Exhibit 10.2
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made as of May 24, 2007, by and between Vantage Energy Services, Inc. (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”).
WHEREAS, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, No. 333-138565 (the “Registration Statement”), for its initial public offering of securities (“IPO”) has been declared effective as of the date hereof by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Effective Date”);
WHEREAS, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (“Deutsche Bank”) is acting as the representative of the underwriters in the IPO (the “Underwriters”);
WHEREAS, the Company has agreed to issue securities in a private placement that will occur immediately prior to the IPO (the “Placement”);
WHEREAS, as described in the Registration Statement, and in accordance with the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, an aggregate of $235,400,000 ($269,960,000, if the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is comprised of (i) the net proceeds of the IPO (except as provided in the Registration Statement); (ii) the $6,000,000 received by the Company in exchange for its securities pursuant to the Placement; and (iii) an additional $7,200,000 (or $8,280,000, if the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of the proceeds of the IPO, representing a portion of the underwriters’ discount (the “Contingent Discount”) which Deutsche Bank has agreed to deposit in the Trust Account (as defined below), will be delivered to the Trustee to be deposited and held in the Trust Account for the benefit of the Company, and the holders of the Company’s common stock, par value $.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), included in the units of the Company’s securities issued in the IPO (the “Units”) and Deutsche Bank. The amount to be delivered to the Trustee will be referred to herein as the “Property,” the stockholders for whose benefit the Trustee shall hold the Property will be referred to as the “Public Stockholders,” and the Public Stockholders, Deutsche Bank and the Company will be referred to together as the “Beneficiaries;” and
WHEREAS, the Company and the Trustee desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Trustee shall hold the Property; and
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Agreements and Covenants of Trustee. The Trustee hereby agrees and covenants to:
(a) hold the Property in trust for the Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in a segregated trust account (“Trust Account”) at J.P. Morgan Chase N.A. and at a brokerage institution selected by the Trustee;
(b) manage, supervise and administer the Trust Account subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein;
(c) in a timely manner, upon the instruction of the Company, to invest and reinvest the Property in “government securities,” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), having a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open ended investment company registered under the 1940 Act that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3) and (c)(4) under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the 1940 Act. As used herein, “Government Security” means any Treasury Bill issued by the United States, having a maturity of one hundred and eighty days or less;
(d) collect and receive, when due, all principal and income arising from the Property, which shall become part of the “Property,” as such term is used herein;
(e) notify the Company and Deutsche Bank of all communications received by it with respect to any Property requiring action by the Company;
(f) supply any necessary information or documents as may be requested by the Company in connection with the Company’s preparation of the tax returns for the Trust Account or the Company;
(g) participate in any plan or proceeding for protecting or enforcing any right or interest arising from the Property if, as and when instructed by the Company and/or Deutsche Bank to do so;
(h) render to the Company and to Deutsche Bank, and to such other persons as the Company may instruct, monthly written statements of the activities of and amounts in the Trust Account reflecting all receipts and disbursements of the Trust Account; and
(i) commence liquidation of the Trust Account upon receipt of the Officers’ Certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in accordance with the terms of a letter (the “Termination Letter”), in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit A or Exhibit B, signed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and complete the liquidation of the Trust Account and distribute the Property in the Trust Account only as directed in the Termination Letter and the other documents referred to therein as part of the Company’s plan of dissolution and liquidation. The Trustee understands and agrees that, except as provided in Section 1(j) and Section 2 hereof, disbursements from the Trust Account shall be made only pursuant to a duly executed Termination Letter, together with the other documents referenced herein, including, without limitation, an independently certified oath and report of inspector of election in respect of the stock vote in favor of the Business Combination (as hereinafter defined). In all cases, the Trustee shall provide Deutsche Bank with a copy of any Termination Letter, Officers’ Certificates and/or any other correspondence that it receives with respect to any proposed withdrawal from the Trust Account promptly after it receives same. As used in this Agreement, the term “Business Combination” means the acquisition by the Company, through merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, exchangeable share transaction, joint venture or other similar business combination with, one or more domestic or international
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operating businesses in the oilfield services industry, as more fully described in the prospectus forming a part of the Registration Statement; and
(j) as of the date 24 months from the date of this Agreement, if the Company has failed to consummate a Business Combination (“Termination Date” ), commence liquidation of the Trust Account. The Trustee, upon consultation with the Company and Deutsche Bank, shall deliver a notice to Public Stockholders of record as of the Termination Date, by U.S. mail or via the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), within five days of the Termination Date, to notify the Public Stockholders of such event and take such other actions as it may deem necessary to inform the Beneficiaries. The Trustee shall deliver to each Public Stockholder its ratable share of the Property against satisfactory evidence of delivery of the stock certificates by the Public Stockholders to the Company through DTC, its Deposit Withdraw Agent Commission (DWAC) system or as otherwise presented to the Trustee.
