Exhibit 10.1
COMMON SHARES
VISTA GOLD CORP.
AGENCY
AGREEMENT
October 30, 2006
SPROTT SECURITIES (USA) LIMITED
on behalf of the several
Agents
named in Schedule E
hereto
c/o Sprott Securities Inc.
Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower
Suite 2750
200 Bay Street
Toronto, ON
M5J 2J2
Ladies/Gentlemen:
In furtherance of a letter agreement
dated October 4, 2006 (the “ Letter Agreement ”)
between Vista Gold Corp. (the “ Company ”) and
Sprott Securities (USA) Limited (“ Sprott ”),
the Company agreed to, among other things, appoint Sprott as lead
agent of the Company for the purpose of offering for sale, on a
best efforts basis (the “ Offering ”), of up to
3,764,705 of its common shares (the “ Shares ”).
Accordingly, subject to the terms and conditions herein contained,
the Company hereby appoints Sprott together with the other agents
named in Schedule E to this agreement (the “ Agents
”) as agents of the Company for the Offering. Sprott is
acting as lead agent (the “ Lead Agent ”) in
connection with the Offering.
The Company has prepared and filed a
preliminary short form base shelf prospectus dated September 11,
2006 (the “ Preliminary Base Shelf Prospectus ”)
and a final short form base shelf prospectus dated October 2, 2006
(the “ Final Base Shelf Prospectus ”) in respect
of up to US$32,000,000 of the Company’s common shares with
the British Columbia Securities Commission (the “
Reviewing Authority ”) and the Canadian securities
regulatory authorities (collectively, the “ Qualifying
Authorities ”) in each of Alberta, British Columbia,
Manitoba and Ontario (the “ Qualifying Provinces
”); and the Reviewing Authority has issued an MRRS decision
document under National Policy 43-201- Mutual Reliance Review
System for Prospectuses and Annual Information Forms (an
“ MRRS Decision Document ”) on behalf of the
Qualifying Authorities for each of the Preliminary Base Shelf
Prospectus and the Final Base Shelf Prospectus. The term
“ Canadian Base Prospectus ” means the Final
Base Shelf Prospectus, including documents incorporated therein by
reference, at the time the Reviewing Authority issued an MRRS
Decision Document with respect thereto in accordance with the rules
and procedures established under all applicable securities laws in
each of the Qualifying Provinces and the respective regulations and
rules under such laws together with applicable published policy
statements and instruments of the securities regulatory authorities
in the Qualifying Provinces (“ Canadian Securities
Laws ”), including National Instrument 44-101 - Short
Form Prospectus Distributions and National Instrument 44-102 -
Shelf Distributions (together, the “ Shelf
Procedures ”). The term “ Canadian
Preliminary Prospectus ” means the prospectus supplement
(the “ Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement
”) relating to the Offering, which excluded certain pricing
information, filed with the
Canadian Qualifying Authorities on
October 17, 2006, together with the Canadian Base Prospectus,
including all documents incorporated therein by reference. The term
“ Canadian Prospectus ” means the prospectus
supplement (the “ Canadian Prospectus Supplement
”) relating to the Offering, which includes the pricing
information omitted from the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus, to be
dated the date hereof and filed with the Qualifying Authorities in
accordance with the Shelf Procedures, together with the Canadian
Base Prospectus.
The Company has filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission
”) a registration statement under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ 1933
Act ”), and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder (the “ 1933 Act Regulations ”), on
Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-136980) on August 29, 2006, as
amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto filed with the Commission on
September 27, 2006, providing for the registration of up to
4,000,000 of the Company’s common shares. Such
registration statement, as amended on September 27, 2006, in the
form previously delivered to you, including exhibits to such
registration statement and all documents incorporated by reference
in the prospectus contained therein, became effective pursuant to
Rule 461 under the 1933 Act on October 4, 2006. Such
registration statement at any given time, as amended to such time,
including any exhibits and all documents incorporated therein by
reference, and the documents otherwise deemed to be a part thereof
or included therein by 1933 Act Regulations, is referred to herein
as the “ Registration Statement ”.
