SDST Stardust Power Inc

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) October 7, 2024

 

STARDUST POWER INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		001-39875		99-3863616
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification Number)

 

15 E. Putnam Ave, Suite 378 Greenwich, CT		06830
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

 

(800) 742 3095

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation to the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share		SDST		The Nasdaq Global Market
Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50		SDSTW		The Nasdaq Global Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

Emerging growth company ☒

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

 

Item 1.01 - Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

 

On October 7, 2024, Stardust Power Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) and a related Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC (“B. Riley Principal Capital II”), the selling stockholder. Upon the terms and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, the Company will have the right, in its sole discretion, to sell up to $50,000,000 of newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) to B. Riley Principal Capital II, subject to certain conditions and limitations contained in the Purchase Agreement, from time to time during the term of the Purchase Agreement. Sales of Common Stock pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, and the timing of any sales, are solely at the option of the Company. The Company is under no obligation to sell any securities to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement.

 

Upon the initial satisfaction of each of the conditions to B. Riley Principal Capital II’s purchase obligation set forth in the Purchase Agreement (the initial satisfaction of such conditions, the “Commencement”, and the date on which the Commencement occurs, the “Commencement Date”), including that a registration statement registering under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the resale by B. Riley Principal Capital II of shares of Common Stock issued to it by the Company under the Purchase Agreement, which the Company agreed to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, is declared effective by the SEC, the Company will have the right, but not the obligation, from time to time at its sole discretion over the 36-month period beginning on the Commencement Date, to direct B. Riley Principal Capital II to purchase a specified number of shares of Common Stock, not to exceed certain limitations as set forth in the Purchase Agreement (each, a “Market Open Purchase”), by delivering written notice to B. Riley Principal Capital II prior to the commencement of trading of the Common Stock on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) on any trading day (the “Purchase Date”), so long as (i) the closing sale price of the Common Stock on the trading day immediately prior to such Purchase Date is not less than a specified threshold price as set forth in the Purchase Agreement (the “Threshold Price”) and (ii) all shares of Common Stock subject to all prior Market Open Purchases and all prior Intraday Purchases (as defined below) effected by the Company under the Purchase Agreement (as applicable) have been received by B. Riley Principal Capital II at such time and in the manner set forth in the Purchase Agreement.

 

The purchase price of the shares of Common Stock that the Company elects to sell to B. Riley Principal Capital II in a Market Open Purchase pursuant to the Purchase Agreement will be determined by reference to the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock (“VWAP”), during the period (the “Market Open Purchase Valuation Period”) beginning at the official open of the regular trading session on Nasdaq on the applicable Purchase Date and ending at the earliest to occur of (i) such time of official close of the regular trading session, (ii) such time during such regular trading hour period, the trading volume threshold calculated in accordance with the Purchase Agreement is reached, and (iii) if the Company further specifies in the applicable purchase notice for such Market Open Purchase that a “limit order discontinue election” shall apply to such Market Open Purchase, such time the trading price of the Common Stock on Nasdaq during such Market Open Purchase Valuation Period falls below the applicable minimum price threshold determined in accordance with the Purchase Agreement, less a fixed 3.0% discount to the VWAP for such Market Open Purchase Valuation Period. The calculations of the VWAP and the volume of shares traded for purposes of determining whether such volume threshold is reached will exclude the opening and closing trades in the Common Stock during regular trading hours on the applicable Purchase Date, to the extent they occur during the applicable Market Open Purchase Valuation Period and if the Company specifies a limit order discontinue election, any trades in the Common Stock during the applicable Market Open Purchase Valuation Period at a price below the applicable minimum price threshold determined in accordance with the Purchase Agreement.

 

 

In addition to the Market Open Purchases described above, after the Commencement, the Company will also have the right, but not the obligation (subject to the continued satisfaction of the purchase conditions contained in the Purchase Agreement), to direct B. Riley Principal Capital II to purchase, on any trading day that would qualify as a Purchase Date on which the Company may elect to effect a Market Open Purchase, whether or not a Market Open Purchase is effected by the Company on such trading day, a specified number of shares of Common Stock, not to exceed certain limitations set forth in the Purchase Agreement that are similar to those applicable to Market Open Purchases (each, an “Intraday Purchase”), by timely delivering an irrevocable written notice of such Intraday Purchase to B. Riley Principal Capital II after 10:00 a.m., New York City time (and after the Market Open Purchase Valuation Period for any earlier Market Open Purchase and the Intraday Purchase Valuation Period (defined below) for the most recent prior Intraday Purchase effected on the same Purchase Date, if applicable, have ended), and prior to 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on such Purchase Date (each, an “Intraday Purchase Notice”), so long as (i) the closing sale price of the Common Stock on Nasdaq on the trading day immediately prior to such Purchase Date is not less than the Threshold Price and (ii) all shares of Common Stock subject to all prior Market Open Purchases and all prior Intraday Purchases effected by the Company under the Purchase Agreement (as applicable) have been received by B. Riley Principal Capital II at such time and in the manner set forth in the Purchase Agreement.

 

The per share purchase price for the shares of Common Stock that the Company elects to sell to B. Riley Principal Capital II in an Intraday Purchase pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, if any, will be calculated in the same manner as in the case of a Market Open Purchase (including the same fixed 3.0% discount to the applicable VWAP used to calculate the per share purchase price for a Market Open Purchase, as described above), provided that the VWAP for each Intraday Purchase effected on a Purchase Date will be calculated over different purchase valuation periods during the regular trading session on Nasdaq on such Purchase Date than the Market Open Purchase Valuation Period applicable to a Market Open Purchase effected on such Purchase Date (if any), each of which will commence and end at different times on such Purchase Date and will not overlap with any other purchase valuation period on such Purchase Date (each, an “Intraday Purchase Valuation Period”).

 

There is no upper limit on the price per share that B. Riley Principal Capital II could be obligated to pay for the Common Stock the Company may elect to sell to it in any Market Open Purchase or any Intraday Purchase under the Purchase Agreement. The purchase price per share of Common Stock that the Company may elect to sell to B. Riley Principal Capital II in a Market Open Purchase and an Intraday Purchase under the Purchase Agreement will be equitably adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction occurring during the applicable Purchase Valuation Period for such Market Open Purchase or during the applicable Intraday Purchase Valuation Period for such Intraday Purchase.

 

The Company will control the timing and amount of any sales of Common Stock to B. Riley Principal Capital II that it may elect, in its sole discretion, to effect from time to time from and after the Commencement Date and during the term of the Purchase Agreement. Actual sales of shares of Common Stock to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement will depend on a variety of factors to be determined by the Company from time to time, including, among other things, market conditions, the trading price of the Common Stock and determinations by the Company as to the appropriate sources of funding for the Company and its operations.

 

Under the applicable Nasdaq rules, in no event may the Company issue to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement more than 9,569,701 shares of Common Stock, which number of shares is equal to 19.99% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement (the “Exchange Cap”), unless (i) the Company obtains stockholder approval to issue shares of Common Stock in excess of the Exchange Cap in accordance with applicable Nasdaq rules, or (ii) the average price per share paid by B. Riley Principal Capital II for all of the shares of Common Stock that the Company directs B. Riley Principal Capital II to purchase from the Company pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, if any, equals or exceeds $7.7020 per share (representing the lower of (a) the official closing price of the Common Stock on Nasdaq immediately preceding the execution of the Purchase Agreement and (b) the average official closing price of the Common Stock on Nasdaq for the five consecutive trading days immediately preceding the execution of the Purchase Agreement, adjusted as required by Nasdaq to take into account the Company’s issuance of Commitment Shares (as defined below) to B. Riley Principal Capital II as consideration for B. Riley’s commitment to purchase shares of Common Stock at the Company’s direction at such times as the Company may determine in its sole discretion during the term of the Purchase Agreement), so that the Exchange Cap limitation will not apply to issuances and sales of Common Stock pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. Moreover, the Company may not issue or sell any shares of Common Stock to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement which, when aggregated with all other shares of Common Stock then beneficially owned by B. Riley Principal Capital II and its affiliates (as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 13d-3 thereunder), would result in B. Riley Principal Capital II beneficially owning more than 4.99% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock.

 

 

The net proceeds from sales of Common Stock by the Company to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement, if any, will depend on the frequency and prices at which the Company sells shares of Common Stock to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement. To the extent the Company elects to sell shares of Common Stock to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement from and after the Commencement Date, the Company currently plans to use any net proceeds therefrom for working capital and general corporate purposes.

 

There are no restrictions on future financings, rights of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages in the Purchase Agreement or Registration Rights Agreement, other than a prohibition (with certain limited exceptions) on the Company entering into certain specified “Variable Rate Transactions” (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) during the term of the Purchase Agreement. Such transactions include, among others, the issuance by the Company of securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, at variable or future determined conversion, exercise or exchange prices based on the market prices of the Common Stock at the time of conversion, exercise or exchange thereof, or otherwise at such times or during such periods after the date such convertible, exercisable or exchangeable securities were issued by the Company, or the Company effecting or entering into an agreement to effect an “equity line of credit,” “at the market offering” or other substantially similar continuous offering with a third party (other than with B. Riley Principal Capital II or one of its affiliates), in which the Company may offer, issue or sell Common Stock or any securities exercisable, exchangeable or convertible into Common Stock at a future determined price.

 

B. Riley Principal Capital II has agreed that B. Riley Principal Capital II, its sole member, any of their respective officers, or any entity managed or controlled by B. Riley Principal Capital II or its sole member, will not engage in or effect, directly or indirectly, for its own account or for the account of any other of such persons or entities, any short sales of the Common Stock or hedging transaction that establishes a net short position in the Common Stock during the term of the Purchase Agreement.

 

The Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement contain customary representations, warranties, conditions and indemnification obligations of the parties. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements were made only for the purposes of such agreements, were solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreements and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties.

 

The Purchase Agreement will automatically terminate on the earliest to occur of (i) the first day of the month next following the 36-month anniversary of the Commencement Date, (ii) the date on which B. Riley Principal Capital II shall have purchased from the Company under the Purchase Agreement shares of Common Stock for an aggregate gross purchase price of $50,000,000, (iii) the date on which the Common Stock shall have failed to be listed or quoted on Nasdaq or another U.S. national securities exchange identified as an “eligible market” in the Purchase Agreement for a period of one trading day, (iv) the 30th trading day after the date on which a voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceeding involving the Company has been commenced that is not discharged or dismissed prior to such 30^th trading day, and (v) the date on which a bankruptcy custodian is appointed for all or substantially all of the Company’s property or the Company makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors. The Company has the right to terminate the Purchase Agreement at any time after Commencement, at no cost or penalty to the Company, upon 5 trading days’ prior written notice to B. Riley Principal Capital II. The Company and B. Riley Principal Capital II may also agree to terminate the Purchase Agreement by mutual written consent, provided that no termination of the Purchase Agreement will be effective during the pendency of any Market Open Purchase or any Intraday Purchase that has not then fully settled in accordance with the Purchase Agreement. Neither the Company nor B. Riley Principal Capital II may assign or transfer any of their respective rights or obligations under the Purchase Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement. No provision of the Purchase Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement may be modified or waived by the Company or B. Riley Principal Capital II from and after the date that is one trading day immediately preceding the date on which the initial resale registration statement that the Company is required to file with the SEC under the Registration Rights Agreement is first filed with the SEC.

 

 

As consideration for B. Riley Principal Capital II’s commitment to purchase shares of Common Stock at the Company’s direction at such times as the Company may determine in its sole discretion upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, upon the execution of the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement on October 7, 2024, the Company issued 63,694 shares of Common Stock (the “Commitment Shares”) to B. Riley Principal Capital II, which Commitment Shares have a total aggregate value equal to 1.0% of B. Riley Principal Capital II’s $50,000,000 total aggregate purchase commitment under the Purchase Agreement (each Commitment Share valued at $7.85 per share, representing the Nasdaq official closing price of the Common Stock on October 4, 2024). Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, in certain circumstances set forth in the Purchase Agreement, the Company may be required to pay B. Riley Principal Capital II up to $500,000 (or 1.0% of B. Riley Principal Capital II’s $50,000,000 aggregate purchase commitment under the Purchase Agreement), in cash, as a “make-whole” payment to the extent the aggregate amount of cash proceeds, if any, received by B. Riley Principal Capital II from the resale of the Commitment Shares prior to certain times set forth in the Purchase Agreement is less than $500,000, in exchange for B. Riley Principal Capital II returning to the Company for cancelation all of the Commitment Shares the Company originally issued to B. Riley Principal Capital II upon execution of the Purchase Agreement that were not previously resold by B. Riley Principal Capital II prior to the times specified in the Purchase Agreement, if any. The Company will not make any such cash “make-whole” payment to B. Riley Principal Capital II if, after the Commencement Date, the aggregate net proceeds received by B. Riley Principal Capital II from their resale of all or any portion of the Commitment Shares equals or exceeds $500,000. The Company and B. Riley Principal Capital II have further agreed that if, after the Commencement Date, the aggregate amount of cash proceeds received by B. Riley Principal Capital II from their resale of all of the Commitment Shares is greater than $500,000, then B. Riley Principal Capital II will pay the Company an amount in cash equal to 50% of the amount by which the aggregate net proceeds received by B. Riley Principal Capital II from their resale of all of the Commitment Shares exceeds $500,000.

 

In addition, the Company has agreed to reimburse B. Riley Principal Capital II for the reasonable legal fees and disbursements of B. Riley Principal Capital II’s legal counsel in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement in an amount equal to $75,000, (i) $25,000 of which the Company has paid prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement and (ii) $50,000 of which (the “Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount”) the Company has agreed to pay by having B. Riley Principal Capital II withhold an amount in cash equal to 50% of the total aggregate purchase price payable to the Company by B. Riley Principal Capital II for the shares of Common Stock it is required to purchase from the Company in the first (and, if necessary, each subsequent) Market Open Purchase and Intraday Purchase (as applicable) the Company elects to effect under the Purchase Agreement, if any, until B. Riley Principal Capital II has withheld an aggregate cash amount equal to the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount of $50,000. If the full $50,000 Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount has not been so withheld by B. Riley Principal Capital II on or prior to the earlier of (a) the date on which the Purchase Agreement is terminated by the Company or B. Riley Principal Capital II in accordance with its terms and (ii) December 31, 2024, the Company will then be required to promptly pay B. Riley Principal Capital II an amount in cash equal to such portion of the Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount that was not so withheld by B. Riley Principal Capital II prior to such time. The Company has also agreed to reimburse B. Riley Principal Capital II up to $5,000 per fiscal quarter for the reasonable legal fees and disbursements of B. Riley Principal Capital II’s legal counsel in connection with quarterly and annual bring-down due diligence investigations and related matters as contemplated by the Purchase Agreement.

 

 

Under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), a “qualified independent underwriter” (as defined in the applicable FINRA rules) is required to participate in the preparation of a registration statement that the Company has agreed to file with the SEC under the Registration Rights Agreement to register the resale by B. Riley Principal Capital II of shares of Common Stock under the Securities Act that may be issued and sold by the Company to B. Riley Principal Capital II from time to time pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, and is also required to exercise the usual standards of “due diligence” with respect thereto. Accordingly, the Company has engaged Seaport Global Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member (“Seaport”), to be the qualified independent underwriter in connection with the offering of Common Stock that may be made pursuant to such resale registration statement. B. Riley Principal Capital II has agreed to pay Seaport a cash fee of $50,000 as consideration for its services and to reimburse Seaport up to $5,000 for expenses incurred in connection with acting as the qualified independent underwriter in connection with the offering of Common Stock that may be made pursuant to such resale registration statement. Although the Company is not obligated to pay any such fees or expense reimbursement directly to Seaport, B. Riley Principal Capital II will withhold an amount in cash equal to 50% of the total aggregate purchase price payable to the Company by B. Riley Principal Capital II for the shares of Common Stock it is required to purchase from the Company in the first (and, if necessary, each subsequent) Market Open Purchase and Intraday Purchase (as applicable) the Company elects to effect under the Purchase Agreement, if any, until B. Riley Principal Capital II has withheld an aggregate cash amount (in addition to the Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount of $50,000 that B. Riley Principal Capital II will also withhold from such aggregate purchase price amounts) equal to $50,000 (the “QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount”). As in the case of the Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount, if the full $50,000 QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount has not been so withheld by B. Riley Principal Capital II on or prior to the earlier of (a) the date on which the Purchase Agreement is terminated by the Company or B. Riley Principal Capital II in accordance with its terms and (ii) December 31, 2024, the Company will then be required to promptly pay B. Riley Principal Capital II an amount in cash equal to such portion of the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount that was not so withheld by B. Riley Principal Capital II prior to such time.

 

The foregoing descriptions of the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of such agreements, copies of which are attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, and each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

 

Item 3.02. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.

 

The information set forth in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.02 in its entirety. The securities that have been or may be issued under the Purchase Agreement are being offered and sold by the Company in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) thereof and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D thereunder. B. Riley Principal Capital II represented to the Company in the Purchase Agreement that it is an “accredited investor,” as defined in Regulation D, and is acquiring the securities under the Purchase Agreement for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view towards, or for resale in connection with, the public distribution thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws. Accordingly, the offer and sale by the Company of the securities that have been or may be issued to B. Riley Principal Capital II under the Purchase Agreement is not being registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws and, therefore, such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act and any applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws.

 

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company, nor shall there be any sale of any securities of the Company in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

 

Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) The following exhibits are being filed herewith:

 

Exhibit No.		Description
10.1†		Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 7, 2024, by and between Stardust Power Inc. and B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC.
10.2		Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of October 7, 2024, by and between Stardust Power Inc. and B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC.
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

† Confidential information has been omitted because it is both (i) not material and (ii) is the type of information that the Company treats as private or confidential pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K.

 

 

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: October 7, 2024

 

STARDUST POWER INC.
By:	/s/ Roshan Pujari
Name:	Roshan Pujari
Title:	Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

 

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

CERTAIN INFORMATION HAS BEEN OMITTED FROM THIS EXHIBIT PURSUANT TO ITEM 601(B)(10) OF REGULATION S-K, BECAUSE IT IS BOTH NOT MATERIAL AND THE TYPE THAT THE REGISTRANT TREATS AS PRIVATE OR CONFIDENTIAL. IN ADDITION, CERTAIN PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION HAS BEEN OMITTED FROM THIS EXHIBIT PURSUANT TO ITEM 601(A)(6) OF REGULATION S-K. [***] INDICATES THAT INFORMATION HAS BEEN REDACTED.

 

Execution Version

 

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

Dated as of October 7, 2024

 

by and between

 

STARDUST POWER INC.

 

and

 

B. RILEY PRINCIPAL CAPITAL II, LLC

 

 

Table of Contents

 

		Page
Article I DEFINITIONS		1
Article II PURCHASE AND SALE OF COMMON STOCK		2
Section 2.1.	Purchase and Sale of Stock	2
Section 2.2.	Closing Date; Settlement Dates	2
Section 2.3.	Initial Public Announcements and Required Filings	2
Article III PURCHASE TERMS		3
Section 3.1.	VWAP Purchases	3
Section 3.2.	Intraday VWAP Purchases	4
Section 3.3.	Settlement	5
Section 3.4.	Compliance with Rules of Trading Market.	6
Section 3.5.	Beneficial Ownership Limitation	6
Article IV REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE INVESTOR		7
Section 4.1.	Organization and Standing of the Investor	7
Section 4.2.	Authorization and Power	7
Section 4.3.	No Conflicts	7
Section 4.4.	Investment Purpose	8
Section 4.5.	Accredited Investor Status	8
Section 4.6.	Reliance on Exemptions	8
Section 4.7.	Information	8
Section 4.8.	No Governmental Review	9
Section 4.9.	No General Solicitation	9
Section 4.10.	Not an Affiliate	9
Section 4.11.	No Prior Short Sales	9
Section 4.12.	Statutory Underwriter Status	10
Section 4.13.	Resales of Securities	10
Article V REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY		10
Section 5.1.	Organization, Good Standing and Power	10
Section 5.2.	Authorization, Enforcement	10
Section 5.3.	Capitalization	11
Section 5.4.	Payment of Commitment Fee; Issuance of Securities	11
Section 5.5.	No Conflicts	12
Section 5.6.	Commission Documents, Financial Statements; Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting; Accountants	13
Section 5.7.	Subsidiaries	15
Section 5.8.	No Material Adverse Effect or Material Adverse Change	15
Section 5.9.	No Undisclosed Liabilities	15
Section 5.10.	No Material Defaults on Indebtedness	16
Section 5.11.	Solvency	16
Section 5.12.	Title to Real and Personal Property	16

 

 

Section 5.13.	Litigation	16
Section 5.14.	Compliance with Applicable Laws	17
Section 5.15.	Certain Fees	17
Section 5.16.	Disclosure	17
Section 5.17.	Material Permits	17
Section 5.18.	Environmental Matters	18
Section 5.19.	Intellectual Property Rights	18
Section 5.20.	Material Contracts	19
Section 5.21.	Transactions With Affiliates	19
Section 5.22.	Labor Relations	19
Section 5.23.	Use of Proceeds	19
Section 5.24.	Investment Company Act Status	19
Section 5.25.	Tax Matters	19
Section 5.26.	Insurance	20
Section 5.27.	Exemption from Registration	20
Section 5.28.	No General Solicitation or Advertising	20
Section 5.29.	No Integrated Offering	20
Section 5.30.	Dilutive Effect	20
Section 5.31.	Manipulation of Price	21
Section 5.32.	Securities Act	21
Section 5.33.	Listing and Maintenance Requirements; DTC Eligibility	21
Section 5.34.	Application of Takeover Protections	21
Section 5.35.	Foreign Corrupt Practices	22
Section 5.36.	Office of Foreign Assets Control	22
Section 5.37.	Money Laundering	22
Section 5.38.	ERISA	23
Section 5.39.	IT Systems	23
Section 5.40.	Privacy Laws	23
Section 5.41.	U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation	24
Section 5.42.	Margin Rules	24
Section 5.43.	Emerging Growth Company Status	24
Section 5.44.	Smaller Reporting Company Status	24
Section 5.45.	No Disqualification Events	24
Section 5.46.	Market Capitalization	24
Section 5.47.	Broker/Dealer Relationships; FINRA Information	25
Section 5.48.	Acknowledgement Regarding Relationship with Investor and BRS	25
Section 5.49.	Acknowledgement Regarding Investor’s Affiliate Relationships	26
Article VI ADDITIONAL COVENANTS		26
Section 6.1.	Securities Compliance	26
Section 6.2.	Reservation of Common Stock	27
Section 6.3.	Registration and Listing	27
Section 6.4.	Compliance with Laws.	27
Section 6.5.	Keeping of Records and Books of Account; Due Diligence.	28
Section 6.6.	No Frustration; No Variable Rate Transactions.	28
Section 6.7.	Corporate Existence	29
Section 6.8.	Fundamental Transaction	29

 

 

Section 6.9.	Selling Restrictions.	29
Section 6.10.	Effective Registration Statement	30
Section 6.11.	Blue Sky	30
Section 6.12.	Non-Public Information	30
Section 6.13.	Broker-Dealer	31
Section 6.14.	FINRA Filing	31
Section 6.15.	QIU	32
Section 6.16.	Disclosure Schedule.	32
Section 6.17.	Delivery of Compliance Certificates, Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letters and Bring-Down Comfort Letters Upon Occurrence of Certain Events	33
Article VII CONDITIONS TO CLOSING, COMMENCEMENT AND PURCHASES		34
Section 7.1.	Conditions Precedent to Closing	34
Section 7.2.	Conditions Precedent to Commencement	35
Section 7.3.	Conditions Precedent to Purchases after Commencement Date	39
Article VIII TERMINATION		43
Section 8.1.	Automatic Termination	43
Section 8.2.	Other Termination	43
Section 8.3.	Effect of Termination	44
Article IX INDEMNIFICATION		45
Section 9.1.	Indemnification of Investor	45
Section 9.2.	Indemnification Procedures	45
Article X MISCELLANEOUS		46
Section 10.1.	Certain Fees and Expenses; Commitment Fee; Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions.	46
Section 10.2.	Specific Enforcement, Consent to Jurisdiction, Waiver of Jury Trial.	49
Section 10.3.	Entire Agreement	49
Section 10.4.	Notices	50
Section 10.5.	Waivers	51
Section 10.6.	Amendments	51
Section 10.7.	Headings	51
Section 10.8.	Construction	51
Section 10.9.	Binding Effect	51
Section 10.10.	No Third Party Beneficiaries	51
Section 10.11.	Governing Law	51
Section 10.12.	Survival	52
Section 10.13.	Counterparts	52
Section 10.14.	Publicity	52
Section 10.15.	Severability	52
Section 10.16.	Further Assurances	52
Annex I. Definitions

 

 

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

This COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of October 7, 2024 (this “Agreement”), by and between B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Investor”), and Stardust Power Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).

