****Certain
confidential information contained in this document, marked by
brackets, has been omitted and filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 24b-2 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
This Asset
Purchase Agreement (the “ Agreement ”) is
entered into as of February 15 , 2007, by and between
SiS Holding Limited, a company organized under the laws of the
Cayman Islands (“ Buyer ”), ESS Technology,
Inc., a California corporation (“ US Seller ”)
and ESS Technology International, Inc., a Cayman corporation
(“ Cayman Seller ,” and collectively with US
Seller, “ Seller ”).
In consideration
of the mutual agreements, representations, warranties and covenants
set forth below, Buyer and Seller agree as follows:
1.1
Definitions . As used in this Agreement, the
following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a)
“ Affiliate ” means, with respect to any
Person, a Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by,
or under common control with such Person. For these purposes,
“ control ” shall refer to (i) the
possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct the
management or policies of the subject entity, whether through the
ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise, or
(ii) the ownership, directly or indirectly, of at least fifty
percent (50%) of the voting securities or other ownership interest
of the subject entity, or in the event such entity resides in a
country where such level of ownership is not permitted, the maximum
percentage ownership therein allowed.
(b)
“ Acquisition Proposal ” means, other
than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the SiS-US
Agreement, any offer, proposal or inquiry relating to, or any Third
Party indication of interest in (i) any acquisition, purchase
or transfer, direct or indirect, of the Assets to be transferred
and sold hereunder or of the tangible assets of Seller or the
Transferred Employees to be transferred pursuant to the SiS-US
Agreement, and (ii) any transaction, including without
limitation, a merger, consolidation, share exchange, business
combination, sale of substantially all assets of Seller, or tender
offer, the consummation of which could reasonably be expected to
impede, interfere with, prevent or materially delay the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the SiS-US Agreement
or dilute materially the benefits to Buyer or SiS-US of the
transactions contemplated hereby or by the SiS-US
Agreement.
(c)
“ Assigned Technology ” means the Owned
Technology related exclusively to the Business existing as of the
Closing Date and/or otherwise described in
Schedule 1.1(c) hereto, which schedule indicates what
part of the Assigned Technology is subject to the License Back in
Section 7 herein below, and what part of the Assigned
Technology is not subject to the License Back.
(d)
“ Assigned Technology Modification ”
means any modification or enhancement to the Assigned Technology
that is developed by Seller for a period of 6 months following
the Effective Date.
(e)
“ Base Technology ” means all Owned
Technology which is not itself Assigned Technology (because it is
or may be embodied or incorporated in or is necessary or useful to
design, develop, modify, enhance, manufacture, implement or
otherwise exploit one or more Seller Products being retained by
Seller), but which Owned Technology is necessary or useful to
design, develop, modify, enhance, manufacture, implement or
otherwise exploit the Assigned Technology for the Business or is
embodied or incorporated in any design, configuration or
combination which is part of or used in connection with the
Assigned Technology for the Business. Base Technology includes, but
is not limited to, the “ Sublicensable Base Technology
” listed on Schedule 1.1(e)(i) hereto, the “
Royalty-Bearing Base Technology ” listed on
Schedule 1.1(e)(ii) hereto , the “ Referenceable
Base Technology ” listed on Schedule 1.1(e)(iii)
hereto, and any Assigned Technology Modification(s) and any Base
Technology Modification(s).
(f)
“ Base Technology Modification ” means
any modification or enhancement to the Base Technology that is
developed by Seller within twelve (12) months following the
Closing Date.
(g)
“ Business ” means the business of
designing, developing, modifying and enhancing, manufacturing,
having manufactured, marketing and distributing Products that are
designed to: (i) support all current or future video and/or audio
formats for play-back from optical or other media (except for
applications in the Restricted Field of Use); or
(ii) principally control blue-laser based optical drives, but
which may also support red-laser based optical drives as a matter
of backward compatibility, and all derivatives thereof, as well as
Products designed to support any successor formats or standards,
and the provision of services relating thereto.
(h)
“ Buyer Products ” means any Products
designed, developed, modified, enhanced, manufactured, marketed and
distributed by or on behalf of Buyer or an Affiliate that are
primarily used in the Business, including all successor products
and new versions thereof for use in the Business, and includes the
provision of services related to such Products.
(i)
“ Closing ” means the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby and “ Closing
Date ” means the date of the Closing.
(j)
“ Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended.
(k)
“ Confidential Information ” means
nonpublic information that a party to this Agreement (“
Disclosing Party ”) designates in writing as being
confidential to the party that receives such information (“
Receiving Party ”). “ Confidential
Information ” includes, without limitation, information
in tangible or intangible form relating to and/or including
released or unreleased Disclosing Party software or hardware
products, the marketing or promotion of any Disclosing Party
product, Disclosing Party’s business policies or practices,
and information received from others that Disclosing Party is
obligated to treat as confidential. Confidential Information which
is disclosed in tangible form shall be marked as
“confidential” or words of
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similar import.