The Registration Statement at the time it originally became
effective is referred to herein as the “ Original
Registration Statement ”. The prospectus
included in the Original Registration Statement is referred to
herein as the “ U.S. Base Prospectus ”.
The preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the
Shares filed with the Commission on October 17, 2006 pursuant to
Rule 424(b) of the 1933 Act (the “ U.S. Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement ”) together with the U.S. Base
Prospectus is hereafter referred to as the “ U.S.
Preliminary Prospectus ”. The prospectus
supplement relating to the Shares, to be filed with the Commission
on or about October 31, 2006 pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the 1933
Act (the “ U.S. Prospectus Supplement ”)
together with the U.S. Base Prospectus is hereafter referred to as
the “ U.S. Prospectus ”.
The U.S. Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Shares, as amended
or supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as
defined below), is hereafter referred to as the “ Pricing
Prospectus ”. Any Issuer General Use Free
Writing Prospectus (as defined below) issued at or prior to the
Applicable Time and the Pricing Prospectus, taken together, are
hereafter referred to collectively as the “ Pricing
Disclosure Package ”. Any reference herein
to any U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus shall be
deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by
reference therein pursuant to Form S-3 that were filed with the
Commission on or before the date of such U.S. Preliminary
Prospectus or U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be and the documents
otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein by 1933
Act Regulations; and any reference herein to any “
amendment ” or “ supplement ” to
any U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus shall be
deemed to refer to and include (i) the filing of any document with
the Commission after the date of such U.S. Preliminary Prospectus
or U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be, which is incorporated
therein by reference or is otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or
included therein by 1933 Act Regulations and (ii) any such document
so filed.
All references in this agreement to
the Registration Statement, any U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the
U.S. Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements to any of the
foregoing, shall be deemed to include any copy thereof filed with
the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis
and Retrieval System (“ EDGAR ”).
In this agreement:
(a)
“ Agents ” means
the agents named in Schedule E to this agreement;
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(b)
“ Agents’
Personnel ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph
7(a) of this agreement;
(c)
“ Agent Warrants
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 4(b) of this
agreement;
(d)
“ Agreements and
Instruments ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in
paragraph 2(s) of this agreement;
(e)
“ amendment ” has
the meaning ascribed thereto in the third paragraph of this
agreement;
(f)
“ Applicable Time
” means 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the date of this
agreement or such other time as agreed to by the Company and the
Lead Agent;
(g)
“ Arrangement ”
means the proposed plan of arrangement to be carried out under the
provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Yukon) pursuant
to an arrangement and merger agreement dated September 22, 2006
among the Company, Allied Nevada Gold Corp., Carl Pescio and Janet
Pescio;
(h)
“ Business Day ”
means a day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a statutory or
civic holiday in the City of Toronto;
(i)
“ Canadian Base
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(j)
“ Canadian GAAP ”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 2(j) of this
agreement;
(k)
“ Canadian Preliminary
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(l)
“ Canadian Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto
in the second paragraph of this agreement;
(m)
“ Canadian Prospectus
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second paragraph of
this agreement;
(n)
“ Canadian Prospectus
Supplement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(o)
“ Canadian Securities
Laws ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second
paragraph of this agreement;
(p)
“ Closing ” means
the completion of the issue and sale by the Company of Shares
pursuant to this agreement;
(q)
“ Closing Date ”
means November 7, 2006 or such later date as the Company and the
Agents may agree upon in writing, provided that in no event shall
the Closing Date be later than November 30, 2006;
(r)
“ Closing Time ”
means 8:30 a.m. (Toronto time) on the Closing Date or such other
time on the Closing Date as the Company and the Agents may
agree;
(s)
“ Commission ”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third paragraph of this
agreement;
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(t)
“ Common Shares ”
means the common shares in the capital of the Company;
(u)
“ Communication ”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 17(a) of this
agreement;
(v)
“ Company ” means
Vista Gold Corp.;
(w)
“ Distribution ”
means “distribution” of the Shares or
“distribution to the public” of the Shares as those
terms are defined in applicable securities legislation;
(x)
“ EDGAR ” has the
meaning ascribed thereto in the fourth paragraph of this
agreement;
(y)
“ Environmental Laws
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(aa) of this
agreement;
(z)
“ Exchanges ”
means the Toronto Stock Exchange (referred to herein as the “
TSX ”) and the American Stock Exchange (referred to
