai 200072

People’s Republic of China

Attention: Li-Lan Cheng

Facsimile: + 86 (21) 6133 0707

Email: chenglilan@ehousechina.com

 

if to Leju:

 

15/F Floor, Shoudong International Plaza, No. 5 Building, Guangqu Home

Dongcheng District, Beijing 100022

People’s Republic of China

Attention: Geoffrey Yinyu He, CEO

Facsimile: + 86 (10) 8722 4920

Email: yinyu@leju.com

 

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or to such other address, facsimile number or email address as the Party to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the other in writing as provided herein. Any notice involving non-performance or termination shall be sent by hand delivery or recognized overnight courier. All other notices may also be sent by facsimile or email, confirmed by mail. All notices shall be deemed to have been given when received, if hand delivered; when transmitted, if transmitted by facsimile or email; upon confirmation of delivery, if sent by recognized overnight courier; and upon receipt if mailed.

 

4.7.                            Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which shall constitute one and the same agreement.

 

4.8.                            Binding Effect; Assignment. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective legal representatives and successors, and nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any other Person any rights or remedies of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. No party may assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the other Party, and any such assignment without such consent shall be void; provided, however, each Party may assign this Agreement to a successor entity in conjunction with the transfer of substantially all of the Party’s business, whether by sale of substantially all assets, merger, consolidation or otherwise.

 

4.9.                            Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is determined by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any Party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner in order that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.

 

4.10.                     Failure or Indulgence not Waiver; Specific Performance; Remedies Cumulative. No failure or delay on the part of any Party in the exercise of any right hereunder shall impair such right or be construed to be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty or agreement herein, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other right. Each Party recognizes and agrees that the other Party’s remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement would be inadequate and that the non-breaching Party shall, in addition to such other remedies as may be available to it at law or in equity, be entitled to injunctive relief and to enforce its rights by an action for specific performance to the extent permitted by law  (without the posting of any bond and without proof of actual damages). All rights and remedies existing under this Agreement are cumulative to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies otherwise available.

 

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4.11.                     Authority. Each of the Parties hereto represents to the others that (a) it has the corporate or other requisite power and authority to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement, (b) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by it have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or other actions, (c) it has duly and validly executed and delivered this Agreement, and (d) this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general equity principles.

 

4.12.                     Interpretation. The headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.  For all purposes of this Agreement: (i) all references in this Agreement to designated “Sections”, “Schedules”, “Exhibits” and other subdivisions are to the designated Sections, Schedules, Exhibits and other subdivisions of the body of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated; (ii) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision; (iii) “or” is not exclusive; (iv) “including” and “includes” will be deemed to be followed by “but not limited to” and “but is not limited to”, respectively; (v) any definition of, or reference to, any law, agreement, instrument or other document herein will be construed as referring to such law, agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, supplemented or otherwise modified; and (vi) any definition of, or reference to, any statute will be construed as referring also to any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

[Signatures on Next Page]

 

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WHEREFORE, the Parties have signed this Non-Competition Agreement effective as of the date first set forth above.

 

 

	
 
    	
/s/ E-House   (China) Holdings Limited
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
/s/ Leju Holdings   Limited
    

 

7Exhibit 4.43

	
 
    

 

Shanghai Real Estate Sales (Group) Co., Ltd.

 

and

 

Beijing Yisheng Leju Information Services Co., Ltd.

 

Shanghai Yi Xin E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

 

Beijing Jiajujiu E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

 

Cooperation Agreement

 

Dated March 10, 2014

	
 
    

 

 

Cooperation Agreement

 

This Cooperation Agreement (this “Agreement”) is entered into on March 10, 2014 by and between the following parties:

 

1                     Shanghai Real Estate Sales (Group) Co., Ltd. (“E-House Shanghai”)

 

Registered Address: Room 308, Building 1, No. 1376 Jiangdong Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai

 

2                     Beijing Yisheng Leju Information Services Co., Ltd.

 

Registered address:            Room 806-810, Ideal International Plaza, 58 Sihuanxi Road, Haidian District, Beijing

 

3                     Shanghai Yi Xin E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

 

Registered address:            Room 404, Building 1, 84 Lane 453, Hutai Road, Shanghai

 

4.                  Beijing Jiajujiu E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

 

Registered address:            Room 905, 9th Floor, Building 5, Guangqu Jiayuan, Dongcheng District, Beijing

 

(The parties as set out in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) above are referred to individually as “Leju Entity” and collectively as “Leju Entities”)

 

(In this Agreement, the above parties are referred to individually as a “Party” and collectively as the “Parties”.)