Confidential Information which is disclosed verbally shall be
designated as “confidential” by the Disclosing Party
when disclosed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the failure by the
Disclosing Party to designate any tangible or intangible
information as Confidential Information shall not give the
Receiving Party the right to treat such information as free from
the restrictions imposed by Section 6.17 of this Agreement if
the circumstances would lead a reasonable person to believe that
such information is Confidential Information. Except as otherwise
indicated in this Agreement, the term “ Disclosing
Party ” also includes all Affiliates of the Disclosing
Party and, except as otherwise indicated, the term “
Receiving Party ” also includes all Affiliates of the
Receiving Party. Confidential Information shall not include any
information, however designated, that: (i) is or subsequently
becomes publicly available without Receiving Party’s breach
of any obligation owed to Disclosing Party; (ii) became known
to Receiving Party prior to Disclosing Party’s disclosure of
such information to Receiving Party pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement without an obligation of confidentiality prior to the
Disclosing Party’s disclosure; (iii) became known to
Receiving Party from a source other than Disclosing Party other
than by the breach of an obligation of confidentiality owed to
Disclosing Party; or (iv) is independently developed by
Receiving Party.
(l)
“ Consulting Agreement ” means each
agreement between Seller and Buyer (or an Affiliate of Buyer) dated
as of January 1, 2007, pursuant to which Buyer (or its
Affiliate) agrees to provide consulting services to Seller to be
performed by certain Transferred Employees in accordance with the
terms thereof.
(m)
“ Domain Names ” means all Internet
domain names owned by Seller or which Seller is authorized to
license to Buyer, and which exclusively relate to the Assigned
Technology or the Business, and/or those domain names that are
otherwise identified on Schedule 1.1(m)
hereto.
(n)
“ Exclusive Field of Use ” means the
business of designing, developing, modifying and enhancing,
manufacturing, having manufactured, marketing and distributing
Products that are designed to support current or future video
and/or audio formats for play-back from optical or other media
(except for applications in the Restricted Field of Use), as well
as Products designed to support any successor formats or standards,
and the provision of services relating thereto.
(o)
“ GAAP ” means generally accepted
accounting principles of the United States as set forth by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board.
(p)
“ Governmental Authorizations ” means the
permits, authorizations, consents or approvals of any Governmental
Entity that are a condition to the lawful consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby listed on
Schedule 1.1(p) hereto.
(q)
“ Governmental Entity ” means any court,
or any federal, state, municipal or other governmental authority,
department, commission, board, agency or other instrumentality
domestic or foreign.
(r)
“ Intellectual Property Rights ” means
any and all rights existing now or in the future under patent law
(including, but not limited to the Patents), copyright law,
industrial
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design rights
law, semiconductor chip and mask work protection law, moral rights
law, trade secret law, trademark law (including, but not limited to
the Marks), domain name law (including, but not limited to the
Domain Names), unfair competition law, publicity rights law,
privacy rights law, and any and all similar proprietary rights, and
any and all applications for registration, registrations, letters
patent, renewals, extensions, divisions, continuations, reissues,
and restorations thereof, now or hereafter in force and effect
anywhere in the world.
(s)
“ Knowledge ” means that which is known
by a Person and that of which a Person should have constructive
knowledge after conducting a reasonable examination of all matters
relating thereto.
(t)
“ Licensed Technology ” means the Base
Technology licensed to Buyer hereunder as well as any Third Party
Technology licensed to Buyer hereunder.
(u)
“ Lien ” means any mortgage, pledge,
lien, security interest, option, covenant, condition, restriction,
encumbrance, charge or other third-party claim of any
kind.
(v)
“ Marks ” means all trademarks and
service marks owned by Seller or which Seller is authorized to
license to Buyer, and which relate exclusively to the Assigned
Technology or the Business, and specifically include the marks
identified on Schedule 1.1(v) hereto.
(w)
“ Material Adverse Effect ” with respect
to a Person means any event, change or effect that is materially
adverse to the condition (financial or otherwise), properties,
assets, liabilities, business, operations, results of operations,
or prospects of such Person and its Affiliates, taken as a whole,
or an effect which prevents or materially delays a Person’s
ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(x)
“ Owned Technology ” means any Technology
that is owned or exclusively licensed to Seller.
(y)
“ Patents ” means all patents owned by
Seller or which Seller is authorized to license to Buyer, that,
absent the licenses granted hereunder would be infringed upon by
the exploitation of the Assigned Technology and/or the Base
Technology in the Business, whether presently issued or issued in
the future, and specifically including the patents identified in
Schedule_1.1(y) , and any and all continuations,
continuations-in-part, or divisions thereof.
(z)
“ Person ” means an individual,
corporation, partnership, association, trust, government or
political subdivision or agent or instrumentality thereof, or other
entity or organization.
(aa)
“ Products ” means semiconductor
products, or components, boards or assemblies incorporating such
semiconductor products.
(bb)
“ Restricted Field of Use ” means the
business of designing, developing, modifying and enhancing,
manufacturing, having manufactured and distributing Products that
(i) do not have HD video decoding capability; and
(ii) are used or marketed for the purpose of
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supporting
standard definition DVD optical disc technologies that utilize red
laser technology to read and write data, including desktop/portable
DVD players, mini-combo DVD players, DVD home theater systems and
automotive DVD players which utilize such technology.
(cc)
“ Seller Products ” means all current SD
DVD Products of Seller, including all successor SD DVD Products and
new SD DVD versions thereof.
