Exhibit 1.1
TITAN MACHINERY INC.
Common Stock
PURCHASE AGREEMENT
May 5, 2011
CRAIG-HALLUM CAPITAL GROUP LLC
As Representative of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I
c/o Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC
222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Titan Machinery Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) proposes to sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of 2,400,000 shares (the “Firm Shares”) of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company. The Company has also granted to the several Underwriters an option to purchase up to 360,000 additional shares of Common Stock on the terms and for the purposes set forth in Section 3 (the “Option Shares”). The Firm Shares and any Option Shares purchased pursuant to this Purchase Agreement are herein collectively called the “Securities.”
The Company hereby confirms its agreement with respect to the sale of the Securities to the several Underwriters, for whom you are acting as representative (the “Representative”).
1. Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-171063) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Commission thereunder, 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. Such registration statement, at any given time, including 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 Securities Act at such time and the documents and information otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein by Rule 430B under the Securities Act (the “Rule 430B Information”) or otherwise pursuant to the Rules and Regulations at such time, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The Registration Statement at the time it originally became effective is herein called the “Original Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act is called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, from and after the date and time of filing of the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement.
The prospectus in the form in which it appeared in the Original Registration Statement is herein called the “Base Prospectus.” Each preliminary prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus (including the Base Prospectus as so supplemented), that describes the Securities and the offering thereof, that omitted the Rule 430B Information and that was used prior to the filing of the final prospectus supplement referred to in the following sentence is herein called a “Preliminary Prospectus.” Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file with the Commission a final prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus relating to the Securities and the offering thereof in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B and Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations. Such final supplemental form of prospectus (including the Base Prospectus as so supplemented), in the form filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary
Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act as of the date of such prospectus.
For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, Rule 462(b) 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 financial statements and schedules and other information which is “described,” “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which are incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by the Rules and Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and which is deemed to be incorporated therein by reference therein or otherwise deemed by the Rules and Regulations to be a part thereof.
2. Representations and Warranties.
(a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the several Underwriters as follows:
(i) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof or the time of first use within the meaning of the Rules and Regulations, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did 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 were made, not misleading; except that the foregoing shall not apply to statements in or omissions from any Preliminary Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by you, or by any Underwriter through you, specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
(ii) The Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement were initially declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act on January 21, 2011. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.
(iii) Each part of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time such part became effective (including each deemed effective date with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to Rule 430B or otherwise under the Securities Act), at all other subsequent times until expiration of the Prospectus Delivery Period, and at the First Closing Date and Second Closing Date (as hereinafter defined), and the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus), at the time of filing or the time of first use within the meaning of the Rules and Regulations, at all subsequent times until expiration of the Prospectus Delivery Period, and at the First Closing Date and Second Closing Date complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Rules and Regulations and the Exchange Act 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. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, or
the time of first use within the meaning of the Rules and Regulations, at all subsequent times until the expiration of the Prospectus Delivery Period, and at the First Closing Date and Second Closing Date, 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, in light of the circumstances in which they are or were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by you, or by any Underwriter through you, or by your counsel, specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
(iv) Neither (A) the Issuer General Free Writing Prospectus(es) issued at or prior to the Time of Sale and set forth on Schedule II, the information on Schedule III, and the Statutory Prospectus, all considered together (collectively, the “Time of Sale Disclosure Package”), nor (B) any individual Issuer Limited-Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, includes or included as of the Time of Sale any untrue statement of a material fact or omits or omitted as of the Time of Sale 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. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Statutory Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by you or by any Underwriter through you, or by your counsel specifically for use therein. As used in this paragraph and elsewhere in this Agreement:
(1) “Time of Sale” means 9:00 pm (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement.
(2) “Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the Preliminary Prospectus that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time. For purposes of this definition, Rule 430B Information contained in a form of prospectus that is deemed retroactively to be a part of the Registration Statement 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) under the Securities Act.
(3) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act, relating to the Securities that (A) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, or (B) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) under the Securities Act because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms or pursuant to Rule 433(d)(8)(ii) because at least one version of a “bona fide electronic road show,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations, which is made available without restriction, in each case 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.
(4) “Issuer General 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 II.
(5) “Issuer Limited-Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Free Writing Prospectus.
(v) (A) 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 Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representative as described in Section 4(c)(ii), 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. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by you or by any Underwriter through you, or by your counsel specifically for use therein.
(B) (1) At the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Securities 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, including the Company or any subsidiary in the preceding three years not having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or having been made the subject of a judicial or administrative decree or order as described in Rule 405 (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), nor an “excluded issuer” as defined in Rule 164 under the Securities Act.
(C) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus satisfied, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities, all other conditions to use thereof as set forth in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act.
(D) At the time the Registration Statement was declared effective and (if applicable) was lasted updated pursuant Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act, the Company satisfied, and throughout the Prospectus Delivery Period the Company will satisfy, the requirements of General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act; and all other conditions for use of Form S-3 in connection with the sale of the Securities set forth in the General Instructions to Form S-3 have been satisfied.
(vi) In accordance with Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the Securities have been registered with the Commission on Form S-3 under the Securities Act pursuant to the standards for such Form S-3 in effect prior to October 21, 1992.