 

RECiTALS

 

WHEREAS, the parties desire that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations set forth herein, the Company may issue and sell to the Investor, from time to time as provided herein, and the Investor shall purchase from the Company, up to the lesser of (i) $50,000,000 in aggregate gross purchase price of newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), and (ii) the Exchange Cap (to the extent applicable under Section 3.4);

 

WHEREAS, such sales of Common Stock by the Company to the Investor will be made in reliance upon the provisions of Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (“Section 4(a)(2)”) and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act (“Regulation D”), and upon such other exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act as may be available with respect to any or all of the sales of Common Stock to the Investor to be made hereunder;

 

WHEREAS, the parties hereto are concurrently entering into a Registration Rights Agreement in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company shall register under the Securities Act the resale of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement) by the Investor, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein;

 

WHEREAS, in consideration for the Investor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company shall pay the Commitment Fee to the Investor in such manner, at such time(s) and otherwise pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii) and, in connection therewith, the Company is causing its transfer agent to issue to the Investor the Commitment Shares concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto on the date hereof, pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a); and

 

WHEREAS, the Company acknowledges that the Investor is an Affiliate of the B. Riley group of entities, and its Affiliate, B. Riley Securities, Inc. (“BRS”), is acting as the Investor’s representative in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

 

Article I
DEFINITIONS

 

Capitalized terms used in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in Annex I hereto, and hereby made a part hereof, or as otherwise set forth in this Agreement.

 

 

Article II
PURCHASE AND SALE OF COMMON STOCK

 

Section 2.1. Purchase and Sale of Stock. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, during the Investment Period, the Company, in its sole discretion, shall have the right, but not the obligation, to issue and sell to the Investor, and the Investor shall purchase from the Company, up to the lesser of (i) $50,000,000 (the “Total Commitment”) in aggregate gross purchase price of duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock and (ii) the Exchange Cap, to the extent applicable under Section 3.4 (such lesser amount of shares of Common Stock, the “Aggregate Limit”), by the delivery to the Investor of VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices as provided in Article III.

 

Section 2.2. Closing Date; Settlement Dates. This Agreement shall become effective and binding (the “Closing”) upon (a) the delivery of counterpart signature pages of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement executed by each of the parties hereto and thereto, and (b) the delivery of all other documents, instruments and writings required to be delivered at the Closing, in each case as provided in Section 7.1(iv), to the offices of Reed Smith LLP, at 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, at 3:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Closing Date. In consideration of and in express reliance upon the representations, warranties and covenants contained in, and upon the terms and subject to the conditions of, this Agreement, during the Investment Period, the Company, at its sole option and discretion, may issue and sell to the Investor, and, if the Company elects to so issue and sell, the Investor shall purchase from the Company, the Shares in respect of each VWAP Purchase and each Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable). The delivery of Shares in respect of each VWAP Purchase and each Intraday VWAP Purchase, and the payment for such Shares, shall occur in accordance with Section 3.3.

 

Section 2.3. Initial Public Announcements and Required Filings. The Company shall, not later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately after the date of this Agreement, file with the Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K disclosing the execution of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement by the Company and the Investor and describing the material terms thereof, including, without limitation, the Commitment Fee payable by the Company to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii) of this Agreement, including the issuance of the Commitment Shares to the Investor pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a) of this Agreement, and attaching as exhibits thereto copies of each of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement and, if applicable, any press release issued by the Company disclosing the execution of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement by the Company (including all exhibits thereto, the “Current Report”). The Company shall provide the Investor a reasonable opportunity to comment on a draft of the Current Report prior to filing the Current Report with the Commission and shall give due consideration to all such comments. From and after the filing of the Current Report with the Commission, the Company shall have publicly disclosed all material, nonpublic information delivered to the Investor (or the Investor’s representatives or agents) by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents or representatives (if any) in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Investor covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company as described in this Section 2.3, the Investor shall maintain the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (including the existence and terms of the transactions contemplated thereby), except that the Investor may disclose the terms of such transactions to its financial, accounting, legal and other advisors (provided that the Investor directs such Persons to maintain the confidentiality of such information). Not later than 15 calendar days following the Closing Date, the Company shall file a Form D with respect to the issuance and sale of the Securities in accordance with Regulation D and shall provide a copy thereof to the Investor promptly after such filing. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to prepare and, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than the applicable Filing Deadline, file with the Commission the Initial Registration Statement and any New Registration Statement covering only the resale by the Investor of the Registrable Securities in accordance with the Securities Act and the Registration Rights Agreement. At or before 8:30 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement and any New Registration Statement (or any post-effective amendment thereto), the Company shall file with the Commission in accordance with Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act the final Prospectus to be used in connection with resales of the Registrable Securities by the Investor pursuant to such Registration Statement (or post-effective amendment thereto).

 

 

Article III
PURCHASE TERMS

 

Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Article VII, the parties agree as follows:

 

Section 3.1. VWAP Purchases. Upon the initial satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 7.2 (the “Commencement” and the date of initial satisfaction of all of such conditions, the “Commencement Date”) and from time to time thereafter, subject to the satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 7.3, the Company shall have the right, but not the obligation, to direct the Investor, by its timely delivery to the Investor of a VWAP Purchase Notice for a VWAP Purchase (each, a “VWAP Purchase”), specifying in such VWAP Purchase Notice (a) the VWAP Purchase Percentage for such VWAP Purchase and (b) whether a Limit Order Continue Election or a Limit Order Discontinue Election shall apply to such VWAP Purchase, on the applicable Purchase Date therefor, to purchase a specified VWAP Purchase Share Amount, which shall not exceed the applicable VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, at the applicable VWAP Purchase Price therefor on such Purchase Date in accordance with this Agreement. The Company may timely deliver to the Investor a VWAP Purchase Notice for a VWAP Purchase on any Trading Day selected by the Company as the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, so long as (i) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately preceding such Purchase Date is not less than the Threshold Price, and (ii) all Shares subject to all prior VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases (as applicable) pursuant to this Agreement have been received by the Investor as DWAC Shares prior to the Company’s delivery to the Investor of such VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase on such Purchase Date. The Investor is obligated to accept each VWAP Purchase Notice prepared and delivered by the Company in accordance with the terms of and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions contained in this Agreement. If the Company delivers any VWAP Purchase Notice directing the Investor to purchase a VWAP Purchase Share Amount in excess of the applicable VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount that the Company is then permitted to include in such VWAP Purchase Notice (taking into account the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase), such VWAP Purchase Notice shall be void ab initio to the extent of the amount by which the VWAP Purchase Share Amount set forth in such VWAP Purchase Notice exceeds such applicable VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, and the Investor shall have no obligation to purchase, and shall not purchase, such excess Shares pursuant to such VWAP Purchase Notice; provided, however, that the Investor shall remain obligated to purchase the applicable VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount pursuant to such VWAP Purchase. At or prior to 5:30 p.m., New York City time, on the Purchase Date for each VWAP Purchase, the Investor shall provide to the Company, by email correspondence to each of the individual notice recipients of the Company set forth in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice, a written confirmation for such VWAP Purchase, setting forth the applicable VWAP Purchase Price per Share to be paid by the Investor for the Shares purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase, and the total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price to be paid by the Investor for the total VWAP Purchase Share Amount purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not deliver any VWAP Purchase Notices to the Investor during the PEA Period, any Allowable Grace Period or any MPA Period.

 

 

Section 3.2. Intraday VWAP Purchases. Upon the initial satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 7.2 on the Commencement Date and from time to time thereafter, subject to the satisfaction of all of the conditions set forth in Section 7.3, in addition to VWAP Purchases as described in Section 3.1, the Company shall also have the right, but not the obligation, to direct the Investor, by its timely delivery to the Investor of an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for an Intraday VWAP Purchase (each, an “Intraday VWAP Purchase”), specifying in such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (a) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage for such Intraday VWAP Purchase and (b) whether a Limit Order Continue Election or a Limit Order Discontinue Election shall apply to such Intraday VWAP Purchase, on the applicable Purchase Date therefor, to purchase a specified Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount, which shall not exceed the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, at the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Price therefor on such Purchase Date in accordance with this Agreement. The Company may timely deliver to the Investor an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for an Intraday VWAP Purchase on any Trading Day selected by the Company as the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, so long as (i) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately preceding such Purchase Date is not less than the Threshold Price, and (ii) all Shares subject to all prior VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases (as applicable) have been received by the Investor as DWAC Shares prior to the Company’s delivery to the Investor of such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase on such Purchase Date. The Investor is obligated to accept each Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice prepared and delivered by the Company in accordance with the terms of and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions contained in this Agreement. If the Company delivers any Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice directing the Investor to purchase an Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount in excess of the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount that the Company is then permitted to include in such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (taking into account the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase), such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice shall be void ab initio to the extent of the amount by which the Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount set forth in such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice exceeds such applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, and the Investor shall have no obligation to purchase, and shall not purchase, such excess Shares pursuant to such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice; provided, however, that the Investor shall remain obligated to purchase the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount pursuant to such Intraday VWAP Purchase. At or prior to 5:30 p.m., New York City time, on the Purchase Date on which one or more Intraday VWAP Purchases shall have occurred, the Investor shall provide to the Company, by email correspondence to each of the individual notice recipients of the Company set forth in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice, a written confirmation for each such Intraday VWAP Purchase, setting forth the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Price per Share to be paid by the Investor for the Shares purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and the total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price to be paid by the Investor for the total Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not deliver any Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices to the Investor during the PEA Period, any Allowable Grace Period or any MPA Period.

 

 

Section 3.3. Settlement. The Shares constituting the applicable VWAP Purchase Share Amount purchased by the Investor in each VWAP Purchase, and the Shares constituting the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount purchased by the Investor in each Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), in each case shall be delivered to the Investor as DWAC Shares not later than 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately following the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase and for each such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) (the “Purchase Share Delivery Date”). For (a) each VWAP Purchase, the Investor shall pay to the Company an amount in cash equal to the product of (1) the total number of Shares purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase and (2) the applicable VWAP Purchase Price for such Shares, as full payment for such Shares purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase, and (b) each Intraday VWAP Purchase, the Investor shall pay to the Company an amount in cash equal to the product of (1) the total number of Shares purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase and (2) the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Price for such Shares, as full payment for such Shares purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase, in each case via wire transfer of immediately available funds, not later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately following the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date for such VWAP Purchase and for each such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), provided the Investor shall have timely received, as DWAC Shares, all of such Shares purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase and such Intraday VWAP Purchase(s) (as applicable) on such Purchase Share Delivery Date in accordance with the first sentence of this Section 3.3, or, if any of such Shares are received by the Investor after 1:00 p.m., New York City time, then the Company’s receipt of such funds in its designated account may occur on the Trading Day next following the Trading Day on which the Investor shall have received all of such Shares as DWAC Shares, but not later than 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on such next Trading Day. Subject to Section 10.1(ii), the Company and the Investor acknowledge and agree that the Investor shall withhold an amount in cash equal to fifty percent (50%) from the total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price payable by the Investor to the Company for the applicable VWAP Purchase Share Amount in connection with each VWAP Purchase effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and an amount in cash equal to fifty percent (50%) from the total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price payable by the Investor to the Company for the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount in connection with each Intraday VWAP Purchase effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, in each case, until the Investor shall have received from such cash withholding(s) a total aggregate amount in cash equal to $100,000, representing the sum of (x) $50,000, representing the total cash fee and expense reimbursement previously paid by the Investor to the QIU for acting as the qualified independent underwriter in connection with this offering (such cash amount to be withheld by the Investor, the “QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount”) and (y) $50,000, representing the balance of the Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payable by the Company to the Investor after the Closing Date pursuant to Section 10.1(i) (such cash amount to be withheld by the Investor, the “Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount”), and upon such cash withholding(s) by the Investor of a total aggregate amount in cash equal to $100,000 from such total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price and such total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price, as applicable, payable by the Investor to the Company pursuant to this Agreement, the Investor shall not withhold any additional cash amounts from the purchase prices payable by the Investor to the Company in connection with any VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase effected pursuant to this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount shall each be fully earned by the Investor as of the Closing Date and shall be non-refundable when withheld by the Investor in accordance with this Section 3.3 and Section 10.1(i) or when paid to the Investor in accordance with the penultimate sentence of Section 10.1(i), as the case may be, regardless of whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. If the Company or its transfer agent shall fail for any reason (other than a failure of the Investor or its Broker-Dealer to set up a DWAC and required instructions) to deliver to the Investor, as DWAC Shares, any Shares purchased by the Investor in a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately following the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date for such VWAP Purchase and for each such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), and if on or after such Trading Day the Investor purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Investor of such Shares that the Investor anticipated receiving from the Company on such Purchase Share Delivery Date in respect of such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), then the Company shall, within one (1) Trading Day after the Investor’s request, either (i) pay cash to the Investor in an amount equal to the Investor’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased (the “Cover Price”), at which point the Company’s obligation to deliver such Shares as DWAC Shares shall terminate, or (ii) promptly honor its obligation to deliver to the Investor such Shares as DWAC Shares and pay cash to the Investor in an amount equal to the excess (if any) of the Cover Price over the total purchase price paid by the Investor pursuant to this Agreement for all of the Shares purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable). The Company shall not issue any fraction of a share of Common Stock to the Investor in connection with any VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase effected pursuant to this Agreement. If the issuance would result in the issuance of a fraction of a share of Common Stock, the Company shall round such fraction of a share of Common Stock up or down to the nearest whole share. All payments to be made by the Investor pursuant to this Agreement shall be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds to such account as the Company may from time to time designate by written notice to the Investor in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

 

Section 3.4. Compliance with Rules of Trading Market.

 

(a) Exchange Cap. Subject to Section 3.4(b), the Company shall not issue or sell any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement, and the Investor shall not purchase or acquire any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement, to the extent that after giving effect thereto, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that would be issued pursuant to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (including the Commitment Shares) would exceed 9,569,701 shares of Common Stock (such number of shares equal to 19.99% of the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the execution of this Agreement), which number of shares shall be reduced, on a share-for-share basis, by the number of shares of Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any transaction or series of transactions that may be aggregated with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement under applicable rules of the Trading Market (such maximum number of shares of Common Stock, the “Exchange Cap”), unless the Company’s stockholders have approved the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement in excess of the Exchange Cap in accordance with the applicable rules of the Trading Market. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company may, but shall be under no obligation to, request its stockholders to approve the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement; provided, that if such stockholder approval is not obtained, the Exchange Cap shall be applicable for all purposes of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby at all times during the term of this Agreement (except as set forth in Section 3.4(b)).

 

(b) At-Market Transaction. Notwithstanding Section 3.4(a) above, the Exchange Cap shall not be applicable for any purposes of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, solely to the extent that (and only for so long as) the Average Price shall equal or exceed the Base Price (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that the Exchange Cap shall be applicable for all purposes of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby at all other times during the term of this Agreement, unless the stockholder approval referred to in Section 3.4(a) is obtained). The parties acknowledge and agree that the Minimum Price used to determine the Base Price hereunder represents the lower of (i) the Nasdaq official closing price of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (as reflected on Nasdaq.com) on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and (ii) the average Nasdaq official closing price of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (as reflected on Nasdaq.com) for the five (5) consecutive Trading Days ending on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement.

 

(c) General. The Company shall not issue or sell any shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement if such issuance or sale would reasonably be expected to result in (A) a violation of the Securities Act or (B) a breach of the rules of the Trading Market. The provisions of this Section 3.4 shall be implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 3.4 only if necessary to ensure compliance with the Securities Act and the applicable rules of the Trading Market.

 

Section 3.5. Beneficial Ownership Limitation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Company shall not issue or sell, and the Investor shall not purchase or acquire, any shares of Common Stock under this Agreement which, when aggregated with all other shares of Common Stock then beneficially owned by the Investor and its Affiliates (as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 promulgated thereunder), would result in the beneficial ownership by the Investor of more than 4.99% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (the “Beneficial Ownership Limitation”). Upon the written request of the Investor, the Company shall promptly (but not later than the next business day on which the Company’s transfer agent is open for business) confirm orally or in writing to the Investor the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding. The Investor and the Company shall each cooperate in good faith in the determinations required under this Section 3.5 and the application of this Section 3.5. The Investor’s written certification to the Company of the applicability of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the resulting effect thereof hereunder at any time, shall be conclusive with respect to the applicability thereof and such result absent manifest error. The provisions of this Section 3.5 shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 3.5 to the extent necessary to properly give effect to the limitations contained in this Section 3.5.

 

 

Article IV
REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE INVESTOR

 

The Investor hereby makes the following representations, warranties and covenants to the Company:

 

Section 4.1. Organization and Standing of the Investor. The Investor is a limited liability company duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

Section 4.2. Authorization and Power. The Investor has the requisite limited liability company power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement and to purchase or acquire the Securities in accordance with the terms hereof. The execution, delivery and performance by the Investor of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company action, and no further consent or authorization of the Investor, its officers or its sole member is required. Each of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Investor and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Investor enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, liquidation, conservatorship, receivership, or similar laws relating to, or affecting generally the enforcement of, creditor’s rights and remedies or by other equitable principles of general application (including any limitation of equitable remedies).

 

Section 4.3. No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Investor of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement and the consummation by the Investor of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and shall not (i) result in a violation of such Investor’s certificate of formation, limited liability company agreement or other applicable organizational instruments, (ii) conflict with, constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would become a default) under, or give rise to any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, any material agreement, mortgage, deed of trust, indenture, note, bond, license, lease agreement, instrument or obligation to which the Investor is a party or is bound, (iii) create or impose any lien, charge or encumbrance on any property of the Investor under any agreement or any commitment to which the Investor is party or under which the Investor is bound or under which any of its properties or assets are bound, or (iv) result in a violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, rule, or regulation, or any Order of any Governmental Entity applicable to the Investor or by which any of its properties or assets are bound or affected, except, in the case of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), for such conflicts, defaults, terminations, amendments, acceleration, cancellations and violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, prohibit or otherwise interfere with, in any material respect, the ability of the Investor to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. The Investor is not required under any applicable federal, state or local law, rule or regulation to obtain any consent, authorization or Order of, or make any filing or registration with, any Governmental Entity in order for it to execute, deliver or perform any of its obligations under this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement or to purchase or acquire the Securities in accordance with the terms hereof, other than as may be required by FINRA; provided, however, that for purposes of the representation made in this sentence, the Investor is assuming and relying upon the accuracy of the relevant representations and warranties and the compliance with the relevant covenants and agreements of the Company in the Transaction Documents to which it is a party.

 

 

Section 4.4. Investment Purpose. The Investor is acquiring the Securities for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view towards, or for resale in connection with, the public sale or distribution thereof, in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities laws; provided, however, that by making the representations herein, the Investor does not agree, or make any representation or warranty, to hold any of the Securities for any minimum or other specific term and reserves the right to dispose of the Securities at any time in accordance with, or pursuant to, a Registration Statement filed pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement or an applicable exemption under the Securities Act. The Investor does not presently have any agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any Person to sell or distribute any of the Securities. The Investor is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.

 

Section 4.5. Accredited Investor Status. The Investor is an “accredited investor” as that term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D.

 

Section 4.6. Reliance on Exemptions. The Investor understands that the Securities are being offered and sold to it in reliance on specific exemptions from the registration requirements of U.S. federal and state securities laws and that the Company is relying in part upon the truth and accuracy of, and the Investor’s compliance with, the representations, warranties, agreements, acknowledgments and understandings of the Investor set forth herein in order to determine the availability of such exemptions and the eligibility of the Investor to acquire the Securities.

 

Section 4.7. Information. All materials relating to the business, financial condition, management and operations of the Company and materials relating to the offer and sale of the Securities which have been requested by the Investor have been furnished or otherwise made available to the Investor or its advisors, including, without limitation, the Commission Documents. The Investor understands that its investment in the Securities involves a high degree of risk. The Investor is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities and has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of a proposed investment in the Securities. The Investor and its advisors have been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of and receive answers from representatives of the Company concerning the financial condition and business of the Company and other matters relating to an investment in the Securities. Neither such inquiries nor any other due diligence investigations conducted by the Investor or its advisors, if any, or its representatives shall modify, amend or affect the Investor’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or in any other Transaction Document to which the Company is a party or the Investor’s right to rely on any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transaction contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the opinions of the Company’s counsel delivered pursuant to Sections 7.1(iv), 7.2(xvi) and 7.3(x)). The Investor has sought such accounting, legal and tax advice as it has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to its acquisition of the Securities. The Investor understands that it (and not the Company) shall be responsible for its own tax liabilities that may arise as a result of this investment or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

 

Section 4.8. No Governmental Review. The Investor understands that no United States federal or state agency or any other government or Governmental Entity has passed on or made any recommendation or endorsement of the Securities or the fairness or suitability of an investment in the Securities nor have such authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Securities.

 

Section 4.9. No General Solicitation. The Investor is not purchasing or acquiring the Securities as a result of any form of general solicitation or general advertising (within the meaning of Regulation D) in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities.