(dd)
“ SiS-US Agreement ” means that certain
Asset Purchase Agreement of even date herewith between Seller and
Silicon Integrated Systems Corporation, a California corporation
and an Affiliate of Buyer (“ SiS-US ”), pursuant
to which SiS-US is acquiring substantially all the tangible assets
of the Business, and either SiS-US or another Affiliate of Buyer
has offered employment to certain individuals who have been
involved in developing the Business for Seller.
(ee)
“ Taxes ” means all taxes, however
denominated, including any interest, penalties or other additions
to tax that may become payable in respect thereof, (i) imposed
by any federal, territorial, state, local or foreign government or
any agency or political subdivision of any such government, for
which Buyer could become liable as successor to or transferee of
the Business or the Purchased Assets or which could become a charge
against or lien on any of the Purchased Assets, which taxes shall
include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, all
sales and use taxes, ad valorem taxes, excise taxes, business
license taxes, occupation taxes, real and personal property taxes,
stamp taxes, environmental taxes, real property gains taxes,
transfer taxes, payroll and employee withholding taxes,
unemployment insurance contributions, social security taxes, and
other governmental charges in the nature of a tax, and other
obligations of the same or of a similar nature to any of the
foregoing, which are required to be paid, withheld or collected, or
(ii) any liability for amounts referred to in (i) as a
result of any obligations to indemnify another person.
(ff)
“ Technology ” means technical
information, software, software code, knowledge, semiconductor
masks, topologies and architectures, layouts, schematics,
databases, net lists, test data, test methodologies, test vectors,
emulation and simulation tools and reports, development tools,
interfaces, specifications, works of authorship, inventions and
discoveries, and any and all Intellectual Property Rights
pertaining thereto, and specifically includes any documentation or
items referenced in any Schedules describing the Technology to be
sold, licensed or otherwise transferred under this
Agreement.
(gg)
“ Third Party ” means any Person other
than Buyer or Seller or their respective Affiliates.
(hh)
“ Third Party Technology ” means
Technology owned by a Third Party that is embodied or incorporated
into the Assigned Technology or the Base Technology as of the
Closing Date.
(ii)
“ Transferred Employee ” means any
employee who was employed by Seller in the Business as of
December 31, 2006, who received and accepted an offer of
employment by Buyer or an Affiliate of Buyer, including without
limitation SiS-US, or a designated co-employer of any of the
foregoing (each, a “ Buyer Party ”), to commence
work for
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such Buyer
Party effective as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1,
2007 and who transferred employment to Buyer Party pursuant to
such offer. Transferred Employees shall not include any person on a
disability leave of more than twenty-six
(26) weeks.
(jj)
“ Transferred Third Party Technology ”
means the Third Party Technology, listed on
Schedule 1.1(jj) , the license of which shall be
transferred to Buyer on the Closing Date.
(kk)
“ Transition Services Agreement ” means
each agreement between Seller and Buyer (or an Affiliate of Buyer)
dated as of January 1, 2007, pursuant to which Seller has
agreed to provide Buyer (or its indicated Affiliate) with certain
transition services in accordance with the terms
thereof.
(ll)
“ Working Day ” means a day other than
Saturday or Sunday and on which commercial banks are open for
business in California and Taiwan.
2.
Transfer of Assets to Buyer
(a)
Purchase and Sale . Subject to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, Seller hereby sells, assigns, grants,
transfers, conveys and delivers (or causes to be sold, assigned,
granted, transferred, conveyed and delivered) to Buyer, or to any
Affiliate of Buyer designated by Buyer, and Buyer hereby purchases
and accepts from Seller as of the Closing Date, free and clear of
all Liens:
(i) all
of Seller’s right, title and interest existing as of the
Closing Date in and to the Assigned Technology and all Intellectual
Property Rights thereto (subject to the License-Back to Seller of
certain rights pursuant to Section 7 herein below);
(ii) all
of Seller’s rights existing as of the Closing Date to the
Transferred Third Party Technology, including licensed rights and
express or implied warranties in favor of Seller (subject to the
License-Back to Seller of certain rights pursuant to Section 7
herein below, if permitted by such Third Party);
(iii) all
of Seller’s causes of action, judgments, and claims or
demands of whatever kind or description existing as of the Closing
Date (whether known or unknown as of that date) arising out of or
relating to the Assigned Technology and all Intellectual Property
Rights relating thereto, and the rights conveyed under
Section 2.1(a)(ii), other than such causes of action,
judgments, and claims or demands arising under this
Agreement;
(iv) all
of Seller’s right, title and interest existing as of the
Closing Date in and to such other properties or assets that are
listed on Schedule 2.1(a)(iv) (“ Other
Assets ”); and
(v) all
goodwill associated with all of the foregoing, together with the
right to represent to third parties that Buyer, together with its
Affiliates, is the successor to the
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The assets,
properties, and rights to be conveyed, sold, transferred, assigned,
and delivered to Buyer pursuant to this Section 2.1(a) are
sometimes hereinafter collectively referred to as the “
Purchased Assets ”.
(b)
Existing Licenses . Seller previously has granted
licenses to Third Parties to use the Assigned Technology as set
forth in Schedule 2.1(b) , and Buyer takes the Assigned
Technology subject to such licenses. Any executory obligations and
any liabilities to Third Parties under such license agreements or
arising out of such license agreements (“ Remaining
License Obligations ”) shall remain the obligation of
Seller. Seller agrees to provide reasonable assistance to Buyer, at
Buyer’s expense and upon its request, to enforce the terms
and conditions of such license agreements against any Third
Party.
