Document:

ex1016.htm

Exhibit 10.16

 

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

 

 This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of February   , 2012, between Trellis Earth Products, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and collectively the “Purchasers”).

 

 WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.

 

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

 

 

ARTICLE I.

DEFINITIONS

 

 

 1.1  Definitions.  In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:

 

 “Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.

 

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

 

 “Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.  With respect to a Purchaser, any investment fund or managed account that is managed on a discretionary basis by the same investment manager as such Purchaser will be deemed to be an Affiliate of such Purchaser.

 

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

 

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

 

 “Closing” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.1.

 

 “Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities, in each case, have been satisfied or waived, but in no event later than the third Trading Day following the date hereof.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

  

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 “Company Counsel” means Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP, with offices located at 61 Broadway – 32nd Floor, New York, New York 10006, Attention: Gregory Sichenzia, Esq.

 

 “Disclosure Schedules” means the Disclosure Schedules of the Company delivered concurrently herewith.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or options to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant to the Company’s current incentive plan or any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors established for such purpose, (b) securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (except as a result of anti-dilution provisions therein), (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities and (d) warrants and securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any securities issued pursuant to the placement agent in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (except as a result of anti-dilution provisions therein). 

 

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

 

 “HTW” means Hunter Taubman Weiss, with offices located at 17 State Street, Floor 20, New York, NY 1004.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

“Money Laundering Laws” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(gg).

 

“Per Unit Purchase Price” equals $1.20, subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

 

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

 

“Placement Agent” means TriPoint Global Equities, LLC.

 

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

 

“Prospectus” means the prospectus included in the Registration Statement when it was declared effective.

 

“Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.

 

“Registration Statement” means the effective registration statement with Commission File No. 333-176970 which registers the sale of the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares by the Purchasers.

 

 

  

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

 

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

 

 “Rule 424” means Rule 424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.

 

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

 

 “Securities” means the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.

 

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

 

 “Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to each Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.

 

 “Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed to include the location and/or reservation of borrowable shares of Common Stock).

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE 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).

 

“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Warrants and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.

 

“Transfer Agent” means Island Stock Transfer, the current transfer agent of the Company, with a mailing address of 15500 Roosevelt Boulevard, Suite 301, Clearwater, Florida, 33760 and a facsimile number of 727-289-0069, and any successor transfer agent of the Company.

 

 “Variable Rate Transaction” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.12(b).

 

 “Warrants” means, collectively, the Common Stock purchase warrants delivered to the Purchasers at the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2(a) hereof, which Warrants shall be exercisable immediately and have a term of exercise equal to 3 years, in the form of  Exhibit A  attached hereto.

 

 “Warrant Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.

 

ARTICLE II.

 

PURCHASE AND SALE

 

 2.1   Closing.  On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchasers, severally and not jointly,  agree to purchase, up to an aggregate of $8,000,000 of Units, each Unit of which shall be comprised of: (i) one (1) share of Common Stock, (ii) one-half (.5) of a Series A Warrant with an exercise price of $1.25, and (ii) one-half (.5) of a Series B Warrant with an exercise price of $1.75. Each Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via wire transfer or a certified check of immediately available funds equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser and the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its respective Units as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing.  Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall occur at the offices of Company Counsel or such other location as the parties shall mutually agree.

 

 

  

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 2.2  Deliveries.

 

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

 

	
i.  

	
this Agreement duly executed by the Company;

 

	
ii.  

	
a legal opinion of Company Counsel, substantially in the form of Exhibit B attached hereto;

 

	
iii.  

	
a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Company’s transfer agent instructing the transfer agent to deliver via the Depository Trust Company Deposit Withdrawal Agent Commission System (“ DWAC ”) Shares equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase Price, registered in the name of such Purchaser;

 

	
iv.  

	
a Series A Warrant registered in the name of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 50% of such Purchaser’s Shares, with an exercise price equal to $1.25, subject to adjustment therein (such Warrant certificate may be delivered within three Trading Days of the Closing Date)(the “Series A Warrant”);

 

	
v.  

	
a Series B Warrant registered in the name of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 50% of such Purchaser’s Shares, with an exercise price equal to $1.75, subject to adjustment therein (such Warrant certificate may be delivered within three Trading Days of the Closing Date)(the “Series B Warrant,” together with the Series A Warrants, the “Warrants”; and,

 

	
vi.  

	
the Prospectus (which may be delivered in accordance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).

 

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

 

 (i)        this Agreement duly executed by such Purchaser; and

 

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

 

 2.3 Closing Conditions.

 

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

 

 (i)        the accuracy in all material respects on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein, or to the extent they relate to an earlier date, in which case such representations and warranties shall have been true and accurate on and as of such earlier date);

 

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

 

 (iii)           no statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling, injunction, action, proceeding, or interpretation shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, endorsed or adopted by any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self regulatory organization or the staff of any foregoing, having authority over the matter contemplated hereby which questions the validity of, or challenges or prohibits the consummation of, any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and

 

 (iv)           the delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this Agreement.

 

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

 

 (i)        the accuracy in all material respects when made and on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein, or to the extent they relate to an earlier date, in which case such representations and warranties shall have been true and accurate on and as of such earlier date);

 

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

 

 (iii)       the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;

 

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

 

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

 

 

  

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ARTICLE III.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

 3.1  Representations and Warranties of the Company.  Except as set forth in the Disclosure Schedules, which Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof and shall qualify any representation or otherwise made herein to the extent of the disclosure contained in the corresponding section of the Disclosure Schedules, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to each Purchaser, which shall be correct as of the date of this Agreement, except as to any representation or warranty which expressly relates to an earlier date, which only need be correct as of such earlier date:

 

 (a)  Subsidiaries.  All of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth on Schedule 3.1(a).  The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  If the Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.

 

  (b) Organization and Qualification.  The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the corporate power and corporate authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.  Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “ Material Adverse Effect ”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification;  provided ,  however , that “Material Adverse Effect” shall not be deemed to include (i) any adverse effect on the Company occurring either prior to, or after the Closing Date resulting from any change in the general economic conditions relating to the market in which the Company operates, or (ii) rumor, public announcement or closing relating to the negotiation and execution of this Agreement and the transactions described herein.

 

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

 

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

 

 (e)  Filings, Consents and Approvals.  The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii) the filing with the Commission of the Prospectus, (iii) application(s), if required, to each applicable Trading Market for the listing of the Securities for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby and (iv) such filings as are required to be made under applicable federal and state securities laws (collectively, the “ Required Approvals ”).

