Document:

jva_ex41.htm

EXHIBIT 4.1

 

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT

COFFEE HOLDING CO., INC.

 

	Warrant Shares: [_______]  	
Initial Exercise Date: April 1, 2012

Issue Date: September 30, 2011

 

THIS COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT (the “Warrant”) certifies that, for value received, _____________ (the “Holder”) is entitled, upon the terms and subject to the limitations on exercise and the conditions hereinafter set forth, at any time on or after the six-month anniversary of the Issue Date (the “Initial Exercise Date”) and on or prior to the close of business on the five-year anniversary of the Initial Exercise Date (the “Termination Date”) but not thereafter, to subscribe for and purchase from Coffee Holding Co., Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), up to ______ shares (the “Warrant Shares”) of Common Stock. The purchase price of one share of Common Stock under this Warrant shall be equal to the Exercise Price, as defined in Section 2(b).

 

Section 1. Definitions.  Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in that certain Subscription Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), dated September 27, 2011 (the “Subscription Date”), among the Company and the purchasers signatory thereto.

 

Section 2.  Exercise.

 

a) Exercise of Warrant.  Exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, at any time or times on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or before the Termination Date by delivery to the Company (or such other office or agency of the Company as it may designate by notice in writing to the registered Holder at the address of the Holder appearing on the books of the Company) of a duly executed facsimile copy of the Notice of Exercise Form annexed hereto; and, within three (3) Trading Days (as defined below) of the date said Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company, the Company shall have received payment of the aggregate Exercise Price of the shares thereby purchased by wire transfer or cashier’s check drawn on a United States bank or, if available, pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure specified in Section 2(c) below.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company until the Holder has purchased all of the Warrant Shares available hereunder and the Warrant has been exercised in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company for cancellation within three (3) Trading Days of the date the final Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company.  Partial exercises of this Warrant resulting in purchases of a portion of the total number of Warrant Shares available hereunder shall have the effect of lowering the outstanding number of Warrant Shares purchasable hereunder in an amount equal to the applicable number of Warrant Shares purchased.  The Holder and the Company shall maintain records showing the number of Warrant Shares purchased and the date of such purchases.  The Company shall deliver any objection to any Notice of Exercise Form within one (1) Business Day of receipt of such notice.  The Holder and any assignee, by acceptance of this Warrant, acknowledge and agree that, by reason of the provisions of this paragraph, following the purchase of a portion of the Warrant Shares hereunder, the number of Warrant Shares available for purchase hereunder at any given time may be less than the amount stated on the face hereof.  For purposes of this Warrant, “Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading and “Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE Amex, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board (or any successors to any of the foregoing).

 

  

1

  

 

b) Exercise Price.  The exercise price per share of the Common Stock under this Warrant shall be $13.59, subject to adjustment hereunder (the “Exercise Price”).

 

c) Cashless Exercise.  If at the time of exercise hereof there is no effective registration statement registering, or the prospectus contained therein is not available for the issuance of the Warrant Shares to the Holder and all of the Warrant Shares are not then registered for resale by Holder into the market at market prices from time to time on an effective registration statement for use on a continuous basis (or the prospectus contained therein is not available for use), then this Warrant may also be exercised, in whole or in part, at such time by means of a “cashless exercise” in which the Holder shall be entitled to receive a certificate for the number of Warrant Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing [(A-B) (X)] by (A), where:

 

	 	(A) 	 =	the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date on which Holder elects to exercise this Warrant by means of a “cashless exercise,” as set forth in the applicable Notice of Exercise;
	 	 	 	 
	 	(B) 	 =	the Exercise Price of this Warrant, as adjusted hereunder; and
	 	 	 	 
	 	(X) 	 =	the number of Warrant Shares that would be issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise.

 

“VWAP” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the Common Stock is then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time), (b)  if the OTC Bulletin Board is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the OTC Bulletin Board, (c) if the Common Stock is not then listed or quoted for trading on the OTC Bulletin Board and if prices for the Common Stock are then reported in the “Pink Sheets” published by Pink OTC Markets, Inc. (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per share of the Common Stock so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the Holders of a majority in interest of the Warrant Shares then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.

 

  

2

  

 

d) Mechanics of Exercise.

 

i. Delivery of Certificates Upon Exercise.  Certificates for shares purchased hereunder shall be transmitted by the Company’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) to the Holder by crediting the account of the Holder’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company through its Deposit Withdrawal Agent at Custodian (“DWAC”) system if the Company is then a participant in such system and either (A) there is an effective Registration Statement permitting the issuance of the Warrant Shares to or resale of the Warrant Shares by Holder or (B) this Warrant is being exercised via cashless exercise, and otherwise by physical delivery to the address specified by the Holder in the Notice of Exercise by the date that is three (3) Trading Days after the latest of (A) the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise Form, (B) surrender of this Warrant (if required) and (C) payment of the aggregate Exercise Price as set forth above (including by cashless exercise, if permitted) (such date, the “Warrant Share Delivery Date”).  This Warrant shall be deemed to have been exercised on the first date on which all of the foregoing have been delivered to the Company.  The Warrant Shares shall be deemed to have been issued, and Holder or any other person so designated to be named therein shall be deemed to have become a holder of record of such shares for all purposes, as of the date the Warrant has been exercised, with payment to the Company of the Exercise Price (or by cashless exercise, if permitted) and all taxes required to be paid by the Holder, if any, pursuant to Section 2(d)(vi) prior to the issuance of such shares, having been paid.

 

ii. Delivery of New Warrants Upon Exercise.  If this Warrant shall have been exercised in part, the Company shall, at the request of a Holder and upon surrender of this Warrant certificate, at the time of delivery of the certificate or certificates representing Warrant Shares, deliver to Holder a new Warrant evidencing the rights of Holder to purchase the unpurchased Warrant Shares called for by this Warrant, which new Warrant shall in all other respects be identical with this Warrant.

 

iii. Rescission Rights.  If the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder a certificate or the certificates representing the Warrant Shares pursuant to Section 2(d)(i) by the Warrant Share Delivery Date, then, the Holder will have the right to rescind such exercise.

 

  

3

  

 

iv. Compensation for Buy-In on Failure to Timely Deliver Certificates Upon Exercise.  In addition to any other rights available to the Holder, if the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder a certificate or the certificates representing the Warrant Shares pursuant to an exercise on or before the Warrant Share Delivery Date, and if after such date the Holder is required by its broker to purchase (in an open market transaction or otherwise) or the Holder’s brokerage firm otherwise purchases, shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Holder of the Warrant Shares which the Holder anticipated receiving upon such exercise (a “Buy-In”), then the Company shall, within three (3) Trading Days after the Holder’s request and in the Holder’s discretion, either (i) pay cash to the Holder in an amount equal to the Holder’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased (the “Buy-In Price”), at which point the Company’s obligation to deliver such certificate (and to issue such Warrant Shares or credit such Holder’s balance account with DTC) shall terminate, or (ii) promptly honor its obligation to deliver to the Holder a certificate or certificates representing such Warrant Shares or credit such Holder’s balance account with DTC and pay cash to the Holder in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of the Buy-In Price over the product of (A) such number of shares of Common Stock, times (B) the VWAP on the date of exercise.

 

v. No Fractional Shares or Scrip.  No fractional shares or scrip representing fractional shares shall be issued upon the exercise of this Warrant.  As to any fraction of a share which the Holder would otherwise be entitled to purchase upon such exercise, the Company shall, at its election, either pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the Exercise Price or round up to the next whole share.

 

vi. Charges, Taxes and Expenses.  Issuance of certificates for Warrant Shares shall be made without charge to the Holder for any issue or transfer tax or other incidental expense in respect of the issuance of such certificate, all of which taxes and expenses shall be paid by the Company, and such certificates shall be issued in the name of the Holder or in such name or names as may be directed by the Holder; provided, however, that in the event certificates for Warrant Shares are to be issued in a name other than the name of the Holder, this Warrant when surrendered for exercise shall be accompanied by the Assignment Form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder and the Company may require, as a condition thereto, the payment of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any transfer tax incidental thereto.