2. Limited Distributions of Income on Property.
(a) Upon receipt by the Trustee of a written request signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company certifying the amount of taxes payable by the Company with respect of income earned on the Property, franchise taxes or any other taxes, then at the written instruction of the Company, the Trustee shall promptly to the extent there is not sufficient cash in the Trust Account to pay such tax obligation, liquidate such assets held in the Trust Account as shall be designated by the Company in writing, and disburse to the Company by wire transfer, out of the Property in the Trust Account, the amount indicated by the Company as owing in respect of such tax obligation; provided, however, that in no event shall the aggregate amount of all checks issued to taxing authorities pursuant to this Section 2(a) exceed the interest earned in the Trust Account. It is understood and agreed that the only duty of the Trustee with regard to this section is to follow the instruction of the Company.
(b) Upon written request from the Company containing certification that such distribution pursuant to this Section 2(b) shall only be used to fund the working capital requirements of the Company and the costs related to identifying, researching and acquiring prospective target businesses, in each case as described in the prospectus that forms a part of the Registration Statement, the Trustee shall distribute to the Company an amount up to $2,250,000 in the aggregate of the income earned on the Property, net of taxes payable, through the last day of the month immediately preceding the date of receipt of the Company’s written request.
(c) Except as provided in Sections 1(i), 1(j), 2(a) and 2(b) above, no other distributions from the Trust Account shall be permitted.
(d) Upon receipt by the Trustee of a written instruction from the Company for distributions from the Trust Account in connection with a plan of dissolution and distribution, accompanied by an Officers Certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company certifying as true, accurate and complete (i) a statement of the amount of actual expenses incurred or, where known with reasonable certainty, imminently to be incurred by the Company in connection with its dissolution and distribution, (ii) any amounts due to pay creditors or required to reserve for payment to creditors, and (iii) the sum of (i) and
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(ii), the Trustee shall distribute to the Company an amount, as directed by the Company in the instruction letter, up to the sum of (i) and (ii) as indicated in the instruction letter.
3. Agreements and Covenants of the Company. The Company hereby agrees and covenants:
(a) to provide all instructions to the Trustee hereunder in writing, signed by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In addition, except with respect to its duties under paragraph 1(i), 1(j), 2(a) and 2(b) above, the Trustee shall be entitled to rely on, and shall be protected in relying on, any verbal or telephonic advice or instruction which it, in good faith, believes to be given by any one of the persons authorized above to give written instructions, provided that the Company and/or Deutsche Bank shall promptly confirm such instructions in writing; and
(b) to hold the Trustee harmless and indemnify the Trustee from and against any and all expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or loss suffered by the Trustee in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding brought against the Trustee involving any claim, or in connection with any claim or demand which in any way arises out of or relates to this Agreement, the services of the Trustee hereunder, or the Property or any income earned from investment of the Property, except for expenses and losses resulting from the Trustee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. Promptly after the receipt by the Trustee of notice of demand or claim or the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, pursuant to which the Trustee intends to seek indemnification under this paragraph, it shall notify the Company in writing of such claim (hereinafter referred to as the “Indemnified Claim”). The Trustee shall have the right to conduct and manage the defense against such Indemnified Claim, provided that the Trustee shall obtain the consent of the Company with respect to the selection of counsel, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Trustee may not agree to settle any Indemnified Claim without the prior written consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Company may participate in such action with its own counsel;
(c) to pay the Trustee an initial acceptance fee, an annual fee and a transaction processing fee for each disbursement made pursuant to Sections 2(a) and 2(b) as set forth on Schedule A hereto, which fees shall be subject to modification by the parties from time to time. It is expressly understood that the Property shall not be used to pay such fees and further agreed that said transaction processing fees shall be deducted by the Trustee from the disbursements made to the Company pursuant to Section 2(b). The Company shall pay the Trustee the initial acceptance fee and first year’s fee at the consummation of the IPO and thereafter on the anniversary of the Effective Date. The Trustee shall refund to the Company the fee (on a pro rata basis) with respect to any period after the liquidation of the Trust Fund. The Company shall not be responsible for any other fees or charges of the Trustee, except as may be provided in Section 3(b) hereof (it being expressly understood that the Property shall not be used to make any payments to the Trustee under such section); and
(d) that, in the event that the Company consummates a Business Combination and the Trust Account is liquidated in accordance with Section 1(i) hereof, the Trustee or another
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independent party designated by Deutsche Bank shall act as the inspector of election to certify the results of the stockholder vote; and
