Exhibit 1.1
HQ SUSTAINABLE MARITIME
INDUSTRIES, INC.
1,225,000 Shares of Common
Stock
UNDERWRITING
AGREEMENT
June 11, 2009
ROTH CAPITAL PARTNERS,
LLC
24 Corporate Plaza
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Ladies and Gentlemen:
HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries,
Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”),
proposes, subject to the terms and conditions herein, to issue and
sell to Roth Capital Partners, LLC (the “ Underwriter
”) an aggregate of 1,225,000 shares (the “
Shares ”) of its common stock, $0.001 par value per
share (the “ Common Stock ”) of the
Company.
The Company and the Underwriter
hereby confirm their agreement with respect to the purchase and
sale of the Shares as follows:
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Section 1.
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Representations, Warranties and Agreements of
the Company .
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The Company hereby represents,
warrants and covenants to the Underwriter as of the date hereof, as
of the Closing Date (as defined below) and as of each Option
Closing Date (as defined below), as follows:
(a) Registration Statement .
(i) The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “Commission” ) a
registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-155048) under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “
Securities Act ”) and such amendments to such
registration statement as may have been required to the date of
this Agreement. Such registration statement has been declared
effective by the Commission. Each part of such registration
statement, at any given time, including amendments thereto at 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 Securities Act at such time and
the documents and information otherwise deemed to be a part thereof
or included therein by Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities
Act or otherwise pursuant to the Securities Act at such time, is
herein called the “Registration Statement.” The
Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet
the requirements and comply with the conditions for the use of Form
S-3 under the Securities Act. The offering of the Shares by the
Company complies with the applicable requirements of Rule 415 under
the Securities Act. The Company has complied with all requests of
the Commission for additional or supplemental information. The
Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities
Act.
(ii) No stop order preventing or
suspending use of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Prospectus or the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement, has been issued by the Commission, and no
proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or, to the
Company’s knowledge, are contemplated or threatened by the
Commission.
(iii) The Company shall file with
the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act a
final prospectus supplement relating to the Shares to a form of
prospectus included in the Registration Statement relating to the
Shares in the form heretofore delivered to the Underwriter. Such
prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time it
was declared effective by the Commission or in the form in which it
has been most recently filed with the Commission on or prior to the
date of this Agreement is hereinafter called the “Base
Prospectus.” Such supplemental form of prospectus, in the
form in which it shall be filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b)(including the Base Prospectus as so supplemented) is
hereinafter called the “Prospectus.” Any
preliminary form of Prospectus which is filed or used prior to
filing of the Prospectus is hereinafter called a
“Preliminary Prospectus.” Any reference herein
to the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the
Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement to any of the
foregoing shall be deemed to refer to include any documents
incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form
S-3 under the Securities Act as of the date of such prospectus,
and, in the case of any reference herein to the Prospectus, also
shall be deemed to include any documents incorporated by reference
therein, and any supplements or amendments thereto, filed with the
Commission after the date of filing of the Prospectus under Rule
424(b) under the Securities Act, and prior to the termination of
the offering of the Shares by the Underwriter.
(iv) For purposes of this Agreement,
all references to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus,
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
amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Base
Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be
deemed to mean and include the subsequent filing of any document
under the Exchange Act (as defined herein) and which is deemed to
be incorporated therein by reference therein or otherwise deemed to
be a part thereof.
(b) Compliance with Registration
Requirements . As of the time of filing of the Registration
Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it
became effective (including each deemed effective date with respect
to the Underwriter pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act),
at all other subsequent times until the expiration of the
Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), as of the Closing
Date and as of any Option Closing Date, the Registration Statement
complied and will comply, in all material respects, with the
requirements of the Securities Act, including compliance with the
requirements for use of Form S-3, and did not and will not contain
any 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. Each Preliminary Prospectus and
the Prospectus, at the time of filing or the time of first use, at
all other subsequent times until the expiration of the Prospectus
Delivery Period, as of the Closing Date and as of any Option
Closing Date, complied and will comply, in all material respects,
with the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will
not contain 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; provided , that the Company makes no
representations or warranty in this paragraph with respect to any
Underwriter Information (as defined in Section 7
).