 

vii. Closing of Books.  The Company will not close its stockholder books or records in any manner which prevents the timely exercise of this Warrant, pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

  

4

  

 

e) Holder’s Exercise Limitations.  The Company shall not effect any exercise of this Warrant, and a Holder shall not have the right to exercise any portion of this Warrant, pursuant to Section 2 or otherwise, to the extent that after giving effect to such issuance after exercise as set forth on the applicable Notice of Exercise, the Holder (together with the Holder’s Affiliates, and any other Persons acting as a group together with the Holder or any of the Holder’s Affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below).  For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Holder and its Affiliates shall include the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant with respect to which such determination is being made, but shall exclude the number of shares of Common Stock which would be issuable upon (i) exercise of the remaining, nonexercised portion of this Warrant beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates and (ii) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or nonconverted portion of any other securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any other  Common Stock Equivalents) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates.  Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this Section 2(e), beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, it being acknowledged by the Holder that the Company is not representing to the Holder that such calculation is in compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the Holder is solely responsible for any schedules required to be filed in accordance therewith.   To the extent that the limitation contained in this Section 2(e) applies, the determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable shall be in the sole discretion of the Holder, and the submission of a Notice of Exercise shall be deemed to be the Holder’s determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable, in each case subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the Company shall have no obligation to verify or confirm the accuracy of such determination.   In addition, a determination as to any group status as contemplated above shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.  For purposes of this Section 2(e), in determining the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock, a Holder may rely on the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock as reflected in (A) the Company’s most recent periodic or annual report filed with the Commission, as the case may be, (B) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (C) a more recent written notice by the Company or the Transfer Agent setting forth the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding.  Upon the written or oral request of a Holder, the Company shall within two Trading Days confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding.  In any case, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of securities of the Company, including this Warrant, by the Holder or its Affiliates since the date as of which such number of outstanding shares of Common Stock was reported.  The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant.  The Holder, upon not less than 61 days’ prior notice to the Company, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2(e), provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of this Warrant held by the Holder and the provisions of this Section 2(e) shall continue to apply.  Any such increase or decrease will not be effective until the 61st day after such notice is delivered to the Company.  The provisions of this paragraph shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 2(e) to correct this paragraph (or any portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the intended Beneficial Ownership Limitation herein contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable to properly give effect to such limitation. The limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor holder of this Warrant.

 

  

5

  

 

Section 3. Certain Adjustments.

 

a) Stock Dividends and Splits. If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding: (i) pays a stock dividend or otherwise makes a distribution or distributions on shares of its Common Stock or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in shares of Common Stock (which, for avoidance of doubt, shall not include any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon exercise of this Warrant), (ii) subdivides outstanding shares of Common Stock into a larger number of shares, (iii) combines (including by way of reverse stock split) outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues by reclassification of shares of the Common Stock any shares of capital stock of the Company, then in each case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) outstanding immediately before such event and of which the denominator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event, and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant shall be proportionately adjusted such that the aggregate Exercise Price of this Warrant shall remain unchanged.  Any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution and shall become effective immediately after the effective date in the case of a subdivision, combination or re-classification.

 

b) Subsequent Rights Offerings.  If the Company, at any time while the Warrant is outstanding, shall issue rights, options or warrants to all holders of Common Stock (and not to the Holders) entitling them to subscribe for or purchase shares of Common Stock at a price per share less than the VWAP on the record date mentioned below, then, the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction, of which the denominator shall be the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding on the date of issuance of such rights, options or warrants plus the number of additional shares of Common Stock offered for subscription or purchase, and of which the numerator shall be the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding on the date of issuance of such rights, options or warrants plus the number of shares which the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares so offered (assuming receipt by the Company in full of all consideration payable upon exercise of such rights, options or warrants) would purchase at such VWAP.  Such adjustment shall be made whenever such rights, options or warrants are issued, and shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive such rights, options or warrants.

 

  

6

  

 

c) Pro Rata Distributions.  If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, shall distribute to all holders of Common Stock (and not to the Holders) evidences of its indebtedness or assets (including cash and cash dividends) or rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase any security other than the Common Stock (which shall be subject to Section 3(b)), then in each such case the Exercise Price shall be adjusted by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to the record date fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to receive such distribution by a fraction of which the denominator shall be the VWAP determined as of the record date mentioned above, and of which the numerator shall be such VWAP on such record date less the then per share fair market value at such record date of the portion of such assets or evidence of indebtedness so distributed applicable to one outstanding share of the Common Stock as determined by the Board of Directors in good faith.  In either case the adjustments shall be described in a statement provided to the Holder of the portion of assets or evidences of indebtedness so distributed or such subscription rights applicable to one share of Common Stock.  Such adjustment shall be made whenever any such distribution is made and shall become effective immediately after the record date mentioned above.

 

d) Fundamental Transaction. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another Person, (ii) the Company, directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of Common Stock are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of the outstanding Common Stock, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the Common Stock or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the Common Stock is effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off or scheme of arrangement) with another Person whereby such other Person acquires more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (not including any shares of Common Stock held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination) (each a “Fundamental Transaction”), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction, at the option of the Holder (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant), the number of shares of Common Stock of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration (the “Alternate Consideration”) receivable as a result of such Fundamental Transaction by a holder of the number of shares of Common Stock for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant).  For purposes of any such exercise, the determination of the Exercise Price shall be appropriately adjusted to apply to such Alternate Consideration based on the amount of Alternate Consideration issuable in respect of one share of Common Stock in such Fundamental Transaction, and the Company shall apportion the Exercise Price among the Alternate Consideration in a reasonable manner reflecting the relative value of any different components of the Alternate Consideration.  If holders of Common Stock are given any choice as to the securities, cash or property to be received in a Fundamental Transaction, then the Holder shall be given the same choice as to the Alternate Consideration it receives upon any exercise of this Warrant following such Fundamental Transaction.  At the Holder’s option and request, a Successor Entity (as defined below) in such Fundamental Transaction that is a publicly traded corporation whose stock is quoted or listed for trading on an Eligible Market shall issue to the Holder a new warrant substantially in the form of this Warrant and consistent with the foregoing provisions and evidencing the Holder's right to purchase the Alternate Consideration for the aggregate Exercise Price upon exercise thereof.   As used herein, (x) “Successor Entity” means the Person (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) (or, if so elected by the Holder, the Parent Entity (as defined below)) formed by, resulting from or surviving any Fundamental Transaction or the Person (or, if so elected by the Holder, the Parent Entity) with which such Fundamental Transaction shall have been entered into, (y) “Eligible Market” means the NYSE Amex, The NASDAQ Capital Market, The NASDAQ Global Market, The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board (or any successors to any of the foregoing) and (z) “Parent Entity” of a Person means an entity that, directly or indirectly, controls the applicable Person and whose common stock or equivalent equity security is quoted or listed on an Eligible Market, or, if there is more than one such Person or Parent Entity, the Person or Parent Entity with the largest public market capitalization as of the date of consummation of the Fundamental Transaction.  The terms of any agreement pursuant to which a Fundamental Transaction is effected shall include terms requiring any such successor or surviving entity to comply with the provisions of this Section 3(d) and insuring that this Warrant (or any such replacement security) will be similarly adjusted upon any subsequent transaction analogous to a Fundamental Transaction.

 

  

7

  

 

e) Calculations. All calculations under this Section 3 shall be made to the nearest cent or the nearest 1/100th of a share, as the case may be. For purposes of this Section 3, the number of shares of Common Stock deemed to be issued and outstanding as of a given date shall be the sum of the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) issued and outstanding.

 

f) Notice to Holder.

 

i. Adjustment to Exercise Price. Whenever the Exercise Price is adjusted pursuant to any provision of this Section 3, the Company shall promptly mail to the Holder a notice setting forth the Exercise Price after such adjustment and setting forth a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment.

 

ii. Notice to Allow Exercise by Holder. After the Initial Exercise Date, if (A) the Company shall declare a dividend (or any other distribution in whatever form) on the Common Stock, (B) the Company shall declare a special nonrecurring cash dividend on or a redemption of the Common Stock, (C) the Company shall authorize the granting to all holders of the Common Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase any shares of capital stock of any class or of any rights, (D) the approval of any stockholders of the Company shall be required in connection with any reclassification of the Common Stock, any consolidation or merger to which the Company is a party, any sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or any compulsory share exchange whereby the Common Stock is converted into other securities, cash or property, or (E) the Company shall authorize the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the affairs of the Company, then, in each case, the Company shall cause to be mailed to the Holder at its last address as it shall appear upon the Warrant Register of the Company, at least 20 calendar days prior to the applicable record or effective date hereinafter specified, a notice stating (x) the date on which a record is to be taken for the purpose of such dividend, distribution, redemption, rights or warrants, or if a record is not to be taken, the date as of which the holders of the Common Stock of record to be entitled to such dividend, distributions, redemption, rights or warrants are to be determined or (y) the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange is expected to become effective or close, and the date as of which it is expected that holders of the Common Stock of record shall be entitled to exchange their shares of the Common Stock for securities, cash or other property deliverable upon such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange; provided that the failure to mail such notice or any defect therein or in the mailing thereof shall not affect the validity of the corporate action required to be specified in such notice.  To the extent that any notice provided hereunder constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K.  The Holder shall remain entitled to exercise this Warrant during the period commencing on the date of such notice to the effective date of the event triggering such notice except as may otherwise be expressly set forth herein.