 

Section 4.10. Not an Affiliate. The Investor is not an officer, director or an Affiliate of the Company. As of the date of this Agreement, the Investor does not beneficially own any shares of Common Stock or securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock, other than the Commitment Shares. During the Investment Period, the Investor will not acquire for its own account any shares of Common Stock or securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock, other than pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shall prohibit or be deemed to prohibit the Investor from purchasing, in an open market transaction or otherwise, shares of Common Stock necessary to make delivery by the Investor in satisfaction of a sale by the Investor of Shares that the Investor anticipated receiving from the Company in connection with the settlement of a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) if the Company or its transfer agent shall have failed for any reason (other than a failure of the Investor or its Broker-Dealer to set up a DWAC and required instructions) to electronically transfer all of the Shares subject to such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) to the Investor on the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date by crediting the Investor’s or its designated Broker-Dealer’s account at DTC through its DWAC delivery system in compliance with Section 3.3 of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing restriction does not apply to any Affiliate of the Investor, provided that any such purchases do not cause the Investor to violate any applicable Exchange Act requirement, including Regulation M.

 

Section 4.11. No Prior Short Sales. At no time prior to the date of this Agreement has the Investor, its sole member, any of their respective officers, or any entity managed or controlled by the Investor or its sole member, engaged in or effected, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, for its own account or for the account of any of its Affiliates, any (i) “short sale” (as such term is defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO of the Exchange Act) of the Common Stock or (ii) hedging transaction, which establishes a net short position with respect to the Common Stock.

 

 

Section 4.12. Statutory Underwriter Status. The Investor acknowledges that it will be disclosed as an “underwriter” and a “selling stockholder” in each Registration Statement and in any Prospectus contained therein to the extent required by applicable law and to the extent the Prospectus is related to the resale of Registrable Securities.

 

Section 4.13. Resales of Securities. The Investor represents, warrants and covenants that it will resell Securities purchased or acquired by the Investor from the Company pursuant to this Agreement only pursuant to the Registration Statement in which the resale of such Securities is registered under the Securities Act and the Prospectus contained therein, in a manner described under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in such Registration Statement and Prospectus, and in a manner in compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and applicable state securities laws, rules and regulations.

 

Article V
REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

 

Except as set forth in the disclosure schedule delivered by the Company to the Investor, if any (which is hereby incorporated by reference in, and constitutes an integral part of, this Agreement) (the “Disclosure Schedule”), the Company hereby makes the following representations, warranties and covenants to the Investor:

 

Section 5.1. Organization, Good Standing and Power. The Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease or operate its assets and properties and to conduct its business as now being conducted in all material respects. The Company is duly licensed or qualified to do business and in good standing (or equivalent status as applicable) in each jurisdiction in which the assets owned or leased by it or the character of its activities require it to be licensed or qualified or in good standing (or equivalent status as applicable), except where the failure to be so licensed or qualified, individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.2. Authorization, Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party and to issue the Securities in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof. Except for approvals of the Company’s Board of Directors or a committee thereof as may be required in connection with any issuance and sale of Shares to the Investor hereunder (which approvals shall be obtained prior to the delivery of any VWAP Purchase Notice and any Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice), the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly and validly authorized by all necessary corporate action, and no further consent or authorization of the Company, its Board of Directors or its stockholders is required. Each of the Transaction Documents to which the Company is a party has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, liquidation, conservatorship, receivership or similar laws relating to, or affecting generally the enforcement of, creditor’s rights and remedies or by other equitable principles of general application (including any limitation of equitable remedies).

 

 

Section 5.3. Capitalization. The authorized capital stock of the Company and the shares thereof issued and outstanding were as set forth in the Commission Documents as of the dates reflected therein. All of the outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and non-assessable. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, there are no agreements or arrangements under which the Company is obligated to register the sale of any securities under the Securities Act. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, no shares of Common Stock are entitled to preemptive rights and there are no outstanding debt securities and no contracts, commitments, understandings, or arrangements by which the Company is or may become bound to issue additional shares of the capital stock of the Company or options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into or exchangeable for, any shares of capital stock of the Company other than those issued or granted in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive and/or compensatory plans or arrangements. Except for customary transfer restrictions contained in agreements entered into by the Company to sell restricted securities or as set forth in the Commission Documents, the Company is not a party to, and it has no Knowledge of, any agreement restricting the voting or transfer of any shares of the capital stock of the Company. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, there are no securities or instruments containing anti-dilution or similar provisions that will be triggered by this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement or any of the other Transaction Documents, or the consummation of the transactions described herein or therein. The Company has filed with the Commission true and correct copies of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation as in effect on the Closing Date (the “Charter”), and the Company’s Bylaws as in effect on the Closing Date (the “Bylaws”).

 

Section 5.4. Payment of Commitment Fee; Issuance of Securities. Payment of the Commitment Fee by the Company to the Investor in such manner, at such time(s) and otherwise pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii) of this Agreement, including the issuance of the Commitment Shares to the Investor pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a) of this Agreement and the payment of any Cash Make-Whole Payment to the Investor as may be required pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(b) of this Agreement, in each case have been, and the Total Commitment worth of Shares available for issuance by the Company to the Investor under this Agreement have been, or with respect to the amount of Shares to be purchased by the Investor pursuant to a particular VWAP Purchase Notice or pursuant to a particular Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) will be, prior to the delivery to the Investor hereunder of such VWAP Purchase Notice and prior to the delivery to the Investor hereunder of such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable), in each case duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company. The Commitment Shares, when issued to the Investor in accordance with this Agreement, and the Shares, when issued and sold against payment therefor in accordance with this Agreement, shall be validly issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable and free from all liens, charges, taxes, security interests, encumbrances, rights of first refusal, preemptive or similar rights and other encumbrances with respect to the issue thereof, and the Investor shall be entitled to all rights accorded to a holder of Common Stock. An aggregate 6,436,306 shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and reserved by the Company for issuance and sale to the Investor as Shares pursuant to VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases under this Agreement.

 

 

Section 5.5. No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and shall not (i) result in a violation of any provision of the Company’s Charter or Bylaws, (ii) result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would become a default) under, or give rise to any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, any material agreement, mortgage, deed of trust, indenture, note, bond, license, lease agreement, instrument or obligation to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or is bound, (iii) create or impose a lien, charge or encumbrance on any property or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries under any agreement or any commitment to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of their respective properties or assets is subject, or (iv) result in a violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, rule, regulation or Order applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or by which any property or asset of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are bound or affected (including federal and state securities laws and regulations and the rules and regulations of the Trading Market or applicable Eligible Market), except, in the case of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), for such conflicts, defaults, terminations, amendments, acceleration, cancellations, liens, charges, encumbrances and violations as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as specifically contemplated by this Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement and as required under the Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws, the Company is not required under any federal, state, local or foreign law, rule or regulation to obtain any consent, authorization or Order of, or make any filing or registration with, any Governmental Entity (including, without limitation, the Trading Market) in order for it to execute, deliver or perform any of its obligations under the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, or to issue the Securities to the Investor in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof (other than such consents, authorizations, Orders, filings or registrations as have been obtained or made prior to the Closing Date); provided, however, that, for purposes of the representation made in this sentence, the Company is assuming and relying upon the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Investor in this Agreement and the compliance by it with its covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

 

Section 5.6. Commission Documents, Financial Statements; Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting; Accountants.

 

(a) Since July 8, 2024 (the “Business Combination Date”), the Company has timely filed (giving effect to permissible extensions in accordance with Rule 12b-25 under the Exchange Act) all Commission Documents required to be filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, including those required to be filed with or furnished to the Commission under Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. As of the Closing Date, no Subsidiary of the Company is required to file or furnish any report, schedule, registration, form, statement, information or other document with the Commission. As of its filing date (or, if amended or superseded by a filing prior to the Closing Date, as of the date of such amended or superseded filing), each Commission Document filed with or furnished to the Commission prior to the Closing Date complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable. Each Registration Statement, on the date it is filed with the Commission, on the date it is declared effective by the Commission and on each Purchase Date, shall comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act (including, without limitation, Rule 415 under the Securities Act) and shall not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, except that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements in or omissions from such Registration Statement made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Investor furnished to the Company in writing by or on behalf of the Investor expressly for use therein. The Prospectus and each Prospectus Supplement required to be filed pursuant to this Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement after the Closing Date, when taken together, on its date and on each Purchase Date, shall comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act (including, without limitation, Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act) and shall not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Investor furnished to the Company in writing by or on behalf of the Investor expressly for use therein. Each Commission Document (other than the Initial Registration Statement or any New Registration Statement, or the Prospectus included therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto) to be filed with or furnished to the Commission after the Closing Date and filed as part of or incorporated by reference in the Initial Registration Statement or any New Registration Statement, or the Prospectus included therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto required to be filed pursuant to this Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement (including, without limitation, the Current Report), when such document is filed with or furnished to the Commission and, if applicable, when such document becomes effective, as the case may be, shall comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable. The Company has delivered or made available to the Investor via EDGAR or otherwise true and complete copies of all comment letters and substantive correspondence received by the Company from the Commission relating to the Commission Documents filed with or furnished to the Commission as of the Closing Date, together with all written responses of the Company thereto in the form such responses were filed via EDGAR. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, there are no outstanding or unresolved comments or undertakings in such comment letters received by the Company from the Commission. The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

 

 

(b) The consolidated financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Commission Documents, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the periods specified (subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments which will not be material, either individually or in the aggregate) and have been prepared in compliance with the published requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis (except (i) for such adjustments to accounting standards and practices as are noted therein and (ii) in the case of unaudited interim statements, to the extent they may exclude footnotes or may be condensed or summary statements) during the periods involved. The pro forma financial statements or data included or incorporated by reference in the Commission Documents, if any, comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of Regulation S-X of the Securities Act, including, without limitation, Article 11 thereof, and the assumptions used in the preparation of such pro forma financial statements and data are reasonable, the pro forma adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the circumstances referred to therein and the pro forma adjustments have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of those statements and data. The other financial, statistical and market-related data with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries contained or incorporated by reference in the Commission Documents, if any, are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate or represent the Company’s good faith estimates that are made on the basis of data derived from such sources. There are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Commission Documents that are not included or incorporated by reference as required. All disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Commission Documents, if any, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.

 

(c) Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, the Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included in the Commission Documents, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, the Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the most recent Evaluation Date and, except as set forth in such Form 10-K or any Commission Document filed with the Commission for a period subsequent to the period covered by such Form 10-K, the “disclosure controls and procedures” are effective.

 

 

(d) KNAV CPA LLP (the “Accountant”), whose report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company is to be filed with the Commission as part of the Initial Registration Statement, are and, during the periods covered by their report, were independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). To the Company’s knowledge, the Accountant is not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) with respect to the Company.

 

(e) Since the Business Combination Date, the Company has timely filed all certifications and statements the Company is required to file under (i) Rule 13a-14 or Rule 15d-14 under the Exchange Act or (ii) 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 (Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) with respect to all Commission Documents with respect to which the Company is required to file such certifications and statements thereunder.

 

Section 5.7. Subsidiaries. Exhibit 21.1 to the Merger Form 8-K sets forth each Subsidiary of the Company as of the Closing Date, other than those that may be omitted pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K, and the Company does not have any other Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date, other than those that may be omitted pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K. Each Subsidiary of the Company has been duly formed or organized, is validly existing under the applicable laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and has the organizational power and authority to own, lease and operate its assets and properties and to conduct its business as it is now being conducted, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each of the Company’s Subsidiaries is duly licensed or qualified and in good standing (or equivalent status as applicable) as a foreign corporation (or other entity, if applicable) in each jurisdiction in which the assets owned or leased by it or the character of its activities require it to be licensed or qualified or in good standing (or equivalent status as applicable), except where the failure to be so licensed or qualified, individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company, except as described in or contemplated by the Commission Documents or as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.8. No Material Adverse Effect or Material Adverse Change. Except as otherwise disclosed in any Commission Documents, since the Business Combination Date: (i) the Company has not experienced or suffered any Material Adverse Effect, and there exists no current state of facts, condition or event which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (ii) there has not occurred any material adverse change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a prospective material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company from that set forth in the Commission Documents.

 

Section 5.9. No Undisclosed Liabilities. The Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations or any “variable interest entities” as that term is used in Accounting Standards Codification Paragraph 810-10-25-20), not described in Commission Documents which are required to be described in the Commission Documents.

 

 

Section 5.10. No Material Defaults on Indebtedness. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries are (i) in violation of its charter or bylaws or similar organizational documents or (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, promissory note, or loan agreement or other instrument relating to Indebtedness to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, except, in the case of clause (ii) above, for any such default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.11. Solvency. The Company has not taken any steps, and does not currently expect to take any steps, to seek protection pursuant to any Bankruptcy Law, nor does the Company have any Knowledge that its creditors intend to initiate involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or liquidation proceedings or other proceedings for relief under any Bankruptcy Law. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, the Company and its Subsidiaries are financially solvent and are generally able to pay their respective debts as they become due.

 

Section 5.12. Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and valid title in fee simple to all items of real property and good and valid title to all personal property described in the Commission Documents as being owned by them that are material to the businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in each case, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those that would reasonably be expected to not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real property described in the Commission Documents as being leased by the Company or its Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that would not be reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.13. Litigation. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, there is no Proceeding pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that, if adversely decided or resolved, would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Proceeding involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty, which would reasonably expected to result in a judgment, decree or order having a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, there has not been, and to the Knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any current or former director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, which would reasonably expected to result in a judgment, decree or order having a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

Section 5.14. Compliance with Applicable Laws. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries has been and is presently being conducted in compliance with all applicable Laws, except for such non-compliance which, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any Order applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except in all cases for any such violations which could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.15. Certain Fees. No brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Investor shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section 5.15 incurred by the Company or its Subsidiaries that may be due or payable in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

 

Section 5.16. Disclosure. The Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided the Investor or any of its agents, advisors or counsel with any information that constitutes or could reasonably be expected to constitute material, nonpublic information concerning the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that has not been publicly disclosed by the Company in a Commission Document filed by the Company with the Commission, other than the existence of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Company understands and confirms that the Investor will rely on the foregoing representations in effecting resales of Securities under the Registration Statement. All disclosure provided to Investor regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their businesses and the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (including, without limitation, the representations and warranties of the Company contained in the Transaction Documents to which it is a party (as modified by the Disclosure Schedule)) furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for purposes of or in connection with the Transaction Documents, taken together, is true and correct in all material respects on the date on which such information is dated or certified, and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading at such time.

 

Section 5.17. Material Permits. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has all Permits that are required to own, lease or operate its properties and assets and to conduct its business as currently conducted, except for such Permits that are not, individually or in the aggregate, material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole (the “Material Permits”). Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) to the Company’s Knowledge, each Material Permit is in full force and effect in accordance with its terms, (ii) no written notice of revocation, cancellation or termination of any Material Permit has been received by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and (iii) there are, and have been, no Proceedings pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened relating to the suspension, revocation or material and adverse modification of any of such Material Permit. This Section 5.17 does not relate to environmental matters, such items being the subject of Section 5.18.

 

 

Section 5.18. Environmental Matters. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, the business and operations of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries has, since March 16, 2023, been and is being conducted in compliance with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, licenses, permits, approvals, plans, authorizations or requirements, and all applicable judicial or administrative agency or regulatory Orders, relating to occupational safety and health (to the extent relating to exposure to Hazardous Substances), or pollution, or protection of the environment (including, without limitation, those relating to emissions, discharges, Releases or threatened Releases of Hazardous Substances into ambient air, surface water, groundwater or land, or relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Substances) of any Governmental Entity (“Environmental Laws”), except where the failure to be in such compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice from any Governmental Entity or any third party alleging any violation thereof or liability thereunder (including, without limitation, liability for costs of investigating or remediating sites containing Hazardous Substances and/or damages to natural resources), except where such notice would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, there has been no storage, generation, transportation, use, handling, treatment, Release or threat of Release of Hazardous Substances by or caused by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any other Person (including any predecessor of the Company for whose acts or omissions the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or could reasonably be expected to be liable) at, on, under or from any property or facility now or previously owned, operated or leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or at, on, under or from any other property or facility, in each case in violation of any Environmental Laws or in a manner or amount or to a location that would reasonably be expected to result in any liability to the Company or its Subsidiaries under any Environmental Law, except for any violation or liability which would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.19. Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries owns or possesses or has valid rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets and similar rights (“Intellectual Property Rights”) necessary for the conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries as currently carried on and as described in the Commission Documents. To the Knowledge of the Company, the conduct of the Company’s business as currently carried on and as described in the Commission Documents does not give rise to any infringement of any Intellectual Property Rights of others. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice alleging any such infringement, fee or conflict with asserted Intellectual Property Rights of others. Except as would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect: (A) to the Knowledge of the Company, there is no infringement, misappropriation or violation by third parties of any of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company; (B) there is no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the rights of the Company in or to any such Intellectual Property Rights, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim, that would, individually or in the aggregate, together with any other claims in this Section 5.19, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (C) the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company and, to the Knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property Rights licensed to the Company have not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and there is no pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property Rights; (D) there is no pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates any Intellectual Property Rights or other proprietary rights of others, the Company has not received any written notice of such claim and the Company is unaware of any other facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim that would, individually or in the aggregate, together with any other claims in this Section 5.19, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (E) to the Company’s Knowledge, no employee of the Company is in violation in any material respect of any term of any of the following with respect to Intellectual Property Rights: 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 actions undertaken by the employee while employed with the Company and could reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect; (F) the Company obtains and retains invention assignment agreements from each employee or contractor who is a material developer of the Company’s intellectual property or material technical information; and (G) the Company takes commercially reasonable steps to ensure its proprietary technology does not rely on open source code or libraries that would result in a requirement to disclose the Company’s proprietary source code. To the Company’s Knowledge, all material technical information developed by and belonging to the Company which has not been patented has been kept confidential. The Company is not a party to or bound by any options, licenses or agreements with respect to the Intellectual Property Rights of any other person or entity that are required to be set forth in the Commission Documents and are not described therein. The Commission Documents contain in all material respects an accurate description of the matters set forth in the preceding sentence. None of the technology employed by the Company has been obtained or is being used by the Company in material violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company or, to the Company’s Knowledge, any of its officers, directors or employees.

 

 

Section 5.20. Material Contracts. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, the descriptions in the Commission Documents of the material Contracts therein described present fairly in all material respects the information required to be shown, and there are no material Contracts of a character required to be described in the Commission Documents or to be filed as exhibits thereto which are not described or filed as required; all material Contracts between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and third parties expressly referenced in the Commission Documents are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company or one or more of its Subsidiaries, enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles, and except where the failure of any such Contract to be enforceable in accordance with its terms would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.21. Transactions With Affiliates. Except as set forth in the Commission Documents, none of the officers or directors of the Company and, to the Knowledge of the Company, none of the Company’s stockholders, the officers or directors of any stockholder of the Company who is the beneficial owner of more than five per cent (5%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, or any immediate family member or Affiliate of any of the foregoing, has either directly or indirectly any material interest in, or is a party to, any transaction that is required to be disclosed as a related party transaction pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

Section 5.22. Labor Relations. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, no labor dispute exists or, to the Knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, none of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, the Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all Laws relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

Section 5.23. Use of Proceeds. The proceeds from the sale of the Shares by the Company to Investor shall be used by the Company in the manner as will be set forth in the Prospectus included in any Registration Statement (and any post-effective amendment thereto) and any Prospectus Supplement thereto filed pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

Section 5.24. Investment Company Act Status. The Company is not, and as a result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares as will be set forth in the Prospectus included in any Registration Statement (and any post-effective amendment thereto) and any Prospectus Supplement thereto filed pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement the Company will not be required to register as an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

Section 5.25. Tax Matters. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Commission Documents and except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject as and when due subject to any applicable extensions, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, whether or not shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations, and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Commission Documents and except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, there are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the Company has no Knowledge of any basis for any such claim.

 

 

Section 5.26. Insurance. The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage. The Company has no 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 without a significant increase in cost.

 

Section 5.27. Exemption from Registration. Subject to, and in reliance on, the representations, warranties and covenants made herein by the Investor, the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the Investor in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D; provided, however, that at the request of and with the express agreement of the Investor (including, without limitation, the representations, warranties and covenants of Investor set forth in Sections 4.10 through 4.13), the Securities to be issued from and after Commencement to or for the benefit of the Investor pursuant to this Agreement shall be issued to the Investor or its designee only as DWAC Shares and will not bear legends noting restrictions as to resale of such securities under federal or state securities laws, nor will any such securities be subject to stop transfer instructions.

 

Section 5.28. No General Solicitation or Advertising. Neither the Company, nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf, has engaged in any form of general solicitation or general advertising (within the meaning of Regulation D) in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities.

 

Section 5.29. No Integrated Offering. None of the Company or any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would require registration of the offer, issuance and sale by the Company to the Investor of any of the Securities under the Securities Act, whether through integration with prior offerings or otherwise, or cause this offering of the Securities to require approval of stockholders of the Company under any applicable stockholder approval provisions, including, without limitation, under the rules and regulations of the Trading Market. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries, their Affiliates nor any Person acting on their behalf will take any action or steps referred to in the preceding sentence that would require registration of the offer, issuance and sale by the Company to the Investor of any of the Securities under the Securities Act or cause the offering of any of the Securities to be integrated with any other offering of securities of the Company.

 

Section 5.30. Dilutive Effect. The Company is aware and acknowledges that issuance of the Securities could cause dilution to existing stockholders and could significantly increase the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock. The Company further acknowledges that its obligation to issue the Commitment Shares and to issue the Shares pursuant to the terms of a VWAP Purchase Notice and pursuant to the terms of an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) in accordance with this Agreement is, in each case, absolute and unconditional regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership interests of other stockholders of the Company.

 

 

Section 5.31. Manipulation of Price. Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors or to the Knowledge of the Company, any of its Affiliates has, and, to the Knowledge of the Company, no Person acting on their behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed or intended to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company, or which caused or resulted in, or which would in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company, in each case to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company. Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors or Affiliates will during the term of this Agreement, and, to the Knowledge of the Company, no Person acting on their behalf will during the term of this Agreement, take any of the actions referred to in the immediately preceding sentence.