 

 (f)  Issuance of the Securities; Registration.  The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The Warrant Shares, when issued and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Warrants, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this Agreement and the Warrants. The Company has prepared and filed the Registration Statement in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, which became effective on February [  ], 2012 (the  “Effective Date ”), including the Prospectus, and such amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this Agreement.  The Registration Statement is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission.  The Company, if required by the rules and regulations of the Commission, proposes to file the Prospectus, with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b).  At the time the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did 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; and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

 

  

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 (g)  Capitalization.  The capitalization of the Company as of September 30, 2011, is as set forth in the most recent applicable SEC Reports, increased as set forth in the next sentence.  The Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, except as disclosed therein, other than as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g) pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options, the issuance of shares of Common Stock under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, no Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports or as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents.  The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Purchasers) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, or in filings with the Commission under Sections 13 or 16 of the Exchange Act, there are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.

 

 (h)  SEC Reports; Financial Statements.  The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, together with the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, being collectively referred to herein as the “ SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension.  As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Within the past twelve months the Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing.  Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“ GAAP ”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, year-end audit adjustments.

 

 

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

 

 (j)  Litigation.  Except as may be disclosed in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “ Action ”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty.  There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company.  The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act. 

 

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

 

(l)  Compliance.  Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or governmental body or (iii) is in material violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws applicable to its business, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  The representations and warranties set forth in this Section 3.1(l) do not apply to Labor Relations, Regulatory Permits, Sarbanes-Oxley, Tax Status, Foreign Corrupt Practices, which are addressed in Sections 3.1(k), 3.1(m), 3.1(r), 3.1(z) and 3.1(aa), respectively. 

 

 

  

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

 

(n)  Title to Assets.  The Company and the Subsidiaries own no real property.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties.  Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries that are material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance. 

 

(o)  Patents and Trademarks.  The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or material for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “ Intellectual Property Rights ”).  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice that any of the Intellectual Property Rights used by the Company or any Subsidiary violates or infringes upon the rights of any Person.  To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights.  The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. 

 

(p)  Insurance.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business. 

 

(q)  Transactions With Affiliates and Employees.  Except as set forth in the SEC Reports or the Prospectus, none of the executive officers or directors of the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company. 

 

(r)   Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls.  The Company is in material compliance with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which are applicable to it as of the Closing Date.  The Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls reasonably designed to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to reasonably ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. 

 

The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by the Company’s most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “ Evaluation Date ”).  The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date.  Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

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

 

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

 

(u)  Registration Rights.  Except as provided in the SEC Reports, no Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company. 

 

(v)  [Intentionally Omitted.]

 

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

 

(x) Disclosure.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any information that it reasonably believes would constitute material, non-public information which is not otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus.   The Company understands and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.  All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchasers regarding the Company, its business and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof. 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

  

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(aa) Foreign Corrupt Practices.  Neither the Company, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended. 

 

(bb) Accountants.  The Company’s accounting firm is set forth on Schedule 3.1(cc) of the Disclosure Schedules.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2011. 

 

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

 

(dd) Acknowledgement Regarding Purchaser’s Trading Activity.  Anything in this Agreement or elsewhere herein to the contrary notwithstanding (except for Sections 3.2(f) and 4.13 hereof), it is understood and acknowledged by the Company that: (i) none of the Purchasers have been asked by the Company to agree, nor has any Purchaser agreed, to desist from purchasing or selling, long and/or short, securities of the Company, or “derivative” securities based on securities issued by the Company or to hold the Securities for any specified term; (ii) past or future open market or other transactions by any Purchaser, specifically including, without limitation, Short Sales or “derivative” transactions, before or after the Closing, may negatively impact the market price of the Company’s publicly-traded securities; (iii) any Purchaser, and counter-parties in “derivative” transactions to which any such Purchaser is a party, directly or indirectly, presently may have a “short” position in the Common Stock, and (iv) each Purchaser shall not be deemed to have any affiliation with or control over any arm’s length counter-party in any “derivative” transaction.  The Company further understands and acknowledges that (y) one or more Purchasers may engage in hedging activities at various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, including, without limitation, during the periods that the value of the Warrant Shares deliverable with respect to Securities are being determined, and (z) such hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing stockholders' equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging activities are being conducted.  The Company acknowledges that such aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the Transaction Documents. 

 

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

 

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

 

(gg) Money Laundering.  The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(hh) Certificates.  Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Placement Agent or to counsel for the Placement Agent shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agent as to the matters set forth therein.

 

(ii) Reliance.  The Company acknowledges that the Placement Agent will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and warranties and hereby consents to such reliance.

 

(jj) Forward-Looking Statements.  No forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in either the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(kk) Statistical or Market-Related Data.  Any statistical, industry-related and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived. 

 

 3.2  Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers.  Each Purchaser, for itself and for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows , which shall be correct as of the date of this Agreement, except as to any representation or warranty which expressly relates to an earlier date, which only need be correct as of such earlier date:

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

  

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 (c)  Litigation.  There is no action pending, or to its knowledge, threatened, to which such Purchaser is a party that is reasonably likely to prevent, enjoin, alter or delay the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

 (d)  Purchaser Status.  At the time such Purchaser was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it exercises any Warrants, it will be either: (i) an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Securities Act or (ii) a “qualified institutional buyer” as defined in Rule 144A(a) under the Securities Act.  Such Purchaser is not required to be registered as a broker-dealer under Section 15 of the Exchange Act.

 

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

 

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

 

The Company acknowledges and agrees that each Purchaser does not make or has not made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in this Section 3.2.

 

ARTICLE IV.

 

OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES 

 

4.1  Warrant Shares.  If all or any portion of a Warrant is exercised at a time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the issuance or resale of the Warrant Shares or if the Warrant is exercised via cashless exercise, the Warrant Shares issued pursuant to any such exercise shall be issued free of all legends.  If at any time following the date hereof the Registration Statement (or any subsequent registration statement registering the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares) is not effective or is not otherwise available for the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares, the Company shall immediately notify the holders of the Warrants in writing that such registration statement is not then effective and thereafter shall promptly notify such holders when the registration statement is effective again and available for the sale or resale of the Warrant Shares (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing shall not limit the ability of the Company to issue, or any Purchaser to sell, any of the Warrant Shares in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws).  The Company shall use best efforts to keep a registration statement (including the Registration Statement) registering the issuance or resale of the Warrant Shares effective during the term of the Warrants. 