(vii) The financial statements of the Company, together with the related notes, set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and Prospectus, comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and fairly present the financial condition of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of operations and changes in cash flows for the periods therein specified in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied throughout the periods involved (except as described therein and subject, in the case of unaudited financial statements, to year end adjustments); and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly the information required to be stated therein; all non-GAAP financial information included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus complies with the requirements of Regulation G and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act; and, except as disclosed in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no material off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, Item 303(a)(4)(ii)). No other financial statements or schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure
Package or the Prospectus. To the Company’s knowledge, Eide Bailly LLP, which has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements and schedules filed as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, is (x) an independent public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations, (y) a registered public accounting firm (as defined in Section 2(a)(12) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”)) and (z) in performing its work for the Company, not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(viii) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has full corporate or limited liability company, as applicable, power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as currently being carried on and as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and Prospectus, and is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation in good standing in each jurisdiction in which it owns or leases real property or in which the conduct of its business makes such qualification necessary and in which the failure to so qualify would have a material adverse effect upon, or material adverse change in, the general affairs, business, prospects, management, properties, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (“Material Adverse Effect” or “Material Adverse Change”).
(ix) Except as contemplated in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any material liabilities or obligations other than in the ordinary course of business, direct or contingent, or entered into any material transactions other than in the ordinary course of business, or declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to its capital stock; and 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 shares upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or grants of stock-based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any material change in the short-term or long-term debt, or any issuance of options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights to purchase the capital stock, of the Company or its subsidiaries (other than grants of stock options and other stock-based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any Material Adverse Change or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(x) Except as set forth in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, there is not pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened or contemplated, any action, suit or proceeding to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company is the subject before or by any court or governmental agency, authority or body, or any arbitrator, which, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in any Material Adverse Change.
(xi) There are no statutes, regulations, contracts or documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement by the Securities Act or by the Rules and Regulations that have not been so described or filed.
(xii) 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 federal or state securities laws and except as such enforceability may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and subject to general principles of equity (each an “Enforcement Limitation”). The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any statute, any agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its property is subject, the Company’s charter or by-laws, or any order, rule, regulation or decree of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties, except for such breaches, violations or defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Change. No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing with, any court or governmental agency or body is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or for the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including the issuance or sale of the Securities by the Company, except such as may be required under the Securities Act or state securities or blue sky laws; and the Company has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to authorize, issue and sell the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement.
(xiii) All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company, including the outstanding shares of Common Stock, are duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, were not issued in violation of or subject to any preemptive rights or other rights to subscribe for or purchase securities that have not been waived in writing (a copy of which has been delivered to counsel to the Underwriters), and the holders thereof are not subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; the Securities which may be sold hereunder by the Company have been duly authorized and, when issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will have been validly issued and will be fully paid and nonassessable, and the holders thereof will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; and the capital stock of the Company, including the Common Stock, conforms to the description thereof in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus. Except as otherwise stated in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, there are no preemptive rights or other rights to subscribe for or to purchase, or any restriction upon the voting or transfer of, any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s charter, by-laws or any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound. Neither the filing of the Registration Statement nor the offering or sale of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement gives rise to any rights for or relating to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company which have not been waived in writing or complied with prior to effectiveness of the Registration Statement. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock or other securities of each of the Company’s subsidiaries have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, and, except as otherwise described in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus and except for any directors’ qualifying shares, the Company owns of record and beneficially, free and clear of any security interests, claims, liens, proxies, equities or other encumbrances, all of the issued and outstanding shares of such stock or other securities. Except as described in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, there are no options, warrants, agreements, contracts or other rights in existence to purchase or acquire from the Company or any subsidiary of the Company any shares of the capital stock or other securities of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company. The Company has an authorized and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus.
(xiv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries holds, and is operating in compliance in all material respects with, all material franchises, grants, authorizations, licenses,
permits, easements, consents, certificates and orders of any governmental or self-regulatory body required for the conduct of its business and all such franchises, grants, authorizations, licenses, permits, easements, consents, certifications and orders are valid and in full force and effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such franchise, grant, authorization, license, permit, easement, consent, certification or order or has reason to believe that any such franchise, grant, authorization, license, permit, easement, consent, certification or order will not be renewed in the ordinary course; and the Company and each of its subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations, orders and decrees.
(xv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries has good and marketable title to all property (whether real or personal) described in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus as being owned by them, in each case free and clear of all material liens, claims, security interests, other encumbrances or defects except such as are described in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus. The property held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with only such exceptions with respect to any particular lease as do not interfere in any material respect with the conduct of the business of the Company or its subsidiaries.
(xvi) The Company and each of its subsidiaries owns, possesses, licenses or can acquire or license on reasonable terms, all Intellectual Property necessary for the conduct of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ business as now conducted or to be conducted, to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus to be conducted, except as such failure to own, possess, or acquire such rights would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Furthermore, (A) to the knowledge of the Company, there is no infringement, misappropriation or violation by third parties of any such Intellectual Property, except as such infringement, misappropriation or violation would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (B) there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s or any of its subsidiaries’ rights in or to any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (C) the Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries, and to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property licensed to the Company and its subsidiaries, has not been adjudged invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (D) there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates any Intellectual Property or other proprietary rights of others, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of such claim and the Company is unaware of any other fact which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; and (E) to the Company’s knowledge, no employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is in or has ever been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or actions undertaken by the employee while employed with the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except as such violation would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. “Intellectual Property” shall mean all patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade
and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, domain names, technology, know-how and other intellectual property.