(c) Disclosure Package . As
of the Time of Sale (as defined below), at all other subsequent
times until the expiration of the Prospectus Delivery Period, as of
the Closing Date and as of any Option Closing Date, the Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the
Time of Sale, the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below) and the
information included on Schedule III hereto, all considered
together (collectively, the “Disclosure Package”
), did not include or will not include any
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untrue statement of a material fact or omitted
or will omit 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; provided , that the
Company makes no representations or warranty in this paragraph with
respect to any Underwriter Information. No statement of material
fact included in the Prospectus has been omitted from the
Disclosure Package and no statement of material fact included in
the Disclosure Package that is required to be included in the
Prospectus has been omitted therefrom. As used in this paragraph
and elsewhere in this Agreement:
(1) “Time of
Sale” with respect to any Investor, means 6:00 p.m.,
Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement.
(2) “Statutory
Prospectus” as of any time means the prospectus that is
included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the
Time of Sale, including any document incorporated by reference
therein. For purposes of this definition, information contained in
a form of prospectus that is deemed retroactively to be a part of
the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A shall be
considered to be included in the Statutory Prospectus as of the
actual time that form of prospectus is filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b).
(3) “Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing
prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act
(“ Rule 433 ”), relating to the Shares in the
form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not
required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s
records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act, whether
intended for general distribution to prospective investors or not
required to be filed with the Commission, such as a “bona
fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433.
(d) Conflict with Registration
Statement . Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its
issue date and at all subsequent times through the Prospectus
Delivery Period or until any earlier date that the Company notified
or notifies the Underwriter, did not, does not and will not include
any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with
the information contained in the Registration Statement, any
Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus including any document
incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement
deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or
modified; provided, that the Company makes no representations or
warranty in this paragraph with respect to any Underwriter
Information.
(e) Distributed Materials .
The Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will
not distribute any prospectus or other offering material in
connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus,
and other materials, if any, permitted under the Securities Act to
be distributed and consistent with Section 3(d) below.
The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing
Prospectuses in the time required under Rule 433(d) under the
Securities Act. The Company has satisfied or will satisfy the
conditions in Rule 433 under the Securities Act to avoid a
requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show.
The parties hereto agree and understand that the content of any and
all “road shows” related to the offering of the Shares
contemplated hereby is solely the property of the
Company.
(f) Not an Ineligible Issuer
. (1) At the time of filing the Registration Statement and
(2) at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an
“ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the
Securities Act, without taking account of any determination by the
Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the
Company be considered an ineligible issuer including, without
limitation, for purposes of Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities
Act with respect to the offering of the Shares as contemplated by
the Registration Statement.
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(g) Incorporated Documents .
The documents incorporated by reference in the Disclosure Package
and in the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed
with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material
respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange
Act, as applicable, and were filed on a timely basis with the
Commission and none of such documents contained an untrue statement
of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to
make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading.
(h) Due Incorporation . The
Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a
corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of
Delaware, with the corporate power and authority to own its
properties and to conduct its business as currently being carried
on and as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus. The Company is duly qualified to
transact business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing
under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which its ownership or
leasing of property or the conduct of its business requires such
qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in
good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, result
in any material adverse effect upon, or change in, the general
affairs, business, operations, prospects, properties, financial
condition, or results of operations of the Company (a “
Material Adverse Effect ”).
(i) Subsidiaries . Each
subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated or organized,
is validly existing as a corporation or other legal entity in good
standing (or the foreign equivalent thereof) under the laws of the
jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has the
corporate power and authority to own its properties and to conduct
its business as currently being carried on and as described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing
in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its
ownership, leasing or operation of property requires such
qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so
qualified or be in good standing would not result in a Material
Adverse Effect. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital
stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company
have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid
and non-assessable and, except as otherwise described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and in the
Prospectus, are owned directly by the Company or through its wholly
owned subsidiaries, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances,
equities or claims. There is no outstanding option, right or
agreement of any kind relating to the issuance, sale or transfer of
any capital stock or other equity securities of the Subsidiaries to
any person or entity except the Company, and none of the
outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of
any Subsidiary was issued in violation of any preemptive or other
rights to subscribe for or to purchase or acquire any securities of
any of the Subsidiaries. Except for its Subsidiaries, the Company
owns no beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, in any
corporation, partnership, joint venture or other business entity.
The Company has no significant subsidiaries (as such term is
defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X promulgated by the
Commission) other than the Subsidiaries listed on Schedule
II attached hereto (collectively, the “
Subsidiaries ”).
(j) Capitalization . The
Company has duly and validly authorized capital stock as set forth
in each of the Registration Statement, Disclosure Package and
Prospectus; all outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company
conform, or when issued will conform, to the description thereof in
the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the
Prospectus and have been, or, when issued and paid for in the
manner described herein will be, duly authorized, validly issued,
fully paid and non-assessable; and the issuance of the Shares to be
purchased from the Company hereunder is not subject to preemptive
or other similar rights, or any restriction upon the voting or
transfer thereof pursuant to applicable law or the Company’s
Articles of Incorporation, bylaws or governing documents or any
agreement to which the Company is a party or by which it may be
bound.