 

WHEREAS:

 

1.                  E-House Shanghai is a company registered, established and legally existing in Shanghai, the PRC. E-House Shanghai and its Affiliates (as defined below) are engaged in the business of primary real estate agency services.

 

2.                  Each of Leju Entities is a company registered, established and legally existing under laws of the PRC.  Leju Entities and its Affiliates (as defined below) are engaged in online real estate services, including e-commerce, online advertisement and online listing services.

 

3.                  As the target customers group for the business of the Parties is similar and the same customer may simultaneously need various types of service to be provided by the Parties respectively, the Parties intend to cooperate with each other in their business activities in order to expand their respective business scale.

 

THEREFORE, through friendly negotiation, the Parties agree as follows:

 

 

Article 1 Definitions

 

Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the following terms in this Agreement shall have the meanings as defined below.

 

“Affiliate” of E-House Shanghai means an entity established in the PRC under the PRC laws which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with E-House Shanghai, and which is engaged in the business of primary real estate agency services, excluding the Leju Group; “Affiliate” of any Leju Entity means an entity established in the PRC under the PRC laws which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Leju Entity, and which is engaged in online real estate services, including e-commerce, online advertisement and online listing services, excluding E-House Group.

 

“Contact Person” means the contact person of each Party and its Affiliates as designated by such Party to the other Parties to receive the Demand Notice sent by the other Parties pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Control” means the ability to, directly or indirectly, direct the management and affairs of an entity, whether through ownership of voting equity or shares, by contract or otherwise.

 

“E-House” means E-House (China) Holdings Limited, a company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

“E-House Group” means E-House and any entity controlled by E-House, excluding any member of the Leju Group.

 

“Leju” means Leju Holding Limited, a company duly established under the laws of Cayman Islands.

 

“Leju Group” means Leju and any entity controlled by Leju.

 

“Principal Business” of E-House Shanghai and its Affiliates refers to the business of primary real estate agency services; “Principal Business” of Leju Entity and its Affiliates refers to the business of online real estate services, including e-commerce, online advertisement and online listing services.

 

“PRC” means the People’s Republic of China, for purposes of this Agreement only, excluding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.

 

 

Article 2 Share of Demands Information

 

2.1                                       During the Agreement Term (as defined below), if any Party or any of its Affiliates (the “Notifying Party”) is aware, in its business operation or otherwise, that its customers, suppliers or other business partners (including the current and potential ones, collectively referred to as the “Demanding Party”) have or may have any demand for the products and/or services of the Principal Business of any other Party or its Affiliates (the “Demand”), the Notifying Party agrees to notify the Contact Person of such other Party or its Affiliates (the “Notified Party”) in writing of such Demand as soon as possible (the “Demand Notice”), to the extent not in violation of any applicable law and the confidentiality obligations and any other covenants under any contract binding upon the Notifying Party.

 

2.2                                       A Demand Notice shall at least include the name and contact information of the Demanding Party, and a brief description of the Demand, to the extent not in violation of any applicable law and the confidentiality obligations and any other covenants under any contract binding upon the Notifying Party.

 

2.3                                       The Notified Party may request the Notifying Party to provide more detailed information of the Demand described in the Demand Notice after its receipt of the Demand Notice from the Notifying Party. The Notifying Party agrees to inform the Notified Party of the information related to such Demand as required by the Notified Party and to the best knowledge of the Notifying Party, to the extent not in violation of any applicable law and the confidentiality obligations and any other covenants under any contract binding upon the Notifying Party.