(xvii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its respective charter, by-laws or other governing documents or in breach of or otherwise in default, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default in the performance of any material obligation, agreement or condition contained in any bond, debenture, note, indenture, loan agreement or any other material contract, lease or other instrument to which it is subject or by which any of them may be bound, or to which any of the material property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(xviii) The Company and its subsidiaries have timely filed all federal, state, local and foreign income and franchise tax returns required to be filed (except where the failure to do so would not be material) and are not in default in the payment of any material taxes that were payable pursuant to said returns or any assessments with respect thereto, other than any which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is contesting in good faith. There is no pending dispute with any taxing authority relating to any of such returns, and the Company has no knowledge of any proposed liability for any tax to be imposed upon the properties or assets of the Company for which there is not an adequate reserve reflected in the Company’s financial statements included in the Registration Statement.
(xix) The Company has not distributed and will not distribute any prospectus or other offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or other materials permitted by the Securities Act to be distributed by the Company; provided, however, that, except as set forth on Schedule II, the Company has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, except in accordance with the provisions of Section 4(p) of this Agreement.
(xx) The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is included or approved for inclusion on The Nasdaq Global Select Market and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has taken any action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from The Nasdaq Global Select Market nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. The Company has complied in all material respects with the applicable requirements of The Nasdaq Global Select Market for maintenance of inclusion of the Common Stock thereon. The Securities have been approved for listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market.
(xxi) Other than the subsidiaries of the Company listed on Exhibit 21 to the Registration Statement and the Company’s one-third percentage interest in Rural Tower Network, LLC, a North Dakota limited liability company, and except for marketable securities held for investment purposes in amounts less than 5% of the outstanding equity of the issuer, the Company, directly or indirectly, owns no capital stock or other equity or ownership or proprietary interest in any corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity.
(xxii) The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded
accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, and since the end of the latest audited fiscal year, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) that has materially adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; provided, however, that none of the foregoing shall constitute a representation as to the Company’s compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(xxiii) Other than as contemplated by this Agreement or as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Company has not incurred any liability for any finder’s or broker’s fee or agent’s commission in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(xiv) The Company and each of its subsidiaries carries, or is covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes is adequate for the conduct of their businesses and the value of their properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries; all policies of insurance and any fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or its business, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; there are no material claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been denied any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has 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.
(xxv) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities, will not be an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(xxvi) The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(xxvii) The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the Exchange Act) and such controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that material information relating to the Company, including its subsidiaries, is made known to the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer. The Company has utilized such controls and procedures in preparing and evaluating the disclosures in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus.
(xxviii) 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 aware of or has taken any action directly or indirectly, that would result in a material violation by such persons of the FCPA (as defined below), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money,
or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and its subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance in all material respects with the FCPA and have instituted and maintained policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance in all material respects therewith. “FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.
(xxix) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries have complied 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 or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xxx) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer or employee 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. Department of the Treasury.
(xxxi) To the Company’s knowledge, no transaction has occurred between or among the Company and its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and any “related person” of the Company, on the other hand, that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K of the Rules and Regulations that is not so described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company has not, directly or indirectly, extended or maintained credit, or arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed an extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan to or for any of its directors or executive officers in violation of applicable laws, including Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(xxxii) The Company and each of its subsidiaries (A) is in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (B) has received and is in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business; and (C) has not received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except in any such case for any such failure to comply, or failure to receive required permits, licenses or approvals, or liability as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxxiii) The Company and each of its subsidiaries (A) is in compliance, in all material respects, with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, treaties, statutes and codes promulgated by any and all governmental authorities (including pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act) relating to the protection of human health and safety in the workplace (“Occupational Laws”); (B) has received all material permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Occupational Laws to conduct its business as currently conducted; and (C) is in compliance, in all material respects, with all terms and conditions of such permit, license or approval. No action, proceeding, revocation proceeding, writ, injunction or claim is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened
against the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Occupational Laws, and the Company does not have knowledge of any facts, circumstances or developments relating to its operations or cost accounting practices that could reasonably be expected to form the basis for or give rise to such actions, suits, investigations or proceedings and that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxxiv) Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its affiliates for employees or former employees of the Company and its affiliates has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to, ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). No material prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any such plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; and for each such plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency,” as defined in Section 412 of the Code, has been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial assumptions.
(xxxv) The Company has duly filed on a timely basis with the Commission all reports, registration statements and other documents required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. All of such reports, registration statements and other documents, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as appropriate. None of such reports, registration statements or other documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(xxxvi) The documents incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale 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; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or in the Prospectus, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(b) Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to you or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
3. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of Securities.
