“Company Material Adverse Effect” means an event, state of facts, circumstance, change, effect, development, occurrence or combination of the foregoing (an “Effect”) that individually or in the aggregate has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; provided that the term Company Material Adverse Effect will not include any Effect to the extent resulting from or arising out of:   102


(A) changes after the date of this Agreement in general business, economic or market conditions in the United States or elsewhere in the world (including changes generally in prevailing interest rates, credit availability and liquidity, currency exchange rates and price levels or trading volumes in the United States or foreign securities or credit markets), changes in political or social conditions, including civil unrest, protests and public demonstrations or any other law, directive, pronouncement or guideline issued by a Governmental Entity, or any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, declared or undeclared acts of war or terrorism, in each case generally affecting the industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate; (B) any changes or developments generally in the industries in which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are expected to conduct their business from and after the Closing; (C) the announcement or the existence of, compliance with or performance under, this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (provided, however, that the exceptions in this clause (C) shall not apply to any representation or warranty contained in Section 3.3(a) or Section 3.3(c)(i) to the extent that the purpose of such representation or warranty is to address the consequences resulting from the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the performance of obligations or satisfaction of conditions under this Agreement); (D) any taking of any action or failure to take an action at the request of Parent or its Affiliates or which is required by the terms of this Agreement; (E) changes in applicable Law, GAAP or accounting standards; (F) floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, fires or other natural disasters; (G) national or international disasters, acts of God, sabotage, calamities, emergencies, or any escalation or worsening thereof, whether or not occurring or commenced before the date of this Agreement; (H) any epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak (including COVID-19) and any political or social conditions, including civil unrest, protests and public demonstrations or any other law, directive, pronouncement or guideline issued by a Governmental Entity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization, “sheltering in place,” curfews or other restrictions that relate to, or arise out of, an epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak (including COVID-19) or any change in such law (including COVID-19 Measures), directive, pronouncement or guideline or interpretation thereof, or the action of any third party arising out of or relating to any of the foregoing, in each case, following the date of this Agreement or any material worsening of such conditions threatened or existing as of the date of this Agreement;   103


(I) any Actions arising from allegations of breach of fiduciary duty or otherwise relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby; or (J) failure by the Company to meet any financial projections or forecasts or estimates of revenues, earnings or other financial metrics for any period (provided that the exception in this clause (J) shall not prevent or otherwise affect a determination that any event, change, effect, development or occurrence underlying such failure has resulted in, or contributed to, a Company Material Adverse Effect); except, in each case with respect to clauses (A), (B), (E), (F), (G) and (H), to the extent disproportionately affecting the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to other similarly situated companies in the industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries are expected to operate from and after the Closing.  (Pages 106-108)

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