 

Article 3 Cooperation in Developing Customers

 

3.1                                       Upon its receipt of the Demand Notice from the Notifying Party, the Notified Party may request the Notifying Party to refer to the Demanding Party the products and/or services of the Principal Business of the Notified Party. The Notifying Party agrees to refer to the Demanding Party the products and/or services of the Principal Business of the Notified Party, to the extent it deems commercially reasonable and feasible and in the manner it deems appropriate. For the purpose of the foregoing referral, at the request of the Notifying Party, the Notified Party agrees to, as soon as possible, provide the Notifying Party with the marketing and promotion materials of its products and/or services and other documents and materials as reasonably required by the Notifying Party.

 

3.2                                       For any communication and negotiation between the Notifying Party and/or the Notified Party and the Demanding Party, the Parties agree as follows.

 

(1)             Each of the Notifying Party and the Notified Party may choose to communicate and negotiate with the Demanding Party individually or jointly with the other Party, provided that if joint communication or negotiation with the Demanding Party is more favorable to promote the common interest of the Notifying Party and the Notified Party, the Notifying Party and the Notified Party agree to cooperate, to the extent commercially reasonable and feasible, with each other to communicate and negotiate with the Demanding Party jointly.

 

 

(2)             The Notified Party may request to the Notifying Party for participating in the communication and negotiation between the Notifying Party and the Demanding Party, in order to pitch the Demanding Party to be a customer of the Principal Business of the Notified Party. The Notifying Party agrees, to the extent it deems commercially reasonable and feasible and in the manner it deems appropriate, to allow and to use commercially reasonable efforts to procure the Notified Party’s participation in such communication and negotiation between the Notifying Party and the Demanding Party.

 

(3)             The Notifying Party may also request the Notified Party to participate in the communication and negotiation between the Notifying Party and the Demanding Party. The Notified Party agrees, to the extent it deems commercially reasonable and feasible and in the manner it deems appropriate, to participate in such communication and negotiation between the Notifying Party and the Demanding Party.

 

3.3                                       For the agreement reached by the Notifying Parity and/or the Notified Party with the Demanding Party after communication and consultation, the Parties agree as follows.

 

(1)             Subject to agreement by the Demanding Party, each of the Notifying Party and the Notified Party may choose to, individually or jointly with the other Party, execute legally binding business contracts, agreements or other written documents (the “Business Agreements”) with the Demanding Party, provided that if the Notifying Party and the Notified Party both deem it more favorable to jointly execute the Business Agreements with the Demanding Party in order to promote the common interest of the Notifying Party and the Notified Party, the Notifying Party and the Notified Party agree to jointly enter into the Business Agreements with the Demanding Party.

 

(2)             If the Notifying Party and the Notified Party jointly execute the Business Agreements with the Demanding Party, the Notifying Party and the Notified Party shall amicably consult with each other and agree on the allocation of the rights and obligations between the Parties based on the principle of fairness and with reference to the fair market price of the products and/or services provided thereby to the Demanding Party, and shall explicitly set forth such allocation of the rights and obligations between the Parties in the Business Agreements executed with the Demanding Party or the written documents separately executed by the Parties.

 

Article 4 Parties’ Agreements

 

4.1                                       None of the Parties shall charge any fees for its support or cooperation provided to the other Parties under this Agreement, unless otherwise provided in Clause (2) of Article 3.3 of this Agreement or otherwise agreed by the relevant Parties in writing.

 

4.2                                      If any Affiliate of any Party to this Agreement shall be a Notifying Party or a Notified Party (as the case may be) under this Agreement pursuant to the above provisions of this Agreement, such Party shall cause such Affiliate to perform the obligations of the Notifying Party or the Notified Party (as the case may be) in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

 

4.3                                       Each Party undertakes to perform this Agreement in the manner in compliance with the PRC laws, including but not limited to, for the purpose of abiding by the requirements of the PRC laws, designating an Affiliate of such Party with the relevant business qualification to exercise the rights of such Party under this Agreement and to perform the obligations of such Party under this Agreement, and, when the relevant Parties deem it necessary, causing the Affiliate of the relevant Party hereto, which actually performs this Agreement, to execute further agreements.

 

4.4                                       The Parties agree that, their respective offshore holding companies, as listed companies, have the right to review the Parties’ performance of this Agreement (including the specific transactions conducted pursuant to this Agreement) from time to time in accordance with the listing rules, internal corporate governance guidelines and other regulatory requirements applicable thereto.