(a) 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 2,400,000 Firm Shares to the several Underwriters, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to
purchase from the Company the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I. The purchase price for each Firm Share shall be $27.2406 per share. In making this Agreement, each Underwriter is contracting severally and not jointly; except as provided in paragraph (c) of this Section 3 and in Section 8, the agreement of each Underwriter is to purchase only the respective number of Firm Shares specified in Schedule I.
The Firm Shares will be delivered by the Company to you for the accounts of the several Underwriters against payment of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of same day funds payable to the order of the Company at the offices of Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, 222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350, Minneapolis, Minnesota, or such other location as may be mutually acceptable, at 9:00 a.m. Central time on the third (or if the Securities are priced, as contemplated by Rule 15c6-1(c) under the Exchange Act, after 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, the fourth) full business day following the date hereof, or at such other time and date as you and the Company determine pursuant to Rule 15c6-1(a) under the Exchange Act, such time and date of delivery being herein referred to as the “First Closing Date.” If the Representative so elects, delivery of the Firm Shares may be made by credit through full fast transfer to the accounts at The Depository Trust Company designated by the Representative. Certificates representing the Firm Shares, in definitive form and in such denominations and registered in such names as you may request upon at least two business days’ prior notice to the Company, will be made available for checking and packaging not later than 10:30 a.m., Central time, on the business day next preceding the First Closing Date at the offices of Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, or such other location as may be mutually acceptable.
(b) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants to the several Underwriters an option to purchase all or any portion of the Option Shares at the same purchase price as the Firm Shares, for use solely in covering any over-allotments made by the Underwriters in the sale and distribution of the Firm Shares. The option granted hereunder may be exercised in whole or in part at any time (but not more than once) within 30 days after the effective date of this Agreement upon notice (confirmed in writing) by the Representative to the Company setting forth the aggregate number of Option Shares as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the option, the names and denominations in which the certificates for the Option Shares are to be registered and the date and time, as determined by you, when the Option Shares are to be delivered, such time and date being herein referred to as the “Second Closing” and “Second Closing Date,” respectively; provided, however, that the Second Closing Date shall not be earlier than the First Closing Date nor earlier than the second business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised. The number of Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be the same percentage of the total number of Option Shares to be purchased by the several Underwriters as the number of Firm Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter is of the total number of Firm Shares to be purchased by the several Underwriters, as adjusted by the Representative in such manner as the Representative deems advisable to avoid fractional shares. No Option Shares shall be sold and delivered unless the Firm Shares previously have been, or simultaneously are, sold and delivered.
The Option Shares will be delivered by the Company to you for the accounts of the several Underwriters against payment of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of same day funds payable to the order of the Company at the offices of Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, 222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350, Minneapolis, Minnesota, or such other location as may be mutually acceptable at 9:00 a.m., Central time, on the Second Closing Date. If the Representative so elects, delivery of the Option Shares may be made by credit through full fast transfer to the accounts at The Depository Trust Company designated by the Representative. Certificates representing the Option Shares in definitive form and in such denominations and registered in such names as you have set forth in your notice of option exercise, will be made available for checking and packaging not later than 10:30 a.m., Central time, on the business day next preceding the Second Closing Date at the office of Craig-Hallum Capital
Group LLC, 222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350, Minneapolis, Minnesota, or such other location as may be mutually acceptable.
(c) It is understood that you, individually and not as Representative of the several Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment to the Company on behalf of any Underwriter for the Securities to be purchased by such Underwriter. Any such payment by you shall not relieve any such Underwriter of any of its obligations hereunder. Nothing herein contained shall constitute any of the Underwriters an unincorporated association or partner with the Company.
4. Covenants. The Company covenants and agrees with the several Underwriters as follows:
(a) The Company will notify you promptly of the time when any post-effective amendment to the Original Registration Statement has become effective or any supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Original Registration Statement or Prospectus or additional information. Immediately following execution of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a Prospectus containing the Rule 430B Information and other selling terms of the Securities, the plan of distribution thereof and such other information as may be required by the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations or as the Representative and the Company may deem appropriate, and if requested by the Representative, an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus containing the selling terms of the Securities and such other information as the Company and the Representative may deem appropriate, and will file or transmit for filing with the Commission, in accordance with Rule 424(b) or Rule 433, as the case may be, copies of the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(b) The Company will advise you, promptly after it shall receive notice or obtain knowledge thereof, of (i) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus; (ii) the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; or (iii) any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Common Stock from any securities exchange upon which it is listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. The Company will promptly use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rules 424(b) and 430A and 430B, as applicable, under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under Rule 424(b), Rule 433 or Rule 462 were received in a timely manner by the Commission.
(c) (i) Within the time during which a prospectus (assuming the absence of Rule 172) relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”), the Company will comply as far as it is able with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as now and hereafter amended, and by the Rules and Regulations, as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Securities as contemplated by the provisions hereof, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package) would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective investors, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package) to comply with the Securities Act, the Company
will promptly notify you and will amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or, if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package) (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.
(ii) If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the Securities or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or promptly will notify the Representative and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(d) The Company shall take or cause to be taken all necessary action to qualify the Securities for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you reasonably designate and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities, except that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process in any state.
