EXHIBIT 4.1
SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT
This Securities Purchase Agreement
(this “ Agreement ”) is dated as of
February 29, 2008, between Hartville Group, Inc., a Nevada
corporation (the “ Company ”), and each
purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including
its successors and assigns, a “ Purchaser ” and
collectively, the “ Purchasers ”).
WHEREAS, subject to the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to
Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Securities Act”), and Rule 506 promulgated
thereunder, the Company desires to issue and sell to each
Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires
to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more
fully described in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of
the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other
good and valuable consideration the receipt and adequacy of which
are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as
follows:
ARTICLE I.
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions . In addition
to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes
of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth
in this Section 1.1:
“ Acquiring Person
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 4.5.
“ Action ” shall
have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 3.1(j).
“ Affiliate ”
means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more
intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common
control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under
Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
“ Board of Directors
” means the board of directors of the Company.
“ Business Day ”
means any day except Saturday, Sunday, any day which is a federal
legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking
institutions in the State of New York are authorized or required by
law or other governmental action to close.
“ Closing ” means
the closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to
Section 2.1.
“ Closing Date ”
means the Trading Day when all of the Transaction Documents have
been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and
all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’
obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the
Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities have been
satisfied or waived.
“ Commission ”
means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
1
“ Common Stock ”
means the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share,
and any other class of securities into which such securities may
hereafter be reclassified or changed into.
“ Common Stock
Equivalents ” means any securities of the Company or the
Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at
any time Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt,
preferred stock, rights, options, warrants or other instrument that
is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for,
or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common
Stock.
“ Company Counsel
” means Baker & Hostetler, LLP.
“ Disclosure Schedules
” means the Disclosure Schedules of the Company delivered
concurrently herewith.
“ Discussion Time
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.2(f).
“ Evaluation Date
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.1(r).
“ Exchange Act ”
means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“ Exempt Issuance
” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or
options to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant
to any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a
majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a
majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors
established for such purpose, (b) securities upon the exercise
or exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder
and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or
convertible into shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding on
the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not
been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the
number of such securities or to decrease the exercise, exchange or
conversion price of such securities, and (c) securities issued
pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a
majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided
that any such issuance shall only be to a Person which is, itself
or through its subsidiaries, an operating company in a business
synergistic with the business of the Company and in which the
Company receives benefits in addition to the investment of funds,
but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing
securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an
entity whose primary business is investing in securities.
“ FWS ” means
Feldman Weinstein & Smith LLP with offices located at 420
Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620, New York, New York
10170-0002.
“ GAAP ” shall
have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 3.1(h).
“ Indebtedness ”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 3.1(aa).
2
“ Intellectual Property
Rights ” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 3.1(o).
“ Legend Removal Date
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
4.1(c).
“ Liens ” means a
lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first
refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.
“ Material Adverse
Effect ” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in
Section 3.1(b).
“ Material Permits
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.1(m).
“ Per Share Purchase
Price ” equals $1.50, subject to adjustment for reverse
and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and
other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the
date of this Agreement.
“ Person ” means
an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or
unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability
company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or
subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
“ Proceeding ”
means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding
(including, without limitation, an informal investigation or
partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or
threatened.
“ Purchaser Party
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 4.8.
“ Required Approvals
” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.1(e).
“ Rule 144 ”
means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the
Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended from time to time, or
any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission
having substantially the same effect as such Rule.
“ SEC Reports ”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in
Section 3.1(h).
“ Securities ”
means the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.
“ Securities Act ”
means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder.
“ Shares ” means
the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to each Purchaser
pursuant to this Agreement.
3
“ Short Sales ”
means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of
Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed
to include the location and/or reservation of borrowable shares of
Common Stock).
“ Subscription Amount
” means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be
paid for Shares and Warrants purchased hereunder as specified below
such Purchaser’s name on the signature page of this Agreement
and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,” in
United States dollars and in either immediately available funds or
through the cancellation of indebtedness owed to such Purchaser,
including without limitation the Bridge Loans (as defined
below).
“ Subsidiary ”
means any subsidiary of the Company as set forth on Schedule
3.1(a) , and shall, where applicable, include any subsidiary of
the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.
“ Trading Day ”
means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for
trading.
“ Trading Market ”
means the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock
is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the
American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq
Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the New York Stock
Exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board.
“ Transaction Documents
” means this Agreement, the Warrants and any other documents
or agreements executed in connection with the transactions
contemplated hereunder.
“ Transfer Agent ”
means OTC Stock Transfer Inc., Attn: Stephanie Campbell, the
current transfer agent of the Company, with a facsimile number of
(801) 486-0562, and any successor transfer agent of the
Company.