 

Section 5.32. Securities Act. The Company has complied and shall comply with all applicable federal and state securities laws in connection with the offer, issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder, including, without limitation, the applicable requirements of the Securities Act. Each Registration Statement, upon filing with the Commission and at the time it is declared effective by the Commission, shall satisfy all of the requirements of the Securities Act to register the resale of the Registrable Securities included therein by the Investor in accordance with the Registration Rights Agreement on a delayed or continuous basis under Rule 415 under the Securities Act at then-prevailing market prices, and not fixed prices. The Company is not currently, and has not been since July 8, 2024, an issuer identified in Rule 144(i)(1). The Company has filed current (as of the date of filing) “Form 10 information” (as defined in Rule 144(i)(3) under the Securities Act) with the Commission on July 12, 2024 reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

 

Section 5.33. Listing and Maintenance Requirements; DTC Eligibility. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its Knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Commission Documents, the Company has not received written notice from the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, from such Eligible Market) to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of the Trading Market (or of such Eligible Market, as applicable). To the Knowledge of the Company, except as disclosed in the Commission Documents, the Company is in compliance with all applicable listing and maintenance requirements of the Trading Market. The Common Stock may be issued and transferred electronically to third parties via DTC through its Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian (“DWAC”) delivery system. The Company has not received written notice from DTC to the effect that a suspension of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Stock, electronic trading or book-entry services by DTC with respect to the Common Stock is being imposed or is contemplated.

 

Section 5.34. Application of Takeover Protections. The Company and its Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Company’s Charter or the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, that is or could become applicable to the Investor as a result of the Investor and the Company fulfilling their respective obligations or exercising their respective rights under the Transaction Documents (as applicable), including, without limitation, as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Securities and the Investor’s ownership of the Securities.

 

 

Section 5.35. Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any agent or other Person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has: (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) or in the case of (i) – (iii) in material violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”).

 

Section 5.36. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to the knowledge of the Company any of the directors, officers or employees, agents, or representatives of the Company or its Subsidiaries, is an individual or entity that is, or is the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of comprehensive Sanctions (any such person a “Sanctioned Person”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries will, directly or knowingly indirectly, use the proceeds of the transactions contemplated hereby, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other individual or entity: (i) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any individual or entity or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions or (ii) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any individual or entity (including any individual or entity participating in the transactions contemplated hereby, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise). The operations of the Company have been conducted in material compliance with applicable Sanctions.

 

Section 5.37. Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (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 Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.

 

 

Section 5.38. ERISA. Except as disclosed in the Commission Documents and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, each material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and all stock purchase, stock option, stock-based severance, employment, change-in-control, medical, disability, fringe benefit, bonus, incentive, deferred compensation, employee loan and all other employee benefit plans, agreements, programs, policies or other arrangements, whether or not subject to ERISA, that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its Affiliates for employees or former employees, directors or independent contractors of the Company, or under which the Company has had or has any present or future obligation or liability, has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable federal, state, local and foreign Laws, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred which would result in a material liability to the Company with respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; no event has occurred (including a “reportable event” as such term is defined in Section 4043 of ERISA) and no condition exists that would subject the Company to any material tax, fine, lien, penalty, or liability imposed by ERISA, the Code or other applicable Law; 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.

 

Section 5.39. IT Systems. (i) Except as otherwise described in the Commission Documents, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (x) there has been no security breach or attack or other compromise of or relating to any of the Company’s and the Subsidiaries’ information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of them), equipment or technology (“IT Systems and Data”), and (y) the Company and the Subsidiaries have not been notified of any security breach, attack or compromise to their IT Systems and Data, and (ii) the Company and the Subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with, all applicable laws, statutes or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority and all binding industry standards, and internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.

 

Section 5.40. Privacy Laws. Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with all applicable data privacy and security laws and regulations; and the Company and the Subsidiaries have taken all necessary actions to comply in all material respects, to the extent applicable to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679) (collectively, “Privacy Laws”) and (ii) the Company and the Subsidiaries have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance with their policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling and analysis of Personal Data (the “Policies”). “Personal Data” means (i) a natural persons’ name, street address, telephone number, email address, photograph, social security number, bank information, or customer or account number; (ii) any information which would qualify as “personally identifying information” under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended; (iii) “personal data” as defined by GDPR; and (iv) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person, or his or her family, or permits the collection or analysis of any data related to an identified person’s health or sexual orientation. None of such disclosures made or contained in any of the Policies have been inaccurate, misleading, deceptive or in violation of any Privacy Laws or Policies in any material respect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement or any of the other Transaction Documents will not result in a breach of any Privacy Laws or Policies. Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries, (i) has received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) is currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation or other corrective action pursuant to any Privacy Law; or (iii) is a party to any order, decree, or agreement that imposed any obligation or liability under any Privacy Law.

 

 

Section 5.41. U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is, or has ever been, and so long as any of the Securities are held by the Investor, shall become a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Code.

 

Section 5.42. Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Securities nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Commission Documents will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

 

Section 5.43. Emerging Growth Company Status. As of the Closing Date the Company was, and as of the Commencement Date the Company will be, an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012.

 

Section 5.44. Smaller Reporting Company Status. As of the Closing Date the Company was, and as of the Commencement Date the Company will be, a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Section 5.45. No Disqualification Events. None of the Company, any of its predecessors, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the offering contemplated hereby, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, nor any promoter (as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity at the time of sale (each, an “Issuer Covered Person”) is subject to any of the “Bad Actor” disqualifications described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i) to (viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”), except for a Disqualification Event covered by Rule 506(d)(2) or (d)(3) under the Securities Act. The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Issuer Covered Person is subject to a Disqualification Event.

 

Section 5.46. Market Capitalization. As of the date of this Agreement, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and non-voting common equity (as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act) of the Company held by Persons other than Affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Rule 144, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the Company) (the “Non-Affiliate Shares”), was approximately $154.5 million (calculated by multiplying (i) the highest price at which the common equity of the Company closed on the Trading Market within 60 days of the date of this Agreement by (ii) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares).

 

 

Section 5.47. Broker/Dealer Relationships; FINRA Information. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries (i) is required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or (ii) directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member” (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual). All of the information provided to the Investor, BRS or to their counsel, specifically for use by BRS in connection with the FINRA Filing (and related disclosure) with FINRA, by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents is true, complete, correct and compliant with FINRA’s rules and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules.

 

Section 5.48. Acknowledgement Regarding Relationship with Investor and BRS. The Company acknowledges and agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, that the Investor is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s-length purchaser with respect to this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, and BRS is acting as a representative of the Investor in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, and of no other party, including the Company. The Company further acknowledges that while the Investor will be deemed to be a statutory “underwriter” with respect to certain of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents in accordance with interpretive positions of the Staff of the Commission, the Investor is a “trader” that is not required to register with the Commission as a broker-dealer under Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company further acknowledges that the Investor and its representatives are not acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, and any advice given by the Investor or any of its representatives (including BRS) or agents in connection therewith is merely incidental to the Investor’s acquisition of the Securities. The Company understands and acknowledges that employees of BRS may discuss market color, VWAP Purchase Notice and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice timing and parameter considerations and other related capital markets considerations with the Company in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby, in all cases on behalf of the Investor. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Investor has not made and does not make any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents other than those specifically set forth in Article IV.

 

 

Section 5.49. Acknowledgement Regarding Investor’s Affiliate Relationships. Affiliates of the Investor, including BRS, engage in a wide range of activities for their own accounts and the accounts of customers, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, merchant banking, equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, asset management, custody, clearance and securities lending. In the course of their respective business, Affiliates of the Investor may, directly or indirectly, hold long or short positions, trade and otherwise conduct such activities in or with respect to debt or equity securities or bank debt of, or derivative products relating to, the Company. Any such position will be created, and maintained, independently of the position the Investor takes in the Company. In addition, at any given time Affiliates of the Investor, including BRS, may have been or in the future may be engaged by one or more entities that may be competitors with, or otherwise adverse to, the Company in matters unrelated to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, and Affiliates of the Investor, including BRS may have or may in the future provide investment banking or other services to the Company in matters unrelated to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Activities of any of the Investor’s Affiliates performed on behalf of the Company may give rise to actual or apparent conflicts of interest given the Investor’s potentially competing interests with those of the Company. The Company expressly acknowledges the benefits it receives from the Investor’s participation in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, on the one hand, and the Investor’s Affiliates’ activities, if any, on behalf of the Company unrelated to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, on the other hand, and understands the conflict or potential conflict of interest that may arise in this regard, and has consulted with such independent advisors as it deems appropriate in order to understand and assess the risks associated with these potential conflicts of interest. Consistent with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, applicable Affiliates of the Investor have adopted policies and procedures to establish and maintain the independence of their research departments and personnel from their investment banking groups and the Investor. As a result, research analysts employed by Affiliates of the Investor may hold views, make statements or investment recommendations or publish research reports with respect to the Company or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents that differ from the views of the Investor.

 

Article VI
ADDITIONAL COVENANTS

 

The Company covenants with the Investor, and the Investor covenants with the Company, as follows, which covenants of one party are for the benefit of the other party, during the Investment Period (and with respect to the Company, for the period following the termination of this Agreement specified in Section 8.3 pursuant to and in accordance with Section 8.3):

 

Section 6.1. Securities Compliance. The Company shall notify the Commission and the Trading Market, if and as applicable, in accordance with their respective rules and regulations, of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, and shall take all necessary action, undertake all proceedings and obtain all registrations, permits, consents and approvals for the legal and valid issuance of the Securities to the Investor in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents, as applicable.

 

 

Section 6.2. Reservation of Common Stock. The Company has available and the Company shall reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive and other similar rights of stockholders, the requisite aggregate number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock to enable the Company to timely effect (i) the issuance and delivery of all Commitment Shares to be issued and delivered to the Investor under Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof within the time period specified in Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof, (ii) the issuance, sale and delivery of all Shares to be issued, sold and delivered in respect of each VWAP Purchase effected under this Agreement, in the case of this clause (ii), at least prior to the delivery by the Company to the Investor of the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice in connection with such VWAP Purchase, and (iii) the issuance, sale and delivery of all Shares to be issued, sold and delivered in respect of each Intraday VWAP Purchase effected under this Agreement, in the case of this clause (iii), at least prior to the delivery by the Company to the Investor of the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice in connection with such Intraday VWAP Purchase. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (a) as of the date of this Agreement, the Company has reserved, out of its authorized and unissued Common Stock, 63,694 shares of Common Stock solely for the purpose of issuing all of the Commitment Shares under this Agreement to be issued and delivered to the Investor under Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof within the time period specified in Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof, and (b) as of the date of this Agreement the Company has reserved, and as of the Commencement Date shall have continued to reserve, out of its authorized and unissued Common Stock, 6,436,306 shares of Common Stock solely for the purpose of issuing Shares pursuant to one or more VWAP Purchases and pursuant to one or more Intraday VWAP Purchases (as applicable) that may be effected by the Company, in its sole discretion, from time to time from and after the Commencement Date under this Agreement. The number of shares of Common Stock so reserved for the purpose of effecting issuances of Shares pursuant to VWAP Purchases and pursuant to Intraday VWAP Purchases under this Agreement (as applicable) may be increased from time to time by the Company from and after the Commencement Date, and such number of reserved shares may be reduced from and after the Commencement Date only by the number of Shares actually issued, sold and delivered to the Investor pursuant to any VWAP Purchase and any Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) effected from and after the Commencement Date pursuant to this Agreement.

 

Section 6.3. Registration and Listing. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Common Stock to continue to be registered as a class of securities under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and to comply with its reporting and filing obligations under the Exchange Act, and shall not take any action or file any document (whether or not permitted by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act) to terminate or suspend such registration or to terminate or suspend its reporting and filing obligations under the Exchange Act or Securities Act, except as permitted herein. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock and the listing of the Securities purchased or acquired by the Investor hereunder on the Trading Market (or another Eligible Market) and to comply with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the rules and regulations of the Trading Market (or other Eligible Market, as applicable). The Company shall not take any action which could be reasonably expected to result in the delisting or suspension of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or other Eligible Market, as applicable). If the Company receives any final and non-appealable notice that the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or other Eligible Market, as applicable) shall be terminated on a date certain, the Company shall promptly (and in any case within 24 hours) notify the Investor of such fact in writing and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Common Stock to be listed or quoted on another Eligible Market.

 

Section 6.4. Compliance with Laws.

 

(i) During the Investment Period, the Company (a) shall comply, and cause each Subsidiary to comply, with all laws, rules, regulations and Orders applicable to the business and operations of the Company, except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect and (b) with applicable provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including Regulation M thereunder, applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, and applicable listing rules of the Trading Market (or Eligible Market, as applicable), except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, prohibit or otherwise interfere with the ability of the Company to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect or for Investor to conduct resales of Securities under the Registration Statement in any material respect.

 

 

(ii) The Investor shall comply with all Laws and Orders applicable to the performance by it of its obligations under this Agreement and its investment in the Securities, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, prohibit or otherwise interfere with the ability of the Investor to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect. Without limiting the foregoing, the Investor shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including Regulation M thereunder, the rules and regulations of FINRA, and all applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws.

 

Section 6.5. Keeping of Records and Books of Account; Due Diligence.

 

(i) The Investor and the Company shall each maintain records showing the remaining Total Commitment, the remaining Aggregate Limit, the dates and VWAP Purchase Share Amount for each VWAP Purchase, and the dates and Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount for each Intraday VWAP Purchase.

 

(ii) Subject to the requirements of Section 6.12, from time to time from and after the Closing Date, the Company shall make available for inspection and review by the Investor during normal business hours and after reasonable notice, customary documentation reasonably requested by the Investor and/or its appointed counsel or advisors to conduct due diligence; provided, however, that after the Closing Date, the Investor’s continued due diligence shall not be a condition precedent to the Commencement or to the Investor’s obligation to accept each VWAP Purchase Notice and each Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice timely delivered by the Company to the Investor in accordance with this Agreement.

 

Section 6.6. No Frustration; No Variable Rate Transactions.

 

(i) No Frustration. The Company shall not enter into, announce or recommend to its stockholders any agreement, plan, arrangement or transaction in or of which the terms thereof would restrict, materially delay, conflict with or impair the ability or right of the Company to perform its obligations under the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, including, without limitation, the obligation of the Company to (i) pay the Commitment Fee to the Investor in such manner, at such time(s) and otherwise pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii) of this Agreement, including the obligation of the Company to (A) deliver the Commitment Shares to the Investor not later than 4:00 p.m. (New York time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Closing Date in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a), and (B) pay, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor, all or such portion of the Cash Make-Whole Payment (as applicable) that the Company is obligated to pay to the Investor at such time and otherwise pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(b), and (ii) deliver the Shares to the Investor in respect of each VWAP Purchase and each Intraday VWAP Purchase effected by the Company, in each case not later than the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date with respect to such VWAP Purchase and not later than the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date with respect to such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) in accordance with Section 3.3. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 6.6(i) shall in any way limit the Company’s right to terminate this Agreement in accordance with Section 8.2 (subject in all cases to Section 8.3).

 

 

(ii) No Variable Rate Transactions. The Company shall not effect or enter into an agreement to effect any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents (or a combination of units thereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction, other than in connection with an Exempt Issuance. The Investor shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief against the Company and its Subsidiaries to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages, without the necessity of showing economic loss and without any bond or other security being required.

 

Section 6.7. Corporate Existence. The Company shall take all steps necessary to preserve and continue the corporate existence of the Company; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 6.8, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to prohibit the Company from engaging in any Fundamental Transaction with another Person. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 6.7 shall in any way limit the Company’s right to terminate this Agreement in accordance with Section 8.2 (subject in all cases to Section 8.3).

 

Section 6.8. Fundamental Transaction. If a VWAP Purchase Notice or an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice has been delivered to the Investor and the transactions contemplated therein have not yet been fully settled in accordance with Section 3.3 of this Agreement, the Company shall not effect any Fundamental Transaction until the expiration of five (5) Trading Days following the date of full settlement thereof and the issuance to the Investor of all of the Shares that are issuable to the Investor pursuant to the VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) to which such VWAP Purchase Notice or Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) relates.

 

Section 6.9. Selling Restrictions.

 

(i) Except as expressly set forth below, the Investor covenants that from and after the Closing Date through and including the Trading Day next following the expiration or termination of this Agreement as provided in Article VIII (the “Restricted Period”), none of the Investor, its sole member, any of their respective officers, or any entity managed or controlled by the Investor or its sole member (collectively, the “Restricted Persons” and each of the foregoing is referred to herein as a “Restricted Person”) shall, directly or indirectly, (i) engage in any Short Sales of the Common Stock or (ii) hedging transaction, which establishes a net short position with respect to the Common Stock, with respect to each of clauses (i) and (ii) hereof, either for its own account or for the account of any other Restricted Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is expressly understood and agreed that nothing contained herein shall (without implication that the contrary would otherwise be true) prohibit any Restricted Person during the Restricted Period from: (1) selling “long” (as defined under Rule 200 promulgated under Regulation SHO) the Securities; or (2) selling a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Shares that the Investor is unconditionally obligated to purchase under any pending VWAP Purchase Notice or any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable), but has not yet received from the Company or its transfer agent pursuant to this Agreement, so long as (X) the Investor (or its Broker-Dealer, as applicable) delivers the Shares purchased pursuant to such pending VWAP Purchase Notice and the Shares purchased pursuant to such pending Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) to the purchaser thereof promptly upon the Investor’s receipt of such Shares from the Company in accordance with Section 3.3 of this Agreement and (Y) neither the Company or its transfer agent shall have failed for any reason (other than a failure of the Investor or its Broker-Dealer to set up a DWAC and required instructions)to deliver such Shares to the Investor or its Broker-Dealer so that such Shares are timely received by the Investor as DWAC Shares on the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date for such VWAP Purchase and on the applicable Purchase Share Delivery Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchases (as applicable) in accordance with Section 3.3 of this Agreement.

 

 

(ii) In addition to the foregoing, in connection with any sale of Securities (including any sale permitted by paragraph (i) above), the Investor shall comply in all respects with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and Orders, including, without limitation, the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.

 

Section 6.10. Effective Registration Statement. During the Investment Period, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the continuous effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement and each New Registration Statement filed with the Commission under the Securities Act for the applicable Registration Period pursuant to and in accordance with the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

Section 6.11. Blue Sky. The Company shall take such action, if any, as is necessary by the Company in order to obtain an exemption for or to qualify the Securities for sale by the Company to the Investor pursuant to the Transaction Documents, and at the request of the Investor, the subsequent resale of Registrable Securities by the Investor, in each case, under applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws and shall provide evidence of any such action so taken to the Investor from time to time following the Closing Date; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith or as a condition thereto to (x) qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify but for this Section 6.11, (y) subject itself to general taxation in any such jurisdiction, or (z) file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction.

 

Section 6.12. Non-Public Information. Neither the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, nor any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents shall disclose any material non-public information about the Company to the Investor, unless a simultaneous public announcement thereof is made by the Company in the manner contemplated by Regulation FD. In the event of a breach of the foregoing covenant by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees and agents (as determined in the reasonable good faith judgment of the Investor), (i) the Investor shall promptly provide written notice of such breach to the Company and (ii) after such notice has been provided to the Company and, provided that the Company shall have failed to publicly disclose such material, non-public information within 48 hours following demand therefor by the Investor or the Company shall have failed to demonstrate to the Investor in writing within 48 hours that such information does not constitute material, non-public information, in addition to any other remedy provided herein or in the other Transaction Documents, if the Investor is holding any Shares at the time of the disclosure of material, non-public information, the Investor shall have the right to make a public disclosure, in the form of a press release, public advertisement or otherwise, of such material, non-public information without the prior approval by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents. The Investor shall not have any liability to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, stockholders or agents, for any such disclosure.

 

 

Section 6.13. Broker-Dealer. The Investor shall use one or more broker-dealers (one of which is BRS, an Affiliate of the Investor) to effectuate all sales, if any, of the Securities that it may purchase or otherwise acquire from the Company pursuant to the Transaction Documents, as applicable, which (or whom) shall be a DTC participant (collectively, the “Broker-Dealer”). The Investor shall, from time to time, provide the Company and the Company’s transfer agent with all information regarding the Broker-Dealer reasonably requested by the Company. The Investor shall be solely responsible for all fees and commissions of the Broker-Dealer (if any), which shall not exceed customary brokerage fees and commissions and shall be responsible for designating only a DTC participant eligible to receive DWAC Shares.

 

Section 6.14. FINRA Filing. The Company shall reasonably assist the Investor and BRS with BRS’ preparation and filing with FINRA’s Corporate Financing Department via the Public Offering System of all documents and information required to be filed with FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 with regard to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “FINRA Filing”). In connection therewith, on or prior to the date the FINRA Filing is first made by BRS with FINRA, the Company shall pay to FINRA by wire transfer of immediately available funds the applicable filing fee with respect to the FINRA Filing, and the Company shall be solely responsible for payment of such fee. The parties hereby agree to provide each other and BRS all requisite information and otherwise to assist each other and BRS in a timely fashion in order for BRS to complete the preparation and submission of the FINRA Filing in accordance with this Section 6.14 and to assist BRS in promptly responding to any inquiries or requests from FINRA or its staff. Each party hereto shall (a) promptly notify the other party and BRS of any communication to that party or its Affiliates from FINRA, including, without limitation, any request from FINRA or its staff for amendments or supplements to or additional information in respect of the FINRA Filing and permit the other party and BRS to review in advance any proposed written communication to FINRA and (b) furnish the other party and BRS with copies of all written correspondence, filings and communications between them and their affiliates and their respective representatives and advisors, on the one hand, and FINRA or members of its staff, on the other hand, with respect to this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Each of the parties hereto agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions, and to do, or cause to be done, and to assist and cooperate with the other party and BRS in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable in order for BRS to obtain as promptly as practicable written confirmation from FINRA to the effect that FINRA’s Corporate Financing Department has determined not to raise any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Commencement Date shall not occur, unless and until BRS shall have received written confirmation from FINRA to the effect that FINRA’s Corporate Financing Department has determined not to raise any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

 

Section 6.15. QIU. If the Investor or any of its Affiliates, including BRS, reasonably determines that a Qualified Independent Underwriter is required to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents in order for such transactions to be in full compliance with the rules and regulations of FINRA, including, without limitation, FINRA Rule 5121, each of the parties hereto shall have executed such documentation as may reasonably be required to engage a Qualified Independent Underwriter to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA, including, without limitation, FINRA Rule 5121.

 

Section 6.16. Disclosure Schedule.

 

(i) The Company may, from time to time, update the Disclosure Schedule as may be required to satisfy the conditions set forth in Section 7.2(i) and Section 7.3(i) (to the extent such condition set forth in Section 7.3(i) relates to the condition in Section 7.2(i) as of a specific Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time). For purposes of this Section 6.16, any disclosure made in a schedule to the Compliance Certificate shall be deemed to be an update of the Disclosure Schedule. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no update to the Disclosure Schedule pursuant to this Section 6.16 shall cure any breach of a representation or warranty of the Company contained in this Agreement and made prior to the update and shall not affect any of the Investor’s rights or remedies with respect thereto.

 

(ii) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Disclosure Schedule or in this Agreement, the information and disclosure contained in any Schedule of the Disclosure Schedule shall be deemed to be disclosed and incorporated by reference in any other Schedule of the Disclosure Schedule as though fully set forth in such Schedule for which applicability of such information and disclosure is readily apparent on its face. The fact that any item of information is disclosed in the Disclosure Schedule shall not be construed to mean that such information is required to be disclosed by this Agreement. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, such information and the thresholds (whether based on quantity, qualitative characterization, dollar amounts or otherwise) set forth herein shall not be used as a basis for interpreting the terms “material” or “Material Adverse Effect” or other similar terms in this Agreement.

