Exhibit 10.1
SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT
THIS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (the
“Agreement”) is entered into on this 3
rd
day of March, 2005, by
and among Yak Communications (Canada) Inc., a corporation
incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada
(“Yak”), Consortio, Inc., a corporation incorporated
under the laws of the State of Delaware and Convenxia Limited, a
corporation incorporated under the laws of the United Kingdom
(“Convenxia”). Yak, Consortio and Convenxia are
collectively referred to herein as the
“Parties.”
RECITALS
WHEREAS, the Parties entered into
that certain Software Acquisition Agreement, dated as of June 20,
2003 (the “Acquisition Agreement”) whereby Yak acquired
from Consortio and Convenxia certain software (including
enhancements and derivative works relating thereto) used by Yak in
the provision of telecommunication services (the
“Software”);
WHEREAS, a portion of the purchase
price under the Acquisition Agreement is evidenced by a promissory
note (the “Note”) in the original principal amount of
$8,535,000 executed by Yak in favor of Consortio;
WHEREAS, in connection with the
Acquisition Agreement, the Parties entered into that certain Joint
Venture Agreement whereby (i) Convenxia was granted a license by
Yak to exploit the Software outside of Canada; (ii) the Parties
agreed to further develop and enhance the Software; and (iii) the
Parties agreed to share certain revenues arising from the use of
the Software (the “Joint Venture
Agreement”);
WHEREAS, Yak and Convenxia entered
into that certain Professional Services Agreement, dated as of
April 7, 2004, whereby Yak has engaged Convenxia to perform certain
services in connection with the further development of the Software
for commercial use (the “Professional Services
Agreement”);
WHEREAS, due to certain
circumstances which have arisen since the entry into the
Acquisition Agreement, including the inability of Convenxia and
Consortio to market and sell the Software for commercial use, the
Parties’ use of the Software has diverged;
WHEREAS, the sole recourse on the
Note by Convenxia is to take possession of the Software, which, as
a result of the divergent uses by the parties, makes it highly
unlikely that Yak will pay the Note, leaving Convenxia with its
sole remedy being to repossess the Software;
WHEREAS, as a result of this change
in circumstances, the Parties desire to cancel the Note and modify
certain terms of the Joint Venture Agreement in exchange for
Yak’s continuing development efforts with respect to the
Software pursuant to the terms of the Professional Services
Agreement (and the statements of work (“SOWs”) issued
pursuant thereto) despite the divergence in the utilization of the
Software; and
WHEREAS, the Parties desire to set
forth their respective rights and obligations with respect to the
Software, under the terms and conditions contained
herein.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of
the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the Parties agree that the foregoing preliminary
statements are true and correct and further agree as
follows:
AGREEMENT
1. Recitals . The
foregoing recitals are true and correct and are hereby incorporated
herein by this reference.
2. Settlement Terms .
The Parties agree as follows:
(a) Consortio hereby agrees that the
Note is hereby cancelled and that all amounts currently outstanding
thereunder including the entire outstanding principal amount
thereof and any accrued and unpaid interest thereon is hereby
satisfied. Upon the execution of this Agreement, the Note shall be
deemed null and void with no further effect and Consortio shall
deliver the original Note to Yak for cancellation.
(b) Upon the execution of this
Agreement, Yak shall make a payment to Consortio in the amount of
$150,000 in consideration of Consortio and Convenxia’s entry
into this Agreement.
(c) Except as expressly provided
herein (specifically with respect to the cancellation of the Note
and the modifications to the Joint Venture Agreement set forth
below), the Acquisition Agreement, Joint Venture Agreement and
Professional Services Agreement along with any outstanding SOWs (in
substantially the same form as set forth in Schedule A attached
hereto) issued pursuant thereto, together with any documents or
instruments executed in connection therewith (collectively, the
“Transaction Documents”) are hereby reaffirmed and
ratified in all respects. In the event of any conflict between the
terms or provisions of this Agreement and the Transaction
Documents, then this Agreement shall prevail in all respects.
Otherwise, the provisions of the Transaction Documents shall remain
in full force and effect.
3. Modification to the Joint
Venture Agreement . The terms and conditions of Article 5
of the Joint Venture Agreement shall be modified as
follows:
(a) Section 5.1(a) is hereby deleted
in its entirety; Convenxia shall have no further obligation to pay
Yak the technology access fee described therein.
(b) Section 5.1(b) is hereby deleted
in its entirety and replaced with the following:
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“(b)
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during the
period commencing July 1, 2003 and ending June 30, 2006, an amount,
determined and paid quarterly, equal to 4% of Gross
Revenue.”
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(c) Section 5.1(c) is hereby deleted
in its entirety and replaced with the following:
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“(c)
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during the
period after June 30, 2006, an amount, determined and paid
quarterly, equal to 2.75% of Gross Revenue.”
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4. Rights and Obligations of
the Parties with Respect to the Software.
(a) The Parties hereby recognize,
acknowledge and reaffirm that Yak is the sole owner of the Software
(including all enhancements relating thereto), the Source Code, the
Object Code, the Derivative Works, the Marks and Yak’s
Proprietary Rights (as such terms are defined in the Joint Venture
Agreement).
(b) The Parties hereby recognize,
acknowledge and reaffirm that Yak has the unrestricted right and
authority to exploit and otherwise utilize the Software (along with
the associated rights described in subsection 4(a), above) all in
accordance with the provisions of the Joint Venture Agreement,
particularly Article 2 thereof.
(c) The Parties hereby recognize,
acknowledge and reaffirm that Yak is not subject to any
noncompetition or other restrictive covenant with respect to the
exploitation or utilization of the Software for its internal
purposes, for use by its customers or other third parties or
through resellers or distributors (whether or not in competition
with the joint venture created pursuant to the Joint Venture
Agreement).
(d) The Parties acknowledge that the
initial two phases of the development of the Software have been
completed pursuant to the SOWs issued under the Professional
Services Agreement (copies of which are attached hereto as Schedule
A). The Parties shall continue to develop and enhance the Software
pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Professional Services
Agreement and the statements of work issued pursuant thereto from
time-to-time. Specifically, Yak hereby commits to fund an amount
not to exceed $350,000 for the completion of “Phase 3”
of the further development of the Software for commercialization,
payable in four equal payments of $87,500 for March 15, April 15,
May 15 and June 15. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties
acknowledge that any further development or enhancement of the
Software shall be in Yak’s sole and absolute discretion and
Yak shall not be obligated to make any further development or
enhancement except as set forth herein.
5. Books and Records .
Each of the Parties shall maintain, at their respective principal
executive office, separate books and records relating to the
ownership, development or utilization of the Software. Such books
and records shall be open to inspection and examination at
reasonable times by each of the Parties and their duly authorized
representatives for any purpose reasonably related to the
development, sale or utilization of the Software and each of the
Parties shall cause their respective officers, employees,
accountants, attorneys, engineers, agents and other representatives
to furnish to the requesting Party with such financial and
operating data and other information with respect to the Softwares
the requesting Party may from time to time reasonably request. Each
of the Parties agrees to keep all