“Company Material Adverse Effect” means any effect, change, condition, fact, development, occurrence or event (each, and “Effect” ) that, individually or in the aggregate, had, has or would reasonably be expected to (A) prevent the Company from performing its obligations under this Agreement or (B) result in a material adverse effect on the business, assets, results of operations or financial condition of the Acquired Companies, taken as a whole; provided, however, that, solely for purposes of a Company Material Adverse Effect under this clause (B), in no event would any of the following, alone or in combination, be deemed to constitute, nor shall any of the following (including the effect of any of the following) be taken into account in determining whether there has been or will be, a “Company Material Adverse Effect”: (a) any change in Applicable Law, GAAP or any applicable accounting standards or any interpretation thereof; (b) general economic, political or business conditions or changes therein, or acts of terrorism, epidemics or pandemics (including COVID-19), disease outbreaks or changes in geopolitical conditions (including commencement, continuation or escalation of war, armed hostilities or national or international calamity) or any escalation or worsening relating to the foregoing, including any escalation or worsening of stoppages, shutdowns or any response of any Governmental Authority (including requirements for business closures or “sheltering-in-place”), related to any of the foregoing; (c) financial and capital markets conditions in the United States, including interest rates and currency exchange rates, and any changes therein; (d) seasonal fluctuations in the business of the Acquired Companies; (e) any change generally affecting the industries in the geographical markets in which the Acquired Companies operate; (f) the negotiation, entry into or announcement of this Agreement, the pendency or consummation of the Transactions or the performance of this Agreement (including (i) the initiation of litigation by any Person with respect to this Agreement or the Transactions, (ii) any termination or loss of, reduction in or similar negative impact on our reputation or relationships, contractual or otherwise, with any actual or potential 

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customers, suppliers, distributors, partners or employees of the Acquired Companies or (iii) any loss or diminution of rights or privileges, or any creation of, increase in or acceleration of obligations, pursuant to Contract or otherwise, on the part of any Acquired Company, in each case, due to the negotiation, entry into, announcement, pendency or performance of this Agreement or identity of the parties to this Agreement or any communication by Parent regarding the plans or intentions of Parent with respect to the conduct of the business of the Acquired Companies); provided, however, that this clause (f) shall not apply to any representation or warranty contained in Section 4.04, Section 4.09 and Section 4.16 to the extent the purpose of such representation or warranty is to address the consequences resulting from this Agreement or the consummation of the Transactions; (g) the compliance with the terms of this Agreement or the taking of any action (or the omission of any action) required or specifically contemplated by this Agreement or requested in writing by Parent; (h) any act of God or natural disaster; (i)  any change in the price or trading volume of the Company’s securities or other financial instruments, in and of itself (provided that clause (i) shall not prevent a determination that any change or effect underlying such change has resulted in a Company Material Adverse Effect (to the extent such change or effect is not otherwise excluded from this definition of Company Material Adverse Effect)); (j) any failure of the Acquired Companies to meet any internal or published projections, estimates or forecasts (provided that this clause (j) shall not prevent a determination that any change or effect underlying such failure to meet projections or forecasts has resulted in a Company Material Adverse Effect (to the extent such change or effect is not otherwise excluded from this definition of Company Material Adverse Effect)); or (k) any action to which Parent consents in writing; provided, further, that in the case of the foregoing clauses (a), (b), (c), (e) and (h), except to the extent that such matters disproportionately impact the Acquired Companies (taken as a whole) relative to other businesses in the industries in which the Acquired Companies operate. (Pages 9-10)

Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: business and operation of Target