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(k) Authorization, Issuance .
All corporate action required to be taken by the Company for the
authorization, issuance and sale of the Shares has been duly and
validly taken. The Shares have been duly and validly authorized.
When the Shares have been issued and delivered against payment
therefor as provided herein, the Shares, when so issued and sold,
will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and
the Investors or other persons in whose names Shares are registered
will acquire good and valid title to such Shares, in each case free
and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities, preemptive rights
and other claims. The Shares will conform in all material respects
to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement,
the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. No further approval or
authority of the shareholders or the Board of Directors of the
Company will be required for the issuance and sale of the Shares as
contemplated herein. Except as disclosed in each of the Disclosure
Package and Prospectus, there are no outstanding subscriptions,
rights, warrants, options, calls, convertible securities,
commitments of sale or rights related to or entitling any person to
purchase or otherwise to acquire any shares of, or any security
convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, the capital
stock of, or other ownership interest in, the Company, except for
such options or rights as may have been granted by the Company to
employees, directors or consultants pursuant to its stock option or
stock purchase plans.
(l) No Registration Rights .
Neither the filing of the Registration Statement nor the offering
or sale of the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement gives rise
to any rights, other than those which have been waived or
satisfied, for or relating to the registration of any shares of
Common Stock or other securities of the Company.
(m) Due Authorization and
Enforceability . This Agreement has been duly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company, and constitutes a valid,
legal and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against
the Company in accordance with its terms, except as rights to
indemnity hereunder may be limited by state securities laws and
except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting
the rights of creditors generally and subject to general principles
of equity.
(n) No Violation . Neither
the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in breach or violation
of or in default (nor has any event occurred which with notice,
lapse of time or both would result in any breach or violation of,
or constitute a default) (i) under the provisions of its
Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws or other governing documents or
(ii) in the performance or observance of any term, covenant,
obligation, agreement or condition contained in any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit agreement or other
evidence of indebtedness, or any license, lease, contract or other
agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them or any of their
properties may be bound or affected, or (iii) in the
performance or observance of any statute, law, rule, regulation,
ordinance, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body,
administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other
authority having jurisdiction over the Company, the Subsidiaries or
any of their respective properties, as applicable except, with
respect to clauses (ii) and (iii) above, to the extent
any such contravention would not result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
(o) No Conflict . The
execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein
contemplated, including the issuance and sale by the Company of the
Shares, will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation
of, or constitute a default under (nor constitute any event which
with notice, lapse of time or both would result in any breach or
violation of or constitute a default under) (i) the provisions
of the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws or other governing
documents of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (ii) any
material indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or
credit
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agreement or other evidence of indebtedness, or
any material license, lease, contract or other agreement or
instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a
party or by which any of them or any of their respective properties
may be bound or affected, or (iii) any federal, state, local
or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, judgment or order
applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
(p) No Consents Required . No
approval, authorization, consent or order of or filing with any
federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory
commission, board, body, authority or agency, or of or with any
self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory
authority (including, without limitation, the NYSE Amex (“
Amex ”), or approval of the stockholders of the
Company (including such as may be required pursuant to NYSE Amex
Company Guide), is required in connection with the issuance and
sale of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the
transactions contemplated hereby other than (i) as may be
required under the Securities Act, and (ii) under the rules
and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(“ FINRA ”). The Company has full power and
authority to enter into this Agreement and to authorize, issue and
sell the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement.
(q) Absence of Material
Changes. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which
information is given in the Disclosure Package, (a) neither
the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any material
liability or obligation, direct or contingent, or entered into any
material transaction not in the ordinary course of business;
(b) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has
purchased any of the Company’s outstanding capital stock, or
declared, paid or otherwise made any dividend or distribution of
any kind on the Company’s capital stock; and (c) there
has not been any change in the capital stock (other than a change
in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock due to the
issuance of such share of Common Stock upon the exercise of
outstanding options or warrants), or material change in the
short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company and its
Subsidiaries or any issue of options, warrants, convertible
securities or other rights to purchase the capital stock (other
than grants of stock options under the Company’s stock option
plans existing on the date hereof) of the Company, or any Material
Adverse Effect.