(e) that the Officers’ Certificate referenced in Sections 1(i) and (j) hereof shall require the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company to each certify the following (wherever applicable): (1) prior to the Termination Date, the Company has entered into a Business Combination with a target business, the terms of which are consistent with the requirements set forth in the Registration Statement; and (2) the Board of Directors (the “Board”) pursuant to the unanimous written consent of the Board or pursuant to a duly held meeting of the Board, has approved the Business Combination. A copy of such consent or minutes of the meeting of the Board and the definitive agreement relating to the Business Combination so approved shall be attached as an exhibit to the Officers Certificate;
(f) In connection with any vote of the Company’s stockholders regarding a Business Combination, to provide to the Trustee an affidavit or certificate of a firm regularly engaged in the business of soliciting proxies and tabulating stockholder votes (which firm may be the Trustee) verifying the vote of the Company’s stockholders regarding such Business Combination;
(g) Within five business days after Deutsche Bank’s over-allotment option (or any unexercised portion thereof) expires or is exercised in full, to provide the Trustee notice in writing (with a copy to Deutsche Bank) of the total amount of the Contingent Discount, which shall in no event be less than $7,200,000.
4. Limitations of Liability. The Trustee shall have no responsibility or liability to:
(a) take any action with respect to the Property, other than as directed in Section 1 hereof, and the Trustee shall have no liability to any party except for liability arising out of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct;
(b) institute any proceeding for the collection of any principal and income arising from, or institute, appear in or defend any proceeding of any kind with respect to, any of the Property, unless and until it shall have received written instructions from the Company given as provided herein to do so and the Company shall have advanced or guaranteed to it funds sufficient to pay any expenses incident thereto;
(c) change the investment of any Property, other than in compliance with Section 1(c);
(d) refund any depreciation in principal of any Property;
(e) assume that the authority of any person designated by the Company and/or Deutsche Bank to give written instructions hereunder shall not be continuing unless provided otherwise in such designation, or unless the Company and/or Deutsche Bank shall have delivered a written revocation of such authority to the Trustee;
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(f) the other parties hereto or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted by it, or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the exercise of its own best judgment, except for its gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Trustee may rely conclusively on, and shall be protected in acting upon, any order, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Trustee), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability of any information therein contained) which is believed by the Trustee, in good faith, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Trustee shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this Agreement or any of the terms hereof, unless evidenced by a written instrument delivered to the Trustee signed by the proper party or parties and, if the duties or rights of the Trustee are affected, unless it shall give its prior written consent thereto;
(g) verify the correctness of the information set forth in the Registration Statement or to confirm or assure that any acquisition made by the Company or any other action taken by it is as contemplated by the Registration Statement, unless an officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof, written notice of such event is sent to the Trustee or as otherwise required under Section 1(i) hereof; and
(h) pay any taxes on behalf of the Trust Account (it being expressly understood that the Trustee’s sole obligation with respect to taxes shall be to have checks drawn and delivered with respect thereto as provided for by Section 2(a) hereof).
5. Certain Rights Of Trustee.
(a) Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officers’ Certificate or opinion of counsel or both. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on such Officers’ Certificate or opinion of counsel. The Trustee may consult with counsel and the advice of such counsel or any opinion of counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection from liability in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it hereunder in good faith and in reliance thereon.
(b) The Trustee may act through its attorneys and agents and shall not be responsible for the misconduct or negligence of any agent appointed with due care.
(c) The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith that it believes to be authorized or within the rights or powers conferred upon it by this Agreement.
(d) The Trustee shall not be responsible for and makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of this Agreement, and it shall not be accountable for the Company’s use of the proceeds from the Trust Account. Notwithstanding the effective date of this Agreement or anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Trustee shall have no liability or responsibility for any act or event relating to this Agreement or the transactions
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related thereto which occurs prior to the date of this Agreement, and shall have no contractual obligations to the Beneficiaries until the date of this Agreement.
6. No Right of Set-Off. The Trustee waives any right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind that the Trustee may have against the Property held in the Trust Account. In the event that the Trustee has a claim against the Company under this Agreement, including, without limitation, under Section 3(b), the Trustee will pursue such claim solely against the Company and not against the property held in the Trust Account.