 

4.2  Furnishing of Information.  Until the earliest of the time that (i) no Purchaser owns Securities it is not eligible to dispose of pursuant to Rule 144, or (ii) the Warrants have expired, the Company covenants to use reasonable best efforts to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.  As long as any Purchaser owns Securities, if the Company is not required to file reports pursuant to the Exchange Act, it will prepare and furnish to the Purchasers and use reasonable best efforts to make publicly available in accordance with Rule 144(c) such information as is required for the Purchasers to sell the Securities under Rule 144. The Company further covenants that it will take such further action as any holder of Securities may reasonably request, to the extent required from time to time to enable such Person to sell such Securities without registration under the Securities Act within the requirements of the exemption provided by Rule 144. 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

4.7 Use of Proceeds.  The Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder as set forth in the Registration Statement. The Company also may use a portion of the net proceeds, currently intended for general corporate purposes, to acquire or invest in technologies, products or services that complement its business, although the Company has no present plans or commitments and is not currently engaged in any material negotiations with respect to these types of transactions.  Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company shall not use such proceeds for: (a) the satisfaction of any portion of the Company’s debt (other than payment of trade payables in the ordinary course of the Company’s business and prior practices), (b) the redemption of any Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents or (c) the settlement of any outstanding litigation. 

 

 

 

  

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4.8 Indemnification.   Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.8, and to the extent permitted by law, the Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees, agents and controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act) (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur due to a claim by a third party as a result of or relating to any action instituted against a Purchaser Party by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, except to the extent that that a loss, liability, damage, cost or expense is attributable solely to a breach of such Purchaser’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Purchaser may have with such stockholder or any violations by such Purchaser of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Purchaser which constitutes fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or malfeasance.  If any claim, action or proceeding shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing; provided, however, that the failure timely to give such notice shall affect the rights of such Purchaser Party hereunder only to the extent that such failure has a material prejudicial effect on the defenses or other rights available to the Company with respect to such claim, action or proceeding.  At the election of the Company, the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party.  Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such claim, action or proceeding and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such claim, action or proceeding there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel, a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel for such Purchaser Party, in addition to local counsel.  The Company will have the exclusive right to settle any claim, action or proceeding; provided, however, that the Company will not settle any such claim, action or proceeding without the prior written consent of the Purchaser Party, which will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided, however, that such consent shall not be required if the settlement includes a full and unconditional release from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim or proceeding and does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Purchaser Party.  

 

4.9  Reservation of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, the Company has reserved and the Company shall continue to reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement and Warrant Shares pursuant to any exercise of the Warrants. 

 

4.10 Listing of Common Stock. The Company hereby agrees to use reasonable best efforts to (a) maintain the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market on which it is currently listed, and concurrently with the Closing, if applicable, the Company shall apply to list or quote all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such Trading Market; (b) if the Company applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other Trading Market, include in such application all of the Shares and Warrant Shares, and take such other action as is reasonably necessary to cause all of the Shares and Warrant Shares to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as possible; (c) take all action necessary to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a Trading Market; and (d) comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market. 

 

4.11 Subsequent Equity Sales.

 

 (a) From the date hereof until 45 days after the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or proposed issuance of any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents. 

 

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 4.11 shall not apply in respect of an Exempt Issuance.

 

 4.12  Equal Treatment of Purchasers.  No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any Person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of any of the Transaction Documents unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to the Transaction Documents.  For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or voting of Securities or otherwise. 

 

4.13  Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Disclosure Schedules.  Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality to the Company or its Subsidiaries after the issuance of the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement. 

 

 4.14  Delivery of Warrants After Closing.  The Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, the respective Warrant certificates purchased by each Purchaser to such Purchaser within 3 Trading Days of the Closing Date. 

 

 

  

10

  

 

 

ARTICLE V.

MISCELLANEOUS 

 

 

5.1  Termination.  This Agreement may be terminated by the Company or any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the Company and the other Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not been consummated on or before February  , 2012;  provided,  however, that no such termination will affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by the other party (or parties). 

 

5.2  Fees and Expenses.  Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement.  The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees, stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchasers.  

 

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

 

5.4  Notices.  Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given.  The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto.

 

 5.5 Amendments; Waivers.  No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and the Purchasers who purchased at least 50% in interest of the Shares at the Closing or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such waived provision is sought.  No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right.  

 

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

 

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

 

 5.8  No Third-Party Beneficiaries.  This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8.

 

 5.9 Governing Law.  All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof.  Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.  If either party shall commence an action or proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

  

11

  

 

 

 5.17  Independent Nature of Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights.  The obligations of each Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other Purchaser under any Transaction Document.  The decision of each Purchaser to purchase Securities pursuant to this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been made by such Purchaser independently of any other Purchaser and independently of any information, materials, statements or opinions as to the business, affairs, operations, assets, properties, liabilities, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company or any Subsidiary which may have been made or given by any other Purchaser or by any agent or employee of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser and any of its agents or employees shall have any liability to any other Purchaser (or any other person or entity) relating to or arising from any such information, materials, statement or opinions.  Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.  Each Purchaser shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights including, without limitation, the rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents, and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an additional party in any proceeding for such purpose.  Each Purchaser has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in their review and negotiation of the Transaction Documents.  For reasons of administrative convenience only, each Purchaser and its respective counsel have chosen to communicate with the Company through HTW.  HTW does not represent any of the Purchasers and only represents TriPoint Global Equities, LLC, as the placement agent.  The Company has elected to provide all Purchasers with the same terms and Transaction Documents for the convenience of the Company and not because it was required or requested to do so by any of the Purchasers.  The Company’s obligations to each Purchaser under the Transaction Documents are identical to its obligations to each other Purchaser other than such differences resulting solely from the number of Securities purchased by such Purchaser, but regardless of whether such obligations are memorialized herein or in another agreement between the Company and a Purchaser.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

(Signature Pages Follow) 

 

 

  

12

  

 

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

 

 

 

 

	
TRELLIS EARTH PRODUCTS, INC.

