JOINT VENTURE DEVELOPMENT AND
OPERATING AGREEMENT
THIS JOINT
VENTURE DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATING AGREEMENT is made and dated effective (the “
Effective Date ”) as of 22 October 2009.
BETWEEN:
TechMedia
Advertising Mauritius , a company incorporated under the laws of
Mauritius and having its address for notice and delivery located at
c/o 62 Upper Cross Street, #04-01, Singapore 058353
(“
TMM ”)
OF THE FIRST PART
AND:
Peacock
Media Ltd. , a
company incorporated under the laws of India and having its address
for notice and delivery located at B24, Apollo Industrial Estate,
Off Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri East, Mumbai – 400093.
India.
(“
PML ”)
OF THE SECOND PART
(TMM and PML
collectively, or individually also referred to as a “
Party ” or the “ Parties
”)
WHEREAS:
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PML has been
granted a 5 years exclusive license (the “ License
”) by the Government of Tamil Nadu to operate the business of
installing, commissioning and maintaining mobile digital
advertising platform hardware and software in public transport
vehicles (the “ Technology ”), such as buses and
the Indian Railway trains, which Technology will be used to display
third party commercial content and advertising (such third party
commercial content and advertising to be displayed in exchange for
a fee to be paid by such third parties), and PML anticipates
obtaining a similar license from the governments of the Indian
states of Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharastra, Kerala and Karnataka,
and any other Indian states possible (the “ Participating
State ”);
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PML has
represented to TMM that the License permits PML to operate the
Business on more than 10,000 buses within the state of Tamil Nadu
in India, and on more than 30 railway trains throughout
India;
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PML has the
capability to perform the technical aspects of the Business and the
skills to manage the operational aspects of the
Business;
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TMM has the
knowledge and has the capability to provide the necessary capital
and funding for the operation of the Business;
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TMM and PML
have determined to form a joint venture (the “ Joint
Venture ”), which Joint Venture will be an incorporated
company, to conduct the Business and any related future businesses
which is derived there from or may be developed in such Joint
Venture, all as more particularly set out herein.
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NOW
THEREFORE THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSES that in consideration of the mutual covenants
and agreements herein contained and the sum of $10.00 now paid by
the parties, each to the other (the receipt and sufficiency of
which is hereby acknowledged), the parties agree as
follows:
In this
Agreement, including the recitals and schedules hereto, unless
there is something in the subject matter or context inconsistent
therewith, the following words and expressions will have the
following meanings:
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“
Agreement ” means this Joint Venture agreement, as
amended from time to time;
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“
Board ” means the board of directors of the Company,
as more specifically set out under section 2 of this
Agreement;
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“
Business ” means the operations of installing,
commissioning and maintaining mobile digital advertising platform
hardware and software in public transport vehicles such as buses
and trains solely in the Territory, and includes the use of media
technology and advertising to manage and commercialize the
Business, in order to generate Revenues;
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“
Company ” means a company having the proposed name of
TechMedia Mobile (India) Pte. Ltd or such other name as determined
by TMM in consultation with PML to be duly incorporated under the
laws of India pursuant to this Agreement, the business purpose of
which company will be to conduct the Business and any future
businesses which is derived therefrom or may be developed in such
Joint Venture;
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“
Confidential Information ” will mean all information
contributed by the Parties or acquired or developed by the Joint
Venture which the Board considers confidential, proprietary, or
useful in the Business and not generally known in the public and
includes all technical information such as data, know-how,
research, designs, drawings, plans, specifications, models, quality
controls, trade secrets, software, processes, equipment,
controllers, patents, and Business information such as equipment,
devices, methods relevant to the Joint Venture’s Business,
organizational charts, business plans, policies, corporate
structure, financial information and resources, transactions,
contracts and Joint Venture customers such as their names,
requirements and necessities, and any collateral information which
may be in the nature of a latent interest or expectation or
corporate opportunity such as inventions, discoveries or
improvements conceived, developed or made by employees, in whole or
in part, or other persons associated with the Joint Venture and all
and every other information which would reasonably be considered
confidential in the industry or by employment of reasonable
judgement and the burden will be on a Party to show that
information alleged by the Board or a Party to be confidential is
not;
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“
Costs ” mean all costs, expenses, obligations,
liabilities and charges of whatsoever kind or nature incurred or
chargeable, directly or indirectly, in connection with the Business
and the Joint Venture, which costs, expenses, obligations,
liabilities and charges include, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, the following:
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all monies, of
whatsoever nature, expended directly or indirectly in maintaining
and operating the Joint Venture and the Business;
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professional