“ Variable Rate
Transaction ” shall have the meaning ascribed to such
term in Section 4.12(b).
“ VWAP ” means,
for any date, the price determined by the first of the following
clauses that applies: (a) if the Common Stock is then listed
or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average
price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding
date) on the Trading Market on which the Common Stock is then
listed or quoted for trading as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based
on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m.
(New York City time); (b) if the OTC Bulletin Board is not a
Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Common
Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the OTC
Bulletin Board; (c) if the Common Stock is not then listed or
quoted for trading on the OTC Bulletin Board and if prices for the
Common Stock are then reported in the “Pink Sheets”
published by Pink Sheets, LLC (or a similar organization or agency
succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent
bid price per share of the Common Stock so reported; or (d) in
all other cases, the fair market value of a share of Common Stock
as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by
the Purchasers of a
4
majority in
interest of the Shares then outstanding and reasonably acceptable
to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the
Company.
“ Warrants ”
means, collectively, the Common Stock purchase warrants delivered
to the Purchasers at the Closing in accordance with
Section 2.2(a) hereof, which Warrants shall be exercisable
immediately and have a term of exercise equal to 5 years, in
the form of Exhibit B attached hereto.
“ Warrant Shares ”
means the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the
Warrants.
ARTICLE II.
PURCHASE AND SALE
2.1 Closing . On the Closing
Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of
this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell,
and the Purchasers, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase,
up to an aggregate of $2,250,000 of Shares and Warrants. Each
Purchaser shall deliver to the Company via wire transfer or a
certified check immediately available funds or through the
cancellation of indebtedness owed to such Purchaser, including
without limitation those certain bridge loans dated January 2,
2008 in the aggregate principal amount of $500,000 (the “
Bridge Loans ”), equal to its Subscription Amount and
the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its respective Shares
and a Warrant as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and
the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set
forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing. Upon
satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in
Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall occur at the offices
of FWS or such other location as the parties shall mutually
agree.
2.2 Deliveries .
(a) On or prior to the Closing Date,
the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each
Purchaser the following:
(i) this Agreement duly executed by
the Company;
(ii) a legal opinion of Company
Counsel, substantially in the form of Exhibit A
attached hereto;
(iii) a certificate evidencing a
number of Shares equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription
Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase Price, registered in the
name of such Purchaser; and
(iv) a Warrant registered in the name
of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of shares of Common
Stock equal to 50% of the Shares issuable to such Purchaser
hereunder, with an exercise price equal to $1.50, subject to
adjustment therein.
(b) On or prior to the Closing Date,
each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the
Company the following:
5
(i) this Agreement duly executed by
such Purchaser; and
(ii) such Purchaser’s
Subscription Amount by wire transfer to the account as specified in
writing by the Company or through the cancellation of indebtedness
owed to such Purchaser, including without limitation the Bridge
Loans.
2.3 Closing Conditions .
(a) The obligations of the Company
hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the
following conditions being met:
(i) the accuracy in all material
respects on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties
of the Purchasers contained herein;
(ii) all obligations, covenants and
agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed at or prior
to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and
(iii) the delivery by each Purchaser
of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this
Agreement.
(b) The respective obligations of the
Purchasers hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to
the following conditions being met:
(i) the accuracy in all material
respects on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties
of the Company contained herein;
(ii) all obligations, covenants and
agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to
the Closing Date shall have been performed;
(iii) the delivery by the Company of
the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;
(iv) there shall have been no
Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date
hereof; and
(v) from the date hereof to the
Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been
suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal
Trading Market (except for any suspension of trading of limited
duration agreed to by the Company, which suspension shall be
terminated prior to the Closing), and, at any time prior to the
Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by
Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum
prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades
are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a
banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States
or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any
material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or
international calamity of such magnitude in its
6
effect on, or
any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each
case, in the reasonable judgment of each Purchaser, makes it
impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Securities at the
Closing.
ARTICLE III.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
3.1 Representations and Warranties
of the Company . Except as set forth in the Disclosure
Schedules, which Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof
and shall qualify any representation or otherwise made herein to
the extent of the disclosure contained in the corresponding section
of the Disclosure Schedules, the Company hereby makes the following
representations and warranties to each Purchaser:
(a) Subsidiaries . All of the
direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth on
Schedule 3.1(a) . The Company owns, directly or
indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of
each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued
and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are
validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of
preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase
securities. If the Company has no subsidiaries, then all other
references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction
Documents shall be disregarded.