 

 

	  	
Address for Notice:

 

9125 S.W. Ridder Road, Suite D

Wilsonville, OR 97070

Facsimile: 503-582-1313

Attention:  William Collins, CEO

 

	  
	
By:

	  	  	  	  
	  	
Name: William Collins

   Title: Chief Executive Officer

	  	  	  
	  	  	  	  	  

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP

Attn: Gregory Sichenzia

61 Broadway – 32nd Floor

New York, NY 10006

 

 

 

 

 

 

[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

 

SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]

 

 

 

  

13

  

 

 

 

[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO

 

TRELLIS EARTH PRODUCTS, INC. SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 Name of Purchaser: _______________________________________________________

 

Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser:  ________________________________

 

Name of Authorized Signatory: ______________________________________________

 

 Title of Authorized Signatory: ______________________________________________

 

 Email Address of Authorized Signatory: ______________________________________

 

 Facsimile Number of Authorized Signatory: ___________________________________

 

 Address for Notice of Purchaser:

 

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

 

Subscription Amount: $_________________

 

Units: _________________

 

Shares: __________________________

 

Series A Warrants: _________________

 

Series B Warrants: _________________

 

SS/EIN Number:  [PROVIDE THIS UNDER SEPARATE COVER]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SIGNATURE PAGES CONTINUE]

 

 

  

14

  

 

 

DISCLOSURE SCHEDULES

 

 

Schedule 3.1(a)

 

None.

 

Schedule 3.1(g)

 

None.

 

Schedule 3.1(i)

 

None.

 

Schedule 3.1(cc)

 

GBH CPAs, PC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15ex1017.htm

Exhibit 10.17

 

PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT

 

February  2, 2012                                                            

 

Tripoint Global Equities, LLC

17 State Street

Suite 2000

New York, New York 10004

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Introduction.  Subject to the terms and conditions herein (this “Agreement”), Trellis Earth Products, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), hereby agrees to use its best efforts to sell up to an aggregate of $8,000,000.00 (the “Maximum”) of registered securities (the “Securities”) of the Company, including, but not limited to, Common Stock (the "Common Stock ”), and common share purchase warrants (the “ Warrants ” and, together with the Common Stock, and the shares of common stock underlying the Warrants, the “ Securities ”) directly to various investors (each, an “ Investor ” and, collectively, the “ Investors ”) through Tripoint Global Equities, LLC, as placement agent (“ Tripoint ” or the “ Placement Agent ”).   The Placement Agent may retain other brokers or dealers to act as sub-agents or selected-dealers on its behalf in connection with the Offering (as defined below).

 

The Company hereby confirms its agreement with the Placement Agent as follows:

 

Section 1.            Agreement to Act as Placement Agent.

 

(a)           On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Placement Agent shall be the exclusive Placement Agent in connection with the offering and sale by the Company of the Securities pursuant to the Company's Registration Statement (as defined below), with the terms of such offering (the “ Offering ”) to be subject to market conditions and negotiations between the Company, the Placement Agent and the prospective Investors.  The Placement Agent will act on a reasonable best efforts basis and the Company agrees and acknowledges that there is no guarantee of the successful placement of the Securities, or any portion thereof, in the prospective Offering.  Under no circumstances will the Placement Agent or any of its “Affiliates” (as defined below) be obligated to underwrite or purchase any of the Securities for its own account or otherwise provide any financing.  The Placement Agent shall act solely as the Company’s agent and not as principal.  The Placement Agent shall have no authority to bind the Company with respect to any prospective offer to purchase Securities and the Company shall have the sole right to accept offers to purchase Securities and may reject any such offer, in whole or in part.  Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of, the Securities shall be made at one or more closings (each a “ Closing ” and the date on which each Closing occurs, a “ Closing Date ”).  As compensation for services rendered, on each Closing Date, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent the fees and expenses set forth below:

 

(i)           A cash fee equal to 10% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Securities at the Closing.

(ii)            Warrants for the purchase of an amount equal to 10% of the securities issued in the Offering (the “Placement Agent Warrants”).  The Placement Agent Warrants will have a strike price equal to the Offering price, have a term of three years and be exercisable for cash, unless the cashless exercise right as set forth herein is available.  As per FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), for a period of six months after the issuance date of the Placement Agent Warrants, neither the Placement Agent Warrants nor any warrant shares issued upon exercise of the Placement Agent Warrants shall be (A) sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated, or (B) the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put, or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of effectiveness or commencement of sales of the offering pursuant to which the compensation warrants are being issued, except the transfer of any security as permitted by FINRA rules.  Additionally, the Placement Agent shall be able to exercise the Placement Agent Warrants via a cashless exercise if, at any time during the term of the Placement Agent Warrants, they are not registered in an effective registration statement or they are included in a registration statement that ceases to be effective for any duration of time during the Placement Agent Warrants’ term. 

 

  

1

  

 

 (iii)          Subject to compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(D), the Company also agrees to reimburse Tripoint’s expenses equal to 1.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering, but in no event more than $120,000 (exclusive of the fees of Placement Agent’s counsel, as set forth in Section 6(x)) without the Company’s consent (provided, however, that such expense cap in no way limits or impairs the indemnification and contribution provisions of this Agreement).  Such reimbursement shall be payable immediately upon (but only in the event of) a Closing of the Offering.

 

(b)           The term of the Placement Agent's exclusive engagement will be until the earlier of (i) 12 months from the date hereof or (ii) completion of the Offering (the “ Exclusive Term ”);   provided ,  however , that a party hereto may terminate the engagement with respect to itself at any time upon 10 days written notice to the other parties.   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the provisions concerning confidentiality, indemnification and contribution contained herein and the Company’s obligations contained in the indemnification provisions will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement, and the Company’s obligation to pay fees actually earned and payable and to reimburse expenses actually incurred and reimbursable pursuant to Section 1 hereof and which are permitted to be reimbursed under FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(D), will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the ability of the Placement Agent or its Affiliates to pursue, investigate, analyze, invest in, or engage in investment banking, financial advisory or any other business relationship with Persons (as defined below) other than the Company. As used herein (i) “Persons” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind and (ii) “Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

(c)           If during the Exclusive Term, or within twelve months after the date of termination or expiration of this Agreement, securities are sold by the Company to investors identified to the Company or contacted by Tripoint on behalf of the Company, then the Company shall pay to Tripoint, at the time of each such sale, the fees set forth in this Section 1 with respect to any such sale.  Upon termination of this Agreement and at the request of the Company, Tripoint will provide the Company with a list of investors identified and/or contacted by Tripoint in its capacity as placement agent hereunder.