herein as the “ AMEX ”);
(aa)
“ Final Base Shelf
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(bb)
“ Final Filing Time
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 1(a) of this
agreement;
(cc)
“ Financial Information
” means (1) the consolidated comparative financial statements
of the Company for (i) the year ended December 31, 2005, the notes
thereto and the auditors’ report thereon, and (ii) the six
months ended June 30, 2006 and the notes thereto, (2) the
Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (i) for the year
ended December 31, 2005 and (ii) for the six months ended June 30,
2006, and (3) any other financial statements, incorporated or
deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Canadian Prospectus,
the U.S. Prospectus or the Pricing Disclosure Package and any
financial data derived from the foregoing and disclosed in the
Canadian Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or the Pricing Disclosure
Package;
(dd)
“ Form 10-K ”
means the Annual Report of the Company for the year ended December
31, 2005 on Form 10-K filed pursuant to the 1934 Act with the
Commission on March 31, 2006, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Commission on June 13, 2006 (including the documents incorporated
by reference therein);
(ee)
“ Governmental Licenses
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(ff) of this
agreement;
(ff)
“ Hazardous Materials
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(aa) of this
agreement;
(gg)
“ Indemnified Party
” means a person or company who has the benefit of the
indemnity provisions of Section 7 of this agreement;
(hh)
“ Indemnifying Party
” means a party to this agreement which is under an
obligation to indemnify an Indemnified Party under the indemnity
provisions of Section 7 of this agreement;
(ii)
“ Internal Revenue Code
” means the United States Internal Revenue Code of
1986 , as amended;
(jj)
“ Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus ” means any “issuer free writing
prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act
Regulations (“ Rule 433 ”), relating to the
Shares that (i) is required to
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be filed with the Commission by the
Company, (ii) is a “road show that is a written
communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i),
whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) is
exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it
contains a description of the Shares or of the Offering that does
not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or
required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be
filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant
to Rule 433(g);
(kk)
“ Issuer General Use Free
Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective
investors which is specified in Schedule F hereto;
(ll)
“ Issuer Limited Use Free
Writing Prospectus ” means any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing
Prospectus;
(mm)
“ Lead Agent ”
means Sprott Securities (USA) Limited;
(nn)
“ Letter Agreement
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the first paragraph of
this agreement;
(oo)
“ MRRS Decision
Document ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second
paragraph of this agreement;
(pp)
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph
2(k) of this agreement;
(qq)
“ misrepresentation
”, “ material fact ” and “
material change ” have the respective meanings
ascribed thereto in the Securities Act (British
Columbia);
(rr)
“ Money Laundering Laws
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(bb) of this
agreement;
(ss)
“ NASD ” means
the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.;
(tt)
“ OFAC ” has the
meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(bb) of this
agreement;
(uu)
“ Offering ” has
the meaning ascribed thereto in the first paragraph of this
agreement;
(vv)
“ Original Registration
Statement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third
paragraph of this agreement;
(ww)
“ Permitted Free Writing
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in
paragraph 3(f) of this agreement;
(xx)
“ Preliminary Base Shelf
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(yy)
“ Pricing Disclosure
Package ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third
paragraph of this agreement;
(zz)
“ Pricing Prospectus
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third paragraph of
this agreement;
(aaa)
“ Purchasers ”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 3(b) of this
agreement;
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(bbb)
“ Qualifying
Authorities ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
second paragraph of this agreement;
(ccc)
“ Qualifying Provinces
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second paragraph of
this agreement;
(ddd)
“ Repayment Event
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(s) of this
agreement;
(eee)
“ Registration
Statement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third
paragraph of this agreement;
(fff)
“ Reviewing Authority
” means the British Columbia Securities
Commission;
(ggg)
“ Sarbanes-Oxley Act
” means the United States Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
;
(hhh)
“ SEDAR ” has the
meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(d) of this
agreement;
(iii)
“ Shares ” has
the meaning ascribed thereto in the first paragraph of this
agreement;
(jjj)
“ Shelf Procedures
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second paragraph of
this agreement;
(kkk)
“ Sprott ” means
Sprott Securities (USA) Limited;
(lll)
“ Subsidiaries ”
means the subsidiaries of the Company within the meaning ascribed
thereto under the Business Corporations Act
(Yukon);
(mmm)