(a)
Sublicensable Base Technology License . In connection
with the purchase and sale of the Purchased Assets hereunder,
effective as of the Closing Date, and subject to the terms and
conditions hereof, Seller hereby grants Buyer, under Seller’s
Intellectual Property Rights in the Sublicensable Base Technology,
any Base Technology Modifications thereof, and any Assigned
Technology Modifications, a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable
license, with the right to sublicense :
(i) to
design, develop, modify, enhance and use, and to have any of the
foregoing performed on its behalf, the Sublicensable Base
Technology, any Base Technology Modifications thereof, and any
Assigned Technology Modifications, in each instance in connection
with the Business; and
(ii) to
manufacture, have manufactured, market, distribute and sell, and to
have any of the foregoing performed on its behalf, Buyer
Products.
The foregoing
license is restricted solely for use in the Business. The foregoing
license shall be exclusive in the Business as to Buyer and its
Affiliates, non-transferable (except for transfers to Buyer’s
Affiliates or successors in interest to the Business or to one or
more successors in interest to any Buyer Product), and shall be
royalty-free and fully paid up. The foregoing license may not be
exercised or otherwise exploited by Buyer in the Restricted Field
of Use. Seller shall retain all rights to the Sublicensable Base
Technology outside of the Business.
(b)
Royalty-Bearing Base Technology License . In
connection with the purchase and sale of the Purchased Assets
hereunder, effective as of the Closing Date, and subject to the
terms and conditions hereof, Seller hereby grants Buyer, under
Seller’s Intellectual Property Rights in the Royalty-Bearing
Base Technology and any Base Technology Modifications thereof, a
worldwide, perpetual, non-sublicensable (except the right to
sublicense to Buyer’s Affiliates and its and their respective
OEMs, distributors and customers ) , irrevocable
license:
(i) to
design, develop, modify, enhance and use, and to have any
of
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the foregoing
performed on its behalf, the Royalty-Bearing Base Technology and
any Base Technology Modifications thereof, in each instance in
connection with the Business; and
(ii) to
manufacture, have manufactured, market, distribute and sell, and to
have any of the foregoing performed on its behalf, Buyer
Products.
The foregoing
license is restricted solely for use in the Business. The foregoing
license shall be non-exclusive, non-transferable (except for
transfers to Buyer’s Affiliates or successors in interest to
the Business or to one or more successors in interest to any Buyer
Product), and shall be royalty-free and fully paid up (except for
applications outside the Exclusive Field of Use, in which event the
license shall be subject to payment of a royalty to be negotiated
in good faith by the parties). Seller shall retain all rights to
the Royalty-Bearing Base Technology except for the limited license
granted herein.
(c)
Reference License . In connection with the purchase
and sale of the Purchased Assets hereunder, effective as of the
Closing Date, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof,
Seller hereby grants Buyer a worldwide, perpetual,
non-sublicensable (except the right to sublicense to Buyer’s
Affiliates) irrevocable license to use and copy the Referenceable
Base Technology and any Base Technology Modifications thereof
solely for purposes of internal reference in connection with Buyer
Products. The foregoing license shall be non-exclusive,
non-transferable (except for transfers to Buyer’s Affiliates
or successors in interest to the Business or to one or more
successors in interest to any Buyer Product), and shall be
royalty-free and fully paid up. The foregoing license may not be
exercised or otherwise exploited in the Restricted Field of Use or
in any way outside of the Business.
(d)
Patent License . Without limiting the generality of
anything contained in this Agreement, effective as of the Closing
Date, subject to the terms and conditions hereof, Seller hereby
grants to Buyer, during the term of the Patents and under
Seller’s rights to the Patents, a non-exclusive,
non-transferable (except for transfers to Buyer’s Affiliates
or successors in interest to the Business or to one or more
successors in interest to any Buyer Product) and non-sublicensable
(except for sublicenses to Buyer’s Affiliates and
Buyer’s and its Affiliates’ respective OEMs,
distributors and customers of Buyer Products), worldwide,
perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free and fully paid up license (the
“ Patent License ”) to make (including the right
to practice methods, processes and procedures), have made, use,
lease, sell, offer for sale and import any Buyer Products embodying
or made in accordance with any invention of the Patents. The
foregoing license may not be exercised or otherwise exploited in
the Restricted Field of Use or otherwise outside of the
Business.
The assets,
properties, Patents, and rights licensed and delivered to Buyer
pursuant to this Section 2.2 are sometimes hereinafter
collectively referred to as the “ Licensed Assets
”, and together with the Purchased Assets, the “
Assets ”.
2.3 Certain
Excluded Assets . Buyer agrees that the assets of Seller
set forth on Schedule 2.3 shall be excluded from the
Assets (the “ Excluded Assets ”).
2.4 Third
Party Technology . Seller shall use commercially reasonable
efforts to obtain any consent required from any Third Party set
forth on Schedule 2.4 hereto, to convey or
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grant to Buyer
Seller’s rights to Transferred Third Party Technology;
provided that Seller shall not be obligated to pay any amounts to
any third parties (other than amounts accrued but unpaid by Seller)
that may be requested by such third parties in consideration for
obtaining such consents. The consents set forth in
Schedule 2.4 shall constitute “ Required
Consents ” hereunder.