 

  

2

  

 

Section 2.            Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Company.  The Company hereby represents, warrants and covenants to the Placement Agent as of the date hereof, and as of each Closing Date, as follows:

 

(a)           Securities Law Filings.  The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration File No. 333-176970) under the Securities Act and the rules and regulations (the “ Rules and Regulations ”) of the Commission promulgated thereunder.  At the time of such filing, the Company met the requirements of Form S-1 under the Securities Act.  The Company will file with the Commission pursuant to Rules 430A and/or 424(b) under the Securities Act, a final prospectus included in such registration statement relating to the offering of the Securities and the plan of distribution thereof and has advised the Placement Agent of all further information (financial and other) with respect to the Company required to be set forth therein. Such registration statement, including the exhibits thereto, as amended at the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “ Registration Statement ”; such prospectus in the form in which it appears in the Registration Statement is hereinafter called the “ Base Prospectus ”; and the amended or supplemented form of prospectus, in the form in which it will be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rules 430A and/or 424(b) (including the Base Prospectus as so amended or supplemented) is hereinafter called the “ Prospectus Supplement .”  All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included,” “described,” “referenced,” “set forth” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement, as the case may be.  Following FINRA approval of the compensation arrangements set forth in Section 1, the Company has no reason to believe that the Registration Statement will not be declared effective by the Commission. 

 

(b)           Assurances.  The Registration Statement (and any further documents to be filed with the Commission) contains all exhibits and schedules as required by the Securities Act.  Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations and did not and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, 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 Base Prospectus, and the Prospectus Supplement, each as of its respective date, comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations.  Each of the Base Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, as amended or supplemented, did not and will not contain as of the date thereof any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  No post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement reflecting any facts or events arising after the date thereof which represent, individually or in the aggregate, a fundamental change in the information set forth therein is required to be filed with the Commission.  There are no documents required to be filed with the Commission in connection with the transaction contemplated hereby that (x) have not been filed as required pursuant to the Securities Act or (y) will not be filed within the requisite time period.  There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Base Prospectus, or Prospectus Supplement, or to be filed as exhibits or schedules to the Registration Statement, that have not been described or filed as required.   The Company will not, without the prior consent of the Placement Agent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.

 

(c)           Offering Materials.  The Company has delivered, or will as promptly as practicable deliver, to the Placement Agent complete conformed copies of the Registration Statement and of each consent and certificate of experts, as applicable, filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits), the Base Prospectus, and the Prospectus Supplement, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as the Placement Agent reasonably requests.  Neither the Company nor any of its directors and officers has distributed and none of them will distribute, prior to the Closing Date, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Registration Statement, and any other materials permitted by the Securities Act.

 

  

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(d)           Subsidiaries.  All of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company (the “ Subsidiaries ”) are set forth in the exhibits to the Registration Statement.  Except as described in the Base Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement, the Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any liens, charges, security interests, encumbrances, rights of first refusal, preemptive rights or other restrictions (collectively, “ Liens ”), and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.

 

(e)           Organization and Qualification.  The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing (where applicable) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation or default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.  Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of this Agreement or any other agreement entered into between the Company and the Investors, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under this Agreement or the transactions contemplated under the Prospectus Supplement (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “ Material Adverse Effect ”) and no action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened (“ Proceeding ”) has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.

 

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

 

  

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

 

(h)           Filings, Consents and Approvals.  The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement, other than: (i) the filing with the Commission of the Prospectus Supplement,  and (ii) such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws (collectively, the “ Required Approvals ”).

 

(i)            Issuance of the Securities; Registration.  The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the Prospectus Supplement, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The shares underlying the Warrants (the “ Warrant Shares ”), when issued in accordance with the terms of the Warrants, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company.  The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement. 

(j)           Capitalization.  The capitalization of the Company is as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement.  The Company has not issued any capital stock since the date of filing of its latest periodic report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or, in the event that the Company is not required to file periodic reports pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Company has not issued any capital stock since the date of filing of the Prospectus Supplement, other than pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time any Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, rights, options, warrants or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common Stock (“ Common Stock Equivalents ”) outstanding as of the date of the filing of the Prospectus Supplement.  No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement.  Except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities and except for stock options issued pursuant to the Company's stock option plans, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents.  Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Investors) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.  No further approval or authorization of any shareholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities.  There are no shareholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s shareholders.

 

  

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(k)           SEC Reports; Financial Statements.  The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to herein as the “ SEC Reports ”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension.  As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing.  Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“ GAAP ”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

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

 

(m)           Litigation.  There is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “ Action ”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty.  There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company.  The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.

 

  

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

  

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

 

(s)           Insurance.  The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.

 

(t)            Transactions With Affiliates and Employees.  Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.

 

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

 

  

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(v)           Certain Fees.  Except as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement.  The Investors shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement.

 

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

 

(x)           Registration Rights.  No Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company.

 

(y)           Reserved.

 

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

 

(aa)         Disclosure.  Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the transactions contemplated pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Investors or their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information which is not otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus Supplement.   The Company understands and confirms that the Investors will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.  All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Investors regarding the Company, its business and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.  The press releases disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made and when made, not misleading.

 

  

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(bb)         No Integrated Offering.  Neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any trading market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.

 

(cc)         Solvency.  Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of each Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, and projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid.  The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt).  The Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from each Closing Date.  The Base Prospectus sets forth as of September 30, 2011 all outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments.  For the purposes of this Agreement, “ Indebtedness ” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.

 

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

 

  

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(ee)         Foreign Corrupt Practices.  Neither the Company, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

(ff)           Accountants.  The Company’s accounting firm is set forth in the Base Prospectus.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ending December 31, 2011.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

  

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(kk)         Money Laundering.  The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “ Money Laundering Laws ”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(ll)           Certificates.  Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Placement Agent or to counsel for the Placement Agent shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agent as to the matters set forth therein.

 

 (mm)       Reliance.  The Company acknowledges that the Placement Agent will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and warranties and hereby consents to such reliance.

 

(nn)         Forward-Looking Statements.   No forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in either the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(oo)         Statistical or Market-Related Data.  Any statistical, industry-related and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement, are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived.

 

(pp)         FINRA Affiliations.  Except as set forth on Schedule 2(pp), there are no affiliations with any FINRA member firm among the Company’s officers, directors or, to the knowledge of the Company, except as set forth on  Schedule 2(pp), any five percent (5%) or greater shareholder of the Company.

 

(qq)         No Incorporation by Reference.  No documents are incorporated by reference in the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-1 which were filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”).