(e) The Company will furnish to the Underwriters and counsel for the Underwriters copies of the Registration Statement (one of which will be signed and will include all consents and exhibits filed therewith), each Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and all amendments and supplements to such documents, in each case as soon as available and in such quantities as you may from time to time reasonably request.
(f) The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a 12 month period that shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Rules and Regulations.
(g) The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is prevented from becoming effective under the provisions of Section 9(a) or is terminated, will pay or cause to be paid (i) all expenses (including transfer taxes allocated to the respective transferees) incurred in connection with the delivery to the Underwriters of the Securities, (ii) all expenses and fees (including, without limitation, fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants and counsel, but, except as otherwise provided below, not including fees of the Underwriters’ counsel) in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, delivery, and shipping of the Registration Statement (including the financial statements therein and all amendments, schedules, and exhibits thereto), the Securities, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, and the printing, delivery, and shipping of this Agreement and other underwriting documents, including Blue Sky Memoranda (covering the states and other applicable jurisdictions), (iii) all filing fees and reasonable fees and disbursements of the Underwriters’ counsel incurred in connection with the qualification of the Securities for offering and sale by the Underwriters or by dealers under the securities or blue sky laws of the states and other jurisdictions which you shall designate, (iv) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar, (v) listing fees, if any, (vi) the costs for Company personnel relating to investor presentations on any “roadshow” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, and (vii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder that are not otherwise specifically provided for herein. If the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated by reason of action by the Company pursuant to Section 9(a) hereof which prevents this Agreement from
becoming effective, if this Agreement is terminated by the Representative pursuant to Section 9 or if the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated (A) by reason of any failure, refusal or inability on the part of the Company to perform any agreement on its part to be performed, or (B) because any other condition of the Underwriters’ obligations hereunder required to be fulfilled by the Company is not fulfilled, the Company will reimburse the several Underwriters for all reasonable out-of-pocket disbursements (including but not limited to reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel, printing expenses, travel expenses, postage, facsimile and telephone charges) incurred by the Underwriters in connection with their investigation, preparing to market and marketing the Securities or in contemplation of performing their obligations hereunder. The Company shall not in any event be liable to any of the Underwriters for loss of anticipated profits from the transactions covered by this Agreement.
(h) The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities to be sold by it hereunder for the purposes set forth in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus.
(i) The Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, from the date of execution of this Agreement and continuing to and including the date 90 days after the initial date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”) offer for sale, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option for the sale of, enter into any transaction which is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any affiliate, or otherwise issue or dispose of, directly or indirectly (or publicly disclose the intention to make any such offer, sale, pledge, grant, issuance or other disposition), any Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or any options or rights to purchase or acquire, Common Stock, except (i) to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, (ii) pursuant to the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan; and (iii) upon exercise or conversion of securities outstanding on the date hereof. Except in connection with the occurrence of any “transaction,” as defined in the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan, or pursuant to agreements in effect on the date hereof, the Company agrees not to accelerate the vesting of any option or warrant or the lapse of any repurchase right prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period. If (1) during the period that begins on the date that is 18 calendar days before the last day of the Lock-Up Period and ends on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, (a) the Company issues an earnings release, (b) the Company publicly announces material news or (c) a material event relating to the Company occurs; or (2) prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, then the restrictions in this Agreement, unless otherwise waived by the Representative in writing, shall continue to apply until the expiration of the date that is 18 calendar days after the date on which (a) the Company issues the earnings release, (b) the Company publicly announces material news or (c) a material event relating to the Company occurs. The Company will provide the Representative, any co-managers and each stockholder subject to the Lock-Up Agreement (as defined below) with prior notice of any such announcement that gives rise to the extension of the Lock-Up Period.
(j) The Company has caused to be delivered to you prior to the date of this Agreement a letter from (i) each of the Company’s directors and officers, (ii) each entity that is controlled by (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act) any of the Company’s directors or officers, and (iii) Cherry Tree Securities, LLC in the form provided by the Underwriters, stating that such person agrees that such person will not, without your prior written consent, offer for sale, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, as set forth in such letter, any shares of Common Stock or rights to purchase Common Stock, except to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, for a period of 60 days after commencement of the public offering of the Securities by the Underwriters plus such additional extensions set forth in the form of letter (the “Lock-Up Agreement”). The Company will enforce the terms of each Lock-Up Agreement and issue stop-transfer instructions to the transfer agent for the Common Stock with respect to any transaction or contemplated transaction that would constitute a breach of or default under the applicable Lock-Up Agreement.
(k) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, or which has constituted, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities, and has not effected any sales of Common Stock that are required to be disclosed in response to Item 701 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act which have not been so disclosed in the Registration Statement.
(l) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Company will not incur any liability for any finder’s or broker’s fee or agent’s commission in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(m) For a period of one year from the date hereof, the Company will file with the Commission such periodic and special reports as required by the Rules and Regulations.
(n) For a period of one year from the date hereof, the Company and its subsidiaries will maintain such controls and other procedures, including without limitation those required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the applicable regulations thereunder, that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and its principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure, to ensure that material information relating to Company, including its subsidiaries, is made known to them by others within those entities.