“ supplement ”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third paragraph of this
agreement;
(nnn)
“ Supplementary
Material ” means collectively any amendment to the
Canadian Prospectus or Registration Statement, any amended or
supplemented prospectus or auxiliary material, information,
evidence, return, report, application, statement or document that
may be filed by or on behalf of the Company under Canadian
Securities Laws, the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act prior to the Closing
Time or, where such documents are deemed to be incorporated by
reference into the Canadian Prospectus, Registration Statement or
U.S. Prospectus, prior to the expiry of the period of distribution
of the Shares;
(ooo)
“ this agreement
” or “ the agreement ” means the agreement
resulting from the acceptance by the Company of the offer made by
the Agents by this letter;
(ppp)
“ U.S. Base Prospectus
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the third paragraph of
this agreement;
(qqq)
“ U.S. GAAP ” has
the meaning ascribed thereto in paragraph 2(j) of this
agreement;
(rrr)
“ U.S. Preliminary
Prospectus ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
third paragraph of this agreement;
(sss)
“ U.S. Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto
in the third paragraph of this agreement;
(ttt)
“ U.S. Prospectus
” has the meaning ascribed hereto in the third paragraph of
this agreement;
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(uuu)
“ U.S. Prospectus
Supplement ” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the
third paragraph of this agreement;
(vvv)
“ United States ”
means the United States of America, its territories and
possessions, any state of the United States and the District of
Columbia;
(www)
“ 1933 Act ” has
the meaning ascribed in the second paragraph of this
agreement;
(xxx)
“ 1933 Act Regulations
” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the second paragraph of
this agreement; and
(yyy)
“ 1934 Act ”
means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended.
The following schedules are attached
to and form part of this agreement:
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Schedule A
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-
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List of Subsidiaries
|
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Schedule B
|
-
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Form of Opinion of Canadian Counsel
|
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Schedule C
|
-
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Form of Opinion of U.S. Counsel
|
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Schedule D
|
-
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Form of Opinion of Nevada Counsel
|
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Schedule E
|
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Agents
|
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Schedule F
|
-
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Issuer General Use Free Writing
Prospectus
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TERMS AND
CONDITIONS
SECTION 1. Covenants of the
Company . The Company covenants with each Agent as
follows:
(a)
Filing of Canadian Prospectus
Supplement and US. Prospectus Supplement. The Company will (1) as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on October 31,
2006 (the “ Final Filing Time ”), prepare and
file with each Qualifying Authority, the Canadian Prospectus
Supplement, and (2) prepare and file with the Commission, the U.S.
Prospectus Supplement within the time period prescribed by Rule 424
under the 1933 Act; provided that the Company will use commercially
reasonable efforts to file the Canadian Prospectus Supplement with
each Qualifying Authority before 9:30 a.m. (Toronto time) on
October 31, 2006.
(b)
Compliance with Securities
Regulations and Commission Requests. During the period of the distribution of the
Shares, the Company will notify the Agents promptly, and confirm
the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the
Registration Statement shall have been filed with the Commission or
shall have become effective, and when any supplement to the U.S.
Base Prospectus or the Canadian Base Prospectus or any amended U.S.
Prospectus, amended Canadian Prospectus or any Supplementary
Material shall have been filed, (ii) of any request by any
Qualifying Authority to amend or supplement the Canadian
Prospectus, or for additional information, or of any request by the
Commission to amend the Registration Statement or to amend or
supplement the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus
or for additional information, (iii) of the issuance by the
Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the
use of any of the U.S. Base Prospectus, the Canadian Base
Prospectus, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or
the Canadian Prospectus, or the suspension of the qualification of
the Shares or the offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or the
institution or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatening of any
proceedings for any such purpose, and (iv) of the issuance by
any
7
Qualifying Authority or either
Exchange of any order having the effect of ceasing or suspending
the distribution of the Shares or the trading in the Common Shares,
or of the institution or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatening of any proceedings for any such purpose. The Company
will use every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any
such stop order or of any order preventing or suspending such use
or such order ceasing or suspending the distribution of the Shares
or the trading in the Common Shares and, if any such order is
issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible
time.