 

Section 3.            Delivery and Payment.  Each Closing shall occur at the offices of the Placement Agent (or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Placement Agent and the Company).  Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, at each Closing payment of the purchase price for the Securities sold on such Closing Date shall be made by Federal Funds wire transfer, against delivery of such Securities, and such Securities shall be registered in such name or names and shall be in such denominations, as the Placement Agent may request at least one business day before the time of purchase (as defined below).

 

  

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Deliveries of the documents with respect to the purchase of the Securities, if any, shall be made at the offices of Placement Agent.   All actions taken at a Closing shall be deemed to have occurred simultaneously.

 

Section 4.            Covenants and Agreements of the Company.  The Company further covenants and agrees with the Placement Agent as follows:

 

(a)           Registration Statement Matters.  The Company will advise the Placement Agent promptly after it receives notice thereof of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to any Prospectus Supplement or any amended Prospectus Supplement has been filed and will furnish the Placement Agent with copies thereof.  The Company will file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of any Prospectus Supplement and for so long as the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the Offering.  The Company will advise the Placement Agent, promptly after it receives notice thereof (i) of any request by the Commission to amend the Registration Statement or to amend or supplement any Prospectus Supplement or for additional information, and (ii) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or any order preventing or suspending the use of the Base Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement or any amendment or supplement thereto or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the institution or threatened institution of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or a Prospectus Supplement or for additional information. The Company shall use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or prevention or suspension of such use.  If the Commission shall enter any such stop order or order or notice of prevention or suspension at any time, the Company will use its best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment, or will file a new registration statement and use its best efforts to have such new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable.  Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rules 424(b), 430A, 430B and 430C, as applicable, under the Securities Act, including with respect to the timely filing of documents thereunder, and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under such Rule 424(b) are received in a timely manner by the Commission.

(b)           Blue Sky Compliance.  The Company will cooperate with the Placement Agent and the Investors in endeavoring to qualify the Securities for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions (United States and foreign) as the Placement Agent and the Investors may reasonably request and will make such applications, file such documents, and furnish such information as may be reasonably required for that purpose, provided the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or required to file such a consent, and provided further that the Company shall not be required to produce any new disclosure document other than a Prospectus Supplement.  The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports and other documents as are or may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long a period as the Placement Agent may reasonably request for distribution of the Securities.  The Company will advise the Placement Agent promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Securities for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.

 

  

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(c)           Amendments and Supplements to a Prospectus Supplement and Other Matters.  The Company will comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and any Prospectus Supplement.  If during the period in which a prospectus is required by law to be delivered in connection with the distribution of Securities contemplated by any Prospectus Supplement (the “ Prospectus Delivery Period ”), any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the opinion of the Placement Agent or counsel for the Placement Agent, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement any Prospectus Supplement in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement any Prospectus Supplement to comply with any law, the Company will promptly prepare and file with the Commission, and furnish at its own expense to the Placement Agent and to dealers, an appropriate amendment to the Registration Statement or supplement to the Registration Statement or any Prospectus Supplement that is necessary in order to make the statements in any Prospectus Supplement as so amended or supplemented, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or so that the Registration Statement or any Prospectus Supplement, as so amended or supplemented, will comply with law.  Before amending the Registration Statement or supplementing any Prospectus Supplement in connection with the Offering, the Company will furnish the Placement Agent with a copy of such proposed amendment or supplement and will not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Placement Agent reasonably objects.

 (d)           Copies of any Amendments and Supplements to a Prospectus Supplement.  The Company will furnish the Placement Agent, without charge, during the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the later of the last Closing Date of the Offering, as many copies of any Prospectus Supplement and any amendments and supplements thereto as the Placement Agent may reasonably request.

 

(e)           Reserved.

 

(f)           Transfer Agent.  The Company will maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Common Stock.

 

(g)           Earnings Statement.  As soon as practicable and in accordance with applicable requirements under the Securities Act, but in any event not later than 18 months after the last Closing Date, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Placement Agent an earnings statement, covering a period of at least 12 consecutive months beginning after the last Closing Date, that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 under the Securities Act.

 

(h)           Periodic Reporting Obligations.  During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will duly file, on a timely basis, with the Commission all reports and documents required to be filed under the Exchange Act within the time periods and in the manner required by the Exchange Act.

 

(i)           Additional Documents.  The Company will enter into any subscription, purchase or other customary agreements as the Placement Agent or the Investors deem necessary or appropriate to consummate the Offering, all of which will be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Company, the Placement Agent and the Investors.  The Company agrees that the Placement Agent may rely upon, and each is a third party beneficiary of, the representations and warranties, and applicable covenants, set forth in any such purchase, subscription or other agreement with Investors in the Offering.

 

  

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(j)            No Manipulation of Price.  The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or result in, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company.

 

(k)           Acknowledgment.  The Company acknowledges that any advice given by the Placement Agent to the Company is solely for the benefit and use of the Board of Directors of the Company and may not be used, reproduced, disseminated, quoted or referred to, without the Placement Agent's prior written consent.

 

Section 5.           Conditions of the Obligations of the Placement Agent.  The obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 2 hereof, in each case, unless otherwise noted below, as of the date hereof and as of each Closing Date as though then made, to the timely performance by each of the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder on and as of such dates, and to each of the following additional conditions:

 

(a)           Accountants’ Comfort Letter.  Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, as of the first Closing, the Placement Agent shall have received, and the Company shall have caused to be delivered to the Placement Agent, a letter from GBH CPAs, PC (the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company), addressed to the Placement Agent, dated as of such first Closing, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent.  The letter shall not disclose any change in the condition (financial or other), earnings, operations, business or prospects of the Company from that set forth in the Base Prospectus or the applicable Prospectus Supplement, which, in the Placement Agent's sole judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in the Placement Agent's sole judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the Offering of the Securities as contemplated by such Prospectus Supplement.

 

(b)           Compliance with Registration Requirements; No Stop Order; No Objection from the FINRA.  Each Prospectus Supplement (in accordance with Rule 424(b)) , if any, shall have been duly filed with the Commission, as appropriate; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; no order preventing or suspending the use of any Prospectus Supplement shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; no order having the effect of ceasing or suspending the distribution of the Securities or any other securities of the Company shall have been issued by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or shall be pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange; all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with; and the FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the placement terms and arrangements.