(r) Permits . The Company and
each of the Subsidiaries possess all necessary licenses,
authorizations, consents and approvals and have made all necessary
filings required under any federal, state, local or foreign law,
regulation or rule in order to conduct its business. Neither the
Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of, or in
default under, or has received notice of any proceedings relating
to revocation or modification of, any such license, authorization,
consent or approval. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is in
compliance in all material respects with all applicable federal,
state, local and foreign laws, regulations, orders or
decrees.
(s) Legal Proceedings . There
are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the
Company’s knowledge, threatened or contemplated to which the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries is or would be a party or of
which any of their respective properties is or would be subject at
law or in equity, before or by any federal, state, local or foreign
governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or
agency, or before or by any self-regulatory organization or other
non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without
limitation, Amex), except (i) as described in the Registration
Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (ii) any
such proceeding, which if resolved adversely to the Company or any
Subsidiary, would not result in a judgment, decree or order having,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect or
(iii) any such proceeding that would not prevent or materially
and adversely affect the ability of the Company to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. The Disclosure Package contains
in all material respects the same description of the foregoing
matters contained in the Prospectus.
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(t) Statutes; Contracts .
There are no statutes or regulations applicable to the Company or
contracts or other documents of the Company which are required to
be described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package
or the Prospectus or filed as exhibits to the Registration
Statement by the Securities Act which have not been so described or
filed.
(u) Independent Accountants .
Each of Schwartz Levitsky Feldman LLP, who have certified the
financial statements of the Company and the Subsidiaries for fiscal
year ended December 31, 2008 and Rotenberg & Co.,
LLP, who certified the financial statements of the Company and the
Subsidiaries for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, is
an independent registered public accounting firm (as defined in
Section 2(a)(12) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the
“ Sarbanes-Oxley Act ”)) with respect to the
Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable
rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the Commission and the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States).
(v) Financial Statements .
The financial statements of the Company, together with the related
schedules and notes thereto, set forth or incorporated by reference
in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the
Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable
requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as
applicable, and present fairly in all material respects
(i) the financial condition of the Company and the
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, as of the dates indicated and
(ii) the consolidated results of operations,
stockholders’ equity and changes in cash flows of the Company
and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, for the periods therein
specified; and such financial statements and related schedules and
notes thereto have been prepared in conformity with United States
generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied
throughout the periods involved (except as otherwise stated therein
and subject, in the case of unaudited financial statements, to the
absence of footnotes and normal year-end adjustments). There are no
other financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are
required to be included in the Registration Statement, the
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the Company and the
Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations,
direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations),
not disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package
and the Prospectus; and all disclosures contained in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term
is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply
with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10(e) of
Regulation S-K of the Commission, to the extent applicable, and
present fairly the information shown therein and the
Company’s basis for using such measures.
(w) No Material Adverse
Change . There has not been any material adverse change, or any
development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the
business, properties, management, financial condition or results of
operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole,
from that set forth in the Disclosure Package (exclusive of any
amendments or supplements thereto subsequent to the date of this
Agreement).
(x) Not an Investment Company
. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is or, after
giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the
application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus,
will be required to register as an “investment company”
as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
(y) Good Title to Property .
The Company and each of the Subsidiaries has good and valid title
to all property (whether real or personal) described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
as being owned by each of them, in each case free and clear of all
liens, claims, security interests, other encumbrances or defects
except such as are described in the Registration Statement, the
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and those that would not,
individually or in the aggregate materially and adversely affect
the value of such property and do not materially and adversely
interfere with the use made and
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proposed to be made of such property by the
Company and the Subsidiaries. All of the property described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
as being held under lease by the Company or a Subsidiary is held
thereby under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases, without any
liens, restrictions, encumbrances or claims, except those that,
individually or in the aggregate, are not material and do not
materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of
such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries.
(z) Intellectual Property
Rights . The Company and the Subsidiaries own, or have obtained
valid and enforceable licenses for, or other rights to use, the
inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks (both
registered and unregistered), tradenames, copyrights, trade secrets
and other proprietary information described in the Registration
Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being owned
or licensed by them or which are necessary for the conduct of their
respective businesses, except where the failure to own, license or
have such rights would not, individually or in the aggregate,
result in a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, “
Intellectual Property ”); except as described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
(i) there are no third parties who have or, to the
Company’s knowledge, will be able to establish rights to any
Intellectual Property, except for the ownership rights of the
owners of the Intellectual Property which is licensed to the
Company; (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no
infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property;
(iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s
knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others
challenging the Company’s rights in or to, or the validity,
enforceability, or scope of, any Intellectual Property owned by or
licensed to the Company, and the Company is unaware of any facts
which could form a reasonable basis for any such claim;
(iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge,
threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries infringes or otherwise violates
any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary
rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which
could form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (v) to the
Company’s knowledge, there is no patent or patent application
that contains claims that interfere with the issued or pending
claims of any of the Intellectual Property; and (vi) to the
Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art that may render
any patent owned by the Company invalid, nor is there any prior art
known to the Company that may render any patent application owned
by the Company unpatentable.