(c)
Filing of Amendments.
The Company will not at any time
file or make any amendment or supplement to the Registration
Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or
the Canadian Prospectus, any Supplementary Material or Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus, of which the Agents shall not have previously
been advised and furnished a copy or to which the Agents shall have
objected promptly after reasonable notice thereof.
(d)
Delivery of Filed
Documents. The Company
has furnished or will deliver to each of the Agents a copy of the
Canadian Prospectus, and any Supplementary Material, approved,
signed and certified as required by Canadian Securities Laws and
signed and conformed copies of the Registration Statement as
originally filed and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits
filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein or otherwise
deemed to be a part thereof) and signed copies of all consents and
certificates of experts.
(e)
Delivery of
Prospectuses. The Company
has furnished or will deliver to each Agent, without charge, as
many copies of each U.S. Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, the
Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, the U.S. Base
Prospectus and the Canadian Base Prospectus as such Agents have
reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of
such copies for the purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company
will deliver to each Agent, without charge, during the period when
the U.S. Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act
or the 1934 Act and during the period when the Canadian Prospectus
is required to be delivered under Canadian Securities Laws such
number of copies of the U.S. Prospectus and Canadian Prospectus,
respectively (each as supplemented or amended), as such Agent may
reasonably request.
(f)
Continued Compliance with
Securities Laws. The
Company will comply with the 1933 Act, 1933 Act Regulations and
Canadian Securities Laws so as to permit the completion of the
distribution of the Shares as contemplated in this agreement and in
the U.S. Prospectus and the Canadian Prospectus. If at any time
when a prospectus is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in
connection with sales of the Shares any event shall occur or
condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the
opinion of counsel for the Agents or for the Company, to amend the
Registration Statement, amend or supplement the U.S. Base
Prospectus or the Canadian Base Prospectus or amend the U.S.
Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus in order that the U.S.
Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian
Prospectus will not include any untrue statements of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make
the statements therein not misleading in the light of the
circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser,
or if it shall be necessary, in the opinion of such counsel, at any
such time to amend the Registration Statement or amend or
supplement the U.S. Base Prospectus or the Canadian Base Prospectus
or amend or supplement the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S.
Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus in order to comply with the
requirements of the 1933 Act, 1933 Act Regulations or Canadian
Securities Laws, the Company will promptly prepare and file with
the Commission and with the Qualifying Authorities, subject to
paragraph 1(c) of this agreement, such amendment or supplement as
may be necessary to correct such statement or
8
omission or to make the Registration
Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or
the Canadian Prospectus, as the case may be, comply with such
requirements, and the Company will furnish to the Agents such
number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Agents may
reasonably request. If at any time following the issuance of an
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or
development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information
contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or
any preliminary prospectus or any prospectus or included or would
include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would
omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at
that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly
notify the Lead Agent and will promptly amend or supplement, at its
own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or
correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(g)
Rule 158. The Company will file, on a timely basis, such
reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make
generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable
an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the
Agents the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section
11(a) of the 1933 Act and the regulations thereunder.
(h)
Use of Proceeds.
The Company will use the net
proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares in the manner
specified in the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus and the Canadian
Preliminary Prospectus under “Use of
Proceeds.”
(i)
Restriction on Sale of
Shares. During a period
of 90 days from the Closing Date, the Company will not, without the
prior written consent of the Lead Agent (i) directly or indirectly,
offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract
to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any
option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or
dispose of any Common Shares or any securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for Common Shares or file any
registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of
the foregoing, (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or
in respect of the foregoing, any transaction that transfers, in
whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence
of ownership of the Common Shares, whether any such swap or
transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled
by delivery of Common Shares or such other securities, in cash or
otherwise, or (iii) publicly announce an intention to do any of the
foregoing. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) any Common
Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants of the Company
outstanding on the date hereof, (B) the Shares to be sold
hereunder, (C) any Common Shares issued or options to purchase
Common Shares granted pursuant to existing employee plans of the
Company referred to in the U.S. Prospectus and the Canadian
Prospectus, including, without limitation, the Company’s
stock option plan, (D) any Common Shares issued pursuant to any
non-employee director stock option plan or dividend reinvestment
plan, and (E) any securities issued in connection with the
Arrangement.