costs associated with the Joint Venture, the Business or the
financing thereof;
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development
plans, marketing plans, and all other studies or
reports;
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filing costs
whether for securities regulations or other matters;
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suppliers,
contractors, trades, services, and all other inputs of goods,
services, or labour for the Business and Joint Venture
thereof;
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employees,
contract labour, management, and all other personnel
costs;
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services of
third parties or provided by the Parties at fair market
value;
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administration,
travel, office supplies, and all other costs reasonably incurred by
or chargeable to the Business and its administration;
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marketing,
advertising, promotion, and such related expenses,
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costs of sales
including commissions, transaction fees, and other such
charges;
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the costs of
raising equity or debt financing to capitalize the Business and the
Joint Venture;
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interest costs
and payment, amortization or otherwise, of debt relating to the
Joint Venture or the Business; and
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all other costs
as may be determined by the Board, from time to time, and normally
charged to a business such as the Business in accordance with
industry standards and generally accepted accounting principals
consistently applied;
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“ JV
Assets ” means the License and any other assets provided
by the Parties to the Joint Venture;
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“
Management Fee ” means the fee to be paid to TMM in
consideration for TMM’s management of the operational aspects
of the Business, in accordance with the terms of section 3
hereof;
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“
Parties ”, “ Party ”, means the
parties, singly or collectively as appropriate, to this Agreement
or their proper successors, assigns, or other recipients of a
party’s rights, in whole or in part, in or to this
Agreement;
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“
Profits ” means the Revenues less Costs, which net
result is available for distribution to the Parties
hereof;
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“
Revenues ” or “ Revenue ” means
gross sales proceeds and income of whatsoever nature realized
through the conduct of the Business and the realization of the
Business conducted pursuant to this Agreement; and
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“
Territory ” means India.
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1.
THE COMPANY & THE JOINT VENTURE
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The Parties
hereby agree to form, and on such date as this Agreement is
executed by both Parties hereto, there will be formed, the Joint
Venture.
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The Parties
agree to contribute in accordance with this Agreement the License
and all required working capital to the Joint Venture to be owned
and operated jointly as assets of the Joint Venture, develop the
Business as co-venturers in the Territory, conduct the Business in
accordance with this Agreement, and share in the Profits of the
Joint Venture in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement.
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The business of
the Joint Venture will be limited strictly to the Business and will
not be extended by implication, or otherwise, unless specifically
agreed to by the shareholders of the Company. The Business will not
be altered or changed to unrelated endeavors from that of the
present Business without unanimous consent of the shareholders of
the Company, with such consent not to be unreasonably
withheld.
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The Business
will employ the JV Assets as determined by the
Board. The Joint Venture may not be terminated except by
consent in writing of all Parties to this Agreement.
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In order to
form the Joint Venture and conduct the Business, TMM and PML will
incorporate the Company under the laws of India, and the JV Assets
will be held in the Company, and the Business and all other affairs
of the Joint Venture will be conducted through the
Company. The Company shall reimburse each of PML and TMM
respectively for all legal and other costs and expenses, including
stamp duty payable (if any), incurred by the Parties in connection
with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby.
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The proposed
name of the Company will be TechMedia Mobile (India) Pvt. Ltd., or
such other name as determined by TMM in consultation with
PML. The authorized share capital of the Company will
consist of an unlimited number of ordinary shares with a par value
of US$1.00, of which 100 common shares will be issued and
outstanding as follows:
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INR4,250.00 (equivalent to
USD85.00)
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INR750.00 (equivalent to
USD15.00)
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(TMM’s 85
shares in the Company and PML’s 15 shares in the Company
hereinafter collectively, the “ Shares
”)
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Each Equity
share in the capital of the Company will entitle the holder thereof
to attend all meetings of the shareholders of the Company, and to
one vote for each ordinary share held. In the event of
the liquidation or dissolution of the Company or other distribution
of assets of the Company among its shareholders for the purpose of
winding up its affairs, whether voluntary or involuntary, the
holders of the Shares will be entitled to share on a pro rata basis
as to the number of ordinary shares of the Company held, in the
distribution of the property and assets of the Company.