(aa) Taxes . The Company and
each of the Subsidiaries has timely filed all material federal,
state, local and foreign income and franchise tax returns (or
timely filed applicable extensions therefore) that have been
required to be filed and are not in default in the payment of any
taxes which were payable pursuant to said returns or any
assessments with respect thereto, other than any which the Company
or any of the Subsidiaries is contesting in good faith and for
which adequate reserves have been provided and reflected in the
Company’s financial statements included in the Registration
Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. Neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any tax deficiency that has
been or, to the knowledge of the Company, might be asserted or
threatened against it that would result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
(bb) Insurance . The Company
and each of the Subsidiaries maintains insurance in such amounts
and covering such risks as is adequate for the conduct of its
business and the value of its properties and as is customary for
companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries. All
such insurance is fully in force on the date hereof and will be
fully in force as of the Closing Date. Neither the Company nor any
of the Subsidiaries 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 at a cost
that would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(cc) Accounting Controls .
The Company and each of the Subsidiaries maintains a system of
internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable
assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance
with management’s general or specific
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authorization; (ii) transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements
in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to
maintain accountability for assets; (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 existing assets at reasonable intervals
and appropriate action is taken with respect to any
differences.
(dd) Disclosure Controls .
The Company has established, maintains and evaluates
“disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is
defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act),
which (i) are designed to ensure that material information
relating to the Company is made known to the Company’s
principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by
others within those entities, particularly during the periods in
which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are
being prepared, (ii) have been evaluated for effectiveness as
of the end of the last fiscal period covered by the Registration
Statement; and (iii) such disclosure controls and procedures
are effective to perform the functions for which they were
established. There are no significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls which
could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record,
process, summarize, and report financial data to management and the
Board of Directors. The Company is not aware of any fraud, whether
or not material, that involves management or other employees who
have a role in the Company’s internal controls; and since the
date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and
procedures, there have been no significant changes in internal
controls or in other factors that could significantly affect
internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to
significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
(ee) Corrupt Practices .
Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any
other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company,
including without limitation any director, officer, agent or
employee of the Company or its Subsidiaries has, directly or
indirectly, while acting on behalf of the Company or its
Subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for unlawful
contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses
relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment
to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to
foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate
funds, (iii) violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act of 1977, as amended or (iv) made any other
unlawful payment.
(ff) No Price Stabilization .
Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the
Company’s knowledge, any of their respective officers,
directors, affiliates or controlling persons has taken or will
take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or
result in, or which has constituted or which might reasonably be
expected to constitute the stabilization or manipulation of the
price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or
resale of the Shares.
(gg) No Undisclosed
Relationships . No relationship, direct or indirect, exists
between or among the Company on the one hand and the directors,
officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company on
the other hand which is required to be described in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
which has not been so described. There are no outstanding loans,
advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the
ordinary course of business) or guarantees of indebtedness by the
Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors
of the Company or any member of their respective immediate
families, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company has not, in
violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, directly or indirectly,
extended or maintained credit, arranged for the extension of
credit, or renewed an extension of credit, in the form of a
personal loan to or for any director or executive officer of the
Company.
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(hh) Sarbanes-Oxley Act . The
Company, and to its knowledge after due inquiry, all of the
Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such,
are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable
effective provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and any related
rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission.
(ii) Brokers Fees . Neither
the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is a party to any contract,
agreement or understanding with any person (other than this
Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against the
Company or the Subsidiaries or the Underwriter for a brokerage
commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection
with the offering and sale of the Shares.
(jj) Exchange Act
Requirements . The Company has filed in a timely manner all
reports required to be filed pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(e), 14
and 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months
(except to the extent that Section 15(d) requires reports to
be filed pursuant to Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Exchange Act,
which shall be governed by the next clause of this sentence); and
the Company has filed in a timely manner all reports required to be
filed pursuant to Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Exchange Act
since January 1, 2004, except where the failure to timely file
could not reasonably be expected individually or in the aggregate
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(kk) FINRA Affiliations . To
the Company’s knowledge, there are no affiliations or
associations between (i) any member of FINRA and (ii) the
Company or any of the Company’s officers, directors or 5% or
greater securityholders or any beneficial owner of the
Company’s unregistered equity securities that were acquired
at any time on or after the one hundred eightieth (180
th ) day immediately preceding the date the
Registration Statement was initially filed with the Commission,
except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus.