 

 

Section 6.17. Delivery of Compliance Certificates, Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letters and Bring-Down Comfort Letters Upon Occurrence of Certain Events. Within three (3) Trading Days immediately following: (i) each date on which the Company files with the Commission (A) an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act, (B) a Form 10-K/A containing amended (or restated) financial information or a material amendment to a previously filed annual report on Form 10-K, (C) a quarterly report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act, or (D) a current report on Form 8-K containing amended (or restated) financial information (other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) under the Exchange Act; and (ii) the effective date of (A) each post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement, (B) each New Registration Statement and (C) each post-effective amendment to each New Registration Statement, and in any case, not more than once per calendar quarter (each, a “Representation Date”), the Company shall (I) deliver to the Investor a Compliance Certificate, dated the date of delivery to the Investor, (II) cause to be furnished to the Investor an opinion and negative assurance letter “bring-down” from outside counsel to the Company, dated the date of delivery to the Investor, substantially in the form mutually agreed to by the Company and the Investor prior to the date of this Agreement, modified, as necessary, to relate to a New Registration Statement or a post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement or a New Registration Statement, and the Prospectus contained in a Registration Statement or post-effective amendment as then amended or supplemented by any Prospectus Supplement thereto as of the date of such letter, as applicable (each, a “Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letter”) and (III) other than with respect to a Representation Date pursuant to clause (i)(C) above, cause to be furnished to the Investor a customary “comfort letter” provided by the Accountant, or a successor independent registered public accounting firm for the Company (as applicable), dated the date of delivery to the Investor, substantially in the form, scope and substance as the information contained in the Initial Comfort Letter (to the extent such information is then applicable), stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by the Initial Comfort Letter (to the extent such financial information or other matters are then applicable), modified, as necessary, to address such new, amended or restated financial information contained in any of the Commission Documents referred to in clause (i) above or to relate to a New Registration Statement or a post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement or a New Registration Statement, or the Prospectus contained in a Registration Statement or post-effective amendment as then amended or supplemented by any Prospectus Supplement thereto as of the date of such letter, as applicable (each, a “Bring-Down Comfort Letter”). The requirement to provide the documents identified in the previous sentence shall be tolled with respect to any Representation Date, if (A) the Company has given written notice to the Investor (with a copy to its counsel) in accordance with Section 10.4, not later than one (1) Trading Day prior to the applicable Representation Date, of the Company’s decision to suspend delivery of VWAP Purchase Notices for future VWAP Purchases and delivery of Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices for future Intraday VWAP Purchases (each, a “Future Purchase Suspension”) (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that no Future Purchase Suspension shall limit, alter, modify, change or otherwise affect any of the Company’s or the Investor’s rights or obligations under the Transaction Documents with respect to any pending VWAP Purchase and any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) that has not been fully settled in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and that the parties shall fully perform their respective obligations with respect to any such pending VWAP Purchase and any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase under the Transaction Documents), and (B) such Representation Date does not occur during the period beginning on the Trading Day immediately preceding the Purchase Date for a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) and ending on the third (3^rd) Trading Day following the date of full settlement thereof and the issuance to the Investor of all of the Shares that are issuable to the Investor pursuant to such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), which tolling shall continue until the earlier to occur of (1) the Trading Day immediately preceding the Purchase Date for a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date, and (2) the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to deliver a VWAP Purchase Notice or an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice following a Representation Date when a Future Purchase Suspension was in effect and did not provide the Investor with the documents identified in clauses (I), (II) and (III) of the first sentence of this Section 6.17, then prior to the Company’s delivery to the Investor of such VWAP Purchase Notice or such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) on a Purchase Date, the Company shall provide the Investor with the documents identified in clauses (I), (II) and (III) of the first sentence of this Section 6.17, dated as of the applicable Purchase Date.

 

 

Article VII
CONDITIONS TO CLOSING, COMMENCEMENT AND PURCHASES

 

Section 7.1. Conditions Precedent to Closing. The Closing is subject to the satisfaction of each of the conditions set forth in this Section 7.1 on the Closing Date.

 

(i) Accuracy of the Investor’s Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Investor contained in this Agreement (a) that are not qualified by “materiality” shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the Closing Date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such other date and (b) that are qualified by “materiality” shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct as of such other date.

 

(ii) Accuracy of the Company’s Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement (a) that are not qualified by “materiality” or “Material Adverse Effect” shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the Closing Date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such other date and (b) that are qualified by “materiality” or “Material Adverse Effect” shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct as of such other date.

 

(iii) Payment of Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement; Issuance of Commitment Shares. On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have paid by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor (or the Investor’s counsel) on or prior to the date hereof, the Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement in accordance with Section 10.1(i), all of which Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement shall be fully earned and non-refundable as of the Closing Date, regardless of whether the Commencement occurs or whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. On the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver irrevocable instructions to its transfer agent to issue to the Investor, not later than 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Closing Date, a certificate or book-entry statement representing the Commitment Shares in the name of the Investor or its designee (in which case such designee name shall have been provided to the Company prior to the Closing Date), in consideration for the Investor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement. Such certificate or book-entry statement shall be delivered to the Investor by email and by overnight courier at its address set forth in Section 10.4 hereof. For the avoidance of doubt, all of the Commitment Shares shall be fully earned as of the Closing Date, regardless of whether the Commencement occurs or whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement.

 

 

(iv) Closing Deliverables. At the Closing, counterpart signature pages of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement executed by each of the parties hereto shall be delivered as provided in Section 2.2. Simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, the Investor’s counsel shall have received (a) the opinions of outside counsel to the Company, dated the Closing Date, in the forms mutually agreed to by the Company and the Investor prior to the date of this Agreement, (b) the closing certificate from the Company, dated the Closing Date, in the form of Exhibit B hereto, and (c) a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Company’s transfer agent regarding the issuance to the Investor or its designee of the certificate(s) or book-entry statement(s) representing the Commitment Shares pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof.

 

Section 7.2. Conditions Precedent to Commencement. The right of the Company to commence delivering VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices under this Agreement, and the obligation of the Investor to accept VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices timely delivered to the Investor by the Company under this Agreement, are subject to the initial satisfaction, at Commencement, of each of the conditions set forth in this Section 7.2.

 

(i) Accuracy of the Company’s Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement (a) that are not qualified by “materiality” or “Material Adverse Effect” shall have been true and correct in all material respects when made and shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the Commencement Date with the same force and effect as if made on such date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such other date and (b) that are qualified by “materiality” or “Material Adverse Effect” shall have been true and correct when made and shall be true and correct as of the Commencement Date with the same force and effect as if made on such date, except to the extent such representations and warranties are as of another date, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct as of such other date.

 

(ii) Performance of the Company. The Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied in all material respects with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to the Commencement. The Company shall deliver to the Investor on the Commencement Date the compliance certificate substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Compliance Certificate”).

 

(iii) Initial Registration Statement Effective. The Initial Registration Statement covering the resale by the Investor of the Registrable Securities included therein required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Registration Rights Agreement shall have been declared effective under the Securities Act by the Commission, and the Investor shall be permitted to utilize the Prospectus therein to resell (i) all of the Commitment Shares and (ii) all of the Shares included in such Prospectus.

 

 

(iv) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (a) receipt of any request by the Commission or any other Governmental Entity for any additional information relating to the Initial Registration Statement, the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto, or for any amendment of or supplement to the Initial Registration Statement, the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto; (b) the issuance by the Commission or any other Governmental Entity of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement or prohibiting or suspending the use of the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto, or of the suspension of qualification or exemption from qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or the initiation or contemplated initiation of any proceeding for such purpose; (c) the objection of FINRA to the terms of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents or (d) the occurrence of any event or the existence of any condition or state of facts, which makes any statement of a material fact made in the Initial Registration Statement, the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto untrue or which requires the making of any additions to or changes to the statements then made in the Initial Registration Statement, the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto in order to state a material fact required by the Securities Act to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements then made therein (in the case of the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, or which requires an amendment to the Initial Registration Statement or a supplement to the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto to comply with the Securities Act, any applicable state securities laws or any other law. The Company shall have no Knowledge of any event that could reasonably be expected to have the effect of causing the suspension of the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement or the prohibition or suspension of the use of the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto in connection with the resale of the Registrable Securities by the Investor.

 

(v) Other Commission Filings. The Current Report and the Form D shall have been filed with the Commission as required pursuant to Section 2.3. The final Prospectus included in the Initial Registration Statement shall have been filed with the Commission prior to Commencement in accordance with Section 2.3 and the Registration Rights Agreement. All reports, schedules, registrations, forms, statements, information and other documents required to have been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, including all material required to have been filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to Commencement shall have been filed with the Commission.

 

(vi) No Suspension of Trading in or Notice of Delisting of Common Stock. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission, the Trading Market or FINRA (except for any suspension of trading of limited duration agreed to by the Company, which suspension shall be terminated prior to the Commencement Date), the Company shall not have received any final and non-appealable notice that the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market shall be terminated on a date certain (unless, prior to such date certain, the Common Stock is listed or quoted on any other Eligible Market), nor shall there have been imposed any suspension of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Stock, electronic trading or book-entry services by DTC with respect to the Common Stock that is continuing, the Company shall not have received any notice from DTC to the effect that a suspension of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Stock, electronic trading or book-entry services by DTC with respect to the Common Stock is being imposed or is contemplated (unless, prior to such suspension or restriction, DTC shall have notified the Company in writing that DTC has determined not to impose any such suspension or restriction).

 

 

(vii) Compliance with Laws. The Company shall have complied with all applicable federal, state and local governmental laws, rules, regulations and ordinances in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including, without limitation, the Company shall have obtained all permits and qualifications required by any applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws for the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the Investor and the subsequent resale of the Registrable Securities by the Investor (or shall have the availability of exemptions therefrom).

 

(viii) No Injunction. No statute, regulation or Order shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, threatened or endorsed by any court or Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction which prohibits the consummation of or which would materially modify or delay any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

 

(ix) No Proceedings or Litigation. No action, suit or proceeding before any arbitrator or any court or Governmental Entity shall have been commenced, and no inquiry or investigation by any Governmental Entity shall have been commenced, against the Company or any Subsidiary, or any of the officers, directors or Affiliates of the Company or any Subsidiary, seeking to restrain, prevent or change the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, or seeking material damages in connection with such transactions.

 

(x) Listing of Securities. All of the Securities that have been and may be issued pursuant to this Agreement shall have been approved for listing or quotation on the Trading Market (or on an Eligible Market) as of the Commencement Date, subject only to notice of issuance.

 

(xi) No Material Adverse Effect. No condition, occurrence, state of facts or event constituting a Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred and be continuing.

 

(xii) No Bankruptcy Proceedings. No Person shall have commenced a proceeding against the Company pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law. The Company shall not have, pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law, (a) commenced a voluntary case, (b) consented to the entry of an Order for relief against it in an involuntary case, (c) consented to the appointment of a Custodian of the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or (d) made a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors. A court of competent jurisdiction shall not have entered an Order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that (I) is for relief against the Company in an involuntary case, (II) appoints a Custodian of the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or (III) orders the liquidation of the Company.

 

(xiii) Commitment Shares Issued as DWAC Shares. The Company shall have caused the Company’s transfer agent to credit the Investor’s or its designee’s account at DTC as DWAC Shares such number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Commitment Shares issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) hereof, in accordance with Section 10.1(iv) hereof.

 

 

(xiv) Delivery of Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions and Notice of Effectiveness. The Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions shall have been executed by the Company and delivered to acknowledged in writing by the Company’s transfer agent, and the Notice of Effectiveness relating to the Initial Registration Statement shall have been executed by the Company’s outside counsel and delivered to the Company’s transfer agent, in each case directing such transfer agent to issue to the Investor or its designated Broker-Dealer all of the Commitment Shares and all of the Shares included in the Initial Registration Statement as DWAC Shares in accordance with this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

(xv) Reservation of Shares. As of the Commencement Date, the Company shall have reserved out of its authorized and unissued Common Stock, 6,436,306 shares of Common Stock solely for the purpose of issuing Shares pursuant to VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases that may be effected by the Company, in its sole discretion, from and after the Commencement Date under this Agreement.

 

(xvi) Opinions and Negative Assurances of Company Counsel. On the Commencement Date, the Investor shall have received the opinions and negative assurances from outside counsel to the Company, dated the Commencement Date, in the forms mutually agreed to by the Company and the Investor prior to the date of this Agreement.

 

(xvii) Initial Comfort Letter of Company Auditor. On the Commencement Date, the Investor shall have received from the Accountant, or a successor independent registered public accounting firm for the Company (as applicable), a letter dated the Commencement Date and addressed to the Investor, in substantially the form, scope and substance mutually agreed to by the Company and the Investor at least one (1) Trading Day prior to the date on which the Initial Registration Statement is first filed with the Commission, (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and (ii) stating the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the audited and unaudited financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (as supplemented by any Prospectus Supplement filed with the Commission on or prior to the Commencement Date), and certain other matters customarily covered by auditor “comfort letters,” except that the specific date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than three (3) Trading Days prior to the Commencement Date (the “Initial Comfort Letter”).

 

(xviii) FINRA No Objections. Prior to the Commencement Date, FINRA’s Corporate Financing Department shall have confirmed in writing that it has determined not to raise any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms and arrangements of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

 

 

Section 7.3. Conditions Precedent to Purchases after Commencement Date. The right of the Company to deliver VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices under this Agreement after the Commencement Date, and the obligation of the Investor to accept VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices timely delivered to the Investor by the Company under this Agreement after the Commencement Date, are subject to the satisfaction of each of the conditions set forth in this Section 7.3, (X) with respect to a VWAP Purchase Notice for a VWAP Purchase that is timely delivered by the Company to the Investor in accordance with this Agreement, as of the VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the applicable VWAP Purchase Period for such VWAP Purchase to be effected pursuant to such VWAP Purchase Notice and (Y) with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for an Intraday VWAP Purchase that is timely delivered by the Company to the Investor in accordance with this Agreement, as of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase to be effected pursuant to such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (each such VWAP Purchase Commencement Time (with respect to a VWAP Purchase Notice) and each such Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time (with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice), at which time all such conditions must be satisfied, a “Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time”).

 

(i) Satisfaction of Certain Prior Conditions. Each of the conditions set forth in subsections (i), (ii), and (vii) through (xiv) set forth in Section 7.2 shall be satisfied at the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time after the Commencement Date (with the terms “Commencement” and “Commencement Date” in the conditions set forth in subsections (i) and (ii) of Section 7.2 replaced with “applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time”); provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to deliver the Compliance Certificate after the Commencement Date, except as provided in Section 6.17 and Section 7.3(x).

 

(ii) Initial Registration Statement Effective. The Initial Registration Statement covering the resale by the Investor of the Registrable Securities included therein filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Registration Rights Agreement, and any post-effective amendment thereto required to be filed by the Company with the Commission after the Commencement Date and prior to the applicable Purchase Date pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, in each case shall have been declared effective under the Securities Act by the Commission and shall remain effective for the applicable Registration Period, and the Investor shall be permitted to utilize the Prospectus therein, and any Prospectus Supplement thereto, to resell (a) all of the Commitment Shares, (b) all of the Shares included in the Initial Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, that have been issued and sold to the Investor hereunder pursuant to all VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices (as applicable) delivered by the Company to the Investor prior to such applicable Purchase Date and (c) all of the Shares included in the Initial Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, that are issuable pursuant to the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice or Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) delivered by the Company to the Investor with respect to a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) to be effected hereunder on such applicable Purchase Date.

 

 

(iii) Any Required New Registration Statement Effective. Any New Registration Statement covering the resale by the Investor of the Registrable Securities included therein, and any post-effective amendment thereto, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement after the Commencement Date and prior to the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), in each case shall have been declared effective under the Securities Act by the Commission and shall remain effective for the applicable Registration Period, and the Investor shall be permitted to utilize the Prospectus therein, and any Prospectus Supplement thereto, to resell (a) all of the Commitment Shares (if any) included in such New Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, (b) all of the Shares included in such New Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, that have been issued and sold to the Investor hereunder pursuant to all VWAP Purchase Notices and Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices (as applicable) delivered by the Company to the Investor prior to such applicable Purchase Date and (c) all of the Shares included in such new Registration Statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, that are issuable pursuant to the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice or Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) delivered by the Company to the Investor with respect to a VWAP Purchase or an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) to be effected hereunder on such applicable Purchase Date.

 

(iv) Delivery of Subsequent Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions and Notice of Effectiveness. With respect to any post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment to any New Registration Statement, in each case declared effective by the Commission after the Commencement Date, the Company shall have delivered or caused to be delivered to the Company’s transfer agent (a) irrevocable instructions in the form substantially similar to the Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions executed by the Company and acknowledged in writing by its transfer agent and (b) the Notice of Effectiveness, in each case modified as necessary to refer to such Registration Statement or post-effective amendment and the Registrable Securities included therein, to issue the Registrable Securities included therein as DWAC Shares in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

(v) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (a) receipt of any request by the Commission or any other Governmental Entity for any additional information relating to the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto, or for any amendment of or supplement to the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto; (b) the issuance by the Commission or any other Governmental Entity of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or prohibiting or suspending the use of the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto, or of the suspension of qualification or exemption from qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or the initiation or contemplated initiation of any proceeding for such purpose; (c) the objection of FINRA to the terms of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents or (d) the occurrence of any event or the existence of any condition or state of facts, which makes any statement of a material fact made in the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto untrue or which requires the making of any additions to or changes to the statements then made in the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto in order to state a material fact required by the Securities Act to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements then made therein (in the case of the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, or which requires an amendment to the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto to comply with the Securities Act, any applicable state securities laws or any other law (other than the transactions contemplated by the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice delivered by the Company to the Investor with respect to a VWAP Purchase, or the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice delivered by the Company to the Investor with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) to be effected hereunder on such applicable Purchase Date and the settlement thereof). The Company shall have no Knowledge of any event that could reasonably be expected to have the effect of causing the suspension of the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the prohibition or suspension of the use of the Prospectus contained in any of the foregoing or any Prospectus Supplement thereto in connection with the resale of the Registrable Securities by the Investor.

 

 

(vi) Other Commission Filings. The final Prospectus included in any post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement, and any Prospectus Supplement thereto, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 2.3 and the Registration Rights Agreement after the Commencement Date and prior to the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 2.3 and the Registration Rights Agreement. The final Prospectus included in any New Registration Statement and in any post-effective amendment thereto, and any Prospectus Supplement thereto, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 2.3 and the Registration Rights Agreement after the Commencement Date and prior to the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 2.3 and the Registration Rights Agreement. All reports, schedules, registrations, forms, statements, information and other documents required to have been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, including all material required to have been filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, after the Commencement Date and prior to the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), shall have been filed with the Commission and, if any Registrable Securities are covered by a Registration Statement on Form S-3, such filings shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing under the Exchange Act.

 

(vii) No Suspension of Trading in or Notice of Delisting of Common Stock. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission, the Trading Market (or Eligible Market, as applicable) or FINRA (except for any suspension of trading of limited duration agreed to by the Company, which suspension shall be terminated prior to the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase or such Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable)), the Company shall not have received any final and non-appealable notice that the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or Eligible Market, as applicable) shall be terminated on a date certain (unless, prior to such date certain, the Common Stock is listed or quoted on any other Eligible Market), nor shall there have been imposed any suspension of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Stock, electronic trading or book-entry services by DTC with respect to the Common Stock that is continuing, the Company shall not have received any notice from DTC to the effect that a suspension of, or restriction on, accepting additional deposits of the Common Stock, electronic trading or book-entry services by DTC with respect to the Common Stock is being imposed or is contemplated (unless, prior to such suspension or restriction, DTC shall have notified the Company in writing that DTC has determined not to impose any such suspension or restriction).

 

(viii) Certain Limitations. The issuance and sale of the Shares issuable pursuant to the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice or the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) shall not (a) exceed, in the case of a VWAP Purchase Notice, the VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount applicable to such VWAP Purchase Notice or, in the case of an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice, the Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount applicable to such Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice, (b) cause the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to this Agreement to exceed the Aggregate Limit, (c) cause the Investor to beneficially own (under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 promulgated thereunder) shares of Common Stock in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, or (d) if and to the extent the Exchange Cap is then applicable under Section 3.4, cause the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to this Agreement to exceed the Exchange Cap, unless in the case of this clause (d), the Company’s stockholders have theretofore approved the issuance of such shares of Common Stock in excess of the Exchange Cap in accordance with the applicable rules of the Trading Market.

 

(ix) Shares Authorized and Delivered. All of the Shares issuable pursuant to the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice or Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice (as applicable) shall have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company. All Shares relating to all prior VWAP Purchase Notices and all prior Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices required to have been received by the Investor as DWAC Shares under this Agreement prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) shall have been delivered to the Investor as DWAC Shares in accordance with this Agreement.

 

(x) Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letters; Bring-Down Comfort Letters and Compliance Certificates. The Investor shall have received (a) all Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letters from outside counsel to the Company, which the Company was obligated to instruct its outside counsel to deliver to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), (b) all Bring-Down Comfort Letters from the Accountant, or a successor independent registered public accounting firm for the Company (as applicable), which the Company was obligated to instruct such firm to deliver to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), and (c) all Compliance Certificates from the Company that the Company was obligated to deliver to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), in each case in accordance with Section 6.17.

 

 

(xi) Payment of Cash Make-Whole Payment, Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement, QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount. The Company shall have paid, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor, (a) all or such portion of the Cash Make-Whole Payment (as applicable) that the Company was obligated to pay to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(b), which Cash Make-Whole Payment shall be fully earned and non-refundable as of the date such Cash Make-Whole Payment is made by the Company to the Investor (as applicable), regardless of whether any additional VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, and (b) all Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payments that the Company was obligated to pay to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) in accordance with Section 10.1(i), each of which Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payments shall be fully earned and non-refundable as of the date such payments are made by the Company to the Investor, regardless of whether any additional VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. If the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time occurs on or after December 31, 2024 and, pursuant to the penultimate sentence in Section 10.1(i), the Company is required to pay all or any portion of the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and/or all or any portion of the Initial Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount directly to the Investor by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor at such time and as otherwise set forth in the penultimate sentence in Section 10.1(i), then the Company shall have paid, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor, all or such portion of the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and the Initial Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount (as applicable) that the Company was obligated to pay to the Investor prior to the applicable Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time for the applicable VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) in accordance with Section 10.1(i), each of which QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount shall be fully earned by the Investor as of the Closing Date and shall be non-refundable when withheld by the Investor in accordance with this Section 3.3 and Section 10.1(i) or when paid to the Investor in accordance with the penultimate sentence of Section 10.1(i), as the case may be, regardless of whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement.