(b) Organization and
Qualification . The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an
entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and
authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on
its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any
Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of
its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or
other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and
the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in
good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each
jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or
property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except
where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the
case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in:
(i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or
enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material
adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business,
prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and
the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material
adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any
material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any
Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “
Material Adverse Effect ”) and no Proceeding has been
instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or
curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and
authority or qualification.
(c) Authorization; Enforcement
. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to
enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by each
of the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its
obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of
each of the Transaction Documents by the
7
Company and the
consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the
part of the Company and no further action is required by the
Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders
in connection therewith other than in connection with the Required
Approvals. Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has
been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company
and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and
thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the
Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its
terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles
and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium
and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of
creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws
relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive
relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as
indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by
applicable law.
(d) No Conflicts . The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the
Transaction Documents, the issuance and sale of the Securities and
the consummation by it to which it is a party of the other
transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not:
(i) conflict with or violate any provision of the
Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles
of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter
documents, (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an
event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a
default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the
properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to
others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or
cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of,
any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument
(evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other
understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or
by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is
bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals,
conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule,
regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other
restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the
Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state
securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset
of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the
case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have
or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
(e) Filings, Consents and
Approvals . The Company is not required to obtain any consent,
waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any
filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state,
local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection
with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the
Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required
pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement,
(ii) application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the
listing of the Securities for trading thereon in the time and
manner required thereby, and (iii) the filing of Form D
with the Commission and such filings as are required to be made
under applicable state securities laws.
(f) Issuance of the Securities
. The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for
in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will
be
8
duly and
validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all
Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer
provided for in the Transaction Documents. The Warrant Shares, when
issued in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents,
will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and
clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions
on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents. The Company
has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum
number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this
Agreement and the Warrants.
(g) Capitalization . The
capitalization of the Company is as set forth on
Schedule 3.1(g) , which Schedule 3.1(g)
shall also include the number of shares of Common Stock owned
beneficially, and of record, by Affiliates of the Company as of the
date hereof. The Company has not issued any capital stock since its
most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other
than pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options under the
Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of
Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee
stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise
of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most
recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act. No Person
has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of
participation, or any similar right to participate in the
transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except as a
result of the purchase and sale of the Securities, there are no
outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls
or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or
securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable
or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe
for or acquire any shares of Common Stock, or contracts,
commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or
any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of
Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents. The issuance and sale of
the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue shares of
Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the
Purchasers) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company
securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset
price under any of such securities. All of the outstanding shares
of capital stock of the Company are validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and
state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was
issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to
subscribe for or purchase securities. No further approval or
authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others
is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities. There are
no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar
agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to
which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company,
between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.
(h) SEC Reports; Financial
Statements . The Company has filed all reports, schedules,
forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the
Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years
preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company
was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the
foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents
incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to
herein as the “ SEC Reports ”) on a timely basis
or has
9
received a
valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC
Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their
respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects
with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act,
as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained
any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has never
been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The
financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports
comply in all material respects with applicable accounting
requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with
respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial
statements have been prepared in accordance with United States
generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent
basis during the periods involved (“ GAAP ”),
except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements
or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements
may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present
in all material respects the financial position of the Company and
its consolidated subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and
the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then
ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal,
immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.
(i) Material Changes; Undisclosed
Events, Liabilities or Developments . Since the date of the
latest audited financial statements included within the SEC
Reports, except as specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC
Report filed prior to the date hereof: (i) there has been no event,
occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the
Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise)
other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in
the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and
(B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s
financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made
with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its
method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or
made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its
stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to
purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the
Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer,
director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock
option plans. The Company does not have pending before the
Commission any request for confidential treatment of information.
Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this
Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 3.1(i) , no
event, liability or development has occurred or exists with respect
to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective business,
properties, operations or financial condition, that would be
required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities
laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that
has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the
date that this representation is made.
(j) Litigation . There is no
action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or
investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any
of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator,
governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority
10
(federal,
state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “
Action ”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges
the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction
Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an
unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary,
nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of
any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under
federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary
duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company,
there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the
Commission involving the Company or any current or former director
or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop
order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any
registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under
the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.
(k) Labor Relations . No
material labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company,
is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company
which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’
employees is a member of a union that relates to such
employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary,
and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a
collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its
Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees
are good. No executive officer, to the knowledge of the Company,
is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of
any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary
information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other
contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any
third party, and the continued employment of each such executive
officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to
any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The
Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S.
federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to
employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of
employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in
compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(l) Compliance . Neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in
violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived
that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a
default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the
Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in
default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or
credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it
is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound
(whether or not such default or violation has been waived),
(ii) is in violation of any order of any court, arbitrator or
governmental body or (iii) is or has been in violation of any
statute, rule or regulation of any governmental authority,
including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local
laws applicable to its business and all such laws that affect the
environment, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(m) Regulatory Permits . The
Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates,
authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal,
state, local or
11
foreign
regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective
businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the
failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to
result in a Material Adverse Effect (“ Material
Permits ”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation
or modification of any Material Permit.
