On January 17, 2018, Mr. Pickens and Mr. Gustafsson had a telephone call to discuss the parties’ preparedness to explore Zebra’s interest in acquiring Xplore.
On January 18, 2018, Zebra delivered a draftNon- Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) to Xplore and requested a presentation of Xplore and a model for cost savings that could be achieved if part of a larger organization. Over the next several days, Xplore’s outside counsel, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (“Sheppard Mullin”), negotiated the terms of the NDA with Zebra.
On January 31, 2018, the NDA was finalized and executed by Xplore and Zebra.
On February 7 and 8, 2018, representatives of Zebra and of PJT Partners LP, Zebra’s financial advisor, and PwC LLP, Zebra’s accounting advisor, met with Mr. Pickens and Mr. Tom Wilkinson, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, for dinner and an overview presentation of Xplore to help inform Zebra’s view on valuation, including an overview on potential synergies.
On February 16, 2018, Mr. Michael Cho, Zebra’s Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, called Mr. Pickens to inform him that Zebra would be sending an indicative offer letter reflecting Zebra’s proposed terms for an acquisition. Shortly after the call, Zebra delivered anon-binding indicative offer letter to Mr. Pickens viae-mail proposing an aggregate purchase price of $66 million to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Xplore on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
On February 19, 2018, Mr. Pickens called Mr. Gustafsson and conveyed that the offer was too low and that he had expected an offer in the range of $125 million.
On February 21, 2018, Mr. Pickens, Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Cho conducted a teleconference to discuss the indication of interest and to clarify its terms ahead of a presentation regarding the offer to the Xplore Board.
On February 22, 2018, Mr. Pickens sent an email to Mr. Gustafsson in which he communicated that the offer had been considered and rejected by the Xplore Board. Mr. Pickens added that the Xplore Board was not interested in further discussions with Zebra unless Zebra employed a different valuation method in determining its offer for Xplore.
On February 27, 2018, Mr. Gustafsson delivered a response letter viae-mail to Mr. Pickens outlining Zebra’s approach on valuation, reiterating Zebra’s interest in Xplore, and conveying a willingness potentially to increase its valuation if supported by additional due diligence.
On March 8, 2018, Mr. Pickens delivered a response letter viae-mail to Mr. Gustafsson conveying various approaches for how Xplore viewed its proper valuation, as well as a willingness tore-engage at the right offer price.
Negotiations between Xplore and Zebra were suspended, and on March 16, 2018, Sheppard Mullin, on behalf of Xplore, sent ane-mail to Zebra requesting all information disclosed pursuant to the NDA be returned.
On March 23, 2018, Mr. Pickens had a telephone call with Mr. Gustafsson in which they discussed the possibility of Zebra increasing the offer price for Xplore under a revised indication of interest. Mr. Gustafsson orally conveyed an increased and final offer of $85 million. Mr. Pickens indicated that he believed the Xplore Board would find that price sufficient tore-engage in potential acquisition discussions.
On March 27, 2018, Mr. Pickens received a revisednon-binding offer letter, together with a letter of exclusivity, from Zebra, which he distributed to the members of the Xplore Board and Mr. Wilkinson. The revised indication of interest reflected an offer to purchase 100% of the outstanding shares of Xplore for $85 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
23