(j)
Listing. The Company will use its best efforts to effect
the listing of the Shares on the TSX and AMEX and, at the request
of the Lead Agent, will request to have the Shares trade on an
“when issued basis” on the TSX and AMEX as of the
opening of trading on the Business Day following the date of this
agreement.
(k)
Reporting
Requirements. The
Company, during the period when the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or
the U.S. Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act
or the 1934 Act in respect of the offer and sale of the Shares,
will file all documents required to be filed by the Company with
the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods
required by the 1934 Act and
9
the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder.
(l)
Delivery of Documents at the time
of filing of Canadian Prospectus Supplement.
The Company shall deliver to the
Agents contemporaneously with or prior to the filing of the
Canadian Prospectus Supplement with the Qualifying
Authorities:
(i)
the comfort letter of its auditors,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, referred to in paragraph 5(k) of this
agreement;
(ii)
a letter from the TSX advising the
Company that approval of the conditional listing of the Shares has
been granted by the TSX; and
(iii)
evidence satisfactory to the Agents
that the Shares will be listed on AMEX at Closing.
(m)
Supplementary
Material. The Company
shall deliver to the Agents contemporaneously with or prior to the
filing of any Supplementary Material with any Qualifying Authority
or the Commission a comfort letter from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
relating to financial information, if any, contained in the
Supplementary Material that is incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference into the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus,
the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus, the U.S.
Prospectus or the Registration Statement in the form and substance
of the comfort letter described in subparagraph 1(l)(i) of this
agreement.
(n)
Changes. From the date of this agreement until the end of
the period of Distribution under the Canadian Prospectus and the
U.S. Prospectus, the Company shall promptly notify the Agents in
writing of:
(i)
any material change (actual,
anticipated, contemplated or threatened, financial or otherwise) in
the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business
affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries
considered as one enterprise whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of business;
(ii)
any change in any fact contained in
the Registration Statement, the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus,
the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus, the U.S.
Prospectus or Supplementary Material, which change is or may be of
such a nature as to render the Registration Statement, the Canadian
Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the
Canadian Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure
Package or Supplementary Material misleading or untrue in any
material respect or result in a misrepresentation therein;
or
(iii)
any change in applicable laws,
materially and adversely affecting, or which may materially and
adversely affect, the earnings, business affairs or business
prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one
enterprise, the Common Shares or the Distribution under the
Canadian Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus.
SECTION 2. Representations and
Warranties of the Company . The Company represents and warrants
to the Agents as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Time and
agrees with each Agent as follows:
(a)
Eligibility and compliance with
Securities Regulatory Requirements. The Company meets the general eligibility
requirements for use of a short form prospectus under National
Instrument
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44-101, for use of a shelf
prospectus under National Instrument 44-102 and for use of Form S-3
under the 1933 Act. Prior to the execution of this agreement, the
Company has not, directly or indirectly, offered or sold any Shares
by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the
1933 Act) or used any “prospectus” (within the meaning
of the 1933 Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the
Shares, in each case other than the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus
and the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus and the Permitted Free Writing
Prospectuses, if any; the Company has not, directly or indirectly,
prepared, used or referred to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus
except in compliance with Rules 164 and 433 under the 1933 Act,
assuming that such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus is accompanied
or preceded by the most recent Canadian Preliminary Prospectus or
U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, whichever applicable (which such most
recent preliminary prospectus shall contain a price range, if so
required by the 1933 Act), or the Canadian Prospectus or U.S.