(ll) Compliance with
Environmental Laws . The Company and the Subsidiaries
(a) are in compliance with any and all applicable foreign,
federal, state and local laws, orders, rules, regulations,
directives, decrees and judgments relating to the protection of
human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic
substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“
Environmental Laws ”), (b) have received all
permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under
applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective
businesses and (c) are in compliance with all terms and
conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where
such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive
required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply
with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or
approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a
Material Adverse Effect. There are no costs or liabilities
associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation,
any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up,
closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any
permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating
activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which
would, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material
Adverse Effect.
(mm) No Labor Disputes .
Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is engaged in any unfair
labor practice; except for matters that would not, individually or
in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect
(i) there is (A) no unfair labor practice complaint
pending or, to the Company’s knowledge after due inquiry,
threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary before the
National Labor Relations Board, and no grievance or arbitration
proceeding arising out of or under collective bargaining agreements
is pending or threatened, (B) no strike, labor dispute,
slowdown or stoppage pending or, to the Company’s knowledge
after due inquiry, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary
and (C) no union representation dispute currently existing
concerning the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary, and
(ii) to the Company’s knowledge (A) no union
organizing activities are currently taking place concerning the
employees of the Company or any Subsidiary and (B) there has
been no violation of any federal, state, local or foreign law
relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of
employees or any applicable wage or hour laws concerning the
employees of the Company.
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(nn) ERISA . The Company is
in compliance in all material respects with all presently
applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published
interpretations thereunder (“ ERISA ”); no
“reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred
with respect to any “pension plan” (as defined in
ERISA) for which the Company would have any liability; the Company
has not incurred and does not expect to incur liability under
(i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or
withdrawal from, any “pension plan” or
(ii) Sections 412 or 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, including the regulations and published
interpretations thereunder (the “ Code ”); and
each “pension plan” for which the Company would have
any liability that is intended to be qualified under
Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material
respects and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure
to act, which would cause the loss of such
qualification.
(oo) Exchange Act Registration;
Listing . The Common Stock, including the Shares, is registered
pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and the
Common Stock has been approved for listing on the NYSE Amex, and
the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the
effect of, termination the registration of the Common Stock under
the Exchange Act or delisting of the Common Stock from the NYSE
Amex, nor has the Company received any notification that the
Commission or FINRA is contemplating terminating such registration
or listing. The Company has complied in all material respects with
the applicable requirements of the NYSE Amex for maintenance of
inclusion of the Common Stock thereon.
(pp) PFIC Status . The
Company is not, for the taxable year ended December 31, 2008,
and upon consummation of the transactions described hereby and the
application of the proceeds as described in the Registration
Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus is not
expected to become, a Passive Foreign Investment Company within the
meaning of Section 1297 of the Internal Revenue Code, as
amended.
(qq) Statistical or
Market-Related Data . Any statistical, industry-related and
market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus,
are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably
and in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate, and such
data agree with the sources from which they are derived.
(rr) Descriptions of
Documents . The statements set forth in each of the Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus describing the Shares and this
Agreement, insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of
the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete
and fair in all material respects.
(ss) Money Laundering Laws.
The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all
times in compliance in all material respects with applicable
financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency
and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the
money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and
regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules,
regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any
governmental agency (collectively, the “ Money Laundering
Laws ”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before
any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any
arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money
Laundering Laws is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened.
(tt) OFAC. Neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the
Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S.
sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the U.S. Treasury Department (“ OFAC ”); and the
Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the
offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such
proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person
or entity that, to the Company’s knowledge, will use such
proceeds, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person
currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by
OFAC.
11
Any certificate signed by any
officer of the Company or a Subsidiary and delivered to the
Underwriter or to counsel for the Underwriter in connection with
the offering of the Shares shall be deemed a representation and
warranty by the Company (and not such officer in an individual
capacity) to the Underwriter as to the matters covered
thereby.
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Section 2.
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Purchase,
Sale and Delivery of Shares .
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(a) Purchase and Sale of
Shares . On the basis of the representations, warranties and
agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and
conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell
the Shares to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter agrees to
purchase from the Company the Shares as set forth opposite
th