 

Article 5 Representations and Warranties

 

Each Party hereby represents and warrants to the other Parties that:

 

(1)                                         it is a company lawfully incorporated and validly existing under the PRC laws with an independent legal person status;

 

(2)                                         it has the full and independent legal status and legal capacity to execute, deliver and perform this Agreement and may be an independent party to a lawsuit;

 

(3)                                         it has the full internal corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and all other documents related to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and to be executed thereby, and it has the full power and authority to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

 

(4)                                         this Agreement is lawfully and duly executed and delivered by it, and shall constitute its legal and binding obligations and can be enforced against it in accordance with the terms of this Agreement; and

 

(5)                                        its execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are not: (i) in violation of its articles of association or any other constitutional documents; (ii) in conflict with any agreement, contract or other document to which it is a party or which is binding upon its assets; or (iii) in violation of or in conflict with any applicable laws.

 

Article 6 Agreement Term

 

6.1                                       This Agreement shall come into effect upon the due execution of the Parties. Unless the Parties agree in writing to early terminate this Agreement or to extend the valid term of this Agreement, the valid term of this Agreement shall expire on the earlier of (i) the first date upon which the E-House Group ceases to collectively own in the aggregate at least 20% of the voting power of the then outstanding securities of Leju, or (ii) the first date upon which E-House, collectively with the other members of the E-House Group, ceases to be the largest beneficial owner of the then outstanding voting securities of Leju (for the purpose of this item (ii), without considering holdings of Leju’s securities by institutional investors that have acquired Leju’s securities in the ordinary course of their business and not with a purpose nor with the effect of changing or influencing the control of Leju) (the “Agreement Term”).

 

 

6.2                                       Each Party shall complete the approval and registration procedures for extension of business period within three (3) months prior to the expiration of its respective business period, in order to enable the Agreement Term to continue.

 

Article 7 Confidentiality

 

7.1                                       Regardless of whether this Agreement is terminated or not, each Party shall keep strictly confidential all the business secrets, proprietary information and all other information of a confidential nature about the other Parties known by it during the execution and performance of this Agreement (the “Confidential Information”). Unless a prior written consent is obtained from the Party disclosing the Confidential Information or it must be disclosed to third parties as required by the relevant applicable laws and regulations or the rules of applicable stock exchange, the Party receiving the Confidential Information (the “Receiving Party”) shall not disclose to any third party any Confidential Information. The Receiving Party shall not use any Confidential Information other than for the purpose of performing this Agreement.

 

7.2                                       The following information shall not be deemed a part of the Confidential Information:

 

(a)             any information that has been lawfully acquired by the Party receiving such information before, as demonstrated by written evidence;

 

(b)             any information entering the public domain not attributable to the fault of the Party receiving the information; or

 

(c)              any information lawfully acquired by the Party receiving the information through other sources after its receipt of such information.

 

7.3                                       For purpose of performing this Agreement, the Receiving Party may disclose the Confidential Information to its relevant employees, agents or professionals retained by it. However, the Receiving Party shall ensure that the aforesaid persons comply with the relevant terms and conditions of this Article 7. In addition, the Receiving Party shall be responsible for any liability incurred as a result of such persons’ breach of the relevant terms and conditions of this Article 7.

 

7.4                                       Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, the effect of this Article 7 shall not be affected by the termination of this Agreement.

 

 

Article 8 Notices

 

8.1                                      All notices, requests, demands and other correspondences required by this Agreement or made in accordance with this Agreement shall be delivered in writing to the relevant Parties to the follow addresses or any other addresses notified by a Party to other Parties by sending a ten (10) day notice in writing:

 

If to Shanghai Real Estate Sales (Group) Co., Ltd.:

 

Address:                                     11th Floor Qiushi Building, No.383 Guangyan Road, Zhabei District, Shanghai, PRC

 

Postcode:                               200072

 

Attention:                             Li-Lan Cheng, Chief Operating Officer

 

Facsimile:                             +86 (21) 6133 0707

 

Email:                                                chenglilan@ehousechina.com

 

If to Leju Entities:

 

Address:                                     15th Floor Shoudong International Tower, Building 5 Guangqu Jiayuan, Dongcheng District, Beijing, PRC