Prospectus, whichever applicable, as the case may be, and that such
Permitted Free Writing Prospectus is so sent or given after the
Registration Statement was filed with the Commission (and after
such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was, if required pursuant to
Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act, filed with the Commission), the
sending or giving, by any Agent, or any Permitted Free Writing
Prospectus will satisfy the provisions of Rule 164 and Rule 433
(without reliance on subsections (b), (c) and (d) of Rule 164). At
the time the Registration Statement became effective under the 1933
Act and at all times subsequent thereto up to any Closing Time: (A)
the Canadian Prospectus complied and will comply in all material
respects with Canadian Securities Laws as interpreted and applied
by the Qualifying Authorities; (B) the Registration Statement, the
U.S. Preliminary Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus, and any
amendments or supplements thereto complied and will comply in all
material aspects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933
Act Regulations; (C) no order preventing or suspending the use of
any U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, any U.S. Prospectus or any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, (D) the
Registration Statement, or any amendment or supplement thereto does
not contain, and any amendment or supplement thereto will not
contain, an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading; and (E) each of the U.S.
Preliminary Prospectus and the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus
constitutes, and each of the U.S. Prospectus, Canadian Prospectus,
the Pricing Disclosure Package and any Supplementary Material or
any amendment or supplement thereto will constitute, full, true and
plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the Company and
its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and the Shares, and
will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading, except that the representations and
warranties contained in clauses (D) and (E) above do not apply to
statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity
with information furnished in writing to the Company by any Agent
through the Lead Agent expressly for use in the Registration
Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus,
the Canadian Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any
Supplementary Material and the parties hereto agree that such
information provided by or on behalf of any Agent through the Lead
Agent consists solely of the material referred to in Section 14
hereof.
(b)
MRRS Decision
Document. The Reviewing
Authority has issued MRRS Decision Documents dated September 12,
2006 with respect to the Preliminary Base Shelf Prospectus and
dated October 3, 2006 with respect to the Canadian Base Prospectus,
and no order suspending the distribution of any of the securities
of the Company has been issued by the Reviewing Authority and no
proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the best of
the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Reviewing
Authority, and any request on the part of the Reviewing Authority
for additional information has been complied with.
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(c)
Documents Incorporated by
Reference. Each document
filed or to be filed with the Qualifying Authorities and the
Commission and incorporated by reference in the Canadian
Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the
Canadian Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus or the Registration
Statement complied, as at the applicable filing date, or will
comply when so filed, in all material respects with the
requirements of Canadian Securities Laws, U.S. securities laws, and
the Shelf Procedures and, when read together with the Canadian
Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the
Canadian Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be, do
not as of the date of the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus and the
U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, and will not as of the date of the
Canadian Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading.
(d)
Documents Filed with Qualifying
Authorities and Commission. Since the time that the Reviewing Authority
issued an MRRS Decision Document on behalf of the Qualifying
Authorities for the Canadian Base Prospectus, no document with
respect to the Canadian Base Prospectus or the Registration
Statement, any amendment thereto or any document incorporated by
reference therein, has been filed or transmitted for filing with
the Qualifying Authorities or the Commission by or on behalf of the
Company, except (i) the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement
and U.S. Preliminary Prospectus Supplement in the form previously
delivered to the Agents, and (ii) any document incorporated (or
deemed to be incorporated) by reference in the Canadian Base
Prospectus or incorporated by reference in the Canadian Prospectus
Supplement and publicly available on the System for Electronic
Document Analysis and Retrieval of the Qualifying Authorities
(“ SEDAR ”), (iii) any document filed on EDGAR
and incorporated (or deemed to be incorporated) by reference into
the Registration Statement, U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the U.S.
Prospectus, and (iv) any other document copies of which have been
provided or made available to the Agents.
(e)
Pricing Disclosure
Package. The Pricing
Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of
the Closing Date, will not, contain an untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus complies in all
material respects with the applicable provisions of the 1933 Act
and the rules and regulations thereunder, and does not include
information that conflicts with the information contained in the
Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the
Pricing Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, and each Issuer Limited
Use Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together
with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did
not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which
they were made, not misleading. No representation and warranty is
made in this paragraph 2(e) with respect to any information
contained in or omitted from the Pricing Disclosure Package or any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity
with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on
behalf of any Agent through the Lead Agent expressly for use
therein. The parties hereto agree that such information provided by
the Lead Agent consists solely of the materials referred to in
Section 14 hereof.
(f)
Independent
Accountants. The
accountants who reported on and certified the financial statements
included or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus,
and the Canadian Prospectus, are independent public accountants as
required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations and the rules of
the Public Company
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