“Company Material Adverse Effect” means any event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect, that, individually or in the aggregate, (a) has or could be reasonably expected to have a   60


material adverse effect on the business, results of operations or financial condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (b) prevents or materially impedes or delays, or is reasonably likely to prevent or materially impede or delay, the consummation by the Company of the Merger or any of the other transactions contemplated hereby on a timely basis or the performance by the Company of its covenants and obligations hereunder; provided, however, that (subject to the next proviso) no event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect shall be deemed (individually or in the aggregate) to constitute, nor shall any of the foregoing be taken into account in determining whether there has been, a Company Material Adverse Effect as described in clause (a) of this definition, to the extent that such event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect results from or arises out of: (i) any general United States or global economic conditions, (ii) any conditions generally affecting the upscale casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, (iii) any decline, in and of itself, in the market price or trading volume of Company Common Stock (it being understood that the foregoing shall not preclude any event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect giving rise to or contributing to such decline that is not otherwise excluded from the definition of Company Material Adverse Effect from constituting, or being taken into account in determining whether there has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, a Company Material Adverse Effect), (iv) any regulatory, legislative or political conditions, including any trade wars or tariffs, or securities, credit, financial, debt or other capital markets conditions, in each case, in the United States or any foreign jurisdiction, (v) any failure, in and of itself, by the Company to meet any internal or published projections, forecasts, estimates or predictions in respect of revenues, earnings or other financial or operating metrics for any period (it being understood that the foregoing shall not preclude any event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect giving rise to or contributing to such failure that is not otherwise excluded from the definition of Company Material Adverse Effect from constituting, or being taken into account in determining whether there has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, a Company Material Adverse Effect), (vi) the public announcement of this Agreement, the Merger or the identity of Parent, Merger Sub or their respective Subsidiaries, including the impact of any of the foregoing on the relationships, contractual or otherwise, of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with customers, suppliers, officers, employees, Governmental Entities or any other third Persons, provided, that this clause (vi) shall be disregarded for purposes of the definition of Company Material Adverse Effect used in the representations and warranties in Section 2.4 (and in Section 6.2(a) as it relates to Section 2.4, (vii) any change in applicable Law, (viii) any change in GAAP (or authoritative interpretations thereof), (ix) any geopolitical conditions, the outbreak or escalation of hostilities, any acts of war, sabotage or terrorism, or any escalation or worsening of any such acts of war, sabotage or terrorism threatened or underway as of the date of this Agreement, (x) any taking of any action at the written request of Parent or Merger Sub, (xi) any reduction, in and of itself, in the credit rating of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to the extent attributable to the expected consummation of the Merger (it being understood that the foregoing shall not preclude any event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect giving rise to or contributing to such reduction that is not otherwise excluded from the definition of Company Material Adverse Effect from constituting, or being taken into account in determining whether there has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, a Company Material Adverse Effect), (xii) any hurricane, earthquake, flood or other natural disasters, epidemics, disease outbreaks, pandemics or other public health emergencies (including COVID-19), acts of God or any change resulting from weather conditions, (xiii) any action taken by the Company which is required by the terms and conditions of this Agreement or (xiv)(A) any action taken by Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Affiliates that results in a breach of or default by Parent or Merger Sub under this Agreement or (B) the omission of an action that was required to be taken by Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Affiliates pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that with respect to clauses (i), (ii), (iv), (vii), (viii), (ix) or (xii), any such event, change, effect, development or occurrence, circumstance or effect shall be taken into account if it is disproportionately adverse to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, when compared to other, similarly-situated Persons operating in the upscale casual dining segment of the restaurant industry in the geographies in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate. (Pages 64-65)

Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: "Could" (reasonably) be expected to