(o) For a period of one year from the date hereof, the Company and its subsidiaries will comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(p) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter severally represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company and the Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, required to be filed with the Commission; provided, that the prior written consent of the parties hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the free writing prospectuses included in Schedule II. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representative is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record keeping. The Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions in Rule 433 to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show.
5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy, as of the date hereof and at each of the First Closing Date and the Second Closing Date (as if made at such Closing Date), of and compliance with all representations, warranties and agreements of the Company contained herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, including the covenants contained herein to be performed on or prior to the First Closing Date, and to the following additional conditions:
(a) If filing of the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, is required under the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations, the Company shall have filed the Prospectus (or such amendment or supplement) or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus with the Commission in the manner and within the time period so required (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or Rule 164(b)); the Registration Statement shall remain effective; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any amendment thereof, nor suspending or preventing the use of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been issued; no proceedings for the issuance of such an order shall have been initiated or threatened; any request of the Commission for additional information (to be included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to your satisfaction.
(b) No Underwriter shall have advised the Company that the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus contains an untrue statement of fact which, in your reasonable opinion, is material, or omits to state a fact which, in your reasonable opinion, is material and is required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.
(c) Except as contemplated in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, other than in the ordinary course of business, or entered into any material transactions other than in the ordinary course of business, or declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to its capital stock; and there shall not have 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 shares upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or grants of stock-based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any material change in the short-term or long-term debt of the Company, or any issuance of options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights to purchase the capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than issuances of options or other stock-based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any Material Adverse Change or any development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change (whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business), that, in your judgment, makes it impractical or inadvisable to offer or deliver the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus.
(d) On each Closing Date there shall have been furnished to you, as Representative of the several Underwriters, the opinions of Fredrikson & Byron, PA and Smith, Strege & Fredericksen, Ltd., counsel for the Company, each dated such Closing Date and addressed to you, with respect to such matters as the parties shall mutually agree.
(e) On each Closing Date, there shall have been furnished to you, as Representative of the several Underwriters, such opinion or opinions from Faegre & Benson LLP, counsel for the several Underwriters, dated such Closing Date and addressed to you, with respect to such matters as you reasonably may request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(f) On each Closing Date you, as Representative of the several Underwriters, shall have received a letter of Eide Bailly LLP, dated such Closing Date and addressed to you, confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualifications of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, and stating, as of the date of such letter (or, with respect to matters
involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, as of a date not prior to the date hereof or more than five days prior to the date of such letter), the conclusions and findings of said firm with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by its letter delivered to you concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, and the effect of the letter so to be delivered on such Closing Date shall be to confirm the conclusions and findings set forth in such prior letter.
(g) On each Closing Date, there shall have been furnished to you, as Representative of the Underwriters, a certificate, dated such Closing Date and addressed to you, signed by the chief executive officer and by the chief financial officer of the Company, to the effect that:
(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct, in all material respects, as if made at and as of such Closing Date, and the Company has complied in all material respects with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied under this Agreement at or prior to such Closing Date;
(ii) No stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof or any amendment thereof or the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale, nor suspending or preventing the use of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, has been issued, and, to their knowledge, no proceeding for that purpose has been instituted or is contemplated by the Commission or any state or regulatory body; and
(iii) The signers of said certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and any amendments thereof or supplements thereto, and (A) each part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and any amendments thereof or supplements thereto contain, and contained when such part of the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereof, became effective, all statements and information required to be included therein, the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereof, does not contain and did not contain when such part of the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereof, became effective, any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, does not include and did not include as of its date or the time of first use within the meaning of the Rules and Regulations, any untrue statement of material fact or omit to state and did not omit to state as of its date or the time of first use within the meaning of the rules and Regulations a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (B) neither (1) the Time of Sale Disclosure Package nor (2) any individual Issuer Limited-Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, include, nor included as of the Time of Sale any untrue statement of a material fact or omits, or omitted as of the Time of Sale, 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, (C) since the Time of Sale there has occurred no event required to be set forth in an amended or supplemented prospectus which has not been so set forth, (D) subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, other than in the ordinary course of business, or entered into any material transactions, not in the ordinary course of business, or declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to their capital stock, and except as disclosed in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, 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 shares upon the exercise of outstanding options or
warrants or grants of stock-based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any material change in the short-term or long-term debt, or any issuance of options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights to purchase the capital stock, of the Company, or any of its subsidiaries (other than issuances of options and other stock based awards under the Company’s 2005 Equity Incentive Plan), or any Material Adverse Change or any development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change (whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business), and (E) except as stated in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus, there is not pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened or contemplated, any action, suit or proceeding to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party before or by any court or governmental agency, authority or body, or any arbitrator, which might result in any Material Adverse Change.
(h) The Company shall have furnished to you and counsel for the Underwriters such additional documents, certificates and evidence as you or they may have reasonably requested.
(i) FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements.
(j) The Nasdaq Global Select Market shall have approved the Securities for listing, subject only to official notice of issuance.
(k) On or after the Time of Sale (A) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded any of the Company’s securities by any “nationally recognized statistical organization,” as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Securities Act, and (B) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s securities.
