UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT FOR DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTING PREFERRED STOCK

Exhibit (1)

MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT FOR DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTING

PREFERRED STOCK

Dated: April 22, 2008

Table of Contents

MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

Depositary Shares Representing Preferred Stock

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

April 22, 2008

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

4 World Financial Center

New York, New York 10080

as Representative of the Underwriters

named in Schedule I hereto

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with each of the underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) for which MLPF&S is acting as representative (the “Representative”) (i) with respect to the sale by the Company and purchase by the Underwriters of an aggregate of 102,000,000 depositary shares, each representing 1/1200th of one share of the Company’s 8.625% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series 8 (the “Preferred Stock”), having the terms described in Schedule II hereto, and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of said depositary shares set forth in Schedule I hereto and (ii) with respect to the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of 15,300,000 additional depositary shares, each representing 1/1200th of one share of Preferred Stock, to cover over-allotments. The aforesaid depositary shares (the “Initial Shares”) to be purchased by the Underwriters and all or any part of the depositary shares subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Shares”) are hereinafter referred to as the “Shares.” As used herein, the term “Preferred Shares” shall be deemed to mean the shares of Preferred Stock represented by the Shares.

The Preferred Shares will be deposited pursuant to a deposit agreement (the “Deposit Agreement”) to be entered into among the Company, The Bank of New York, as depositary (the “Depositary”) and the holders from time to time of the depositary receipts (the “Depositary Receipts”) to be issued by the Depositary thereunder and evidencing the Shares.

The Company wishes to confirm as follows their agreement with you and the other several Underwriters on whose behalf you are acting as Representative, in connection with the several purchases of the Shares by the Underwriters.

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-132911), including the related prospectus or prospectuses (the term “prospectus” shall include, for the avoidance of doubt, any product supplements or pricing supplements to any prospectus), which registration statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) of the rules and regulations of the Commission (the “1933 Act Regulations”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Such registration statement covers the registration of the Preferred Stock and the depositary shares representing interests therein, including the Shares, under the 1933 Act. Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B (“Rule 430B”) of the 1933 Act Regulations and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. Any information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of and included in such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B is referred to as “Rule 430B Information.” Each prospectus (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any product supplements or pricing supplements to such prospectus) used in connection with the offering of the Shares that omitted Rule 430B Information is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” Such registration statement, at any given time, including the amendments thereto to such time, the exhibits and any schedules thereto at such time, the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act at such time and the documents otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein by 1933 Act Regulations, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The Registration Statement, at the time it originally became effective is herein called the “Original Registration Statement.” The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Shares, including the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act at the time of the execution of this Agreement and any preliminary prospectuses that form a part thereof, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”).

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” (or other references of like import) in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference or otherwise deemed by 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the 1934 Act which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary prospectus, as the case may be.

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Section 1.   Representation and Warranties .

(a)       Representations and Warranties by the Company.     The Company represents and warrants to each of the Underwriters as of the date hereof, as of the Applicable Time referred to in Section 1(a)(2) hereof and as of the Closing Time (as defined below) and as of each Date of Delivery (as defined below), if any (in each case, a “Representation Date”), as follows:

(1)       Status as a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer . (A) At the time of filing the Original Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act or form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424 of the 1933 Act Regulations), (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) of the 1933 Act Regulations) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 of the 1933 Act Regulations and (D) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 405”), including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405, and the Shares, since their registration on the Registration Statement, have been and remain eligible for registration by the Company on a Rule 405 “automatic shelf registration statement”. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form.

(2)       Registration Statement, Prospectus and Disclosure at Time of Sale. The Original Registration Statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 462(e)”) on March 31, 2006, and any post-effective amendment thereto also became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e). No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the 1933 Act and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.

Any offer that is a written communication relating to the Shares made prior to the filing of the Original Registration Statement by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this paragraph only, of Rule 163(c) of the 1933 Act Regulations) has been filed with the Commission in accordance with the exemption provided by Rule 163 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 163”) and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163, including without limitation the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the 1933 Act provided by Rule 163.