7. Termination. This Agreement shall terminate as follows:
(a) if the Trustee gives written notice to the Company that it desires to resign under this Agreement, the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to locate a successor trustee during which time the Trustee shall continue to act in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. At such time that the Company notifies the Trustee that a successor trustee has been appointed by the Company and has agreed to become subject to the terms of this Agreement, the Trustee shall transfer the management of the Trust Account to the successor trustee, including, but not limited to, the transfer of copies of the reports and statements relating to the Trust Account, whereupon this Agreement shall terminate; provided, however, that, in the event the Company does not locate a successor trustee within 90 days of receipt of the resignation notice from the Trustee, the Trustee may submit an application to have the Property deposited with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and, upon such deposit, the Trustee shall be immune from any liability whatsoever that arises due to any actions or omissions to act by any party after such deposit;
(b) at such time that the Trustee has completed the liquidation of the Trust Account in accordance with the provisions of Section 1(i) hereof, and distributed the Property in accordance with the provisions of the Termination Letter, this Agreement shall terminate except with respect to Section 3(b) hereof; or
(c) on such date after May 24, 2009 when the Trustee deposits the Property with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the event that, prior to such date, the Trustee has not received a Termination Letter from the Company pursuant to Section 1(i) or (j) hereof.
8. Miscellaneous.
(a) The Company and the Trustee each acknowledge and agree that the Trustee will follow the security procedures set forth below with respect to funds transferred from the Trust Account. Upon receipt of written instructions, the Trustee will confirm such instructions with an “Authorized Individual” at an “Authorized Telephone Number” listed on the attached Exhibit C. The Company and the Trustee will each restrict access to confidential information relating to such security procedures to authorized persons. Each party must notify the other party immediately if it has reason to believe unauthorized persons may have obtained access to such information or of any change in its authorized personnel. In executing funds transfers, the Trustee will rely upon account numbers or other identifying numbers of a
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beneficiary, beneficiary’s bank or intermediary bank, rather than names. The Trustee shall not be liable for any loss, liability or expense resulting from any error in an account number or other identifying number, provided it has accurately transmitted the numbers provided.
(b) This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, for agreements made and to be wholly performed within such state, without giving effect to conflict of laws. It may be executed in several counterparts, each one of which shall constitute an original, and together shall constitute one instrument. Facsimile signatures shall constitute original signatures for all purposes of this Agreement.
(c) This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement or any provision hereof may only be changed, amended or modified by a writing signed by each of the parties hereto; provided that such action shall not materially adversely affect the interests of the Public Stockholders. Any other change, waiver, amendment or modification to this Agreement shall be subject to approval by a majority of the Public Stockholders. As to any claim, cross-claim or counterclaim in any way relating to this Agreement, each party waives the right to trial by jury.
(d) The parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal court located in the State and County of New York for purposes of resolving any disputes hereunder. The parties hereto irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive, and hereby waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
(e) Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery or by facsimile transmission:
if to the Trustee, to:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
17 Battery Place
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Steven G. Nelson
Fax No.: (212) 509-5150
if to the Company, to:
Vantage Energy Services, Inc.
777 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 610
Houston, Texas 77056
Attn: Chief Executive Officer
Fax No.: (713) 781-9655
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in either case with a copy to:
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
370 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Attn: Douglas S. Ellenoff, Esq.
Fax No.: (212) 370-7889
and
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
60 Wall Street, 4th Floor
New York, New York 10005
Attention: Syndicate Manager
and
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3400
Los Angeles, California 90071
Attn: Gregg A. Noel, Esq.
Fax No.: (213) 687-5600
(f) This Agreement may not be assigned by the Trustee without the prior written consent of the Company and Deutsche Bank.
(g) Each of the Trustee and the Company hereby represents that it has the full right and power and has been duly authorized to enter into this Agreement and to perform its respective obligations as contemplated hereunder. The Trustee acknowledges and agrees that it shall not make any claims or proceed against the Trust Account, including by way of set-off, and shall not be entitled to any funds in the Trust Account under any circumstance.
(h) The Trustee hereby consents to the inclusion of Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in the Registration Statement and other materials relating to the IPO.
(i) Deutsche Bank shall be a third party beneficiary of this Agreement.
(Remainder of document intentionally left blank. Signature page to follow.)
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Investment Management Trust Agreement as of the date first written above.
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, as Trustee |
| |
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| By: | /s/ Steven G. Nelson |
| | Name: | Steven G. Nelson |
| | Title: | President |
| | | |
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| VANTAGE ENERGY SERVICES, INC. |
| | | |
| | | |
| By: | /s/ Paul A. Bragg |
| | Name: | Paul A. Bragg |
| | Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
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