“Material Adverse Effect” means, when used with respect to any Party, any fact, circumstance, effect, change, event or development (“Effect”) that (a) would prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of such Party or its Subsidiaries to consummate the Transactions or (b) has, or would have, a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), business, or results of operations of such Party and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole;   A-5


provided, however, that with respect to this clause (b) only, no Effect (by itself or when aggregated or taken together with any and all other Effects) to the extent directly or indirectly resulting from, arising out of, attributable to, or related to any of the following shall be deemed to be or constitute a “Material Adverse Effect” or shall be taken into account when determining whether a “Material Adverse Effect” has occurred or may, would or could occur: (i)    general economic conditions (or changes in such conditions) or conditions in the U.S. or global economies generally; (ii)    conditions (or changes in such conditions) in the securities markets, credit markets, currency markets or other financial markets, including (A) changes in interest rates and changes in exchange rates for the currencies of any countries and (B) any suspension of trading in securities (whether equity, debt, derivative or hybrid securities) generally on any securities exchange or over-the-counter market; (iii)    conditions (or changes in such conditions) in the oil and gas exploration, development or production industry (including changes in commodity prices, general market prices and regulatory changes affecting the industry); (iv)    political conditions (or changes in such conditions) or acts of war, sabotage or terrorism (including any escalation or general worsening of any such acts of war, sabotage or terrorism); (v)    earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, wild fires or other natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics or other widespread health crises (including the existence and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic) or weather conditions; (vi)    effects resulting from the negotiation, execution and announcement of this Agreement or the pendency or consummation of the Transactions, including the impact thereof on the relationship of such Party and its Subsidiaries with customers, suppliers, partners, employees or governmental bodies, agencies, officials or authorities (other than with respect to any representation or warranty that is intended to address the consequences of the execution or delivery of this Agreement or the announcement or consummation of the Transactions); (vii)    the execution and delivery of or compliance with the terms of, or the taking of any action or failure to take any action which action or failure to act is requested in writing by Parent or expressly permitted or required by, this Agreement (except for any obligation under this Agreement to operate in the Ordinary Course (or similar obligation) pursuant to Sections 6.1 or 6.2, as applicable), the public announcement of this Agreement or the Transactions (provided that this clause (vii) shall not apply to any representation or warranty to the extent the purpose of such representation or warranty is to address the consequences resulting from the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the Transactions); (viii)    any litigation brought by any holder of Company Common Stock against the Company or holder of Parent Common Stock against Parent, or against any of their respective Subsidiaries and/or respective directors or officers relating to the Merger and any of the other Transactions or this Agreement;   A-6


(ix)    changes in Law or other legal or regulatory conditions, or the interpretation thereof, or changes in GAAP or other accounting standards (or the interpretation thereof), or that result from any action taken for the purpose of complying with any of the foregoing; or (x)    any changes in such Party’s stock price or the trading volume of such Party’s stock, or any failure by such Party to meet any analysts’ estimates or expectations of such Party’s revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period, or any failure by such Party or any of its Subsidiaries to meet any internal or published budgets, plans or forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations (it being understood that the facts or occurrences giving rise to or contributing to such changes or failures may constitute, or be taken into account in determining whether there has been or will be, a Material Adverse Effect); 

provided, however, except to the extent such Effects directly or indirectly resulting from, arising out of, attributable to or related to the matters described in the foregoing clauses (i) through (v) and (ix) disproportionately adversely affect such Party and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, as compared to other similarly situated participants operating in the oil and gas exploration, development or production industry (in which case, such adverse effects (if any) shall be taken into account when determining whether a “Material Adverse Effect” has occurred or may, would or could occur solely to the extent they are disproportionate). (Pages 99-101)

Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: "Would"