At the respective times the Original Registration Statement and each amendment thereto became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations and at each Representation Date, the Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations, and did not and will not

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contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. At the date of the Prospectus and at the Closing Time (and if any Option Shares are purchased, the Date of Delivery), the Prospectus and any amendments and supplements thereto did not and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company in writing by any Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein.

Each preliminary prospectus (including the prospectus or prospectuses filed as part of the Original Registration Statement or any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the 1933 Act), complied when so filed in all material respects with the 1933 Act Regulations and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Shares will, at the time of such delivery, be identical to any electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

As of the Applicable Time, neither (x) the Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time (as defined below) and the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below), all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (y) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As of the time of the filing of the Final Term Sheet (as defined in Section 3(g)), if any, the General Disclosure Package, when considered together with the Final Term Sheet, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.

As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means 3:45 P.M. (Eastern time) on April 22, 2008 or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Underwriters.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the

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Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

“Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule III hereto.

“Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.

“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the prospectus relating to the Shares that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof.

Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Shares or until any earlier date that the issuer notified or notifies the Company as described in Section 3(e), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative expressly for use therein.

(3)       Incorporated Documents .    The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, (a) at the time the Original Registration Statement became effective, (b) at the earlier of the time the Prospectus was first used and the date and time of the first contract of sale of Shares in this offering and (c) at the Closing Time (and if any Option Shares are purchased, the Date of Delivery), did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.

(4)       No Material Adverse Change in Business .    Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein or contemplated thereby, there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, or in the earnings, business affairs or

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business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (such a material adverse change hereinafter referred to as a “Material Adverse Effect”).

(5)       Independent Accountants .    Deloitte & Touche LLP, which has audited certain financial statements of the Company, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations.

(6)       Good Standing .    The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under, or as contemplated under, this Agreement. The Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(7)       Good Standing of Subsidiaries .    Each subsidiary of the Company which is a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Regulation S-X under the 1933 Act (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. The only subsidiaries of the Company are (A) the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company filed with the Commission under Section 13 of the 1934 Act and (B) certain other subsidiaries which, considered in the aggregate as a single subsidiary, do not constitute a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the 1933 Act.

(8)       Authorization of this Agreement .    This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(9)       Authorization of Deposit Agreement .    The Deposit Agreement has been, or prior to the issuance of the Shares will have been, duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, upon such authorization, execution and delivery (assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery by the applicable Depositary),

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will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent transfer, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and except as enforcement thereof is subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law). Each registered holder of a Depositary Receipt under the Deposit Agreement will be entitled to the proportional rights, preferences and limitations of the Preferred Stock represented by the Shares evidenced by such Depositary Receipt and to such other rights as are granted to such registered holder in the Deposit Agreement.

(10)       Authorization of Preferred Stock and Depositary Shares .    The Shares have been duly authorized by the Company for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement. The Preferred Stock, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration for the related Depositary Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and will not be subject to preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of the Company. In addition, upon deposit by the Company of the Preferred Stock represented by the Shares with the Depositary and the execution and delivery by such Depositary of the Depositary Receipts evidencing such Shares, in each case pursuant to the applicable Deposit Agreement, such Shares will represent legal and valid interests in such Preferred Stock. The Certificate of Designations will be in full force and effect prior to the Closing Time.

(11)       Descriptions of the Shares, Preferred Stock and Deposit Agreements .    The Shares, Preferred Stock and Deposit Agreement, as of the date of the Prospectus, will conform in all material respects to the respective statements relating thereto contained in the Prospectus and will be in substantially the respective forms filed or incorporated by reference, as the case may be, as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.

(12)       Absence of Proceedings .    There is not any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the General Disclosure Package (other than as stated therein), or which might reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which might reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the assets, properties, or operations thereof or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective assets, property, or operations is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(13)       Possession of Licenses and Permits .    The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively,

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“Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them except where the failure to so possess such Governmental Licenses would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(b)       Officer’s Certificate .    Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and delivered to the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each of the Underwriters as to the matters set forth in such certificate as of the date of such certificate and, unless subsequently amended or supplemented, at each Representation Date subsequent thereto.

Section 2.   Sale and Delivery to the Underwriters; Closing .

(a)       Initial Shares.     On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby agrees to sell to each Underwriter, and each Underwriter acting severally and not jointly, hereby agrees to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price set forth on Schedule II hereto, the number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite the name of such Underwriter.