 

 

Article VIII
TERMINATION

 

Section 8.1. Automatic Termination. Unless earlier terminated as provided hereunder, this Agreement shall terminate automatically on the earliest to occur of (i) the first day of the month next following the 36-month anniversary of the Commencement Date, (ii) the date on which the Investor shall have purchased from the Company, pursuant to all VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases that have occurred and fully settled pursuant to this Agreement, an aggregate number of Shares for a total aggregate gross purchase price to the Company equal to the Total Commitment, (iii) the date on which the Common Stock shall have failed to be listed or quoted on the Trading Market or any Eligible Market for a period of one (1) Trading Day, (iv) the thirtieth (30^th) Trading Day next following the date on which, pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law, the Company commences a voluntary case or any Person commences a proceeding against the Company, in each case that is not discharged or dismissed prior to such thirtieth (30^th) Trading Day, and (v) the date on which, pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law, a Custodian is appointed for the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or the Company makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors.

 

Section 8.2. Other Termination. Subject to Section 8.3, the Company may terminate this Agreement after the Commencement Date effective upon five (5) Trading Days’ prior written notice to the Investor in accordance with Section 10.4; provided, however, that (i) the Company shall have (A) issued all of the Commitment Shares required to be issued to the Investor and paid all or such portion of the Cash Make-Whole Payment required to be paid to the Investor (as applicable), in each case pursuant to Section 10.1(ii) of this Agreement, (B) paid the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount required to be paid to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(i) and Section 3.3 of this Agreement, and (B) paid all Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payments required to be paid to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(i) of this Agreement, in each case in this clause (i) prior to such termination, and (ii) prior to issuing any press release, or making any public statement or announcement, with respect to such termination, the Company shall consult with the Investor and its counsel on the form and substance of such press release or other disclosure. Subject to Section 8.3, this Agreement may be terminated at any time by the mutual written consent of the parties, effective as of the date of such mutual written consent unless otherwise provided in such written consent. Subject to Section 8.3, the Investor shall have the right to terminate this Agreement effective upon five (5) Trading Days’ prior written notice to the Company in accordance with Section 10.4, if: (a) any condition, occurrence, state of facts or event constituting a Material Adverse Effect has occurred and is continuing; (b) a Fundamental Transaction shall have occurred; (c) the Initial Registration Statement and any New Registration Statement is not filed by the applicable Filing Deadline therefor or declared effective by the Commission by the applicable Effectiveness Deadline (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement) therefor, or the Company is otherwise in breach or default in any material respect under any of the other provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement, and, if such failure, breach or default is capable of being cured, such failure, breach or default is not cured within ten (10) Trading Days after notice of such failure, breach or default is delivered to the Company pursuant to Section 10.4; (d) while a Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, is required to be maintained effective pursuant to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement and the Investor holds any Registrable Securities, the effectiveness of such Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, lapses for any reason (including, without limitation, the issuance of a stop order by the Commission) or such Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, the Prospectus contained therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto otherwise becomes unavailable to the Investor for the resale of all of the Registrable Securities included therein in accordance with the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, and such lapse or unavailability continues for a period of forty-five (45) consecutive Trading Days or for more than an aggregate of ninety (90) Trading Days in any 365-day period, other than due to acts of the Investor; (e) trading in the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or if the Common Stock is then listed on any Eligible Market, trading in the Common Stock on any such Eligible Market) shall have been suspended and such suspension continues for a period of five (5) consecutive Trading Days; or (f) the Company is in material breach or default of this Agreement, and, if such breach or default is capable of being cured, such breach or default is not cured within ten (10) Trading Days after notice of such breach or default is delivered to the Company pursuant to Section 10.4. Unless notification thereof is required elsewhere in this Agreement (in which case such notification shall be provided in accordance with such other provision), the Company shall promptly (but in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours) notify the Investor (and, if required under applicable law, including, without limitation, Regulation FD promulgated by the Commission, or under the applicable rules and regulations of the Trading Market (or Eligible Market, as applicable), the Company shall publicly disclose such information in accordance with Regulation FD and the applicable rules and regulations of the Trading Market (or Eligible Market, as applicable)) upon becoming aware of any of the events set forth in the immediately preceding sentence.

 

 

Section 8.3. Effect of Termination. In the event of termination by the Company or the Investor (other than by mutual termination) pursuant to Section 8.2, written notice thereof shall forthwith be given to the other party as provided in Section 10.4 and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be terminated without further action by either party. If this Agreement is terminated as provided in Section 8.1 or Section 8.2, this Agreement shall become void and of no further force and effect, except that (i) the provisions of Article V (Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Company), Article IX (Indemnification), Article X (Miscellaneous) and this Article VIII (Termination) shall remain in full force and effect indefinitely notwithstanding such termination, and, (ii) so long as the Investor owns any Securities, the covenants and agreements of the Company contained in Article VI (Additional Covenants) shall remain in full force and notwithstanding such termination for a period of six (6) months following such termination. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no termination of this Agreement by any party shall (i) become effective prior to the fifth (5^th) Trading Day immediately following the settlement date related to any pending VWAP Purchase or any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable) that has not been fully settled in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that no termination of this Agreement shall limit, alter, modify, change or otherwise affect any of the Company’s or the Investor’s rights or obligations under the Transaction Documents with respect to any pending VWAP Purchase and any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable), and that the parties shall fully perform their respective obligations with respect to any such pending VWAP Purchase and any pending Intraday VWAP Purchase under the Transaction Documents), (ii) limit, alter, modify, change or otherwise affect the Company’s or the Investor’s rights or obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement, all of which shall survive any such termination, (iii) affect any (A) Commitment Shares issued or issuable to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a), all of which Commitment Shares shall be fully earned as of the Closing Date, or (B) Cash Make-Whole Payment paid or payable to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(b), which Cash Make-Whole Payment shall be fully earned and non-refundable as of the date such Cash Make-Whole Payment is made by the Company to the Investor (as applicable), in each case of this clause (iii) regardless of whether the Commencement shall have occurred, whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, (iv) affect the Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payable or paid to the Investor (or the Investor’s counsel), all of which Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement shall be fully earned by the Investor and non-refundable when paid on the Closing Date pursuant to Section 10.1(i), regardless of whether the Commencement shall have occurred, whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, (v) affect any QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount or Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount payments payable or paid to the Investor (or the Investor’s counsel), all of which QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount shall be fully earned by the Investor on the Closing Date and shall be non-refundable when withheld by the Investor in accordance with Section 3.3 and Section 10.1(i) or when paid to the Investor in accordance with the penultimate sentence of Section 10.1(i), as the case may be, regardless of whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, and (vi) affect any Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payments payable or paid to the Investor (or the Investor’s counsel), all of which Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payments shall be fully earned by the Investor and non-refundable when paid by the Company to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(i), regardless of whether any additional VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. Nothing in this Section 8.3 shall be deemed to release the Company or the Investor from any liability for any breach or default under this Agreement or any of the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, or to impair the rights of the Company and the Investor to compel specific performance by the other party of its obligations under the Transaction Documents to which it is a party.

 

 

Article IX
INDEMNIFICATION

 

Section 9.1. Indemnification of Investor. In consideration of the Investor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement and acquiring the Securities hereunder and in addition to all of the Company’s other obligations under the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, subject to the provisions of this Section 9.1, the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Investor, each of its directors, officers, stockholders, members, partners, employees, representatives, agents and advisors (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding the lack of such title or any other title), each Person, if any, who controls the Investor (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act), and the respective directors, officers, stockholders, members, partners, employees, representatives, agents and advisors (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding the lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling Persons (each, an “Investor Party”), from and against all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses (including all judgments, amounts paid in settlement, court costs, reasonable and documented attorneys’ fees and reasonable costs of defense and investigation) (collectively, “Damages”) that any Investor Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party or (b) any action, suit, claim or proceeding (including for these purposes a derivative action brought on behalf of the Company) instituted against such Investor Party arising out of or resulting from the execution, delivery, performance or enforcement of the Transaction Documents, other than claims for indemnification within the scope of Section 6 of the Registration Rights Agreement; provided, however, that (x) the foregoing indemnity shall not apply to any Damages to the extent, but only to the extent, that such Damages resulted directly and primarily from a breach of any of the Investor’s representations, warranties, covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement, and (y) the Company shall not be liable under subsection (b) of this Section 9.1 to the extent, but only to the extent, that a court of competent jurisdiction shall have determined by a final judgment (from which no further appeals are available) that such Damages resulted directly and primarily from any acts or failures to act, undertaken or omitted to be taken by such Investor Party through its fraud, bad faith, gross negligence, or willful or reckless misconduct.

 

The Company shall reimburse any Investor Party promptly upon demand (with accompanying presentation of sufficiently detailed documentary evidence) for all reasonable and documented legal and other costs and expenses reasonably incurred by such Investor Party in connection with (i) any action, suit, claim or proceeding, whether at law or in equity, to enforce compliance by the Company with any provision of the Transaction Documents or (ii) any other any action, suit, claim or proceeding, whether at law or in equity, with respect to which it is entitled to indemnification under this Section 9.1; provided that the Investor shall promptly reimburse the Company for all such legal and other costs and expenses to the extent a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any Investor Party was not entitled to such reimbursement.

 

An Investor Party’s right to indemnification or other remedies based upon the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company set forth in the Transaction Documents shall not in any way be affected by any investigation or knowledge of such Investor Party. Such representations, warranties, covenants and agreements shall not be affected or deemed waived by reason of the fact that an Investor Party knew or should have known that any representation or warranty might be inaccurate or that the Company failed to comply with any agreement or covenant. Any investigation by such Investor Party shall be for its own protection only and shall not affect or impair any right or remedy hereunder.

 

To the extent that the foregoing undertakings by the Company set forth in this Section 9.1 may be unenforceable for any reason, the Company shall make the maximum contribution to the payment and satisfaction of each of the Damages which is permissible under applicable law.

 

Section 9.2. Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after an Investor Party receives notice of a claim or the commencement of an action for which the Investor Party intends to seek indemnification under Section 9.1, the Investor Party will notify the Company in writing of the claim or commencement of the action, suit or proceeding; provided, however, that failure to notify the Company will not relieve the Company from liability under Section 9.1, except to the extent it has been materially prejudiced by the failure to give notice. The Company will be entitled to participate in the defense of any claim, action, suit or proceeding as to which indemnification is being sought, and if the Company acknowledges in writing the obligation to indemnify the Investor Party against whom the claim or action is brought, the Company may (but will not be required to) assume the defense against the claim, action, suit or proceeding with counsel satisfactory to it. After the Company notifies the Investor Party that the Company wishes to assume the defense of a claim, action, suit or proceeding, the Company will not be liable for any further legal or other expenses incurred by the Investor Party in connection with the defense against the claim, action, suit or proceeding except that if, in the opinion of counsel to the Investor Party, it would be inappropriate under the applicable rules of professional responsibility for the same counsel to represent both the Company and such Investor Party. In such event, the Company will pay the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of no more than one separate counsel for all such Investor Parties promptly as such fees and expenses are incurred. Each Investor Party, as a condition to receiving indemnification as provided in Section 9.1, will cooperate in all reasonable respects with the Company in the defense of any action or claim as to which indemnification is sought. The Company will not be liable for any settlement of any action effected without its prior written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned. The Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Investor Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned, effect any settlement of a pending or threatened action with respect to which an Investor Party is, or is informed that it may be, made a party and for which it would be entitled to indemnification, unless the settlement includes an unconditional release of the Investor Party from all liability and claims which are the subject matter of the pending or threatened action.

 

The remedies provided for in this Article IX are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any Investor Party at law or in equity.

 

 

Article X
MISCELLANEOUS

 

Section 10.1. Certain Fees and Expenses; Commitment Fee; Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions.

 

(i) Certain Fees and Expenses. Each party shall bear its own fees and expenses related to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; provided, however, that (a) the Company, (1) on or prior to the Closing Date, shall have paid to the Investor, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor prior to the date of this Agreement, $25,000 as reimbursement for the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Investor’s legal counsel incurred by the Investor prior to the Closing (the “Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement”), and (2) within ten (10) Business Days after each Representation Date (provided a Future Purchase Suspension is not then in effect), shall have paid to the Investor, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor, an additional $5,000 per fiscal quarter as reimbursement for the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Investor’s legal counsel incurred by the Investor in connection with the Investor’s ongoing due diligence and review of deliverables subject to Section 6.17 (the “Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement”), in each case in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, and (b) the Investor shall withhold an amount in cash equal to fifty percent (50%) from the total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price payable by the Investor to the Company for the applicable VWAP Purchase Share Amount in connection with each VWAP Purchase effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and an amount in cash equal to fifty percent (50%) from the total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price payable by the Investor to the Company for the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount in connection with each Intraday VWAP Purchase effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, in each case, until the Investor shall have received from such cash withholding(s) a total aggregate amount in cash equal to $100,000, representing the sum of (x) the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and (y) Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount payable by the Company to the Investor pursuant to this Agreement, and upon such cash withholding(s) by the Investor of a total aggregate amount in cash equal to $100,000 from such total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price and such total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price, as applicable, payable by the Investor to the Company pursuant to this Agreement, the Investor shall not withhold any additional cash amounts from the purchase prices payable by the Investor to the Company in connection with any VWAP Purchase or Intraday VWAP Purchase effected pursuant to this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, (1) the Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement shall be fully earned by the Investor and shall be non-refundable as of the Closing Date, regardless of whether the Commencement shall have occurred, any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, (2) each Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement payment shall be fully earned by the Investor and shall be non-refundable when paid in accordance with this Section 10.1(i), regardless of whether any additional VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement, and (3) the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount shall each be fully earned by the Investor as of the Closing Date and shall be non-refundable when withheld by the Investor in accordance with Section 3.3 and this Section 10.1(i) or when paid to the Investor in accordance with the penultimate sentence of this Section 10.1(i), as the case may be, regardless of whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. If, on the earlier of (i) the date, on or after the Closing Date, on which notice of termination of this Agreement is given by any party pursuant to Section 8.2 and (ii) December 31, 2024, the aggregate amount of cash payment(s) by the Company to the Investor from (X) cash withholding(s), if any, by the Investor from the total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price paid or payable by the Investor to the Company for the Shares purchased by the Investor in all of the VWAP Purchases theretofore effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and (Y) cash withholding(s), if any, by the Investor from the total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price paid or payable by the Investor to the Company for the Shares purchased by the Investor in all of the Intraday VWAP Purchases theretofore effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, in each case as contemplated in Section 3.3 and this Section 10.1(i), is less than $100,000, representing the sum of the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount payable by the Company to the Investor pursuant to this Agreement, then, the Company shall promptly upon the Investor’s presentation to the Company of an invoice and reasonable supporting documentation (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter), and as directed by the Investor in writing to the Company, pay to the Investor, in cash, the difference between (A) $100,000 and (B) the aggregate amount of cash withholding(s), if any, that have been made by the Investor from the total aggregate VWAP Purchase Price and the total aggregate Intraday VWAP Purchase Price, as applicable, paid or payable by the Investor to the Company for the Shares purchased by the Investor in all of the VWAP Purchases and Intraday VWAP Purchases, as applicable, theretofore effected by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and applied to the QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount or the Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount as contemplated in Section 3.3 and this Section 10.1(i), by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Investor to the Company and, in the case of a termination of this Agreement as contemplated in clause (i) above, no termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.2 shall become effective unless and until the entire QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount and Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount has been paid in cash by the Company to the Investor pursuant to and in accordance with this Section 10.1(i). The Company shall pay all U.S. federal, state and local stamp and other similar transfer and other taxes and duties levied in connection with issuance of the Securities pursuant hereto.

 

 

(ii) Commitment Fee.

 

(a) Commitment Shares. In consideration for the Investor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement on the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver irrevocable instructions to its transfer agent to issue to the Investor, not later than 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Closing Date, one or more certificate(s) or book-entry statement(s) representing the Commitment Shares in the name of the Investor or its designee (in which case such designee name shall have been provided to the Company prior to the Closing Date). Such certificate or book-entry statement shall be delivered to the Investor by overnight courier at its address set forth in Section 10.4. For the avoidance of doubt, all of the Commitment Shares shall be fully earned as of the Closing Date, regardless of whether the Commencement shall have occurred, any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are effected by the Company or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. Upon issuance pursuant to this Section 10.1(ii)(a), the Commitment Shares shall constitute “restricted securities” as such term is defined in Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act and, subject to the provisions of subsection (iv) of this Section 10.1, the certificate or book-entry statement representing the Commitment Shares shall bear the restrictive legend set forth below in subsection (iii) of this Section 10.1. The Commitment Shares shall constitute Registrable Securities and shall be included in the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, and the Prospectus included therein, and, if necessary to register the resale thereof by the Investor under the Securities Act, in any New Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, and the Prospectus included therein, in each case in accordance with this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

(b) Cash Make-Whole Payment. In addition to the issuance of the Commitment Shares to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) above, if, after the resale of all Commitment Shares by the Investor after the Commencement Date, the aggregate amount of cash proceeds from the resale of all of the Commitment Shares by the Investor is less than $500,000, then, the Company shall promptly upon the Investor’s presentation to the Company of an invoice and reasonable supporting documentation (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter), and as directed by the Investor in writing to the Company, pay to the Investor, in cash, the difference between (i) $500,000 and (ii) the aggregate amount of the net proceeds received by the Investor from the resale of all of the Commitment Shares by the Investor (such cash payment, the “Cash Make-Whole Payment”). If, after the Commencement Date, (A) any Commitment Shares have not been resold by the Investor prior to the earliest of (1) the effective date of any termination of this Agreement by the Company or the Investor in accordance with Article VIII of this Agreement, (2) the 121^st calendar day immediately following the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, (3) the calendar day immediately following the date on which the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement lapses for any reason (including due to the issuance of a stop order by the Commission), or the Initial Registration Statement or Prospectus relating thereto otherwise becomes unavailable to the Investor for the resale of all of the Commitment Shares included therein for any reason, and (4) such time that the Common Stock has not traded on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market) for greater than three (3) Trading Days, whether due to a de-listing of the Common Stock from the Trading Market (or, from such Eligible Market, as applicable), or due to a complete cessation of trading on the Trading Market (or, on such Eligible Market, as applicable), in each case other than due to the Investor’s material breach of its obligations under this Agreement, and (B) the aggregate amount of cash proceeds from the resale of all Commitment Shares that have been resold by the Investor prior to such earliest date in clause (A) of this sentence (if any) is less than $500,000, then, the Company shall promptly upon the Investor’s presentation to the Company of an invoice and reasonable supporting documentation (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter), and as directed by the Investor in writing to the Company, pay to the Investor, in cash, the Cash Make-Whole Payment and, upon the Investor’s receipt of such Cash Make-Whole Payment, the Investor shall promptly (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter) return to the Company for cancellation all of the Commitment Shares then held by the Investor that have not been resold by the Investor prior to such earliest time. If, for any reason whatsoever, other than due to the Investor’s material breach of its obligations under the Purchase Agreement or the Registration Rights Agreement (and irrespective of whether or not the Company is in compliance with its obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement), (I) either (a) the Initial Registration Statement shall not have been filed by the Company with and declared effective by the Commission prior to the 181^st calendar day immediately following the Closing Date or (b) the Commencement shall not have occurred prior to the 181^st calendar day immediately following the Closing Date, and (II) none of the Commitment Shares that were issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) of this Agreement shall have been resold by the Investor prior to such 181^st calendar day immediately following the Closing Date, then, the Company shall promptly upon the Investor’s presentation to the Company of an invoice and reasonable supporting documentation (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter), and as directed by the Investor in writing to the Company, pay to the Investor, in cash, the Cash Make-Whole Payment and, upon the Investor’s receipt of such Cash Make-Whole Payment, the Investor shall promptly (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days thereafter) return to the Company for cancellation all of the Commitment Shares that were issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) of this Agreement that have not been resold by the Investor prior to such 181^st calendar day immediately following the Closing Date. The Investor and the Company acknowledge and agree that the Cash Make-Whole Payment shall not be payable by the Company to the Investor if, after the Commencement, the aggregate amount of cash proceeds from the resale by the Investor of Commitment Shares is equal to or greater than $500,000. For the avoidance of doubt, the Cash Make-Whole Payment shall be fully earned and non-refundable as of the date such Cash Make-Whole Payment is made by the Company to the Investor pursuant to this Section 10.1(ii)(b), as applicable, regardless of whether the Commencement shall have occurred, whether any VWAP Purchases or Intraday VWAP Purchases are made or settled hereunder or any subsequent termination of this Agreement. The Investor and the Company further agree that if, after the resale of all Commitment Shares by the Investor after the Commencement Date, the aggregate amount of cash proceeds from the resale of all of the Commitment Shares by the Investor is greater than $500,000, then, the Investor shall promptly (but in no event later than five (5) Trading Days after the date on which all of the Commitment Shares have been resold by the Investor) present to the Company reasonable supporting documentation setting forth the aggregate amount of cash proceeds from the resale of all of the Commitment Shares by the Investor, including, without limitation, the specific dollar amount by which such aggregate cash proceeds exceed $500,000, and promptly thereafter (but in no event later than two (2) Trading Days after the presentation of such reasonable supporting documentation to the Company), and as directed by the Company to the Investor in writing, pay to the Company, an amount in cash equal to the product of (X) 0.50 and (Y) the aggregate amount of the net proceeds received by the Investor from the resale of all of the Commitment Shares by the Investor, minus $500,000.

 

 

(iii) Legends. The certificate(s) or book-entry statement(s) representing the Commitment Shares issued prior to the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement, except as set forth below, shall bear a restrictive legend in substantially the following form (and stop transfer instructions may be placed against transfer of the Commitment Shares):

 

THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND NEITHER THE SECURITIES NOR ANY INTEREST THEREIN MAY BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SUCH ACT OR SUCH LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER SUCH ACT AND SUCH LAWS WHICH, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL, IS AVAILABLE.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing and for the avoidance of doubt, all Shares to be issued in respect of each VWAP Purchase Notice and all Shares to be issued in respect of each Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice delivered to the Investor pursuant to this Agreement, in each case shall be issued to the Investor in accordance with Section 3.3 by crediting the Investor’s or its designees’ account at DTC as DWAC Shares, and the Company shall not take any action or give instructions to any transfer agent of the Company otherwise.