 

  

8

  

 

g) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the number of Warrants Shares issuable under this Warrant or the Exercise Price hereunder be adjusted in connection with the declaration or issuance of the Company’s regular quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share.

 

Section 4. Transfer of Warrant.

 

a) Transferability.  Subject to compliance with any applicable securities laws, this Warrant and all rights hereunder (including, without limitation, any registration rights) are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of this Warrant at the principal office of the Company or its designated agent, together with a written assignment of this Warrant substantially in the form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder or its agent or attorney and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer.  Upon such surrender and, if required, such payment, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in the name of the assignee or assignees, as applicable, and in the denomination or denominations specified in such instrument of assignment, and shall issue to the assignor a new Warrant evidencing the portion of this Warrant not so assigned, and this Warrant shall promptly be cancelled.  The Warrant, if properly assigned in accordance herewith, may be exercised by a new holder for the purchase of Warrant Shares without having a new Warrant issued.

 

b) New Warrants. This Warrant may be divided or combined with other Warrants upon presentation hereof at the aforesaid office of the Company, together with a written notice specifying the names and denominations in which new Warrants are to be issued, signed by the Holder or its agent or attorney.  Subject to compliance with Section 4(a), as to any transfer which may be involved in such division or combination, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in exchange for the Warrant or Warrants to be divided or combined in accordance with such notice. All Warrants issued on transfers or exchanges shall be dated the initial issuance date set forth on the first page of this Warrant and shall be identical with this Warrant except as to the number of Warrant Shares issuable pursuant thereto.

 

c) Warrant Register. The Company shall act as the warrant agent and shall register this Warrant, upon records to be maintained by the Company for that purpose (the “Warrant Register”), in the name of the record Holder hereof from time to time.  The Company may deem and treat the registered Holder of this Warrant as the absolute owner hereof for the purpose of any exercise hereof or any distribution to the Holder, and for all other purposes, absent actual notice to the contrary.

 

d) Representation by the Holder.  The Holder, by the acceptance hereof, represents and warrants that it is acquiring this Warrant and, upon any exercise hereof, will acquire the Warrant Shares issuable upon such exercise, for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Warrant Shares or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, except pursuant to sales registered or exempted under the Securities Act.

 

  

9

  

 

Section 5. Miscellaneous.

 

a) No Rights as Stockholder Until Exercise.  This Warrant does not entitle the Holder to any voting rights, dividends or other rights as a stockholder of the Company prior to the exercise hereof as set forth in Section 2(d)(i).

 

b) Loss, Theft, Destruction or Mutilation of Warrant. The Company covenants that upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant or any stock certificate relating to the Warrant Shares, and in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it (which, in the case of the Warrant, shall not include the posting of any bond), and upon surrender and cancellation of such Warrant or stock certificate, if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Warrant or stock certificate of like tenor and dated as of such cancellation, in lieu of such Warrant or stock certificate.

 

c) 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.

 

d) Authorized Shares.

 

The Company covenants that, during the period the Warrant is outstanding, it will reserve from its authorized and unissued Common Stock a sufficient number of shares to provide for the issuance of the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of any purchase rights under this Warrant.  The Company further covenants that its issuance of this Warrant shall constitute full authority to its officers who are charged with the duty of executing stock certificates to execute and issue the necessary certificates for the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of the purchase rights under this Warrant.  The Company will take all such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure that such Warrant Shares may be issued as provided herein without violation of any applicable law or regulation, or of any requirements of the Trading Market upon which the Common Stock may be listed.  The Company covenants that all Warrant Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant will, upon exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant and payment for such Warrant Shares in accordance herewith, be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from all taxes, liens and charges created by the Company in respect of the issue thereof (other than taxes in respect of any transfer occurring contemporaneously with such issue).

 

  

10

  

 

Except and to the extent as waived or consented to by the Holder, the Company shall not by any action, including, without limitation, amending its certificate of incorporation or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all such terms and in the taking of all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect the rights of Holder as set forth in this Warrant against impairment.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will (i) not increase the par value of any Warrant Shares above the amount payable therefor upon such exercise immediately prior to such increase in par value, (ii) take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Warrant Shares upon the exercise of this Warrant and (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all such authorizations, exemptions or consents from any public regulatory body having jurisdiction thereof, as may be, necessary to enable the Company to perform its obligations under this Warrant.

 

Before taking any action which would result in an adjustment in the number of Warrant Shares for which this Warrant is exercisable or in the Exercise Price, the Company shall obtain all such authorizations or exemptions thereof, or consents thereto, as may be necessary from any public regulatory body or bodies having jurisdiction thereof.

 

e) Jurisdiction. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Warrant shall be determined in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.

 

f) Restrictions.  The Holder acknowledges that the Warrant Shares acquired upon the exercise of this Warrant, if not registered, and the Holder does not utilize cashless exercise, will have restrictions upon resale imposed by state and federal securities laws.

 

g) Nonwaiver and Expenses.  No course of dealing or any delay or failure to exercise any right hereunder on the part of Holder shall operate as a waiver of such right or otherwise prejudice Holder’s rights, powers or remedies.  Without limiting any other provision of this Warrant or the Purchase Agreement, if the Company willfully and knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this Warrant, which results in any material damages to the Holder, the Company shall pay to Holder such amounts as shall be sufficient to cover any costs and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, including those of appellate proceedings, incurred by Holder in collecting any amounts due pursuant hereto or in otherwise enforcing any of its rights, powers or remedies hereunder.

 

h) Notices.  Any notice, request or other document required or permitted to be given or delivered to the Holder by the Company shall be delivered in accordance with the notice provisions of the Purchase Agreement.

 

i) Limitation of Liability.  No provision hereof, in the absence of any affirmative action by Holder to exercise this Warrant to purchase Warrant Shares, and no enumeration herein of the rights or privileges of Holder, shall give rise to any liability of Holder for the purchase price of any Common Stock or as a stockholder of the Company, whether such liability is asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.

 

  

11

  

 

j) Remedies.  The Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights granted by law, including recovery of damages, will be entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Warrant.  The Company agrees that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by it of the provisions of this Warrant and hereby agrees to waive and not to assert the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate.

 

k) Successors and Assigns.  Subject to applicable securities laws, this Warrant and the rights and obligations evidenced hereby shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Company and the successors and permitted assigns of Holder.  The provisions of this Warrant are intended to be for the benefit of any Holder from time to time of this Warrant and shall be enforceable by the Holder or holder of Warrant Shares.

 

l) Amendment.  This Warrant may be modified or amended or the provisions hereof waived with the written consent of the Company and the Holders of a majority in interest of the Warrant Shares then outstanding.

 

m) Severability.  Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provisions or the remaining provisions of this Warrant.

 

n) Headings.  The headings used in this Warrant are for the convenience of reference only and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed a part of this Warrant.

********************

(Signature Pages Follow)

  

12

  

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to be executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above indicated.

 

 

	 	COFFEE HOLDING CO., INC.	 
	 	 	 	 
	 	
By: 

	 	 
	 	 	Name:	 
	 	 	Title:	 

 

  

13

  

 

NOTICE OF EXERCISE

TO:                          COFFEE HOLDING CO., INC.

 

 

(1) The undersigned hereby elects to purchase ________ Warrant Shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the attached Warrant (only if exercised in full), and tenders herewith payment of the exercise price in full, together with all applicable transfer taxes, if any.

 

(2) Payment shall take the form of (check applicable box):

 

o in lawful money of the United States; or

 

o [if permitted] the cancellation of such number of Warrant Shares as is necessary, in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection 2(c), to exercise this Warrant with respect to the maximum number of Warrant Shares purchasable pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure set forth in subsection 2(c).

 

(3) Please issue a certificate or certificates representing said Warrant Shares in the name of the undersigned or in such other name as is specified below:

_______________________________

 

The Warrant Shares shall be delivered to the following DWAC Account Number or by physical delivery of a certificate to:

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

[SIGNATURE OF HOLDER]

Name of Investing Entity: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Signature of Authorized Signatory of Investing Entity: _______________________________________________________________________

Name of Authorized Signatory: _________________________________________________________________________________________

Title of Authorized Signatory: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  

14

  

 

ASSIGNMENT FORM

(To assign the foregoing warrant, execute

this form and supply required information.