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The Company
shall not issue any options to purchase securities of the Company
or any rights convertible into securities of the Company without
the approval of the Board.
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There shall be
no liquidation preference as only equity shares shall be authorized
and issued.
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The Company
will remain a private Company at all times, and the issuance of
shares in the capital of the Company will be subject to restriction
and limitation as set out in this Agreement.
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PML
acknowledges and agrees that for so long as PML is a shareholder of
the Company, and for a period of (5) years after ceasing to be a
shareholder of the Company, neither PML, nor any of its
subsidiaries or associated companies (the “PML Group”),
nor any Directors, Officers, Employees or Shareholders of the PML
group, will use the Technology or will engage directly or
indirectly in any business which is similar to or in competition
with the Business (as the Business is constituted on the date of
PML ceasing to be a shareholder of the Company).
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The Parties
have not created a partnership hereby and nothing contained in this
Agreement will in any manner whatsoever constitute a Party the
partner, agent or legal representative of any other Party or create
any fiduciary relationship between them for any purpose
whatsoever. No Party will have any authority to act for
or to assume any obligations or responsibilities on behalf of any
other Party except as may be from time to time agreed upon in
writing between the Parties or as otherwise expressly provided
herein.
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PML
acknowledges and agrees that upon the execution of this agreement
PML shall assign to the Company the exclusive right to use and
exploit the License for the Business for a consideration of
US$25Million as stated in Section 3 in this Agreement. The Parties
acknowledge and agree that any and all intellectual property rights
in and to the content provided for the Business will remain the
sole property of PML.
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2.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY
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The Board of
the Company will at all times be comprised of five (5)
directors.
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Upon
incorporation of the Company, each of PML will nominate Two (2)
member to the Board and TMM will nominate Three (3) members to the
Board, and both PML and TMM will vote their Shares so that the
initial Board will be comprised of the following
individuals:
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In the event
that a position on the Board is open for any reason whatsoever,
such vacancy will be filled by a nominee from whichever of PML or
TMM whose director nominee formerly occupied such
position.
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The Chairman of
the Board of the Company shall be Mr Johnny Lian or such other
person nominated by him solely at all material times & the
Chairman or his nominee shall have a casting vote in the case of a
deadlock on any matters put before the Board.
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In the event
that the Board should increase in size for any reason whatsoever,
then such increase will be such as to entitle TMM to nominate 85%
of the new directors and PML to nominate 15% of the new directors
to fill such vacancies. .
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A quorum
required for the transaction of business at a meeting of the Board
will be all five members of the Board, present in person or by
telephone or other electronic means. If, within one-half
hour from the time set for the holding of a Board meeting, a quorum
is not present, the meeting stands adjourned for 48 hours at the
same time and place. If, at the re-convened meeting, a
quorum is not present within one-half hour from the time set for
the holding of the meeting, then the presence in person or by
telephone or other electronic means of the majority of the Board
will constitute quorum at such re-convened meeting.
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The Board will
have one Board meeting in each three-month period, which meeting
will be held at a time and place to be determined by the
directors. Any one director may call a meeting by
providing 2 days’ (48 hours) notice prior to the
meeting. Notice may be waived by the directors, and
directors may elect to attend a Board meeting by telephone or other
electronic means.
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All matters put
before the Board will only be undertaken with approval by a
majority of the directors at a duly and validly held meeting or by
unanimous written consent resolution if approved without a
meeting. The directors will use their best efforts to
reach an agreement on all matters to be approved by the
directors. Where the directors are unable to come to an
agreement on a matter to be approved by a majority of the directors
at a meeting, then the Chairman of the Board and/or his nominee
shall have the casting vote to resolve such matter.
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The election,
appointment and determination of the auditors and advisors of the
Company, the defining of their duties and functions and the
salaries and remuneration to be paid to them will be determined by
the Board.
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There will be
kept, in such bank or banks (including trust companies) as may be
determined by the Board, bank accounts of the Company (the “
Company Accounts ”) in which will be deposited all
monies received by the Company in the course of carrying on its
Business from time to time. All payments on account of
the Company will be made by cheques drawn on the Company Accounts
and all cheques, drafts or other instruments drawn and made for the
purposes of the Business of the Company will be executed by two
directors, or by such directors, officers or employees as may from
time to time be authorized to do so by the Board.