 

(iv) Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions; Notice of Effectiveness. On the earlier of (a) the Commencement Date and (b) such time that the Investor shall request, provided all conditions of Rule 144 are met, the Company shall, no later than one (1) Trading Day following the delivery by the Investor to the Company or its transfer agent of one or more legended certificates or book-entry statements representing the Commitment Shares issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) (which certificates or book-entry statements the Investor shall promptly deliver on or prior to the first to occur of the events described in clauses (a) and (b) of this sentence), cause the Company’s transfer agent to credit the Investor’s or its designee’s account at DTC as DWAC Shares such number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Commitment Shares issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a). The Company shall take all reasonable actions to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of the immediately preceding sentence, including, without limitation, delivering all such legal opinions, consents, certificates, resolutions and instructions to its transfer agent, and any successor transfer agent of the Company, as may be reasonably requested from time to time by the Investor or necessary or desirable to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of the immediately preceding sentence. On the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement and prior to Commencement, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to its transfer agent (and thereafter, shall deliver or cause to be delivered to any subsequent transfer agent of the Company), (i) irrevocable instructions executed by the Company and acknowledged in writing by the Company’s transfer agent (the “Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions”) and (ii) the notice of effectiveness in the form attached as an exhibit to the Registration Rights Agreement (the “Notice of Effectiveness”) relating to the Initial Registration Statement executed by the Company’s outside counsel, in each case directing the Company’s transfer agent to issue to the Investor or its designee all of the Commitment Shares and the Shares included in the Initial Registration Statement as DWAC Shares, at the time(s) the Commitment Shares and the Shares (if any) are required to be so issued on or after the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement, in each case in accordance with this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. With respect to any post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement, any New Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment to any New Registration Statement, in each case declared effective by the Commission after the Commencement Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to its transfer agent (and thereafter, shall deliver or cause to be delivered to any subsequent transfer agent of the Company) (i) irrevocable instructions in the form substantially similar to the Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions executed by the Company and acknowledged in writing by the Company’s transfer agent and (ii) the Notice of Effectiveness, in each case modified as necessary to refer to such Registration Statement or post-effective amendment and the Registrable Securities included therein, to issue the Registrable Securities included therein as DWAC Shares, at the time(s) such Registrable Securities (if any) are required to be so issued on or after the Effective Date thereof, in each case in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, all Shares and Commitment Shares to be issued and delivered from and after Commencement to or for the benefit of the Investor pursuant to this Agreement shall be issued and delivered to the Investor or its designee only as DWAC Shares. The Company represents and warrants to the Investor that, while this Agreement is effective, no instruction other than those referred to in this Section 10.1(iv) will be given by the Company to its transfer agent, or any successor transfer agent of the Company, with respect to the Shares and the Commitment Shares from and after Commencement, and the Shares and the Commitment Shares covered by the Initial Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereof, or any New Registration Statement or post-effective amendment thereof, as applicable, shall otherwise be freely transferable on the books and records of the Company and no stop transfer instructions shall be maintained against the transfer thereof. The Company agrees that if the Company fails to fully comply with the provisions of this Section 10.1(iv) within three (3) Trading Days after the date on which the Investor has provided the deliverables referred to above that the Investor is required to provide to the Company or its transfer agent, the Company shall, at the Investor’s written instruction, purchase from the Investor all shares of Common Stock acquired by the Investor pursuant to this Agreement that contain the restrictive legend referred to in Section 10.1(iii) hereof (or any similar restrictive legend), or that have any stop transfer orders maintained that prohibit or impede the transfer thereof in any respect, at the greater of (i) the purchase price paid by the Investor for such shares of Common Stock (as applicable) and (ii) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the date of the Investor’s written instruction.

 

 

Section 10.2. Specific Enforcement, Consent to Jurisdiction, Waiver of Jury Trial.

 

(i) The Company and the Investor acknowledge and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that either party shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent or cure breaches of the provisions of this Agreement by the other party and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof (without the necessity of showing economic loss and without any bond or other security being required), this being in addition to any other remedy to which either party may be entitled by law or equity.

 

(ii) Each of the Company and the Investor (a) hereby irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court and other courts of the United States sitting in The City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, State of New York for the purposes of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, and (b) hereby waives, and agrees not to assert in any such suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of such court, that the suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of the suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each of the Company and the Investor consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing in this Section 10.2 shall affect or limit any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.

 

(iii) EACH OF THE COMPANY AND THE INVESTOR HEREBY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT TO ANY LITIGATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR DISPUTES RELATING HERETO. EACH OF THE COMPANY AND THE INVESTOR (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF THE OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTY HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION 10.2.

 

Section 10.3. Entire Agreement. The Transaction Documents set forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, negotiations and understandings between the parties, both oral and written, with respect to such matters. There are no promises, undertakings, representations or warranties by either party relative to the subject matter hereof not expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents. The Disclosure Schedule and all exhibits to this Agreement are hereby incorporated by reference in, and made a part of, this Agreement as if set forth in full herein.

 

 

Section 10.4. Notices. Any notice, demand, request, waiver or other communication required or permitted to be given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be effective (a) upon hand delivery or electronic mail delivery at the address or number designated below (if delivered on a business day during normal business hours where such notice is to be received), or the first business day following such delivery (if delivered other than on a business day during normal business hours where such notice is to be received) or (b) on the second business day following the date of mailing by express courier service, fully prepaid, addressed to such address, or upon actual receipt of such mailing, whichever shall first occur. The address for such communications shall be:

 

If to the Company:

 

Stardust Power Inc.
15 E. Putnam Avenue, Suite 378
Greenwich, CT 06830
Telephone Number:	[***]
Email:	[***]
Attention:	Roshan Pujari, CEO

 

With a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Kirkland & Ellis LLP
609 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Telephone Number:	[***]
Email:	[***]
	[***]
Attention:	Julian J. Seiguer, P.C.
	Peter Seligson, P.C.

 

If to the Investor:

 

B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC
11100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Telephone Number:	[***]
Email:	[***]
Attention:	General Counsel

 

With a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Reed Smith LLP
599 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Telephone Number:	[***]
Email:	[***]
Attention:	Anthony J. Marsico, Esq.

 

Either party hereto may from time to time change its address for notices by giving at least five (5) days’ advance written notice of such changed address to the other party hereto.

 

 

Section 10.5. Waivers. No provision of this Agreement may be waived by the parties from and after the date that is one (1) Trading Day immediately preceding the date on which the Initial Registration Statement is initially filed with the Commission. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence, no provision of this Agreement may be waived other than in a written instrument signed by the party against whom enforcement of such waiver is sought. No failure or delay in the exercise of any power, right or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such power, right or privilege preclude other or further exercises thereof or of any other right, power or privilege.

 

Section 10.6. Amendments. No provision of this Agreement may be amended by the parties from and after the date that is one (1) Trading Day immediately preceding the date on which the Initial Registration Statement is initially filed with the Commission. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence, no provision of this Agreement may be amended other than by a written instrument signed by both parties hereto.

 

Section 10.7. Headings. The article, section and subsection headings in this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not constitute a part of this Agreement for any other purpose and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, each pronoun herein shall be deemed to include the masculine, feminine, neuter, singular and plural forms thereof. The terms “including,” “includes,” “include” and words of like import shall be construed broadly as if followed by the words “without limitation.” The terms “herein,” “hereunder,” “hereof” and words of like import refer to this entire Agreement instead of just the provision in which they are found.

 

Section 10.8. Construction. The parties agree that each of them and their respective counsel has reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents. In addition, each and every reference to share prices (other than the Threshold Price) and number of shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall, in all cases, be subject to adjustment for any stock splits, stock combinations, stock dividends, recapitalizations, reorganizations and other similar transactions that occur on or after the date of this Agreement. Any reference in this Agreement to “Dollars” or “$” shall mean the lawful currency of the United States of America. Any references to “Section” or “Article” in this Agreement shall, unless otherwise expressly stated herein, refer to the applicable Section or Article of this Agreement.

 

Section 10.9. Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors. Neither the Company nor the Investor may assign this Agreement or any of their respective rights or obligations hereunder to any Person.

 

Section 10.10. No Third Party Beneficiaries. Except as expressly provided in Article IX, this Agreement is intended only for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors, and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person.

 

Section 10.11. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal procedural and substantive laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any laws or rules of such state that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

 

 

Section 10.12. Survival. The representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company and the Investor contained in this Agreement shall survive the execution and delivery hereof until the termination of this Agreement; provided, however, that (i) the provisions of Article V (Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Company), Article VIII (Termination), Article IX (Indemnification) and this Article X (Miscellaneous) shall remain in full force and effect indefinitely notwithstanding such termination, and, (ii) so long as the Investor owns any Securities, the covenants and agreements of the Company and the Investor contained in Article VI (Additional Covenants), shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination for a period of six (6) months following such termination.

 

Section 10.13. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more identical counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party; provided that a facsimile signature or signature delivered by e-mail in a “.pdf” format data file, including any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com, www.echosign.adobe.com, etc., shall be considered due execution and shall be binding upon the signatory thereto with the same force and effect as if the signature were an original signature.

 

Section 10.14. Publicity. The Company shall afford the Investor and its counsel with a reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon, shall consult with the Investor and its counsel on the form and substance of, and shall give due consideration to all such comments from the Investor or its counsel on, any press release, Commission filing or any other public disclosure made by or on behalf of the Company relating to the Investor, its purchases hereunder or any aspect of the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby, including any press release disclosing the execution of this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement by the Company, prior to the issuance, filing or public disclosure thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall not be required to submit for review any such disclosure (i) contained in periodic reports filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act if it shall have previously provided substantially the same disclosure to the Investor or its counsel for review in connection with a previous filing or (ii) any Prospectus Supplement if it contains disclosure that does not reference the Investor, its purchases hereunder or any aspect of the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby.

 

Section 10.15. Severability. The provisions of this Agreement are severable and, in the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that any one or more of the provisions or part of the provisions contained in this Agreement shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision or part of a provision of this Agreement, and this Agreement shall be reformed and construed as if such invalid or illegal or unenforceable provision, or part of such provision, had never been contained herein, so that such provisions would be valid, legal and enforceable to the maximum extent possible.

 

Section 10.16. Further Assurances. From and after the Closing Date, upon the request of the Investor or the Company, each of the Company and the Investor shall execute and deliver such instrument, documents and other writings as may be reasonably necessary or desirable to confirm and carry out and to effectuate fully the intent and purposes of this Agreement.

 

[Signature Pages Follow]

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized officer as of the date first above written.

 

	THE COMPANY:
	STARDUST POWER INC.
	By:	/s/ Roshan Pujari
	Name:	Roshan Pujari
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer
	THE INVESTOR:
	B. RILEY PRINCIPAL CAPITAL II, LLC
	By:	/s/ Jimmy Baker
	Name:	Jimmy Baker
	Title:	Authorized Signatory

 

 

ANNEX I TO THE

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT

DEFINITIONS

 

“Accountant” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(d).

 

“Additional Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(i).

 

“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 144.

 

“Aggregate Limit” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.1.

 

“Agreement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

“Allowable Grace Period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Average Price” means a price per Share (rounded to the nearest tenth of a cent) equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the aggregate gross purchase price paid by the Investor for all Shares purchased pursuant to this Agreement, by (ii) the aggregate number of Shares issued pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Bankruptcy Law” means Title 11, U.S. Code, or any similar U.S. federal or state bankruptcy Law or any Law for the relief of debtors.

 

“Base Price” means a price per Share equal to the sum of (i) the Minimum Price and (ii) $7.7504 (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction that occurs on or after the date of this Agreement).

 

“Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.5.

 

“Bloomberg” means Bloomberg, L.P.

 

“Bring-Down Comfort Letter” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.17.

 

“Bring-Down Negative Assurance Letter” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.17.

 

“Broker-Dealer” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.13.

 

“BRS” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Recitals.

 

 

“Business Combination Date” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(a)

 

“Bylaws” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.3.

 

“Cash Make-Whole Payment” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(ii)(b).

 

“Charter” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.3.

 

“Closing” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.2.

 

“Closing Date” means the date of this Agreement.

 

“Closing Sale Price” means, for the Common Stock as of any date, the last closing trade price for the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market), as reported by Bloomberg, or, if the Trading Market (or such Eligible Market, as applicable) begins to operate on an extended hours basis and does not designate the closing trade price for the Common Stock, then the last trade price for the Common Stock prior to 4:00 p.m., New York City time, as reported by Bloomberg. All such determinations shall be appropriately adjusted for any stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations, recapitalizations or other similar transactions during such period.

 

“Code” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.38.

 

“Commencement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1.

 

“Commencement Date” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1.

 

“Commencement Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(iv).

 

“Commission” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any successor entity.

 

“Commission Documents” shall mean (1) the definitive merger proxy statement, dated May 22, 2024, of Global Partner Acquisition Corp. II, a Cayman Islands exempted company (such company at any time prior to the Business Combination Date, “GPAC II”), including the Annexes thereto and accompanying financial statements and all related soliciting materials under Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act, and all documents incorporated therein by reference, in the form in which such definitive merger proxy statement was filed with the Commission on May 23, 2024 pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act, (2) all reports, schedules, registrations, forms, statements, information and other documents filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, including all material filed with or furnished to the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, since the Business Combination Date and prior to the date of this Agreement (including, without limitation, (I) the Company’s current report on Form 8-K, dated July 8, 2024 and filed with the Commission on July 12, 2024, including all documents, financial statements and other information attached thereto or incorporated by reference therein as exhibits thereto (the “Merger Form 8-K”). (II) the Company’s current report on Form 8-K/A, dated July 8, 2024 and filed with the Commission on August 14, 2024, including all documents, financial statements and other information attached thereto or incorporated by reference therein as exhibits thereto, and (III) the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2024), and which hereafter shall be filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company (including, without limitation, the Current Report), (3) each Registration Statement, as the same may be amended from time to time, the Prospectus contained therein and each Prospectus Supplement thereto and (4) all information contained in such filings and all documents and disclosures that have been and heretofore shall be incorporated by reference therein.

 

 

“Commitment Fee” means the Commitment Shares, together with the Cash Make-Whole Payment that may be required to be paid by the Company to the Investor pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(b), giving effect to any reduction in the number of Commitment Shares resulting from the return by the Investor of all or such portion of the Commitment Shares that were previously issued to the Investor pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a) that are required to be returned to the Company for cancellation, if any, in exchange for the Investor’s receipt of such Cash Make-Whole Payment required to be paid by the Company to the Investor pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(b).

 

“Commitment Shares” means 63,694 shares of duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock which, concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement on the Closing Date, the Company has caused its transfer agent to issue and deliver to the Investor not later than 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Closing Date pursuant to Section 10.1(ii)(a).

 

“Common Stock” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals of this Agreement.

 

“Common Stock Equivalents” means any securities of the Company which entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Common Stock, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, rights, options, warrants or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common Stock.

 

“Company” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

“Compliance Certificate” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.2(ii).

 

“Contracts” means any legally binding contracts, agreements, subcontracts, leases, and purchase orders.

 

“Cover Price” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.3.

 

“COVID-19” means SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, and any evolutions thereof or any other related or associated epidemics, pandemics or disease outbreaks.

 

 

“Current Report” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.3.

 

“Custodian” shall mean any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.

 

“Damages” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.1.

 

“Disclosure Schedule” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble to Article V.

 

“Disqualification Event” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.45.

 

“DTC” means The Depository Trust Company, a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or any successor thereto.

 

“DWAC” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.33.

 

“DWAC Shares” means shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to this Agreement that are (i) issued in electronic form, (ii) freely tradable and transferable and without restriction on resale and without stop transfer instructions maintained against the transfer thereof and (iii) timely credited by the Company’s transfer agent to the Investor’s (or its designee’s) specified DWAC account with DTC under its Fast Automated Securities Transfer (FAST) Program, or any similar program hereafter adopted by DTC performing substantially the same function.

 

“EDGAR” means the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System.

 

“Effective Date” means, with respect to the Initial Registration Statement filed pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Registration Rights Agreement (or any post-effective amendment thereto) or any New Registration Statement filed pursuant to Section 2(c) of the Registration Rights Agreement (or any post-effective amendment thereto), as applicable, the date on which the Initial Registration Statement (or any post-effective amendment thereto) or any New Registration Statement (or any post-effective amendment thereto) is declared effective by the Commission.

 

“Effectiveness Deadline” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Eligible Market” means The Nasdaq Global Select Market, The Nasdaq Capital Market, the New York Stock Exchange or the NYSE American (or any nationally recognized successor to any of the foregoing).

 

“Environmental Laws” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.18.

 

“ERISA” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.38.

 

“Evaluation Date” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(c).

 

 

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

“Exchange Cap” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.4(a).

 

“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) Common Stock, options or other equity incentive awards to employees, officers, directors or vendors of the Company pursuant to any equity incentive plan duly adopted for such purpose, by the Company’s Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of the Board of Directors established for such purpose, (b) (1) any Securities issued to the Investor (or its designee) pursuant to the Transaction Documents, (2) any securities issued upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents held by the Investor at any time, or (3) any securities issued upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Common Stock Equivalents issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities referred to in this clause (3) have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities, (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions, divestitures, licenses, partnerships, collaborations or strategic transactions approved by the Company’s Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of directors established for such purpose, which acquisitions, divestitures, licenses, partnerships, collaborations or strategic transactions can have a Variable Rate Transaction component, provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equity holders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities, (d) shares of Common Stock issued by the Company to the Investor (or its designee) in connection with any “equity line of credit” or other continuous offering or similar offering of Common Stock (other than the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents) pursuant to one or more written agreements between the Company and the Investor or an Affiliate of the Investor executed after the date of this Agreement (if any), whereby the Company may sell shares of Common Stock to the Investor or an Affiliate of the Investor at a future determined price, (e) shares of Common Stock issued by the Company in any “at the market offering” or “equity distribution program” or similar offering of Common Stock exclusively to or through B. Riley Securities, Inc. pursuant to one or more written agreements between the Company and B. Riley Securities, Inc. or (f) any Indebtedness or debt securities of the Company that does not constitute a Variable Rate Transaction.

 

“FCPA” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.35.

 

“Filing Deadline” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“FINRA” means the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.

 

“FINRA Filing” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.14.

 

 

“Fundamental Transaction” means that (i) the Company shall, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions, (1) consolidate or merge with or into (whether or not the Company is the surviving corporation) another Person, with the result that the holders of the Company’s capital stock immediately prior to such consolidation or merger together beneficially own less than 50% of the outstanding voting power of the surviving or resulting corporation, or (2) sell, lease, license, assign, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the properties or assets of the Company to another Person, or (3) take action to facilitate a purchase, tender or exchange offer by another Person that is accepted by the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (excluding any shares of Common Stock held by the Person or Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the Persons making or party to, such purchase, tender or exchange offer), or (4) consummate a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off or scheme of arrangement) with another Person whereby such other Person acquires more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (not including any shares of Common Stock held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination), or (5) reorganize, recapitalize or reclassify its Common Stock, or (ii) any “person” or “group” (as these terms are used for purposes of Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) is or shall become the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of 50% of the aggregate ordinary voting power represented by issued and outstanding Common Stock.

 

“Future Purchase Suspension” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.17.

 

“GAAP” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(b).

 

“GDPR” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.40.

 

“Governmental Entity” means any, whether in the United States or otherwise, (a) multinational, national, federal, state, local, municipal or other government, (b) governmental or quasi-governmental entity of any nature (including any governmental agency, branch, department, legislature or entity and any court or other judicial body or tribunal) or (c) body exercising or entitled to exercise any administrative, executive, judicial, legislative, police, regulatory, or taxing authority or power of any nature, including any arbitral tribunal (public or private).

 

“Hazardous Substance” means (a) any material, substance or waste that is listed, defined, or regulated as a “hazardous substance,” “hazardous waste,” “toxic substance,” “hazardous material,” or word of similar import or regulatory effect under Environmental Laws; and (b) petroleum products or byproducts, including derivatives and fraction thereof, asbestos, lead-based paint, polychlorinated biphenyls, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, radioactive materials, and toxic mold.

 

 

“Indebtedness” means, with respect to any Person as of any time, without duplication, (a) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (b) all guaranties, endorsements, indemnities and other contingent obligations in respect of Indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (c) the present value of any lease payments due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP.

 

“Initial Comfort Letter” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.2(xvii).

 

“Initial Investor Legal Fee Expense Reimbursement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(i).

 

“Initial Investor Legal Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.3.

 

“Initial Registration Statement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.19.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.2.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the time that is the latest of: (i) the VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the VWAP Purchase Period for the VWAP Purchase preceding the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase occurring on the same Purchase Date as such earlier VWAP Purchase, if the Company has timely delivered a VWAP Purchase Notice to the Investor for a VWAP Purchase on such Purchase Date, (ii) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for the most recent prior Intraday VWAP Purchase, if any, occurring on the same Purchase Date as such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and (iii) the Investor’s timely receipt (acknowledged by email correspondence to each of the individual notice recipients of the Company set forth in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice, other than via auto-reply) from the Company of the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase on the applicable Purchase Date therefor.

 

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the time on the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase that is the earliest of: (i) 3:59 p.m., New York City time, on the applicable Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, or such earlier time publicly announced by the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, by such Eligible Market) as the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) on such Purchase Date; (ii) immediately at such time following the Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase that the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period has exceeded the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum for such Intraday VWAP Purchase (taking into account the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase); provided, however, that the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period shall exclude from such calculation all shares of Common Stock traded in any of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice that clause (iii) below shall not trigger the Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time for such Intraday VWAP Purchase (such specification by the Company, whether in an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice or in a VWAP Purchase Notice, a “Limit Order Continue Election”), all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold; and (iii) provided the Company shall have specified in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice that this clause (iii) shall trigger the Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time for such Intraday VWAP Purchase (such specification by the Company, whether in an Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice or in a VWAP Purchase Notice, a “Limit Order Discontinue Election”), immediately at such time following the Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase that the Sale Price of any share of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold; provided, however, that the determination of whether the Sale Price of any share of Common Stock traded during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold shall exclude (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date and (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable). All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, such number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of: (i) one (1) million shares, and (ii) the product of (A) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, multiplied by (B) the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, by such Eligible Market) during the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period referred to in clause (ii)(B) above shall exclude from such calculation all shares of Common Stock traded in any of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (1) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (2) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (3) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, either (a) the dollar amount specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in determining whether the event in clause (iii) of the definition of “Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time” shall have occurred during the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, if the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Discontinue Election in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, or (b) the dollar amount specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in determining the sales of Common Stock during the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Period that shall be excluded from the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period, if the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that in each case if the Company has not specified any such dollar amount as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, then the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in such Intraday VWAP Purchase shall be such dollar amount equal to the product of (a) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately preceding the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, multiplied by (b) 0.75. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, an irrevocable written notice from the Company to the Investor, specifying the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage that shall apply to such Intraday VWAP Purchase and whether a Limit Order Continue Election or a Limit Order Discontinue Election shall apply to such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and directing the Investor to subscribe for and purchase a specified Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount (such specified Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount subject to adjustment as set forth in Section 3.2 as necessary to give effect to the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount for such Intraday VWAP Purchase), at the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Price therefor on the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase in accordance with this Agreement, that is delivered by the Company to the Investor and received by the Investor (i) after the latest of (X) 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on such Purchase Date, if the Company has not timely delivered a VWAP Purchase Notice to the Investor for a VWAP Purchase on such Purchase Date, (Y) the VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the VWAP Purchase Period for the VWAP Purchase preceding the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase occurring on the same Purchase Date as such earlier VWAP Purchase, if the Company has timely delivered a VWAP Purchase Notice to the Investor for a VWAP Purchase on such Purchase Date, and (Z) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for the most recent prior Intraday VWAP Purchase, if any, occurring on the same Purchase Date as such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and (ii) prior to the earlier of (X) 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on such Purchase Date and (Y) such time that is exactly thirty (30) minutes immediately prior to the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market) on such Purchase Date, if the Trading Market (or such Eligible Market, as applicable) has theretofore publicly announced that the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) on such Purchase Date shall be earlier than 4:00 p.m., New York City time, on such Purchase Date.