Do not use this form to exercise the warrant.)

 

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, [____] all of or [_______] shares of the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________ whose address is

________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

	 	Dated:  ___________________________, ___________

Holder’s Signature:   _____________________________

Holder’s Address:    _____________________________

                                     _____________________________

 

Signature Guaranteed:  ___________________________________________

NOTE:  The signature to this Assignment Form must correspond with the name as it appears on the face of the Warrant, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever, and must be guaranteed by a bank or trust company.  Officers of corporations and those acting in a fiduciary or other representative capacity should file proper evidence of authority to assign the foregoing Warrant.

 

15jva_ex101.htm

EXHIBIT 10.1

 

PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT

 

September 27, 2011

Roth Capital Partners, LLC

Maxim Group LLC

c/o Roth Capital Partners, LLC

      888 San Clemente Drive

      Newport Beach, CA  92660

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

This placement agency agreement (the “Agreement”) constitutes the agreement among Roth Capital Partners, LLC (in such capacity, “Roth” or the “Lead Placement Agent”), Maxim Group LLC (in such capacity “Maxim” or the “Co-Placement Agent,” and together with Roth, the “Placement Agents”), Coffee Holding Co, Inc. (the “Company”) and the stockholders of the Company listed on Schedule I hereto (the “Selling Stockholders”) that the Placement Agents shall serve, on a “best efforts” basis, as the exclusive placement agents for the Company and Selling Stockholders in connection with the proposed public offering placement (the “Placement”) of registered securities of the Company, consisting of (a) units consisting of (i) shares (the “Company Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and (ii) warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase shares of the Company’s Common Stock, and (b) shares of Common Stock held by the Selling Stockholders (“Secondary Shares”).  The shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are hereinafter referred to as the “Warrant Shares.”  The Company Shares and the Warrant Shares are collectively referred to as the “Shares”.  The Shares, the Secondary Shares and the Warrants are hereinafter referred to as the “Securities.”  The terms of such Placement and the Securities shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the purchasers (each a “Purchaser” and, collectively, the “Purchasers”), and nothing herein constitutes an agreement of the parties that the Placement Agents would have the power or authority to bind the Company, the Selling Stockholders or any Purchaser or an obligation for the Company or the Selling Stockholders to issue any Securities or complete the Placement.  The sale of the Securities shall be made pursuant to subscription agreements in the form included as Exhibit A hereto (the “Purchase Agreements”), on the terms described on Schedule II hereto.  The Warrants shall be in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto.  The Securities are more fully described in the Prospectus Supplement (as defined below). This Agreement and the documents executed and delivered by the Company and the Purchasers in connection with the Placement shall be collectively referred to herein as the “Transaction Documents.”  The date of the closing of the Placement shall be referred to herein as the “Closing Date.”  The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agents’ obligations hereunder are on a commercially reasonable best efforts basis only and that the execution of this Agreement neither constitutes a commitment by the Placement Agents to purchase the Securities nor ensures the successful placement of the Securities or any portion thereof.

 

The Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Placement Agents hereby confirm their agreement as follows:

 

1. Registration Statement and Prospectus.  The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-176412) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Commission thereunder, and such amendments to such registration statement (including post effective amendments) as may have been required to the date of this Agreement and a preliminary prospectus supplement or “red herring” pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act.  Such registration statement, as amended (including any post effective amendments) has been declared effective by the Commission.  Such registration statement, including amendments thereto (including post effective amendments thereto) at such time, the exhibits and any schedules thereto at such time, the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act at such time and the documents and information otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein by Rule 430B under the Securities Act or otherwise pursuant to the Rules and Regulations at such time, is herein called the “Registration Statement.”  If the Company has filed or files an abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act (the “Rule 462 Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the term Registration Statement shall include such Rule 462 Registration Statement.

 

  

1

  

 

The Company is filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act a final prospectus supplement relating to the Company Shares and the Warrants and a final prospectus supplement relating to the Secondary Shares, each to the form of prospectus included in the Registration Statement.  Such prospectus in the form in which it appears in the Registration Statement are hereinafter each called the “Base Prospectus,” and such final prospectus supplements as filed, along with the Base Prospectus, is hereinafter called the “Final Prospectus.”  Such Final Prospectus and any preliminary prospectus supplement or “red herring,” in the form in which they shall be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (including the Base Prospectus as so supplemented) is hereinafter called a “Prospectus.”  Any reference herein to the Base Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or a Prospectus shall be deemed to include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act as of the date of such Prospectus.

 

For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Rule 462 Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Final Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electric Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System.  All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “described,” “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Rule 462 Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements, pro forma financial information and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by the Rules and Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Rule 462 Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Rule 462 Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Final Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the subsequent filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that is deemed to be incorporated therein by reference therein or otherwise deemed by the Rules and Regulations to be a part thereof.

 

2. Representations and Warranties of the Company Regarding the Offering.

 

(a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Placement Agent, as of the date hereof and as of each Closing Date (as defined in Section 4(c) below), except as otherwise indicated, as follows:

 

(i) At each time of effectiveness, at the date hereof and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto complied or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.  The Time of Sale Disclosure Package (as defined in Section 2(a)(iv)(A)(1) below) as of the date hereof and at the Closing Date, any roadshow or investor presentations delivered to and approved by the Placement Agents for use in connection with the marketing of the Securities as of the time of their use and at the Closing Date, and the Final Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, at the time of filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and at the Closing Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement or any Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agents specifically for use in the preparation thereof, which written information is described in Section 8(g).  The Registration Statement (including each document incorporated by reference therein) contains all exhibits and schedules required to be filed by the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations.  No order preventing or suspending the effectiveness or use of the Registration Statement or any Prospectus is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.

 

  

2

  

 

(ii) The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and any Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and, to the extent then applicable, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including in each case, the rules and regulations thereunder, were filed on a timely basis with the Commission and none of such documents, when they were filed (or, if amendments to such documents were filed, when such amendments were filed), contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  Any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(iii) The Company has not distributed any prospectus or other offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities other than the Time of Sale Disclosure Package.

 

(iv)   (A) The Company has provided a copy to the Placement Agents of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) used in the sale of Securities.  The Company has filed all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses required to be so filed with the Commission, and no order preventing or suspending the effectiveness or use of any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.  When taken together with the rest of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus, since its first use and at all relevant times since then, no Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has, does or will include (1) any untrue statement of a material fact or omission to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or (2) information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Final Prospectus.  The representations and warranties set forth in the immediately preceding sentence shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Final Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agents specifically for use in the preparation thereof.  As used in this paragraph and elsewhere in this Agreement:

 

(1) “Time of Sale Disclosure Package” means the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus most recently filed with the Commission before the time of this Agreement, including any preliminary prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and any description of the transaction provided by the Placement Agents included on Schedule III.

 

(2) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act, relating to the Securities that (A) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, or (B) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) or (d)(8) under the Securities Act, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act.

 

(B) At the time of filing of the Registration Statement and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act or an “excluded issuer” as defined in Rule 164 under the Securities Act.

 

(C) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus satisfied, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined in Section 6(a)), all other conditions as may be applicable to its use as set forth in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act, including any legend, record-keeping or other requirements.

 

  

3

  

 

(v) The consolidated financial statements of the Company, together with the related notes, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and fairly present the financial condition of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of operations and changes in cash flows for the periods therein specified in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied throughout the periods involved; and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein.  No other financial statements, pro forma financial information or schedules are required under the Securities Act to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus.  To the Company’s knowledge, Parentebeard LLC, which has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements and schedules filed as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus is an independent public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations.

 

(vi) The Company had a reasonable basis for, and made in good faith, each “forward-looking statement” (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Final Prospectus or the Marketing Materials.

 

(vii) All statistical or market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or included in the Marketing Materials, are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably believes to be reliable and accurate, and the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources, to the extent required.

 

(viii) The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is included or approved for inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market. There is no action pending by the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, the Nasdaq Capital Market to delist the Common Stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market, nor has the Company received any notification that the Nasdaq Capital Market is contemplating terminating such listing.  When issued, the Shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

(ix) The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

 

(x) The Company is not and during the past three years neither the Company nor any predecessor was: (A) a blank check company as defined in Rule 419(a)(2) of the Securities Act, (B) a shell company, other than a business combination shell company, each as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, or (C) an issuer for an offering of penny stock as defined in Rule 3a51-1 of the Exchange Act.