(l) All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are satisfactory in form and substance to you and counsel for the Underwriters. The Company will furnish you with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as you shall reasonably request.
6. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Underwriter may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company), insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, including the Rule 430B Information and any other information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to the Rules and Regulations, if applicable, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Common Stock (“Marketing Materials”), including any roadshow or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically), or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, and will reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigating or defending against such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the
Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any Marketing Materials, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by you, or by any Underwriter through you, or by your counsel, specifically for use in the preparation thereof; and provided, further, that the foregoing indemnity shall not inure to the benefit of the Underwriters with respect to any untrue statement or omission of a material fact if, (i) prior to the Time of Sale the Company shall have notified the Underwriters through the Representative in writing in accordance with Section 11 hereof that the Preliminary Prospectus or any other part of the Time of Sale Disclosure Package contains an untrue statement of material fact or omits to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, (ii) such untrue statement or omission of a material fact was corrected in an amendment or supplement to the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and such amendment or supplement was provided to the Underwriters prior to the Time of Sale, and (iii) the information contained in such corrected Time of Sale Disclosure Package was not conveyed at or prior to the Time of Sale.
In addition to its other obligations under this Section 6(a), the Company agrees that, as an interim measure during the pendency of any claim, action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding arising out of or based upon any statement or omission, or any alleged statement or omission, described in this Section 6(a), it will reimburse each Underwriter on a monthly basis for all reasonable legal fees or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such claim, action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding, notwithstanding the absence of a judicial determination as to the propriety and enforceability of the Company’s obligation to reimburse the Underwriters for such expenses and the possibility that such payments might later be held to have been improper by a court of competent jurisdiction. To the extent that any such interim reimbursement payment is so held to have been improper, the Underwriter that received such payment shall promptly return it to the party or parties that made such payment, together with interest, compounded daily, determined on the basis of the prime rate (or other commercial lending rate for borrowers of the highest credit standing) announced from time to time by Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A. (the “Prime Rate”). Any such interim reimbursement payments that are not made to an Underwriter within 30 days of a request for reimbursement shall bear interest at the Prime Rate from the date of such request. This indemnity agreement shall be in addition to any liabilities which the Company may otherwise have.
(b) Each Underwriter will indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its affiliates, directors and officers, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of such Underwriter), insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, including the Rule 430B Information and any other information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to the Rules and Regulations, if applicable, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any Marketing Materials, including any roadshow or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically), or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any Marketing Materials in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by you, or by such Underwriter through you, or by your counsel, specifically for use in the preparation thereof, and will reimburse the Company
for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b) or (c) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party except to the extent such indemnifying party has been materially prejudiced by such failure. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of the indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that if the Representative shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to the Underwriters that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying parties, the Representative shall have the right to employ a single counsel to represent the Representative and all Underwriters who may be subject to liability arising from any claim in respect of which indemnity may be sought by the Underwriters under subsection (a) of this Section 6, in which event the reasonable fees and expenses of such separate counsel shall be borne by the indemnifying party or parties and reimbursed to the Underwriters as incurred (in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph in subsection (a) above). An indemnifying party shall not be obligated under any settlement agreement relating to any action under this Section 6 to which it has not agreed in writing. In addition, no indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, which consent shall not be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party for all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 6 is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in subsection (a) or (b) above, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriters and the parties’ relevant intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection (d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the first sentence of
this subsection (d). The amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in the first sentence of this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending against any action or claim which is the subject of this subsection (d). Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 6 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 6 shall be in addition to any liability that the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each director of the Company (including any person who, with his consent, is named in the Registration Statement as about to become a director of the Company), to each officer of the Company who has signed the Registration Statement and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act.
(f) The Underwriters severally confirm and the Company acknowledges that the statements with respect to the public offering of the Securities by the Underwriters set forth in “Underwriting” in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus are correct and constitute the only information concerning such Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
7. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All representations, warranties, and agreements of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto, and the agreements of the several Underwriters and the Company contained in Section 6, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person thereof, or the Company or any of its officers, directors, or controlling persons or any of their respective controlling persons, and shall survive delivery of, and payment for, the Securities to and by the Underwriters hereunder.
8. Substitution of Underwriters.
(a) If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail to take up and pay for the amount of Firm Shares agreed by such Underwriter or Underwriters to be purchased hereunder, upon tender of such Firm Shares in accordance with the terms hereof, and the amount of Firm Shares not purchased does not aggregate more than 10% of the total amount of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I, the remaining Underwriters shall be obligated to take up and pay for (in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations hereunder as set forth in Schedule I except as may otherwise be determined by you) the Firm Shares that the withdrawing or defaulting Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase.
(b) If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail to take up and pay for the amount of Firm Shares agreed by such Underwriter or Underwriters to be purchased hereunder, upon tender of such Firm Shares in accordance with the terms hereof, and the amount of Firm Shares not purchased aggregates more than 10% of the total amount of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I, and arrangements satisfactory to you for the purchase of such Firm Shares by other persons are not made within 36 hours thereafter, this Agreement shall terminate. In the event of any such termination the Company shall not be
under any liability to any Underwriter (except to the extent provided in Section 4(g) and Section 6) nor shall any Underwriter (other than an Underwriter who shall have failed, otherwise than for some reason permitted under this Agreement, to purchase the amount of Firm Shares agreed by such Underwriter to be purchased hereunder) be under any liability to the Company (except to the extent provided in Section 6).
