“Company Material Adverse Effect” means any change, event, violation, inaccuracy, effect or circumstance (each, an “Effect”) that, individually or taken together with all other Effects that exist or have occurred prior to the date of determination of the occurrence of the Company Material Adverse Effect, (a) has had or would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or (b) would, or would reasonably be expected to, prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; provided that, in the case of clause (a) only, none of the following (by itself or when aggregated) to the extent occurring after the date of this Agreement will be deemed to be or constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect or will be taken into account when determining whether a Company Material Adverse Effect has occurred or may, would or could occur: (i) changes in general economic conditions in the United States or any other country or region in the world, or changes in conditions in the global economy generally; (ii) changes in conditions in the financial markets, credit markets or capital markets in the United States or any other country or region in the world, including (A) changes in interest rates or credit ratings in the United States or any other country; (B) changes in exchange rates for the currencies of any country; or (C) any suspension of trading in securities (whether equity, debt, derivative or hybrid securities) generally on any securities exchange or over-the-counter market operating in the United States or any other country or region in the world; (iii) general changes in conditions in the industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct business; (iv) changes in regulatory, legislative or political conditions in the United States or any other country or region in the world; (v) any geopolitical conditions, outbreak of hostilities, acts of war, sabotage, terrorism or military actions (including any escalation or general worsening of any such hostilities, acts of war, sabotage, terrorism or military actions) in the United States or any other country or region in the world; (vi) earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, wild fires or other natural disasters, pandemics or contagious disease outbreaks (including COVID-19), weather conditions and other similar force majeure events in the United States or any other country or region in the world (or any worsening of any of the foregoing), including, in each case, the response of governmental entities (including COVID-19 Measures); -4-
 
 
 (vii) the public announcement or pendency of this Agreement or the Merger, it being understood that the exceptions in this clause (vii) will not apply with respect to references to Company Material Adverse Effect of the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.5 (and in Section 7.2(a) and Section 8.1(e) to the extent related to such portions of such representations and warranties); (viii) any action taken or refrained from being taken, in each case to which Parent has expressly approved, consented to or requested in writing following the date of this Agreement; (ix) changes or proposed changes in GAAP or other accounting standards or Law (or the enforcement or interpretation of any of the foregoing); (x) changes in the price or trading volume of the Company Common Stock or Indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in and of itself (it being understood that any cause of such change may, subject to the other provisions of this definition, be deemed to constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect and may be taken into consideration when determining whether a Company Material Adverse Effect has occurred); (xi) any failure, in and of itself, by the Company and its Subsidiaries to meet (A) any public estimates or expectations of the Company’s revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period; or (B) any internal budgets, plans, projections or forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations (it being understood that any cause of any such failure may, subject to the other provisions of this definition, be deemed to constitute a Company Material Adverse Effect and may be taken into consideration when determining whether a Company Material Adverse Effect has occurred); and (xii) Transaction Litigation; provided further, that with respect to clauses (i) through (vi) and (ix) of this definition, such Effects shall be taken into account in determining whether a “Company Material Adverse Effect” has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur, in each case, to the extent that such Effect has had a disproportionate adverse effect on the Company and its Subsidiaries relative to other companies operating in the industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct business, in which case only the incremental disproportionate adverse impact of such Effect may be taken into account in determining whether there has occurred a Company Material Adverse Effect. (Pages 8-9)

Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: business and operation of Target, ability to consummate transaction