(b)       Option Shares.     On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 15,300,000 Option Shares at the purchase price set forth on Schedule II hereto, less an amount per Option Share equal to any dividends declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Shares but not payable on the Option Shares. Such option shall expire 30 days from the date hereof, and may be exercised on up to two occasions in whole or in part from time to time only for the purpose of covering over-allotments in connection with the offering and distribution of the Initial Shares upon notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of Option Shares as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Shares. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representative, but shall not be later than seven full business days and not earlier than two full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time, unless otherwise agreed between the Representative and the Company. If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Shares, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, shall purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Shares then being purchased which the total number of Initial Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Shares, subject in each case to such

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adjustments as the Representative in its discretion shall make to eliminate any sale or purchases of fractional Shares.

(c)       Payment .    Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of the certificates representing, the Initial Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters shall be made at the offices of Sidley Austin LLP , 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the fifth business day (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 11) following the date hereof or such other time as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company (each such time and date being referred to as a “Closing Time”). In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Shares are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of the certificates representing, such Option Shares shall be made at the above-mentioned office of Sidley Austin LLP , or at such other place as may be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 10:00 A.M. on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company.

Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company, against delivery to the Representative for its account or, if applicable, for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of the Shares to be purchased by them (unless such Shares are issuable only in the form of one or more global securities registered in the name of a depository or a nominee of a depository, in which event the Underwriters’ interest in such global certificate shall be noted in a manner satisfactory to the Underwriters and their counsel). It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representative, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Shares and the Option Shares, if any, which it has severally agreed to purchase. The Representative, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Shares or the Option Shares, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

(d)       Denominations; Registration .    Certificates for the Initial Shares and the Option Shares, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representative may request in writing at least one full business day prior to the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, if any. The certificates for the Initial Shares and the Option Shares, if any, will be made available for examination and packaging by the Representative in The City of New York not later than 10:00 A.M. (Eastern time) on the business day prior to the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.

(e)       Covenant by the Underwriters .    Each Underwriter represents and agrees that it has not taken and will not take any action to permit a public offering of the Shares in any jurisdiction outside the United States where action by the Company would be required for such purpose. Each Underwriter further represents and agrees that it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Shares in any jurisdiction outside the United States except under circumstances that resulted in or will result in compliance with all applicable laws thereof and, in connection therewith, represents and agrees that it has complied and will comply with the respective

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restrictions applicable to the jurisdictions specified in the Prospectus with respect to the offer and sale of the Shares in such jurisdictions.

Section 3.   Covenants of the Company .    The Company covenants with each of the Underwriters as follows:

(a)       Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests; Payment of Filing Fees .    The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B of the 1933 Act Regulations, if and as applicable, and will notify the Representative as soon as reasonably possible of (i) the effectiveness of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Shares or the filing of any supplement or amendment to the Prospectus, (ii) the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or the filing of a new registration statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for additional information, and (iv) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or such new registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes. The Company will effect the filings required under Rule 424 of the 1933 Act Regulations, in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424, and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the Prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424 was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file the Prospectus. The Company will make reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order and, if any stop order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof as soon as reasonably possible. The Company shall pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1)(i) of the 1933 Act Regulations without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the 1933 Act Regulations (including, if applicable, by updating the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in accordance with Rule 456(b)(1)(ii) either in a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or on the cover page of a prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)).

(b)       Notice of Filing Amendments .    The Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to file any amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement relating to the Shares or any amendment or supplement to either any preliminary prospectus (including any prospectus included in the Original Registration Statement or amendment thereto at the time it became effective) or to the Prospectus or the General Disclosure Package, whether pursuant to the 1934 Act, the 1933 Act or otherwise, and the Company will furnish the Representative with copies of any such amendment or supplement or other documents proposed to be filed a reasonable time in advance of such proposed filing or use, and will not file any such amendment or supplement or other documents or use any such amendment, supplement or document in a form to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.

(c)       Delivery of Registration Statements .    The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, upon written request, signed copies of the Original Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including

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exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representative, without charge, a conformed copy of the Original Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. Copies of the Original Registration Statement and each amendment thereto fu