 

(xi) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the net proceeds thereof, will not be an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(xii) The Company was at the time of filing the Registration Statement, and at the date hereof, remains eligible to use Form S-3 under the Securities Act.  The conditions for use of Form S-3 set forth in the General Instructions thereto have been satisfied in connection with the Registration Statement and sale of the Securities thereunder.

 

(b) Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Placement Agents or to the Placement Agents’ counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agents as to the matters covered thereby.

 

  

4

  

 

3. Representations and Warranties Regarding the Company.

 

(a) The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with, each Placement Agent, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as follows:

 

(i) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as currently being carried on and as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and, except as previously disclosed to the Placement Agents, is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation in good standing in each jurisdiction in which it owns or leases real property or in which the conduct of its business makes such qualification necessary and in which the failure to so qualify would have or is reasonably likely to result in a material adverse effect upon the business, properties, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or in its ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement (“Material Adverse Effect”).

 

(ii) The Company has the power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to authorize, issue and sell the Company Shares, Warrants and Warrant Shares as contemplated by this Agreement.  This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, and constitutes a valid, legal and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnity hereunder may be limited by federal or state securities laws and except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and subject to general principles of equity.

 

(iii) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not (A) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any law, rule or regulation to which the Company or any subsidiary is subject, or by which any property or asset of the Company or any subsidiary is bound or affected, except to the extent that such conflict, default, termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation right is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (B) conflict with, result in any violation or breach of, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give to others any right of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, lease, credit facility, debt, note, bond, mortgage, indenture or other instrument (the “Contracts”) or obligation or other understanding to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party of by which any property or asset of the Company or any subsidiary is bound or affected, except to the extent that such conflict, default, termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation right is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (C) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, the Company’s charter or by laws.

 

(iv) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation, breach or default under its certificate of incorporation, by-laws or other equivalent organizational or governing documents, except where the violation, breach or default in the case of a subsidiary of the Company is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(v) All consents, approvals, orders, authorizations and filings required on the part of the Company and its subsidiaries in connection with the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement have been obtained or made, other than such consents, approvals, orders and authorizations the failure of which to make or obtain is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

  

5

  

 

(vi) All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and have been issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws, and conform to the description thereof in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  There are no shares of the Company’s capital stock outstanding except as set forth in the section of the Prospectus titled “Description of Securities We May Offer.”  Except for the issuances of options or restricted stock in the ordinary course of business, since the respective dates as of which information is provided in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company has not entered into or granted any convertible or exchangeable securities, options, warrants, agreements, contracts or other rights in existence to purchase or acquire from the Company any shares of the capital stock of the Company.  The Shares, when issued, will be duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, will be issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws, and will be free of preemptive, registration or similar rights.

 

(vii) The Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined un Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), and such controls and procedures are effective to ensure that (A) all material information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and (B) all such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

(viii) The Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP, including, without limitation, that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.

 

(ix) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has filed all returns (as hereinafter defined) required to be filed with taxing authorities prior to the date hereof or has duly obtained extensions of time for the filing thereof.  Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has paid all taxes (as hereinafter defined) shown as due on such returns that were filed and has paid all taxes imposed on or assessed against the Company or such respective subsidiary.  The provisions for taxes payable, if any, shown on the consolidated financial statements filed with or as part of the Registration Statement are sufficient for all accrued and unpaid taxes, whether or not disputed, and for all periods to and including the dates of such consolidated financial statements.  Except as disclosed in writing to the Placement Agents, (i) no issues have been raised (and are currently pending) by any taxing authority in connection with any of the returns or taxes asserted as due from the Company or its subsidiaries, and (ii) no waivers of statutes of limitation with respect to the returns or collection of taxes have been given by or requested from the Company or its subsidiaries.  The term “taxes” mean all federal, state, local, foreign, and other net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation, premium, property, windfall profits, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments, or charges of any kind whatever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax, or additional amounts with respect thereto.  The term “returns” means all returns, declarations, reports, statements, and other documents required to be filed in respect to taxes.

 

(x) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (a) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, or entered into any material transactions other than in the ordinary course of business, (b) except for the Company’s regular quarterly dividend, the Company has not declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to its capital stock; (c) there has not been any change in the capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than a change in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or the issuance of restricted stock awards or restricted stock units under the Company’s existing stock awards plan, or any new grants thereof in the ordinary course of business), (d) there has not been any material change in the Company’s long-term or short-term debt, other than in the ordinary course of business, and (e) there has not been the occurrence of any Material Adverse Effect.

 

  

6

  

 

(xi) There is not pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, any action, suit or proceeding to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company or its subsidiaries is the subject before or by any court or governmental agency, authority or body, or any arbitrator or mediator, which is reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xii) The Company and each of its subsidiaries holds, and is in compliance in all material respects with, all franchises, grants, authorizations, licenses, permits, easements, consents, certificates and orders (“Permits”) of any governmental or self regulatory agency, authority or body required for the conduct of its business, and all such Permits are in full force and effect, in each case except where the failure to hold, or comply with, any of them is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xiii) The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all property (whether real or personal) described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being owned by them that are material to the business of the Company, in each case free and clear of all liens, claims, security interests, other encumbrances or defects, except those that are not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  The property held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with only such exceptions with respect to any particular lease as do not interfere in any material respect with the conduct of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries.

 

(xiv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries owns or possesses or has valid right to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets and similar rights (“Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently carried on and as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.  To the knowledge of the Company, no action or use by the Company or any of its subsidiaries will involve or give rise to any infringement of, or license or similar fees for, any Intellectual Property of others, except where such action, use, license or fee is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice alleging any such infringement or fee.

 

(xv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries has complied with, is not in violation of, and has not received any notice of violation relating to any law, rule or regulation relating to the conduct of its business, or the ownership or operation of its property and assets, including, without limitation, (A) the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, or any money laundering laws, rules or regulations, (B) any laws, rules or regulations related to health, safety or the environment, including those relating to the regulation of hazardous substances, (C) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (D) the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and the rules and regulations thereunder, and (E) the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the rules and regulations thereunder, in each case except where the failure to be in compliance is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xvi) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, employee, agent or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares contemplated hereby, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

 

  

7

  

 

(xvii) The Company and each of its subsidiaries carries, or is covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is adequate for the conduct of its business and the value of its properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.

 

(xviii) No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent that is reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xix) Neither the Company, its subsidiaries nor, to its knowledge, any other party is in violation, breach or default of any Contract that is reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xx) No supplier, customer, distributor or sales agent of the Company has notified the Company that it intends to discontinue or decrease the rate of business done with the Company, except where such decrease is not reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(xxi) Except for the Engagement Letter dated August 23, 2011 between the Company and Roth, there are no claims, payments, issuances, arrangements or understandings for services in the nature of a finder’s, consulting or origination fee with respect to the introduction of the Company to the Placement Agents or the sale of the Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements, understandings, payments or issuances with respect to the Company that may affect the Placement Agents’ compensation, as determined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

 

(xxii) Except as disclosed to the Placement Agents in writing, the Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, investing fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who provided capital to the Company, (ii) any FINRA member, or (iii) any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member within the 12-month period prior to the date on which the Registration Statement was filed with the Commission (“Filing Date”) or thereafter.

 

(xxiii) None of the net proceeds of the offering will be paid by the Company to any participating FINRA member or any affiliate or associate of any participating FINRA member, except as specifically authorized herein.

 

(xxiv) To the Company’s knowledge, no (i) officer or director of the Company or its subsidiaries, (ii) owner of 5% or more of the Company’s unregistered securities or that of its subsidiaries or (iii) owner of any amount of the Company’s unregistered securities acquired within the 180-day period prior to the Filing Date, has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member.  The Company will advise the Placement Agents and their counsel if it becomes aware that any officer, director or stockholder of the Company or its subsidiaries is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the offering.

 

(xxv) No event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default, in the performance of any material obligation, agreement or condition contained in any bond, debenture, note, indenture, loan agreement or any other material contract, lease or other instrument to which it is subject or by which any of them may be bound, or to which any of the material property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except as individually or in the aggregate would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

  

8

  

 

(xxvi) Other than the subsidiaries of the Company listed or disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company, directly or indirectly, owns no capital stock or other equity or ownership or proprietary interest in any corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity.