2.5 Assumed
Liabilities . Effective as of the Closing, Buyer (or its
designated Affiliate(s), as the case may be) in accordance with
Section 3.2 shall, without any further responsibility or
liability of or recourse to Seller or any of Seller’s
Affiliates, subsidiaries, stockholders, officers, directors,
employees, agents, successors or assigns, absolutely and
irrevocably assume, pay, perform and be liable and responsible for
any and all of the following liabilities (collectively, the “
Assumed Liabilities ”):
(a) all
liabilities and obligations arising after the Closing Date with
respect to the Purchased Assets, provided however, that all
liabilities arising prior to the Closing Date with respect to the
Purchased Assets and all unperformed or unmatured obligations and
covenants of Seller incurred by Seller prior to the Closing Date
with respect to the Purchased Assets shall remain the sole
responsibility of Seller; and provided further that any claim
arising after the Closing Date that would not have occurred but for
the inaccuracy of a representation or warranty of Seller hereunder
shall also remain the sole responsibility of Seller;
(b) all
liabilities and obligations arising after the Closing Date with
respect to Transferred Third Party Technology set forth on
Schedule 2.5 hereto, provided however, that all
liabilities arising prior to the Closing Date with respect to the
Transferred Third Party Technology and all unperformed or unmatured
obligations and covenants of Seller incurred by Seller prior to the
Closing Date with respect to the Transferred Third Party Technology
shall remain the sole responsibility of Seller.
2.6 Excluded
Liabilities . Except for the Assumed Liabilities and any
other liabilities specifically assumed pursuant to this Agreement,
Buyer shall not assume and shall not be liable for, and Seller and
its Affiliates shall retain and remain solely liable for and
obligated to discharge, all of the debts, contracts, agreements,
commitments, obligations and other liabilities of any nature
whatsoever of Seller and its Affiliates, whether known or unknown,
accrued or not accrued, fixed or contingent, including without
limitation, the following (collectively, with the foregoing, the
“ Excluded Liabilities ”):
(a) Any
liability for breaches by Seller or any of its Affiliates on or
prior to the Closing Date of any contract (including without
limitation any contracts relating to Third Party Technology),
instrument or purchase order, or any liability for payments or
amounts due under any contract (including without limitation any
contracts relating to Third Party Technology), instrument, or
purchase order on or prior to the Closing Date;
(b) Any
liability or obligation for Taxes attributable to or imposed upon
Seller or any of its Affiliates, or attributable to or imposed upon
the Assets for any period (or portion thereof) up to but excluding
the Closing Date, other than transfer taxes, sales, value-added or
other similar taxes on the Assets directly attributable to or
arising from the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (for
purposes of determining the amount of Taxes attributable to the
period up to the Closing Date, the amount of any Taxes based on or
measured by income
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or receipts
shall be determined based on a closing of the books as of the close
of business on the day before the Closing Date, and the amount of
other Taxes shall be deemed to be the amount of such Tax for the
entire taxable period multiplied by a fraction the numerator of
which is the number of days in the taxable period ending on the day
before the Closing Date and the denominator of which is the number
of days in such entire taxable period);
(c) Any
liability or obligation for or in respect of any loan, other
indebtedness for money borrowed, or account payable of Seller or
any of its Affiliates, including any such liabilities owed to
Affiliates of Seller;
(d) Any
liability or obligation arising as a result of any legal or
equitable action or judicial or administrative proceeding initiated
at any time, to the extent relating to any action or omission on or
prior to the Closing Date by or on behalf of Seller or any of its
Affiliates, including, without limitation, any liability for
infringement of intellectual property rights, breach of product
warranty, injury or death caused by products, or violations of
federal or state securities or other laws;
(e) Any
liability or obligation arising on or prior to the Closing Date out
of any “employee benefit plan,” as such term is defined
by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“
ERISA ”) or other employee benefit plans;
(f) Any
liability or obligation for making payments of any kind (including
as a result of the sale of the Assets or as a result of the
termination of employment by Seller of employees, or other claims
arising out of the terms and conditions of employment with Seller,
or for vacation or severance pay or otherwise) to employees of
Seller or in respect of payroll taxes for employees of
Seller;
(g) Any
liability of Seller incurred in connection with the making or
performance of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby;
(h) Any
liability of Seller arising out of the violation of or failure to
comply with any environmental laws applicable to any aspect of the
Business;
(i) Any
costs or expenses of Seller incurred in connection with shutting
down, deinstalling and removing equipment not purchased by Buyer,
and the costs associated with all contracts and agreements not
assumed by Buyer; and
(j) Any
Remaining License Obligation.