If Firm Shares to which a default relates are to be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters or by any other party or parties, the Representative or the Company shall have the right to postpone the First Closing Date for not more than seven business days in order that the necessary changes in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Disclosure Package, in the Prospectus or in any other documents, as well as any other arrangements, may be effected. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 8.
9. Effective Date of this Agreement and Termination.
(a) This Agreement shall become effective upon execution and delivery by each of the parties hereto.
(b) You, as Representative of the several Underwriters, shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time at or prior to the First Closing Date, and the option referred to in Section 3(b), if exercised, may be cancelled at any time prior to the Second Closing Date, if (i) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable, at or prior to such Closing Date, to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder, (ii) any other condition of the Underwriters’ obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, (iii) trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, New York Stock Exchange or the NYSE Amex Equities Exchange shall have been wholly suspended, (iv) minimum or maximum prices for trading shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been required, on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, New York Stock Exchange or the NYSE Amex Equities Exchange, by such Exchange or by order of the Commission or any other governmental authority having jurisdiction, (v) a banking moratorium shall have been declared by federal or state authorities, or (vi) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis that, in your judgment, is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the sale of and payment for the Securities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 4(g) and Section 6 hereof shall at all times be effective.
10. Default by the Company. If the Company shall fail at the First Closing Date to sell and deliver the number of Securities which it is obligated to sell hereunder, then this Agreement shall terminate without any liability on the part of any Underwriter, or except as provided in Section 4(g) and Section 6, or any non-defaulting party. No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve the Company from liability, if any, in respect of such default.
11. Notices. Except as otherwise provided herein, all communications hereunder shall be in writing and, if to the Underwriters, shall be mailed or delivered to the Representative c/o Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, 222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, with a copy to Faegre and Benson LLP, 2200 Wells Fargo Center, 90 South Seventh Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, Attention: Jonathan R. Zimmerman, except that notices given to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 6 shall be sent to such Underwriter at the address stated in the Underwriters’ Questionnaire furnished by such Underwriter in connection with this offering; and if to the Company, shall be mailed or delivered to it at 644 East Beaton Drive, West Fargo, North Dakota 58078-2648, Attention: Chief Executive Officer, with a copy to Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., 200 South Sixth Street, Suite 4000, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, Attention: Melodie R. Rose. Any party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose.
12. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns and the controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 6. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give to any other person, firm or corporation any legal or equitable remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. The term “successors and assigns” as herein used shall not include any purchaser, as such purchaser, of any of the Securities from any of the several Underwriters.
13. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Underwriters have been retained solely to act as underwriters in connection with the sale of the Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and any Underwriter has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is advising the Company on other matters; (b) the price and other terms of the Securities set forth in this Agreement were established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Representative and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (c) it has been advised that the Underwriters and their affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Underwriters have no obligation to disclose such interest and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; (d) it has been advised that the Representative is acting, in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, solely for the benefit of the Representative and the other Underwriters, and not on behalf of the Company; (e) it waives to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims they may have against the Underwriters for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and agrees that the Underwriters shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company.
14. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
15. Consent to Jurisdiction. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Hennepin or Ramsey County, Minnesota or the courts of the State of Minnesota in each case located in Hennepin or Ramsey County (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
16. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed by facsimile signature and in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original and all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
17. Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure thereof, shall in any event be effective as to any party to this Agreement unless the same shall be in writing and signed by such party.
18. Waiver of Trial by Jury. The parties hereby waive all right to trial by jury in any action proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in connection with any dispute arising out of this Agreement or any matters contemplated by this Agreement.
[Signature Page Follows]
Please sign and return to the Company the enclosed duplicates of this letter whereupon this letter will become a binding agreement between the Company and the several Underwriters in accordance with its terms.
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| TITAN MACHINERY INC. | ||
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| By | /s/ David J. Meyer | |
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| Chief Executive Officer | |
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Confirmed as of the date first |
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above mentioned, on behalf of |
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itself and the other several |
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Underwriters named in Schedule I |
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hereto. |
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CRAIG-HALLUM CAPITAL GROUP LLC |
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By | /s/ Patricia S. Bartholomew |
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Title | Managing Partner |
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SCHEDULE I
TO PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Underwriters
Underwriter |
| Number of Firm Shares (1) |
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Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC |
| 1,200,000 |
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Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated |
| 480,000 |
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Stephens Inc. |
| 360,000 |
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Feltl and Company |
| 360,000 |
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Total |
| 2,400,000 |
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(1) The Underwriters may purchase up to an additional 360,000 Option Shares, to the extent the option described in Section 3(b) of the Agreement is exercised, in the proportions and in the manner described in the Agreement.
SCHEDULE II
TO PURCHASE AGREEMENT
ISSUER GENERAL FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES
Free writing prospectus dated May 5, 2011 containing a description of the final terms of the offering of the securities to which this Agreement relates to be filed with the Commission on May 6, 2011.