 

(xxvii) There are no related-party transactions involving the Company or any subsidiary or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

(xxviii) To the Company’s knowledge, the Company and its subsidiaries (a) are in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, orders, rules, regulations, directives, decrees and judgments relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (b) have received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (c) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.  There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which would, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

4. Representations and Warranties of the Selling Stockholders.

 

(a) Each Selling Stockholder, severally and not jointly, represents and warrants and to, and agrees with, each Placement Agent as follows:

 

(i) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Selling Stockholder, and constitutes a valid, legal and binding obligation of such Selling Stockholder, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnity hereunder may be limited by federal or state securities laws and except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and subject to general principles of equity.  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any statute, agreement or instrument to which the Selling Stockholder is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its property is subject, or any order, rule, regulation or decree of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Selling Stockholder or any of its properties, except for violations and defaults that individually or in the aggregate would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, the Selling Stockholder’s organizational documents.  No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing with, any court or governmental agency or body is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including the sale of the Secondary Shares by the Selling Stockholder, except as may be required under the Securities Act or state securities or blue sky laws; and the Selling Stockholder has the power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to sell the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(ii) Such Selling Stockholder is, on the date hereof, the record and beneficial owner of all of the Secondary Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder hereunder free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities and claims and has duly indorsed such Shares in blank or has duly signed a stock power assigning all right, title and interest to the Secondary Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder, with all signatures appropriately guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution with membership in an approved medallion guaranty program pursuant to Rule 17Ad-15 under the Exchange Act.

 

(iii) On the applicable Closing Date, all stock transfer or other taxes (other than income taxes) that are required to be paid in connection with the sale and transfer by such Selling Stockholder of the Secondary Shares will be fully paid or provided for by such Selling Stockholder and all laws imposing such taxes will be fully complied with in all material respects.

 

  

9

  

 

(iv) All information with respect to such Selling Stockholder contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and any Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, complied or will comply in all material respects with all applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder and does not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(v) Such Selling Stockholder, directly or indirectly, has not entered into any commitment, transaction or other arrangement, including any prepaid forward contract, 10b5-1 plan or similar agreement, which transfers or may transfer any of the legal or beneficial ownership or any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Secondary Shares, except as has been previously disclosed in writing to the Placement Agents.

 

(vi) Such Selling Stockholder represents and warrants that it has not prepared or had prepared on its behalf or used or referred to any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Act) and further represents that it has not distributed and will not distribute any written materials in connection with the offer or sale of the Secondary Shares that could otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Act) required to be filed with the Commission or retained under Rule 433 of the Act.

 

(vii) Such Selling Stockholder does not have any registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale by the Company under the Registration Statement or included in an offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights that have been waived.

 

(viii) Such Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Secondary Shares.

 

(b) Any certificate signed by any officer of a Selling Stockholder and delivered to the Placement Agents or to the Placement Agents’ counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by such Selling Stockholder to the Placement Agents as to the matters covered thereby.

 

5. Compensation and other Fees.

 

As compensation for the services provided by the Placement Agents hereunder, the Company agrees as follows:

 

(a) As compensation for services rendered, on the Closing Date the Company and Selling Stockholders shall (i) pay to the Lead Placement Agent by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account or accounts designated by the Lead Placement Agent, a cash fee equal to five and one-half percent (5.5%) and a corporate finance fee of 1.5% of the gross proceeds (the “Placement Fee”) received by the Company and Selling Stockholders from the sale of the Securities on such Closing Date.

 

(b) The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, will pay or reimburse if paid by the Placement Agents all actual out-of-pocket costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including but not limited to costs and expenses of or relating to (i) the preparation, printing, filing, delivery and shipping of the Registration Statement the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing and the printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Placement Agents and dealers (including costs of mailing and shipment), (ii) the registration, issue, sale and delivery of the Securities including any stock or transfer taxes and stamp or similar duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities and the printing, delivery, and shipping of the certificates representing the Securities, (iii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar, (iv) the filing fees required to be paid by the Placement Agents or the Company with FINRA, (v) reasonable fees and reasonable disbursements of counsel to the Company, (vi) listing fees, if any, (vii) reasonable fees and disbursements of the Company’s auditor in preparing and delivering the letters required by Section 7(g), (viii) reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Placement Agents, subject to the limitations set forth below, and (ix) all other costs and expenses to the performance of its obligations hereunder that are not otherwise specifically provided for herein.  If this Agreement is terminated by the Placement Agents in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 or Section 10, the Company will reimburse the Placement Agents for all out-of-pocket disbursements (including, but not limited to, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel, travel expenses, postage, facsimile and telephone charges) incurred by the Placement Agents in connection with its investigation, preparing to market and marketing the Securities or in contemplation of performing its obligations hereunder, subject to the limitations set forth below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the expenses of the Placement Agents, which the Company shall be obligated to reimburse hereunder shall not exceed (A) $15,000 for all expenses other than attorneys fees and expenses and (B) $75,000 for the Placement Agents’ reasonable attorneys fees and expenses.  In no event shall the total compensation payable to the Placement Agent and any other FINRA member or independent broker-dealer (including any financial advisor) in connection with the sale of the Securities (including any expense reimbursement) exceed 8% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Securities.

 

  

10

  

 

6. Covenants.

 

(a) The Company covenants and agrees with each Placement Agent as follows:

 

(i) During the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the later of the Closing Date or such date as determined by the Placement Agents that the Prospectus is no longer required by law to be delivered in connection with sales by a Placement Agent or dealer (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”), prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, including any Rule 462 Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Placement Agents for review and comment a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the either Placement Agent reasonably objects.

 

(ii) From the date of this Agreement until the end of the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company shall promptly advise the Placement Agents in writing (A) of the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission, (B) of the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (C) of the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective and (D) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending its use or the use of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Common Stock from any securities exchange upon which it is listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes.  If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time during the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will use its reasonable efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment.  Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rules 424(b), 430A and 430B, as applicable, under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or 164(b) of the Securities Act).

 

(iii) (A) During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as now and hereafter amended, and by the Rules and Regulations, as from time to time in force, and by the Exchange Act, as now and hereafter amended, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Securities as contemplated by the provisions hereof, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  If during such period any event occurs the result of which the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package ) would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary or appropriate in the opinion of the Company or its counsel or the Placement Agents or its counsel to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package ) to comply with the Securities Act or to file under the Exchange Act any document that would be deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, the Company will promptly notify the Placement Agents, allow the Placement Agents the opportunity to provide reasonable comments on such amendment, Prospectus supplement or document, and will amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package) or file such document (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.

 

  

11

  

 

(B) If at any time following the issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development the result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or any Prospectus or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or promptly will notify the Placement Agents and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

(iv) The Company shall take or cause to be taken all necessary action to qualify the Securities for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Placement Agents reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities, except that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified, to execute a general consent to service of process in any state or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise subject.

 

(v) The Company will furnish to the Placement Agents and counsel for the Placement Agents copies of the Registration Statement, each Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and all amendments and supplements to such documents, in each case as soon as available and in such quantities as the Placement Agents may from time to time reasonably request.

 

(vi) The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a 12-month period that shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Rules and Regulations.

 

(vii) The Company intends to apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Company Shares, Warrants, and Warrant Shares to be sold by it hereunder for the purposes set forth in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Final Prospectus.

 

(viii) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, during the Prospectus Delivery Period, any action designed to or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, or that has constituted, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

 

(ix) During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will file on a timely basis with the Commission such periodic and current reports as required by the Rules and Regulations.

 

(x) Prior to the Closing Date, the Company will not issue any press release or other communication directly or indirectly or hold any press conference with respect to the Company, its condition, financial or otherwise, or the earnings, business, operations or prospects of any of them, or the offering of the Securities, other than information disclosed in or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agents, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned, unless in the reasonable judgment of the Company and its counsel, and after notification to the Placement Agents, such press release or communication is required by law, in which case the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to allow the Placement Agents reasonable time to comment on such release or other communication in advance of such issuance.

 

  

12

  

 

(xi) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Placement Agents, and the Placement Agents represent and agree that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.  Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Placement Agents are hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”  The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied or will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record-keeping.

 

(xii) The Company hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agents, it will not, during the period ending 60 days after the date hereof (“Lock-Up Period”), (i) offer, pledge, issue, sell, contract to sell, purchase, contract to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock; or (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise; or (iii) file any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than registration statements on Form S-4 and Form S-8).  The restrictions contained in the preceding sentence shall not apply to (1) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (2) the issuance of Common  Stock upon the exercise of options or warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits thereto) or the Prospectus, or (3) the issuance of employee stock options not exercisable during the Lock-Up Period and the grant of restricted stock awards or restricted stock units pursuant to equity incentive plans described in the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits thereto) and the Prospectus.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (x) the Company issues an earnings release or material news, or a material event relating to the Company occurs, during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, or (y) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, the restrictions imposed by this clause shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, unless the Placement Agents waive such extension in writing.