(a) Subject
to the performance by Seller of all of its obligations under this
Agreement (including delivering all documents required to be
delivered) at the Closing, in consideration of the acquisition of
the Purchased Assets under Section 2.1 and the Base Technology
licenses and Patent License granted under Section 2.2, Buyer
agrees (i) to deliver to Seller evidence of Buyer’s
instruction to its bank (“ Bank Instruction ”)
to release funds within one (1) business day of the Closing
Date in the amount of $9,450,000.00 to be wire transferred
to
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an account or
accounts designated by Seller (the “ Initial
Installment ”); (ii) within seven (7) business
days of the date on which Seller, Buyer and Chinatrust Commercial
Bank (Taiwan) (the “ Escrow Agent ”) shall have
executed that certain Indemnity Escrow Agreement in substantially
the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the
“Escrow Agreement”), to deposit on behalf of Seller
into an account or accounts designated by Escrow Agent (the “
Escrow Fund ”) $2,000,000.00 in immediately available
funds (the “ Escrow Consideration ” and together
with the Initial Installment and the Employee Bonus Funds set forth
in Section 2.8(a) below, the “ Immediate
Consideration ”), which consideration shall be subject to
the provisions of the Escrow Agreement and (iii) to assume the
Assumed Liabilities. Also at such time as all Technology embodied
in the Assigned Technology, Licensed Technology and Transferred
Third Party Technology shall have been copied and certified by
Buyer, Buyer shall deliver to Seller’s designated bank
account an additional $2,000,000.00 (the “ Hold Back
Amount ”, and together with the Immediate Consideration,
the “ Purchase Price ”).
(b) Upon
Seller’s receipt of the Bank Instruction set forth in
subsection 2.7(a)(i) above, Seller shall arrange to release within
three (3) Working Days thereafter and return to Silicon
Integrated Systems Corporation of Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, R.O.C., the
sole shareholder of Buyer (“ Parent ”), the
$1,500,000.00 previously paid by Parent to Seller as a good-faith
fully refundable deposit (the “ Deposit
”).
(c) The
Purchase Price shall be allocated to the intellectual property
(including, but not limited to, trademarks, trade names, patents,
licenses, copyrights) allocated [*****] to the Cayman Seller
and [*****] to the US Seller. For purposes of this
allocation, no value is being attributed to goodwill or going
concern, covenant not to compete or contingent or assumed
liabilities. Each party agrees to report the federal, foreign,
state, local and other Tax consequences of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement in a manner consistent with such
allocation (including any modifications thereto as a result of any
payments or other adjustments made after the Closing Date) and
shall not take any position inconsistent therewith upon examination
of any Tax return or report, or in any litigation, investigation or
otherwise, unless otherwise required by a taxing authority. Each
party shall cooperate in the timely filing of Forms 8594 (if
required) with the Internal Revenue Service.
(d) All
payments made to Seller pursuant to this Agreement (including
payments of the Immediate Consideration, the Escrow Consideration,
future royalty payments or amounts from the Bonus Plan) shall be
made free and clear of and without deduction or withholding for or
on account of any present or future income, stamp or other taxes,
levies, imposts, duties, charges, fees, deductions or withholdings
of any kind, now or hereafter imposed, levied, collected, withheld
or assessed by any Governmental Entity.
2.8 Employee
Retention Bonus Pool; Forfeited Bonuses .
(a) In
addition, within seven (7) business days of the date on which
Seller, Buyer and the Escrow Agent shall have executed that certain
Escrow Bonus Agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as
Exhibit C , Buyer agrees to deliver to the Escrow
Agent, or to an account or accounts designated by Escrow Agent, $
[*****] in immediately available funds (the “
Employee Bonus Funds ”) pursuant to which bonuses
shall be paid to Transferred Employees in accordance with the terms
of the Employee Retention Bonus Plan
****
Confidential Treatment Requested.
attached hereto
as Exhibit B (the “ Bonus Plan ”)
and the provisions of the Bonus Escrow Agreement.
(b) Transferred
Employees who remain employed by the applicable Buyer Party on the
first and second anniversaries of January 1, 2007 (each, a
“ Bonus Payment Date ”) are eligible to receive
bonuses allocated to such individuals under the Bonus Plan from the
Employee Bonus Funds. However, amounts that would have been payable
to any Transferred Employee who is no longer employed by the
applicable Buyer Party on a Bonus Payment Date, and associated
interest, if any, shall not be paid to the Transferred Employee and
such forfeited bonus shall be split 50/50 between Buyer and Seller
after deduction of: (i) any applicable escrow service fee
under the Bonus Pool Escrow Agreement, (ii) taxes due on
interest that has accrued on the Employee Bonus Funds, and
(iii) all withholding fees and payroll taxes (including the
Transferred Employees’ and employer’s portion of
payroll taxes) owed to any Government Entity due to payment of
bonuses under the Bonus Plan. The Buyer and Seller agree to treat
only the portion of the payment, if any, that is paid to Seller
from the Escrow Bonus Funds in the event of a failure by a
Transferred Employee to remain employed as a contingent payment and
an adjustment to the Purchase Price for federal, state and local
income tax purposes.
3.1
Closing . Subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, the Closing shall take place on such date, as soon as
practicable after all conditions precedent in Sections 8 and 9
have been satisfied or waived, as the parties may agree (the
“ Closing Date ”), but in any case, no later
than February 28, 2007, provided however that the parties may
mutually agree to extend the time permitted to effect the Closing
beyond February 28, 2007.