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The Company
will control all invoicing to clients for services provided by the
Company.
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The following
matters will only be undertaken with the unanimous approval of the
shareholders of the Company:
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the sale,
lease, transfer, mortgage, pledge or other disposition of
substantially all of the assets and/or undertaking of the Company,
or any of its subsidiaries;
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any transfer,
sale, lease or grant of any rights in the JV Assets or any other
assets of the Company;
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any increase or
reduction in the capital of the Company;
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the
consolidation, merger or amalgamation of the Company with any other
company, association, partnership or legal entity, or any other
form of capital or corporate reorganization, or any change in
control of the Company or liquidation of the Company;
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any increase or
decrease in the number of issued shares of the Company, or the
granting of any securities having rights preferences or privileges,
on parity with or senior to the Parties, by the Company to any
person to purchase securities of the Company;
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the creation of
any class of securities of the Company having rights, privileges or
preferences on parity or in preference to the Shares;
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any changes to
the maximum number of directors appointed to the Board;
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any borrowing
or incurrence of liabilities by the Company;
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any changes to
the constating documents (memorandum or articles of association) of
the Company;
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any transaction
out of the ordinary course of business; or
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any contract
between the Company and any shareholder or affiliate of the
Company.
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No shares of
the Company will be allotted or issued unless PML and TMM have
first been offered a pro rata allotment and have been given
a minimum of 60 calendar days to purchase their
allotment. Any allotment not taken up by either TMM or
PML will first be offered to the remaining of the two parties until
no Shareholder wishes to purchase any further Shares and the
payment period will remain the same with each stage of the
offer. The Shareholders may in writing waive the payment
period or right to any allotments.
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PML and TMM
will, on an annual basis, or on a more frequent basis as determined
by the Board or in accordance with the Articles of Association of
the Company, hold a shareholders’ meeting, whereby they can
discuss the Company’s overall status, including but not
limited to, the Company’s financial status. The
requirements for the meeting of shareholders will be in accordance
with the Articles of Association of the Company.
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Except as
specifically provided herein, neither PMM nor TML will mortgage,
pledge, charge, hypothecate or otherwise encumber his or her
interest or any part thereof without the prior written consent of
the other Shareholders, which consent may be arbitrarily
withheld.
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In addition to
the foregoing, the Company will not register nor permit the
registration of any transfer of an interest, which must be the
entire shareholdings of a Shareholder, in the Shares except as
otherwise expressly permitted in this Agreement, or as
follows:
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neither TMM nor
PML will sell, transfer or otherwise dispose or offer to sell,
transfer or otherwise dispose, of their respective shares in the
Company unless that party (in this section the “
Offeror ”) first offers by notice in writing (in this
section the “ Offer ”) to the other party (in
this section the “ Other ”) pro rata in
accordance with their shareholdings in the Company, the prior right
to purchase, receive or otherwise acquire the same;
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the Offer will
set forth:
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the number of
shares (which must be the entire shareholdings of the Offeror) the
Offeror desires to sell (the “ Offered Shares
”);
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the price,
expressed in Indian Currency, for the Offered Shares;
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the terms and
conditions of the sale; and
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that the Offer
is open for acceptance for a period of 60 days after receipt of
such Offer by the Other(s);
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the Other may
accept such Offer by notice in writing to the Offeror;
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if, and to the
extent the Offer is not accepted, the Offeror may sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of the Offered Shares to any other person, firm
or corporation (a “ Third Party ”) only for the
consideration and upon the terms and conditions as set out in the
Offer but only within the period of 30 days after the expiry of the
period for acceptance by the Other and, if the Offeror does not do
so, the provisions of this Section 2.15 will again become
applicable to the sale, transfer or other disposition of the
Offered Shares and so on from time to time;
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no disposition
of any interest permitted by this Section 2.15 will be made unless
the Third Party will have entered into an agreement with the Other
by which the Third Party will be bound by and entitled to the
benefit of the provisions of this Agreement and the Other will
enter into such an agreement; and
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any Shareholder
who will have disposed of all of its interest in compliance with
the provisions of this Agreement will be entitled to the benefit of
and be bound by only the rights and obligations which arose
pursuant to this Agreement prior to such disposition.
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The provisions
as to the transfer of Shares contained in Section 2.15 above will
not apply if, prior to the proposed transfer of Shares, the Other
waives its right, in writing, to receive the Offer.
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