 

(b) Each Selling Stockholder, severally and not jointly, covenants and agrees with each Placement Agent as follows:

 

(i) The Selling Stockholders, if the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated, will pay or cause to be paid (A) all expenses (including transfer taxes allocated to the respective transferees) incurred in connection with the delivery to the Secondary Shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholders hereunder and (B) the Placement Fee allocated to the sale of the Secondary Shares to the Placement Agents.

 

(ii) The Selling Stockholders hereby agree that, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agents, it will not, during the Lock-Up Period, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, purchase, contract to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock; or (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.  The restrictions contained in the preceding sentence shall not apply to (1) the Secondary Shares to be sold hereunder, (2) the issuance of Common  Stock upon the exercise of options or warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits thereto) or the Prospectus, (3) the issuance of employee stock options not exercisable during the Lock-Up Period and the grant of restricted stock pursuant to equity incentive plans described in the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits thereto) and the Prospectus and (4) charitable donations of up to 15,000 shares of Common Stock for each Selling Stockholder.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (x) the Company issues an earnings release or material news, or a material event relating to the Company occurs, during the last 17 days of the Lock-Up Period, or (ii) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, the restrictions imposed by this clause shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, unless the Placement Agents waive such extension in writing.

 

  

13

  

 

(iii) Such Selling Stockholder will deliver to the Company prior to the applicable Closing Date a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9.

 

(iv) During the Prospectus Delivery Period, such Selling Stockholder will advise the Placement Agents promptly, and if requested by the Placement Agents, will confirm such advice in writing, of any change in information relating to such Selling Stockholder in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or any Prospectus.

 

(v) Such Selling Stockholder agrees that it will not prepare or have prepared on its behalf or use or refer to any "free writing prospectus" (as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the Act), and agrees that it will not distribute any written materials in connection with the offer or sale of the Shares.

 

7. Conditions of the Placement Agents’ Obligations.  The obligations of the Placement Agent, and the closing of the sale of the  Shares and Warrants hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company and its subsidiaries of their obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions. The obligations of the Placement Agents hereunder are subject to the following additional conditions:

 

(a) If filing of the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, is required under the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations, the Company shall have filed the Prospectus (or such amendment or supplement) or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus with the Commission in the manner and within the time period so required (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or 164(b) under the Securities Act); the Registration Statement shall remain effective; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof, any Rule 462 Registration Statement, or any amendment thereof, nor suspending or preventing the use of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been issued; no proceedings for the issuance of such an order shall have been initiated or threatened; any request of the Commission or the Placement Agents for additional information (to be included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the Placement Agent’s satisfaction.

 

(b) The Company Shares shall be qualified for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

(c) FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the placement agency terms and arrangements relating to the issuance and sale of the Securities; provided that if any such objection is raised, the Company and the Placement Agents shall negotiate promptly and in good faith appropriate modifications to such placement agency terms and arrangements in order to satisfy such objections.

 

(d) The Placement Agents shall not have reasonably determined, and advised the Company, that the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, contains an untrue statement of fact which, in the Placement Agents’ reasonable opinion, is material, or omits to state a fact which, in the Placement Agents’ reasonable opinion, is material and is required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

  

14

  

 

(e) Intentially omitted.

 

(f) On the Closing Date, there shall have been furnished to the Placement Agents the opinion and negative assurance letters of Lowenstein Sandler PC, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Placement Agents, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agents, to the effect set forth in Schedule III.

 

(g) The Placement Agents shall have received a letter of Parentebeard LLC, on the date hereof and on the Closing Date addressed to the Placement Agents, confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualifications of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, and confirming, as of the date of each such letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, as of a date not prior to the date hereof or more than five days prior to the date of such letter), the conclusions and findings of said firm with respect to the financial information and other matters required by the Placement Agents.

 

(h) On the Closing Date, there shall have been furnished to the Placement Agents a certificate, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Placement Agents, signed by the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of the Company, in his capacity as an officer of the Company, to the effect that:

 

(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement that are qualified by materiality or by reference to any Material Adverse Effect are true and correct in all respects, and all other representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct, in all material respects, as if made at and as of the Closing Date, and the Company has complied in all material respects with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as applicable;

 

(ii) No stop order or other order (A) suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof or any amendment thereof, (B) suspending the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale, or (C) suspending or preventing the use of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, has been issued, and no proceeding for that purpose has been instituted or, to their knowledge, is contemplated by the Commission or any state or regulatory body; and

 

(iii) There has been no occurrence of any event resulting or reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect during the period from and after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date.

 

(i) On the Closing Date, there shall have been furnished to the Placement Agents certificates, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Placement Agents, signed by each Selling Stockholder, to the effect that the representations and warranties of such Selling Stockholder in this Agreement are true and correct, in all material respects, as if made at and as of the Closing Date, and such Selling Stockholder has complied in all material respects with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date.

 

(j) Intentionally omitted.

 

(k) The Company and the Selling Stockholders shall have furnished to the Placement Agents and its counsel such additional documents, certificates and evidence as the Placement Agent or its counsel may have reasonably requested.

 

  

15

  

 

If any condition specified in this Section 7 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Placement Agents by notice to the Company and the Selling Stockholders at any time at or prior to the Closing Date and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party, except that Section 5, Section 8 and Section 9 shall survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.

 

8. Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a) The Company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Placement Agent, its  affiliates, directors and officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Placement Agent or such person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company), insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon (i) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, including the information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to Rules 430A and 430B of the Rules and Regulations, or arise out of or are based upon the omission from the Registration Statement, or alleged omission to state therein, a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto (including any documents filed under the Exchange Act and deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus), any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Marketing Materials or in any other materials used in connection with the offering of the Securities, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (iii) in whole or in part, any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, or (iv) in whole or in part, any failure of the Company to perform its obligations hereunder or under law, and will reimburse such Placement Agent for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with evaluating, investigating or defending against such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for use in the preparation thereof, which written information is described in Section 8(g); and provided further, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning any Selling Stockholder furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Selling Stockholder specifically for inclusion therein

 

(b) Each Selling Stockholder will, severally and not jointly, indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Placement Agent against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Placement Agent may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon (i) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) in whole or in part, any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties of the Selling Stockholder contained herein, or (iii) in whole or in part, any failure of the Selling Stockholder to perform its obligations hereunder or under law, and will reimburse such Placement Agent for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with evaluating, investigating or defending against such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Selling Stockholders shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agents specifically for use in the preparation thereof, which written information is described in Section 8(g); and provided further, that a Selling Stockholder shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning any other Selling Stockholder furnished to the Company by or on behalf of such other Selling Stockholder specifically for inclusion therein.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the aggregate liability of each Selling Stockholder pursuant to the provisions of this Section 8(b) shall be limited to an amount equal to the total proceeds (after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses) received by such Selling Stockholder from the sale of its Shares hereunder.

 

  

16

  

 

(c) The Placement Agents will severally and not jointly, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company and the Selling Stockholders, their respective affiliates, directors, officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Company or a Selling Stockholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company or a Selling Stockholder may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of such Placement Agents), insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agents specifically for use in the preparation thereof, which written information is described in Section 8(g), and will reimburse the Company or a Selling Stockholder for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company or a Selling Stockholder in connection with defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action.

 

(d) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party except to the extent such indemnifying party has been materially prejudiced by such failure.  In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of the indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof; provided, however, that if (i) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (ii) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on the reasonable advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party), or (iii) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ a single counsel to represent it in any claim in respect of which indemnity may be sought under subsection (a) or (b) of this Section 8, in which event the reasonable fees and expenses of such separate counsel shall be borne by the indemnifying party or parties and reimbursed to the indemnified party as incurred; it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel.

 

The indemnifying party under this Section 8 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment.  No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is a party or could be named and indemnity was or would be sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent (a) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability for claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding and (b) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

  

17

  

 

(e) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in subsection (a), (b) or (c) above, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Placement Agents on the other hand from the offering and sale of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Placement Agents on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholders on the one hand and the Placement Agents on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Selling Stockholders and the Placement Fee received by the Placement Agents, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Final Prospectus bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities.  The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, the Selling Stockholders or the Placement Agents and the parties’ relevant intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission.  The Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Placement Agents agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection (e) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the first sentence of this subsection (e).  The amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in the first sentence of this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending against any action or claim that is the subject of this subsection (e).  Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), the Placement Agents shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount of the Placement Fee actually received by each Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement.  No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Placement Agents’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 8 are several, and not joint, in proportion to the actual Placement Fee received pursuant to this Agreement.  In addition, the aggregate liability of each Selling Stockholder pursuant to the provisions of this Section 8(e) shall be limited to an amount equal to the total proceeds (after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses) received by such Selling Stockholder from the sale of its Shares hereunder.  For purposes of this Section 8, each officer and employee of Placement Agent and each person, if any, who controls a Placement Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Placement Agent, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company with the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.

