. “Material Adverse Effect” means an event, occurrence, development, circumstance, change or effect that has a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), business, assets or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, excluding any effect resulting from (i)  changes in the financial, securities, credit, debt, banking or other capital markets or conditions (including changes therein) or foreign or domestic economic, financial, regulatory, legislative, political or social conditions (including changes therein), (ii) changes or conditions generally affecting the industry in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate or to the industries to which the Company and its Subsidiaries sell their products and services, including changes in interest and exchange rates or commodity pricing, in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which the Company or its Subsidiaries operate, (iii) geopolitical conditions, the occurrence, escalation, outbreak or worsening of hostilities, acts of war (whether or not declared), tariffs, trade wars, transportation delays (including work stoppages or port closures), cyber-attacks, acts of armed hostility, sabotage, civil unrest, protests and public demonstrations, insurrection, domestic or international terrorism or national or international calamity or other occurrences of instability, (iv) any (1) plagues, pandemics (including SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 (collectively, “COVID-19”)) or any escalation or worsening or subsequent waves thereof, epidemics or other outbreaks of diseases or public health events, or (2) hurricane, tornado, tsunami, flood, volcanic eruption, earthquake, nuclear incident, weather conditions or other natural or man-made disaster or other force majeure event, (v) any quarantine, “shelter in place,” “stay at home,” workforce reduction, social distancing, shut down, closure, sequester, safety or similar laws, directives, restrictions, guidelines, responses or recommendations of or promulgated by any Governmental Authority, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, or other reasonable actions taken, in each case, in connection with or in response to COVID-19 and any evolutions or mutations thereof or related or associated epidemics, pandemics or disease outbreaks (all of the foregoing, “COVID-19 Measures”), (vi) changes or prospective changes in Applicable Law, Tax or GAAP or authoritative interpretation or enforcement thereof on or after the date hereof, (vii) any failure, in and of itself, of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to meet any internal or published projections, forecasts, guidance, estimates or predictions in respect of revenues, earnings or other financial or operating metrics or other matters before, on or after the date hereof, or changes or prospective changes in the market price or trading volume of the securities of such Person or the credit rating of the Company (whether made by the Company or third parties) (it being understood that the underlying facts giving rise or contributing to such failure or change may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Material Adverse Effect if such facts are not otherwise excluded under this definition), (viii) any seasonal fluctuations materially consistent with historical seasonal fluctuations affecting the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, (ix) the identity of, or any facts or circumstances relating to Parent, Merger Subsidiary or their respective Affiliates, (x) the negotiation, announcement, pendency or consummation of the Transactions, including any loss or change in relationship with any supplier, vendor, reseller, customer, distributor, lender, employee, investor, venture partner or other business partner of the Company or its Subsidiaries (other than for the purpose of any representation or warranty in respect of a Material Contract with any such counterparty contained in Section 4.04), (xi) any litigation, suit, action or proceeding in respect of this Agreement or the other Transaction Documents (or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby), or the Offer Documents (including breach of fiduciary duty and disclosure claims), and (xii) (1) any action taken by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries at the written request, or with the written consent, of Parent or Merger Subsidiary or (2) compliance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with the express terms of, or the taking by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any action expressly required by, this Agreement (including Section 8.07(h)), or the failure by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to take any action expressly prohibited by this Agreement (other than the obligations to operate in the ordinary course or restrictions on taking certain actions pursuant to Section 6.01); except, in the case of clauses (ii) through (vi), to the extent having a materially disproportionate effect on the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to other participants in the industry in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate (in which case the incremental materially disproportionate impact or impacts may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Material Adverse Effect). 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Question: MAE Definition
Category: Material Adverse Effect
Answer: Applies to Target and subsidiaries "taken as a whole"