(n) Title to Assets . The
Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee
simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable
title in all personal property owned by them that is material to
the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free
and clear of all Liens, except for Liens as do not materially
affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere
with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the
Company and the Subsidiaries and Liens for the payment of federal,
state or other taxes, the payment of which is neither delinquent
nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held
under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them
under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the
Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.
(o) Patents and Trademarks .
The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all
patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications,
service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights,
licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights
as described in the SEC Reports as necessary or material for use in
connection with their respective businesses and which the failure
to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the
“ Intellectual Property Rights ”). Neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or
otherwise) that any of the Intellectual Property Rights used by the
Company or any Subsidiary violates or infringes upon the rights of
any Person. To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual
Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing
infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property
Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable
security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value
of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do
so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(p) Insurance . The Company
and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized
financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such
amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the
Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not
limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least
equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount. Neither the Company nor
any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able
to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage
expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may
be necessary to continue its business without a significant
increase in cost.
(q) Transactions With Affiliates
and Employees . Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of
the officers or directors of the Company and, to the knowledge of
the Company, none of the employees of the Company is presently a
party to any
12
transaction
with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as
employees, officers and directors), including any contract,
agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of
services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal
property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any
officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the
Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such
employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director,
trustee or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than
for: (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services
rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf
of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including
stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the
Company.
(r) Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal
Accounting Controls . The Company is in material compliance
with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which are
applicable to it as of the Closing Date. The Company and the
Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls
sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that:
(i) transactions are executed in accordance with
management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii)
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset
accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in
accordance with management’s general or specific
authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is
compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and
appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The
Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to
ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in
the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods
specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. The
Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the
effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and
procedures as of the end of the period covered by the
Company’s most recently filed periodic report under the
Exchange Act (such date, the “ Evaluation Date
”). The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic
report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying
officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date.
Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such
term is defined in the Exchange Act) that has materially affected,
or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting.
(s) Certain Fees . No
brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be
payable by the Company to any broker, financial advisor or
consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or
other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the
Transaction Documents. The Purchasers shall have no obligation with
respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on
behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this
Section that may be due in connection with the transactions
contemplated by the Transaction Documents.
(t) Private Placement .
Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers representations and
warranties set forth in Section 3.2, no registration under the
Securities
13
Act is required
for the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the
Purchasers as contemplated hereby. The issuance and sale of the
Securities hereunder does not contravene the rules and regulations
of the Trading Market.
(u) Investment Company. The
Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after
receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an
Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the
meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The
Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not
become subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
(v) Registration Rights . No
Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the
registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the
Company.
(w) Listing and Maintenance
Requirements . The Common Stock is registered pursuant to
Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has
taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to
have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common
Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any
notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such
registration. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding
the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which
the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that
the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance
requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and has no
reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future
continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance
requirements.
(x) Application of Takeover
Protections . The Company and the Board of Directors have taken
all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any
control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill
(including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other
similar anti-takeover provision under the Company’s
certificate of incorporation (or similar charter documents) or the
laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become
applicable to the Purchasers as a result of the Purchasers and the
Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights
under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a
result of the Company’s issuance of the Securities and the
Purchasers’ ownership of the Securities.
(y) Disclosure . Except with
respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions
contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms
that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has
provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any
information that it believes constitutes or might constitute
material, non-public information. The Company understands and
confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing
representation in effecting transactions in securities of the
Company. All disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to
the Purchasers regarding the Company, its business and the
transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure
Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading. The press releases disseminated by the
14
Company during
the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a
whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or
omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made and when made, not
misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser
makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to
the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically
set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.
(z) No Integrated Offering .
Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and
warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor
any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf
has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any
security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under
circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to
be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of
(i) the Securities Act which would require the registration of
any such securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) any
applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on
which any of the securities of the Company are listed or
designated.
(aa) Solvency . Based on the
consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing
Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the
proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder: (i) the
fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the
amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the
Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including
known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the
Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital
to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be
conducted including its capital needs taking into account the
particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the
Company, and projected capital requirements and capital
availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the
Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were
it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all
anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all
amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are
required to be paid. The Company does not intend to incur debts
beyond its ability to pay su
|