 

(f) The obligations of the Company and the Selling Stockholders under this Section 8 shall be in addition to any liability that the Company and the Selling Stockholders may otherwise have and the benefits of such obligations shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act; and the obligations of the Placement Agents under this Section 8 shall be in addition to any liability that the Placement Agents may otherwise have and the benefits of such obligations shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to the Company, the Selling Stockholders and their respective officers, directors and each person who controls the Company or a Selling Stockholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act.

 

  

18

  

 

(g) For purposes of this Agreement, the Placement Agents confirm, and the Company and the Selling Stockholders acknowledges, that there is no information concerning the Placement Agents furnished in writing to the Company and the Selling Stockholders by the Placement Agents specifically for preparation of or inclusion in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, other than the statements set forth in the last paragraph on the cover page of the Prospectus and the statements set forth in the “Plan of Distribution (the “Placement Agent Information”) section of the Prospectus and Time of Sale Disclosure Package.

 

9. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery.  All representations, warranties, and agreements of the Company and the Selling Stockholders herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto, including, but not limited to, the agreements of the Placement Agents, the Selling Stockholders and the Company contained in Section 5, Section 6(a)(xii), Section 6(b)(ii) and Section 8 hereof, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agents or any controlling person thereof, or the Company and the Selling Stockholders or any of their respective officers, directors, or controlling persons, and shall survive delivery of, and payment for, the Securities to and by the Purchasers.

 

10. Termination of this Agreement.

 

(a) The Placement Agents shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by giving notice to the Company and the Selling Stockholders as hereinafter specified at any time at or prior to the Closing Date, if in the judgment of the Placement Agents, (i) there has occurred any material adverse change in the securities markets or any event, act or occurrence that has materially disrupted, or in the opinion of the Placement Agents, will in the future materially disrupt, the securities markets or there shall be such a material adverse change in general financial, political or economic conditions or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Placement Agents, inadvisable or impracticable to market the Securities or enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, (ii) trading in the Company’s Common Stock shall have been suspended by the Commission or the Nasdaq Capital Market or trading in securities generally on the Nasdaq Capital Market, New York Stock Exchange or NYSE Amex shall have been suspended, (iii) minimum or maximum prices for trading shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been required, on the Nasdaq Capital Market, New York Stock Exchange or NYSE Amex, by such exchange or by order of the Commission or any other governmental authority having jurisdiction, (iv) a banking moratorium shall have been declared by federal or state authorities, (v) there shall have occurred any attack on, outbreak or escalation of hostilities or act of terrorism involving the United States, any declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war, any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States or other international political, financial or economic conditions or any other calamity or crisis, (vi) the Company suffers any loss by strike, fire, flood, earthquake, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or (vii) in the reasonable judgment of the Placement Agents, there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 5 and Section 8 hereof shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.

 

(b) If the Placement Agents elect to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section, the Company and the Selling Stockholders shall be notified promptly by the Placement Agent by telephone, confirmed by letter.

 

11. Notices.  Except as otherwise provided herein, all communications hereunder shall be in writing and, if to Roth, shall be mailed, delivered or telecopied to Roth Capital Partners, LLC, 888 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660, telecopy number: (949) 720-7227, Attention:  Managing Director; and if to the Company or to the Selling Stockholders, shall be mailed, delivered or telecopied to it at 3475 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, New York 10314, telecopy number: (718) 832-0892, Attention:  Andrew Gordon; with a  copy to Lowenstein Sandler PC, 65 Livingston Avenue, Roseland, New Jersey 07068, telecopy number:  (973) 597-2477, Attention:  Steven M. Skolnick; or in each case to such other address as the person to be notified may have requested in writing.  Any party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose.

 

  

19

  

 

12. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns and the controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 8.  Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give to any other person, firm or corporation any legal or equitable remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained.  The term “successors and assigns” as herein used shall not include any purchaser, as such purchaser, of any of the Shares from the Placement Agents.

 

13. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship.  The Company and each of the Selling Stockholders acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Placement Agents have been retained solely to act as an independent contractor in connection with the sale of the Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Selling Stockholders and the Placement Agents has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Placement Agents have advised or is advising the Company or the Selling Stockholders on other matters; (b) the price and other terms of the Securities were established by the Company and the Selling Stockholders following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Purchasers and the Company and the Selling Stockholders are capable of evaluating and understand and accept the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (c) it has been advised that each of the Placement Agents and its respective affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Selling Stockholders and that the Placement Agents have no obligation to disclose such interest and transactions to the Company or the Selling Stockholders by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and (d) it has been advised that the Placement Agents are acting, in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, solely for the benefit of the Placement Agents, and not on behalf of the Company or the Selling Stockholders.

 

14. Amendments and Waivers.  No supplement, modification or waiver of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by the party to be bound thereby.  The failure of a party to exercise any right or remedy shall not be deemed or constitute a waiver of such right or remedy in the future.  No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision hereof (regardless of whether similar), nor shall any such waiver be deemed or constitute a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly provided.

 

15. Partial Unenforceability.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph, clause or provision.

 

16. Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

17. Submission to Jurisdiction.  The Company and each Selling Stockholder irrevocably (a) submits to the jurisdiction of any court of the State of New York for the purpose of any suit, action, or other proceeding arising out of this Agreement, or any of the agreements or transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (each a “Proceeding”), (b) agrees that all claims in respect of any Proceeding may be heard and determined in any such court, (c) waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any immunity from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process therein, (d) agrees not to commence any Proceeding other than in such courts, and (e) waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claim that such Proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum.  EACH OF THE COMPANY (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS RESPECTIVE EQUITY HOLDERS AND CREDITORS) AND THE SELLING STOCKHOLDERS HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY CLAIM BASED UPON, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT, THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, AND THE PROSPECTUS.

 

18. Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original and all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

 

  

20

  

 

Please sign and return to the Company the enclosed duplicates of this letter whereupon this letter will become a binding agreement between the Company, the Selling Stockholders and the Placement Agents in accordance with its terms.

 

	 	Very truly yours,	 
	 	 	 
	 	Coffee Holding Co., Inc.	 
	 	 	 	 
	
 

	
By: 

	 /s/ Andrew Gordon 	 
	 	 	Andrew Gordon 	 
	 	 	President and CEO 	 
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	A Gordon Family Ventures LLC	 
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	/s/ Andrew Gordon	 
	 	 	Andrew Gordon	 
	 	 	Trustee	 
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	David Gordon	 
	 	 	 /s/ David Gordon 	 
	 	 	 	 

 

	Accepted as of the date first written:	 
	 	 
	

ROTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC

	 
	 	 
	/s/ Aaron M. Gurewitz	 
	Aaron M. Gurewitz	 
	Head of Equity Capital Markets	 
	 	 
	MAXIM GROUP LLC	 
	 	 
	/s/ Clifford Teller	 
	Clifford Teller	 
	Executive Managing Director	 

 

  

21

 

SCHEDULE I

 

Selling Stockholder

 

	  	 	

Number of Shares

to be Sold

	 
	
Selling Stockholders:

	 	 	 
	  	 	 	 
	
A Gordon Family Ventures LLC

	 	 	100,000	 
	
David Gordon

	 	 	100,000	 
	  	 	 	 	 
	
Total

	 	 	200,000	 

  

22

  

 

SCHEDULE II

 

Pricing Information

 

	
Number of Shares to be Sold by Company:

	 	
890,000 shares

	 
	
Number of Shares to be Sold by Selling Stockholders:

	 	
200,000 shares

	 
	
Number of Warrants to be Sold by Company:

	 	
267,000 shares

	 
	
Offering Price for Company Shares:

	 	$	10.40	 
	
Offering Price for Selling Shareholders Shares

	 	$	9.92	 
	
Exercise Price of Warrants:

	 	$	13.59	 
	
Aggregate Placement Agency Fee:

	 	$	786,800	 
	  	 	 	 	 

 

  

23

  

 

SCHEDULE III

 

Company Opinions

 

 

 

 

  

24

  

 

Exhibit A

 

Form of Subscription Agreement

  

25

  

Exhibit B

 

Form of Warrant

26

Source: [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00194-of-00352.parquet"}, [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00194-of-00352.parquet"}]]