 

Postcode:                               100022

 

Attention:                             Yingyu He, Chief Executive Officer

 

Facsimie:                                +86 (10) 8722 4920

 

Email:                                                yinyu@leju.com

 

8.2                                       All of the above notices shall be deemed served: (i) if sent in person, upon delivery; (2) if sent by mail, on the fifth (5) day after posting; (3) if sent by courier, on the second (2) day after deposited with a reputational courier; (4) if sent by email, twenty-four (24) hours after shown transmitted in email system of the sending party; and (5) if sent by fax, twenty-four (24) hours after dispatch and upon receipt of an electric confirmation

 

Article 9 Defaulting Liability

 

If any Party (the “Breaching Party”) is in breach of any provision hereof, the Party who does not commit a breach has the right to require that the Breaching Party rectify it or take a remedial action within a reasonable period and to require that the Breaching Party indemnify it against all its losses incurred as a result of the breach.

 

 

Article 10 Force Majeure

 

If any Party fails or delays in the performance of any term or provision hereof, in whole or in a part, because of acts of God such as storm, flood, fire and etc., or war, riots, strike, or changes to policies and laws and any other event, which is neither under the control of the Party whose performance is interfered with nor be preventable by the exercise of reasonable efforts of such Party (“Force Majeure Event”), then upon a prompt notice to other Parties, the suffering Party will, during the duration of the Force Majeure Event, be excused from its obligations hereunder that cannot be performed timely due to such Force Majeure Event and such Party will not bear any liability thereof, unless that the suffering Party fails to use reasonable efforts to remedy the situation and to remove the cause and effect of the Force Majeure Event.

 

Article 11 Miscellaneous

 

11.1                                This Agreement is written in Chinese in four (4) originals. Each Party of this Agreement shall hold one (1) original.

 

11.2                                The execution, effectiveness, performance, revision, interpretation and termination of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the PRC.

 

11.3                                Any dispute arising out of and in connection with this Agreement shall be resolved through consultations among the Parties. In case the Parties fail to reach agreement within thirty (30) days after the dispute arises, any Party may submit the dispute to China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration in Shanghai in accordance with such Commission’s then-effective arbitration rules.  The arbitration shall be conducted in Chinese.  The arbitration award shall be final and binding on the Parties.

 

11.4                                None of the rights, powers or remedies granted to each Party by any provision of this Agreement shall preclude any other rights, powers or remedies that such Party is entitled to under the laws and under any other provisions of this Agreement, and the exercising by one Party of any of its rights, powers and remedies shall not exclude such Party from exercising any of its other rights, powers and remedies..

 

11.5                                No failure or delay by a Party in exercising any rights, powers and remedies available to it hereunder or at law (the “Party’s Rights”) shall result in a waiver thereof, nor shall the waiver of any single or partial exercise of the Party’s Rights shall exclude such Party from exercising such rights in any other way and exercising the other Party’s Rights.

 

11.6                                Each provision contained herein shall be severable and independent from each of the other provisions. If any one or more provisions herein become(s) invalid, illegal or unenforceable at any time, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions herein shall not be affected as a result thereof.

 

11.7                                Any amendment or supplement hereto shall be made in writing and shall become effective only upon due execution by the Parties hereto.

 

11.8                               Without the prior written consent of the other Parties, each Party shall not transfer any of its rights and/or obligations hereunder to any third party.

 

 

11.9                                This Agreement shall be binding on the lawful successors of the Parties.

 

11.10                         The headings herein are used for ease of reference only, and in no event shall such headings be used for or affect the interpretation of the provisions hereof.

 

11.11                         Unless otherwise expressly set out herein, each Party shall pay its own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the negotiation, drafting, execution and performance of this Agreement. Each Party shall be responsible for all taxes payable by it under applicable laws incurred from the execution, performance and consummation of transactions as contemplated hereby.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Cooperation Agreement is executed by the following Parties as of the date first written above.

 

/s/ Shanghai Real Estate Sales (Group) Co., Ltd.

 

/s/ Beijing Yisheng Leju Information Services Co., Ltd.

 

/s/ Shanghai Yi Xin E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

 

/s/ Beijing Jiajujiu E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

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