3.2 Actions
at the Closing . On the Closing Date, Seller shall have
delivered the Purchased Assets and the Licensed Assets to Buyer as
follows. Seller shall have made available for download by Buyer via
a restricted FTP site all source code or other electronic files
embodied or included in the Assets (including all Seller files,
libraries, binaries, object code, headers, modules, type
definitions, project file settings, installation scripts, release
notes, web pages, graphics, icons, color pallets, encryption keys,
and scripts required to build and package the Technology comprising
any part of the Assets, but excluding any third-party products or
materials for which Seller has not obtained consent from the owner
to transfer and assign such products or materials to Buyer
hereunder) and all end-user documentation source (including all
files, graphics, icons, snapshots, text, binaries, web pages,
scripts, help files, help source, word documents, adobe acrobat
documents and release notes). Seller shall have delivered the
remaining Assets promptly to Buyer, each by placement on a
restricted FTP site for download by Buyer, to the extent such
Assets were downloadable, and otherwise by a manner that was
mutually agreed upon by Buyer and Seller. All Intellectual Property
Rights transferred by Seller hereunder together with their tangible
embodiments shall be held physically and legally by Buyer. Buyer
and Seller shall take such actions and execute and deliver such
agreements, bills of sale, and other instruments and documents as
necessary or appropriate to effect the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement in accordance with its terms, including without
limitation the following:
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Confidential
Treatment Requested.
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(a)
Bill of Sale; Assignment and Assumption Agreement .
Seller shall deliver to Buyer a general Bill of Sale substantially
in the form attached as Exhibit D and with respect to
the Intellectual Property Rights in the Assigned Technology, an
Assignment and Assumption Agreement substantially in the form
attached as Exhibit E (collectively, the “
Transfer Documents ”) in each case duly executed by
Seller, and in the aggregate assigning to Buyer all of
Seller’s right, title and interest in and to the Purchased
Assets existing as of the Closing Date. Buyer may designate one or
more of its Affiliates as the recipient of certain of the Purchased
Assets, and as the party to assume certain of the Assumed
Liabilities (provided that Buyer remains liable therefor), in which
case Seller shall transfer such Purchased Assets and Assumed
Liabilities to Buyer or the Affiliate(s) designated by Buyer
pursuant to such Transfer Documents.
(b)
Consideration . Buyer shall deliver a copy of the
Bank Instruction regarding the payment of the Immediate
Consideration to Seller.
(c)
Title . Seller shall provide reasonable evidence of
valid title to such of the Purchased Assets as Buyer may reasonably
request in writing prior to the Closing, in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to Buyer.
(d)
Third Party Consents and Assignments . Seller shall
deliver to Buyer any assignments and the Required Consents it has
obtained in respect of any of the Assets, duly executed by parties
having the authority to so assign or consent to assign, in form and
substance as Buyer shall reasonably request, as well as a written
confirmation from such third parties that the Assets are in good
standing.
(e)
Seller Documents . At the Closing, Seller shall
deliver to Buyer any and all documents required to satisfy the
conditions set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement that have
not been waived by Buyer and any other closing documents reasonably
requested by Buyer.
(f)
Buyer Documents . At the Closing, Buyer shall deliver
to Seller any and all documents required to satisfy the conditions
set forth in Section 8 of this Agreement that have not been
waived by Seller and any other closing documents reasonably
requested by Seller.
(g)
Post-Closing Actions . Subsequent to the Closing
Date, Seller shall, and shall cause any Affiliate of Seller to,
from time to time execute and deliver, upon the request of Buyer,
all such other and further materials and documents and instruments
of conveyance, transfer or assignment as may reasonably be
requested by Buyer to effect, record or verify the transfer to and
vesting in Buyer of Seller’s and any of Seller’s
Affiliates’ right, title and interest in and to the Assets,
free and clear of all Liens in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement. Buyer, Seller and the Escrow Agent shall work diligently
to finalize and execute the Indemnity Escrow Agreement and the
Bonus Escrow Agreement on or before February 28, 2007, and
within seven (7) days of the date on which the parties execute
each of those agreements, Buyer shall deposit the Escrow
Consideration and the Employee Bonus Funds, respectively, into a
designated account or accounts with the Escrow Agent.
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4.
Representations and Warranties of Seller
Each
representation and warranty set forth below is qualified by any
exception or disclosures set forth in the Seller Disclosure
Schedule attached hereto, which exceptions specifically reference
the Section(s) to be qualified. In all other respects, each
representation and warranty set out in this Section 4 is not
qualified in any way whatsoever, will not merge on Closing or by
reason of the execution and delivery of any agreement, document or
instrument at the Closing, will remain in force on and after the
Closing Date, is given with the intention that liability is not
confined to breaches discovered before Closing, is separate and
independent and is not limited by reference to any other
representation or warranty or any other provision of this
Agreement, and is made and given with the intention of inducing the
Buyer to enter into this Agreement. Except as otherwise set forth
in the Seller Disclosure Schedule, Seller represents and warrants
to Buyer as follows:
4.1
Organization, Standing and Power . US Seller is a
corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the State of California, and Cayman Seller is a
corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Seller has the requisite
corporate power and authority and all necessary permits,
authorizations, consents, and approvals of all Governmental
Entities to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on
the Business as now being conducted and as proposed to be
conducted, except where the failure to have such power, authority
and governmental approvals would not, individually or in the
aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Seller is duly qualified
or licensed as a foreign corporation to do business, and is in good
standing, in each jurisdiction where the character of the
properties owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of its
business makes such qualification or licensing necessary, except
for failures to be so qualified or licensed and in good standing
that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material
Adverse Effect. US Seller has previously delivered to Buyer true
and complete copies of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of
US Seller as presently in effect. Cayman Seller has delivered to
Buyer true and complete copies of the Articles of Association and
related charter documents of Cayman Seller as presently in
effect.