 

(c)           Corporate Proceedings.  All corporate proceedings and other legal matters in connection with this Agreement, the Registration Statement and each Prospectus Supplement, and the registration, sale and delivery of the Securities, shall have been completed or resolved in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent's counsel, and such counsel shall have been furnished with such papers and information as it may reasonably have requested to enable such counsel to pass upon the matters referred to in this Section 5.

 

  

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(d)           No Material Adverse Change.  Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to each Closing Date, in the Placement Agent's sole judgment after consultation with the Company, there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Effect.

(e)           Opinion of Counsel for the Company.  The Placement Agent shall have received on each Closing Date the favorable opinion of legal counsel to the Company, dated as of such Closing Date, including, without limitation, a negative assurance letter, addressed to the Placement Agent in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent.

 

(f)           Officers’ Certificate.  The Placement Agent shall have received on each Closing Date a certificate of the Company, dated as of such Closing Date, signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to the effect that, and the Placement Agent shall be satisfied that, the signers of such certificate have reviewed the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Prospectus Supplement, and this Agreement and to the further effect that:

 

(i)           The representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct, as if made on and as of such Closing Date, and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to such Closing Date;

 

(ii)          No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the use of the Base Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened under the Securities Act; no order having the effect of ceasing or suspending the distribution of the Securities or any other securities of the Company has been issued by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange in the United States and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated by any securities commission, securities regulatory authority or stock exchange in the United States;

 

(iii)         When the Registration Statement became effective, at the time of sale, and at all times subsequent thereto up to the delivery of such certificate, the Registration Statement, when it became effective, contained all material information required to be included therein by the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be, and in all material respects conformed to the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, as the case may be, and the Registration Statement, did not and does not include 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 (provided, however, that the preceding representations and warranties contained in this paragraph (iii) shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Placement Agent expressly for use therein) and, since the effective date of the Registration Statement, there has occurred no event required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder to be set forth in the Registration Statement which has not been so set forth; and

 

  

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(iv)         Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and any Prospectus Supplement, there has not been:  (a) any Material Adverse Effect; (b) any transaction that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, except transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business; (c) any obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary, except obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business; (d) any material change in the capital stock (except changes thereto resulting from the exercise of outstanding stock options or warrants) or outstanding indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary; (e) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company; or (f) any loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company or any Subsidiary which has been sustained or will have been sustained which has a Material Adverse Effect.

(g)           Bring-down Comfort Letter.  On each Closing Date following the first Closing, the Placement Agent shall have received from GBH CPAs, PC, or such other independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, a letter dated as of such Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section 5, except that the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than three business days prior to such Closing Date.

 

(h)           Reserved.

 

(i)           Additional Documents.  On or before each Closing Date, the Placement Agent and counsel for the Placement Agent shall have received such information and documents as they may reasonably require for the purposes of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as contemplated herein, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations and warranties, or the satisfaction of any of the conditions or agreements, herein contained.

 

If any condition specified in this Section 5 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Placement Agent by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to a Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that Section 6 (Payment of Expenses), Section 7 (Indemnification and Contribution) and Section 8 (Representations and Indemnities to Survive Delivery) shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.

 

  

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Section 6.           Payment of Expenses.  The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred by the Company in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation:  (i) all expenses incident to the issuance, delivery and qualification of the Securities (including all printing and engraving costs); (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Common Stock; (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities; (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors; (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Base Prospectus and each Prospectus Supplement, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and this Agreement; (vi) all filing fees, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Company or the Placement Agent in connection with qualifying or registering (or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any part of the Securities for offer and sale under the state securities or blue sky laws or the securities laws of any other country, and, if requested by the Placement Agent, preparing and printing a “ Blue Sky Survey ,” an “ International Blue Sky Survey ” or other memorandum, and any supplements thereto, advising the Placement Agent of such qualifications, registrations and exemptions; (vii) if applicable, the filing fees incident to the review and approval by the FINRA of the Placement Agent's participation in the offering and distribution of the Securities;  (viii) all costs and expenses incident to the travel and accommodation of the Company’s and the Placement Agent's employees on the “ roadshow ,” if any;  provided,  however , that the Placement Agent shall only be reimbursed for any such costs and expenses of the Company’s and Placement Agent’s employees on the “roadshow” that do not exceed the $120,000 expense allowance available to the Placement Agent pursuant to Section 1(a)(iv)of this Agreement; (ix) fees and expenses of Placement Agent’s counsel, which fees shall not exceed $75,000.00 and; provided, that any costs and expenses (exclusive of any blue sky or other filing fees) do not exceed the $120,000 expense allowance available to the Placement Agent pursuant to Section 1(a)(iv)of this Agreement and (x) all other fees, costs and expenses referred to in Part II of the Registration Statement. 

 

Section 7.            Indemnification and Contribution.  The Company agrees to indemnify the Placement Agent in accordance with the provisions of  Schedule A  hereto, which is incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof.

 

Section 8.           Representations and Indemnities to Survive Delivery.  The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or any person controlling the Company, of its officers, and of the Placement Agent set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agent, the Company, or any of its or their partners, officers or directors or any controlling person, as the case may be, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Securities sold hereunder and any termination of this Agreement.  A successor to a Placement Agent, or to the Company, its directors or officers or any person controlling the Company, shall be entitled to the benefits of the indemnity, contribution and reimbursement agreements contained in this Agreement.

 

Section 9.            Notices.  All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:

 

If to the Placement Agent to the address set forth above, attn: Mark Elenowitz, CEO, Facsimile: 212-202-6380.

 

  

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With a copy to:

Hunter Taubman Weiss, LLP

17 State Street, 20th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Facsimile: (212) 202-6380

Attention:  Louis Taubman, Esq.

If to the Company:

Trellis Earth Products, Inc.

9125 S.W. Ridder Road, Suite D

Wilsonville, OR 97070

Facsimile: 503-582-1313

Attention:  William Collins, CEO

With a copy to:

	
Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP

61 Broadway, 32nd Floor

New York, NY 10006

 Facsimile: 212-930-9725

Attention:  Gregory Sichenzia, Esq.

   Marcelle Balcombe, Esq.

Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others.