4.2
Authority . The execution and delivery of this
Agreement (and all other agreements and instruments contemplated
under this Agreement) by Seller, the performance by Seller of its
obligations hereunder and thereunder, and the consummation by
Seller of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have
been duly authorized by all necessary action by the Board of
Directors and shareholders of Seller, and no other act or
proceeding on the part of or on behalf of Seller or its
shareholders is necessary to approve the execution and delivery of
this Agreement and such other agreements and instruments, the
performance by Seller of its obligations hereunder and thereunder
and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby. The signatory officers of Seller have the power and
authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and all of the
other agreements and instruments to be executed and delivered by
Seller pursuant hereto, to consummate the transactions hereby and
thereby contemplated and to take all other actions required to be
taken by Seller pursuant to the provisions hereof and
thereof.
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4.3
Execution and Binding Effect . This Agreement has
been duly and validly executed and delivered by Seller and
constitutes, and the other agreements and instruments to be
executed and delivered by Seller pursuant hereto, upon their
execution and delivery by Seller, will constitute (assuming, in
each case, the due and valid authorization, execution and delivery
thereof by Buyer), legal, valid and binding agreements of Seller,
enforceable against Seller in accordance with their respective
terms.
4.4 Consents
and Approvals of Governmental Entities . Other than the
Governmental Authorizations there is no requirement applicable to
Seller to make any filing, declaration or registration with, or to
obtain any permit, authorization, consent or approval of, any
Governmental Entity as a condition to the lawful consummation by
Seller of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the
other agreements and instruments to be executed and delivered by
Seller pursuant hereto or the consummation by Seller of the
transactions contemplated herein or therein.
4.5 No
Violation . Neither the execution, delivery and performance
of this Agreement and all of the other agreements and instruments
to be executed and delivered pursuant hereto, nor the consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, will, with or
without the passage of time or the delivery of notice or both,
(a) conflict with, violate or result in any breach of the
terms, conditions or provisions of the Articles of Incorporation or
Bylaws of Seller, (b) conflict with or result in a violation
or breach of, or constitute a default or require consent of any
Person (or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation or
acceleration) under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of
any contract, notice, bond, mortgage, indenture, license,
franchise, permit, agreement, lease or other instrument or
obligation to which Seller is a party or by which Seller or any of
the Assets may be bound, (c) violate any statute, ordinance or
law or any rule, regulation, order, writ, injunction or decree of
any Governmental Entity applicable to Seller or by which any
properties or assets of Seller may be bound, or (d) result in
any cancellation of, or obligation to repay, any grant, loan or
other financial assistance received by Seller from any Governmental
Entity. No “bulk sales” legislation applies to the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
4.6
Consents . Schedule 4.6 sets forth each
agreement, contract, license or other instrument binding upon
Seller requiring a consent as a result of the execution, delivery
and performance of this Agreement or the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby.
4.7 SEC
Documents; Financial Information . Seller has delivered to
Buyer a true and complete copy of all filings it has made with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (“ SEC ”)
since January 1, 2005 (the “ SEC Documents
”). The SEC Documents contain an audited consolidated balance
sheet of Seller as of December 31, 2005 and the related
audited consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for
the year then ended and the Seller’s unaudited consolidated
balance sheet as of September 30, 2006, and the related
unaudited consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for
the nine month period then ended. Seller has also provided its
unaudited balance sheet as of September 30, 2006, a copy of
which is set forth in the Seller Disclosure Schedule (the “
Last Balance Sheet ” and together with the SEC
Documents, “ Seller’s Financials ”).
Seller’s Financials, and the notes thereto are correct and
complete in all material respects and were prepared in accordance
with GAAP applied on a
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consistent
basis throughout the periods indicated and consistent with each
other. Seller’s Financials present fairly the financial
condition and operating results and cash flows of Seller as of the
dates and during the periods indicated therein, subject, in the
case of the unaudited statements, to normal year-end adjustments,
which will not be material in amount or significance.
Seller’s Financials accurately record the Assets as assets of
Seller on each applicable balance sheets included in the SEC
Documents as well as on the Last Balance Sheet. Since the date of
the Last Balance Sheet, there has been no material change in
Seller’s accounting policies and as of their respective
filing dates, the SEC Documents complied in all material respects
with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and none of the
SEC Documents nor the Last Balance Sheet contained any untrue
statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact
required to be state therein or necessary to make the statement
made therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were
made, not misleading, except to the extent corrected by a document
subsequently filed with the SEC and provided to Buyer prior to the
date hereof.
4.8 No
Undisclosed Liabilities . The Assets do not have any
liability, Lien, indebtedness, obligation, expense, claim,
deficiency, guaranty or endorsement of any type associated with
them, whether accrued, absolute, contingent, matured, unmatured or
other (whether or not required by GAAP to be reflected in the
Seller’s Financials) which (i) have not been reflected
in the Last Balance Sheet or the US Seller’s annual report on
Form 10-K, or (ii) have not arisen in t
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