 

Section 10.         Successors.  This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and to their respective successors, and personal representative, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

 

  

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Section 11.         Partial Unenforceability.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof.  If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

 

Section 12.         Governing Law Provisions.  This Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and delivered in New York City and both this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be governed as to validity, interpretation, construction, effect and in all other respects by the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.  Each of the Placement Agent and the Company: (i) agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement and/or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be instituted exclusively in New York Supreme Court, County of New York, or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, (ii) waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the venue of any such suit, action or proceeding, and (iii) irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the New York Supreme Court, County of New York, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in any such suit, action or proceeding.  Each of the Placement Agent and the Company further agrees to accept and acknowledge service of any and all process which may be served in any such suit, action or proceeding in the New York Supreme Court, County of New York, or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and agrees that service of process upon the Company mailed by certified mail to the Company’s address shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company, in any such suit, action or proceeding, and service of process upon the Placement Agent mailed by certified mail to the Placement Agent’s address shall be deemed in every respect effective service process upon the Placement Agent, in any such suit, action or proceeding.  Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Company agrees that neither the Placement Agent nor its affiliates, and the respective officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of the Placement Agent, its affiliates and each other person, if any, controlling the Placement Agent or any of its affiliates, shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with the transactions described herein except for any such liability for losses, claims, damages or liabilities incurred by such persons that are finally judicially determined to have resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of such individuals or entities.  If either party shall commence an action or proceeding to enforce any provision of this Agreement, then the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.

 

Section 13.         General Provisions.

 

(a)           This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.  This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit.  Section headings herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

(b)           The Company acknowledges that in connection with the offering of the Securities: (i) the Placement Agent has acted at arms length, are not agents of, and owe no fiduciary duties to the Company or any other person, (ii) the Placement Agent owes the Company only those duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement and (iii) the Placement Agent may have interests that differ from those of the Company.  The Company waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Placement Agent arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Securities

 

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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign below whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms.

 

	 	
Very truly yours,

	 
	 	  	  	 
	 	
TRELLIS EARTH PRODUCTS, INC.,

	 
	 	
A Nevada corporation

	 
	 	  	  	 
	 	
By: 

	
 /s/ William Collins

	 
	 	  	
Name: William Collins

	 
	 	  	
Title: CEO

	 

 

The foregoing Placement Agency Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written.

 

	 	
TRIPOINT GLOBAL EQUITIES, LLC

	 
	 	  	  	 
	 	
By: 

	
 /s/ Mark Elenowitz

	 
	 	  	
Name: Mark Elenowitz

	 
	 	  	
Title: CEO

	 

 

 

 

  

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SCHEDULE A – INDEMNIFICATION

The Company hereby agrees to indemnify and hold Tripoint, its officers, directors, principals, employees, affiliates, and shareholders, and their successors and assigns, harmless from and against any and all loss, claim, damage, liability, deficiencies, actions, suits, proceedings, costs and legal expenses or expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, reasonable legal fees and other expenses and reasonable disbursements incurred in connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending any action, suit or proceeding, including any inquiry or investigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, or in appearing or preparing for appearance as witness in any proceeding, including any pretrial proceeding such as a deposition) (collectively, "Losses") arising out of, based upon, or in any way related or attributed to, (i) any breach of a representation, warranty or covenant by the Company contained in this Agreement or (ii) any activities or services performed hereunder by Tripoint, unless it is finally judicially determined in a court of competent jurisdiction that such Losses were the primary and direct result of the intentional misconduct or gross negligence of Tripoint in performing the services hereunder.

If Tripoint receives written notice of the commencement of any legal action, suit or proceeding with respect to which the Company is or may be obligated to provide indemnification pursuant to this  Schedule A , Tripoint shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such written notice, give the Company written notice thereof (a "Claim Notice").  Failure to give such Claim Notice within such thirty (30) day period shall not constitute a waiver by Tripoint of its right to indemnity hereunder with respect to such action, suit or proceeding. Upon receipt by the Company of a Claim Notice from Tripoint with respect to any claim for indemnification which is based upon a claim made by a third party ("Third Party Claim"), the Company may assume the defense of the Third Party Claim with counsel of its own choosing, as described below.  Tripoint shall cooperate in the defense of the Third Party Claim and shall furnish such records, information and testimony and attend all such conferences, discovery proceedings, hearings, trial and appeals as may be reasonably required in connection therewith.  Tripoint shall have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, which shall be at the Company's expense if (i) the Company and Tripoint shall have mutually agreed in writing to the retention of such counsel, (ii) the Company shall have failed in a timely manner to assume the defense and employ counsel or experts reasonably satisfactory to Tripoint in such litigation or proceeding or (iii) the named parties to any such litigation or proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include the Company and Tripoint and representation of the Company and Tripoint by the same counsel or experts would, in the reasonable opinion of Tripoint, be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between the Company and Tripoint.  The Company shall not satisfy or settle any Third Party Claim for which indemnification has been sought and is available hereunder, without the prior written consent of Tripoint, which consent shall not be delayed and which shall not be required if Tripoint is granted a general release in connection therewith.   The indemnification provisions hereunder shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

The Company further agrees, upon demand by Tripoint, to promptly reimburse Tripoint for, or pay, any fees, expenses or disbursements as to which Tripoint has been indemnified herein with such reimbursement to be made currently as any such fees, expenses or disbursements are incurred by Tripoint. Notwithstanding the provisions of the aforementioned indemnification, any such reimbursement or payment by the Company of fees, expenses, or disbursements incurred by Tripoint shall be repaid by Tripoint in the event of any proceeding in which a final judgment (after all appeals or the expiration of time to appeal) is entered in a court of competent jurisdiction against Tripoint based solely upon its gross negligence or intentional misconduct in the performance of its duties hereunder, and provided further, that the Company shall not be required to make reimbursement or payment for any settlement effected without the Company’s prior written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

  

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If for any reason the foregoing indemnification is unavailable or is insufficient to hold Tripoint harmless, the Company agrees to contribute the amount paid or payable by Tripoint in such proportion as to reflect not only the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and Tripoint, on the other hand, but also the relative fault of the Company and Tripoint as well as any relevant equitable considerations.  In no event shall Tripoint contribute in excess of the fees actually received by it pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.

 

For purposes of this Agreement, each officer, director, shareholder, and employee or affiliate of Tripoint and each person, if any, who controls Tripoint (or any affiliate) within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or Section 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, shall have the same rights as Tripoint with respect to matters of indemnification by the Company hereunder.

 

Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Company agrees that neither the Placement Agent nor its Affiliates, and the respective officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of the Placement Agent, its Affiliates and each other person, if any, controlling the Placement Agent or any of its affiliates, shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with the engagement and transaction described herein except for any such liability for losses, claims, damages or liabilities incurred by us that are finally judicially determined to have resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of such individuals or entities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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