 

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, which shall not exceed 25.0%, for purposes of calculating, among other things, the Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, the Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount and the Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum, in each case applicable to such Intraday VWAP Purchase.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Period” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the period on the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, beginning at the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Commencement Time and ending at the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time on such Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase.

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Price” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the purchase price per Share to be purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase, equal to the product of (i) 0.97, multiplied by (ii) the VWAP of the Common Stock for the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Period on the applicable Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that the calculation of the VWAP for the Common Stock for the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for an Intraday VWAP Purchase shall exclude each of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold for such Intraday VWAP Purchase. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any stock dividend, stock split, stock combination, recapitalization or other similar transaction.

 

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the total number of Shares to be purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase as specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, which total number of Shares shall not exceed the Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount applicable to such Intraday VWAP Purchase, taking into account the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase (and such number of Shares specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase shall be subject to automatic adjustment in accordance with Section 3.2 hereof as necessary to give effect to the Intraday VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount limitation applicable to such Intraday VWAP Purchase, taking into account the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, as set forth in this Agreement).

 

“Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum” means, with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Share Amount to be subscribed for and purchased by the Investor in such Intraday VWAP Purchase, by (ii) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase (to be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction).

 

“Investment Period” means the period commencing on the Commencement Date and expiring on the date this Agreement is subsequently terminated pursuant to Article VIII.

 

“Investor” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

“Investor Party” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 9.1.

 

“Issuer Covered Person” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.45.

 

“IT Systems and Data” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.39.

 

“Knowledge” means the actual knowledge of any of (i) the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, (ii) the Company’s Chief Technical Officer and (iii) the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, in each case after reasonable inquiry of all officers, directors and employees of the Company under such Person’s direct supervision who would reasonably be expected to have knowledge or information with respect to the matter in question.

 

“Law” means any federal, state, provincial, local, foreign, national or supranational statute, law (including common law), act, statute, ordinance, treaty, rule, code, regulation or other binding directive issued, promulgated or enforced by a Governmental Entity having jurisdiction over a given matter.

 

“Limit Order Continue Election” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time,” which election shall be applicable to an Intraday VWAP Purchase, if such election is specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and shall be applicable to a VWAP Purchase, if such election is specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, as the case may be.

 

 

“Limit Order Discontinue Election” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of “Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time,” which election shall be applicable to an Intraday VWAP Purchase, if such election is specified by the Company in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and shall be applicable to a VWAP Purchase, if such election is specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, as the case may be.

 

“Material Adverse Effect” means (i) any condition, occurrence, state of facts or event having, or insofar as reasonably can be foreseen would likely have, any effect on the business, operations, properties or financial condition of the Company as set forth in the Commission Documents that is material and adverse to the Company, taken as a whole, excluding any facts, circumstances, changes or effects, individually or in the aggregate, exclusively and directly resulting from, relating to or arising out of any of the following: (a) changes in conditions in the U.S. or global capital, credit or financial markets generally, including changes in the availability of capital or currency exchange rates, provided such changes shall not have affected the Company in a materially disproportionate manner as compared to other similarly situated companies, (b) changes generally affecting the industries in which the Company operate, provided such changes shall not have affected the Company, taken as a whole, in a materially disproportionate manner as compared to other similarly situated companies, (c) any effect of the announcement of, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by, this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement on the Company’s relationships, contractual or otherwise, with customers, suppliers, vendors, bank lenders, strategic venture partners or employees, (d) changes arising in connection with earthquakes, hostilities, acts of war, sabotage or terrorism or military actions or any escalation or material worsening of any such hostilities, acts of war, sabotage or terrorism or military actions existing as of the date hereof, (e) any effect of COVID-19 or any Law, directive, pronouncement or guideline issued by a Governmental Entity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization or industry group providing for business closures, changes to business operations, “sheltering-in-place” or other restrictions that relate to, or arise out of, an epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak (including the COVID-19 pandemic) or any change in such Law, directive, pronouncement or guideline or interpretation thereof following the date of this Agreement, (f) any action taken by the Investor, any of its officers, its sole member or the Investor’s Broker-Dealer, or any of such Person’s successors with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, and (g) the effect of any changes in applicable laws or accounting rules, provided such changes shall not have affected the Company in a materially disproportionate manner as compared to other similarly situated companies; (ii) any condition, occurrence, state of facts or event having, or insofar as reasonably can be foreseen would likely have, any material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby; or (iii) any condition, occurrence, state of facts or event that would, or insofar as reasonably can be foreseen would likely, prohibit or otherwise materially interfere with or delay the ability of the Company to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party.

 

“Material Permits” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.17.

 

“Merger Form 8-K” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the definition of Commission Documents.

 

 

“Minimum Price” means $7.7020, representing the average Nasdaq official closing price of the Common Stock on the Trading Market (as reflected on Nasdaq.com) for the five (5) consecutive Trading Days ending on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date of this Agreement] (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction that occurs on or after the date of this Agreement).

 

“Money Laundering Laws” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.37.

 

“MPA Period” means the period commencing at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately preceding the Trading Day on which any Affiliate of the Investor, including, without limitation, BRS, shall have published or distributed any research report (as such term is defined in Rule 500 of Regulation AC) concerning the Company, and ending at 6:00 a.m., New York City time, on the sixth (6^th) Trading Day immediately following the Trading Day on which any Affiliate of the Investor, including, without limitation, BRS, shall have published or distributed any research report (as such term is defined in Rule 500 of Regulation AC) concerning the Company.

 

“New Registration Statement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Non-Affiliate Shares” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.44.

 

“Notice of Effectiveness” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 10.1(iv).

 

“Order” means any outstanding writ, order, judgment, injunction, binding decision or determination, award, ruling, subpoena, verdict or decree entered, issued or rendered by any Governmental Entity.

 

“PEA Period” means the period commencing at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the fifth (5^th) Trading Day immediately prior to the filing of (i) any post-effective amendment to the Initial Registration Statement or any New Registration Statement or (ii) any New Registration Statement, as applicable, and ending at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the Trading Day immediately following, the Effective Date of such post-effective amendment or New Registration Statement, as applicable.

 

“Permits” means any approvals, authorizations, clearances, licenses, registrations, permits, certificates, exemptions, or waivers issued by a Governmental Entity.

 

“Person” means any person or entity, whether a natural person, trustee, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, trust, unincorporated organization, business association, firm, joint venture or Governmental Entity.

 

“Personal Data” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.40.

 

“Policies” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.40.

 

 

“Privacy Laws” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.40.

 

“Proceeding” means any lawsuit, litigation, action, audit, examination or investigation, claim, complaint, charge, proceeding, suit or arbitration (in each case, whether civil, criminal or administrative and whether public or private) pending in court or arbitration or by, before or otherwise involving any Governmental Entity.

 

“Prospectus” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Prospectus Supplement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Purchase Condition Satisfaction Time” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.3.

 

“Purchase Date” means, (i) with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the Trading Day on which the Investor timely receives, (A) after 6:00 a.m., New York City time, and (B) prior to 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on such Trading Day, a valid VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase in accordance with this Agreement, and (ii) with respect to an Intraday VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.2, the Trading Day on which the Investor timely receives a valid Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase in accordance with this Agreement, (A) after the latest of (X) 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on such Trading Day, if the Company has not timely delivered a valid VWAP Purchase Notice to the Investor for a VWAP Purchase on such Trading Day, (Y) the VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the VWAP Purchase Period for the VWAP Purchase preceding the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for such Intraday VWAP Purchase occurring on the same Trading Day as such earlier VWAP Purchase, if the Company has timely delivered a valid VWAP Purchase Notice to the Investor for a VWAP Purchase on such Trading Day, and (Z) the Intraday VWAP Purchase Ending Time of the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for the most recent prior Intraday VWAP Purchase, if any, occurring on the same Trading Day as such Intraday VWAP Purchase, and (B) prior to the earlier of (X) 3:30 p.m., New York City time, on such Trading Day for such Intraday VWAP Purchase and (Y) such time that is exactly thirty (30) minutes immediately prior to the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market) on such Trading Day, if the Trading Market (or such Eligible Market, as applicable) has publicly announced that the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session shall be earlier than 4:00 p.m., New York City time, on such Trading Day.

 

“Purchase Share Delivery Date” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.3.

 

“QIU Fee Reimbursement Holdback Amount” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.3.

 

“Qualified Independent Underwriter” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in FINRA Rule 5121(f)(12).

 

 

“Registrable Securities” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Registration Period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Registration Rights Agreement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereof.

 

“Registration Statement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Registration Rights Agreement.

 

“Regulation D” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals hereof.

 

“Release” means any spilling, leaking, seepage, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, disposing, depositing, dispersing, or migrating in, into or through the environment, or in, into from or through any building or structure.

 

“Representation Date” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.17.

 

“Restricted Period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.9(i).

 

“Restricted Person” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.9(i).

 

“Restricted Persons” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.9(i).

 

“Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same effect.

 

“Sale Price” means any trade price for a share of Common Stock on the Trading Market, or if the Common Stock is then traded on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market, as reported by Bloomberg.

 

“Sanctions” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.36.

 

“Sanctioned Person” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.36.

 

“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.6(d).

 

“Section 4(a)(2)” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals of this Agreement.

 

“Securities” means, collectively, the Shares and the Commitment Shares.

 

“Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

 

“Shares” shall mean the shares of Common Stock that may be purchased by the Investor under this Agreement pursuant to one or more VWAP Purchase Notices or one or more Intraday VWAP Purchase Notices, but not including the Commitment Shares.

 

“Short Sales” shall mean “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 promulgated under Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act.

 

“Subsidiary” shall mean any corporation or other entity of which at least a majority of the securities or other ownership interest having ordinary voting power for the election of directors or other persons performing similar functions are at the time owned directly or indirectly by the Company and/or any of its other Subsidiaries.

 

“Threshold Price” means $1.00, which shall not be adjusted (proportionally or otherwise) for any forward stock split, reverse stock split, stock combination, stock dividend, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar transaction involving the capital stock of the Company that occurs on or after the date of the Agreement.

 

“Total Commitment” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2.1.

 

“Trading Day” shall mean any day on which the Trading Market or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, such Eligible Market is open for “regular” trading, including any day on which the Trading Market (or such Eligible Market, as applicable) is open for “regular” trading for a period of time less than the customary “regular” trading period.

 

“Trading Market” means The Nasdaq Global Market (or any nationally recognized successor thereto).

 

“Transaction Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement (as qualified by the Disclosure Schedule) and the exhibits hereto, the Registration Rights Agreement, and the exhibits thereto, and each of the other agreements, documents, certificates and instruments entered into or furnished by the parties hereto in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby.

 

“Variable Rate Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells any equity or debt securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price, exchange rate or other price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for the Common Stock at any time after the initial issuance of such equity or debt securities, or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such equity or debt security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the Common Stock (including, without limitation, any “full ratchet” or “weighted average” anti-dilution provisions, but not including any standard anti-dilution protection for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split or other similar transaction), or (ii) issues or sells any equity or debt securities, including, without limitation, Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents, either (A) at a price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the Common Stock (other than standard anti-dilution protection for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split or other similar transaction), or (B) that are subject to or contain any put, call, redemption, buy-back, price-reset or other similar provision or mechanism (including, without limitation, a “Black-Scholes” put or call right, other than in connection with a “fundamental transaction”) that provides for the issuance of additional equity securities of the Company or the payment of cash by the Company or (iii) enters into any agreement, including, but not limited to, an “equity line of credit” or “at the market offering” or other continuous offering or similar offering of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents, whereby the Company may sell Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents at a future determined price.

 

 

“VWAP” means, for the Common Stock for a specified period, the dollar volume-weighted average price for the Common Stock on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, on such Eligible Market), for such period, as reported by Bloomberg through its “AQR” function; provided, however, that (i) the calculation of the dollar volume-weighted average price for the Common Stock for the VWAP Purchase Period for each VWAP Purchase shall exclude each of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold for such VWAP Purchase; and (ii) the calculation of the dollar volume-weighted average price for the Common Stock for the Intraday VWAP Purchase Period for each Intraday VWAP Purchase shall exclude each of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Notice for such Intraday VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such Intraday VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable Intraday VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold for such Intraday VWAP Purchase. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any stock dividend, stock split, stock combination, recapitalization or other similar transaction.

 

“VWAP Purchase” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1.

 

“VWAP Purchase Commencement Time” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, 9:30:01 a.m., New York City time, on the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, or such later time on such Purchase Date publicly announced by the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, by such Eligible Market) as the official open of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) on such Purchase Date.

 

“VWAP Purchase Ending Time” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the time on the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase that is the earliest of: (i) 3:59 p.m., New York City time, on the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, or such earlier time publicly announced by the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, by such Eligible Market) as the official close of the primary (or “regular”) trading session on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) on such Purchase Date; (ii) immediately at such time following the VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the VWAP Purchase Period for such VWAP Purchase that the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period has exceeded the applicable VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum for such VWAP Purchase (taking into account the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase); provided, however, that the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period shall exclude from such calculation all shares of Common Stock traded in any of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold; and (iii) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Discontinue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, immediately at such time following the VWAP Purchase Commencement Time of the VWAP Purchase Period for such VWAP Purchase that the Sale Price of any share of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold; provided, however, that the determination of whether the Sale Price of any share of Common Stock traded during such VWAP Purchase Period is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold shall exclude (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date and (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable). All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

 

“VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, such number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of: (i) one (1) million shares, and (ii) the product of (A) the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, multiplied by (B) the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or, if the Common Stock is then listed on an Eligible Market, by such Eligible Market) during the VWAP Purchase Period for such VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period referred to in clause (ii)(B) above shall exclude from such calculation all shares of Common Stock traded in any of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (1) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (2) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (3) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

“VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, either (a) the dollar amount specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in determining whether the event in clause (iii) of the definition of “VWAP Purchase Ending Time” shall have occurred during the applicable VWAP Purchase Period for such VWAP Purchase, if the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Discontinue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, or (b) the dollar amount specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in determining the sales of Common Stock during the applicable VWAP Purchase Period that shall be excluded from the calculation of the total number (or volume) of shares of Common Stock traded on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period, if the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that in each case if the Company has not specified any such dollar amount as the per share minimum Sale Price threshold in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, then the per share minimum Sale Price threshold to be used in such VWAP Purchase shall be such dollar amount equal to the product of (a) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately preceding the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, multiplied by (b) 0.75. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

 

“VWAP Purchase Notice” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, an irrevocable written notice delivered by the Company to the Investor, and received by the Investor, after 6:00 a.m., New York City time, and prior to 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, specifying the VWAP Purchase Percentage that shall apply to such VWAP Purchase and whether a Limit Order Continue Election or a Limit Order Discontinue Election shall apply to such VWAP Purchase, and directing the Investor to subscribe for and purchase a specified VWAP Purchase Share Amount (such specified VWAP Purchase Share Amount subject to adjustment as set forth in Section 3.1 as necessary to give effect to the applicable VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount for such VWAP Purchase), at the applicable VWAP Purchase Price therefor on such Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase in accordance with this Agreement.

 

 

“VWAP Purchase Percentage” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, which shall not exceed 25.0%, for purposes of calculating, among other things, the VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount, the VWAP Purchase Share Amount and the VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum, in each case applicable to such VWAP Purchase.

 

“VWAP Purchase Period” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the period on the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase, beginning at the applicable VWAP Purchase Commencement Time and ending at the applicable VWAP Purchase Ending Time on such Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase.

 

“VWAP Purchase Price” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the purchase price per Share to be purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase, equal to the product of (i) 0.97, multiplied by (ii) the VWAP of the Common Stock for the applicable VWAP Purchase Period on the applicable Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase; provided, however, that the calculation of the VWAP for the Common Stock for the VWAP Purchase Period for a VWAP Purchase shall exclude each of the following transactions, to the extent they occur during such VWAP Purchase Period (as applicable): (A) the opening or first purchase of Common Stock at or following the official open of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date, (B) the last or closing sale of Common Stock at or prior to the official close of such primary (or “regular”) trading session that is reported in the consolidated system on such Purchase Date (as applicable), and (C) provided the Company shall have specified a Limit Order Continue Election in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, all sales of Common Stock on the Trading Market (or on such Eligible Market, as applicable) during such VWAP Purchase Period at a Sale Price that is less than the applicable VWAP Purchase Minimum Price Threshold for such VWAP Purchase. All such calculations shall be appropriately adjusted for any stock dividend, stock split, stock combination, recapitalization or other similar transaction.

 

“VWAP Purchase Share Amount” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, the total number of Shares to be purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase as specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, which total number of Shares shall not exceed the VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount applicable to such VWAP Purchase, taking into account the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase (and such number of Shares specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase shall be subject to automatic adjustment in accordance with Section 3.1 hereof as necessary to give effect to the VWAP Purchase Maximum Amount limitation applicable to such VWAP Purchase, taking into account the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase, as set forth in this Agreement).

 

“VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum” means, with respect to a VWAP Purchase made pursuant to Section 3.1, a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the VWAP Purchase Share Amount to be subscribed for and purchased by the Investor in such VWAP Purchase, by (ii) the VWAP Purchase Percentage specified by the Company in the applicable VWAP Purchase Notice for such VWAP Purchase (to be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction).

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

FORM OF REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

[TO BE FURNISHED SEPARATELY]

 

 

EXHIBIT B

 

CLOSING CERTIFICATE

 

[●], 2024

 

[***]

 

 

EXHIBIT C

 

COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

 

[***]

 

 

DISCLOSURE SCHEDULE

RELATING TO THE COMMON STOCK

PURCHASE AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF OCTOBER 7, 2024

BETWEEN STARDUST POWER INC. AND B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC

 

[***]

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.2

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

This REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of October 7, 2024, is by and between B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Investor”), and Stardust Power Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).

 

RECITALS

 

A. The Company and the Investor have entered into that certain Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (the “Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company may issue, from time to time, to the Investor up to the lesser of (i) $50,000,000 in aggregate gross purchase price of newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), and (ii) the Exchange Cap (to the extent applicable under Section 3.4 of the Purchase Agreement), as provided for therein.

 

B. Pursuant to the terms of, and in consideration for the Investor entering into, the Purchase Agreement, the Company shall cause its transfer agent to issue to the Investor the Commitment Shares concurrently with the execution and delivery of the Purchase Agreement, pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.1(ii)(a) of the Purchase Agreement.

 

C. Pursuant to the terms of, and in consideration for the Investor entering into, the Purchase Agreement, and to induce the Investor to execute and deliver the Purchase Agreement, the Company has agreed to provide the Investor with certain registration rights with respect to the Registrable Securities (as defined herein) as set forth herein.

 

AGREEMENT

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained herein and in the Purchase Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, intending to be legally bound hereby, the Company and the Investor hereby agree as follows:

 

1.	Definitions.

 

Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the respective meanings set forth in the Purchase Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

 

(a) “Agreement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

(b) “Allowable Grace Period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3(p).

 

(c) “Blue Sky Filing” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6(a).

 

 

(d) “Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or any other day on which commercial banks in New York, New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed.

 

(e) “Claims” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6(a).

 

(f) “Commission” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any successor entity.

 

(g) “Common Stock” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

 

(h) “Company” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

(i) “Company Party” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6(b).

 

(j) “Effective Date” means the date that the applicable Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission.

 

(k) “Effectiveness Deadline” means (i) with respect to the Initial Registration Statement required to be filed pursuant to Section 2(a), the earlier of (A) the sixtieth (60^th) calendar day immediately after the Filing Deadline with respect to the Initial Registration Statement, if the Initial Registration Statement is subject to review by the Commission, and (B) if the Company is notified (orally or in writing) by the Commission that the Initial Registration Statement will not be reviewed by the Commission, the fifth (5^th) Business Day after the date the Company is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the Commission that the Initial Registration Statement will not be reviewed by the Commission, and (ii) with respect to any New Registration Statements that may be required to be filed by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, the earlier of (A) the sixtieth (60^th) calendar day immediately after the Filing Deadline with respect to such New Registration Statement, if such New Registration Statement is subject to review by the Commission, and (B) if the Company is notified (orally or in writing) by the Commission that such New Registration Statement will not be reviewed by the Commission, the fifth (5^th) Business Day after the date the Company is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the Commission that such New Registration Statement will not be reviewed by the Commission.

 

(l) “Filing Deadline” means (i) with respect to the Initial Registration Statement required to be filed pursuant to Section 2(a), the tenth (10^th) Business Day after the date of this Agreement and (ii) with respect to any New Registration Statements that may be required to be filed by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, the tenth (10^th) Business Day following the sale of substantially all of the Registrable Securities included in the Initial Registration Statement or the most recent prior New Registration Statement, as applicable, or such other date as permitted by the Commission.

 

(m) “FINRA Filing” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the Purchase Agreement.

 

 

(n) “Indemnified Damages” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6(a).

 

(o) “Initial Registration Statement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2(a).

 

(p) “Investor” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the preamble of this Agreement.

 

(q) “Investor Party” and “Investor Parties” shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in Section 6(a).

 

(r) “Legal Counsel” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2(b).

 

(s) “New Registration Statement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2(c).

 

(t) “Person” means any person or entity, whether a natural person, trustee, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, trust, unincorporated organization, business association, firm, joint venture, governmental agency or authority.

 

(u) “Prospectus” means the prospectus in the form included in the Registration Statement at the applicable Effective Date of the Registration Statement, as supplemented from time to time by any Prospectus Supplement, including the documents incorporated by reference therein.

 

(v) “Prospectus Supplement” means any prospectus supplement to the Prospectus filed with the Commission from time to time pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, including the documents incorporated by reference therein.

 

(w) “Purchase Agreement” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in the recitals to this Agreement.

 

(x) “register,” “registered,” and “registration” refer to a registration effected by preparing and filing one or more Registration Statements in compliance with the Securities Act and pursuant to Rule 415 and the declaration of effectiveness of such Registration Statement(s) by the Commission.

 

(y) “Registrable Securities” means all of (i) the Shares, (ii) the Commitment Shares, and (iii) any capital stock of the Company issued or issuable with respect to such Shares or the Commitment Shares, including, without limitation, (1) as a result of any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, exchange or similar event or otherwise and (2) shares of capital stock of the Company into which the shares of Common Stock are converted or exchanged and shares of capital stock of a successor entity into which the shares of Common Stock are converted or exchanged, in each case until such time as such securities cease to be Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2(f).

 

 

(z) “Registration Statement” means a registration statement or registration statements of the Company filed under the Securities Act covering the resale by the Investor of Registrable Securities, as such registration statement or registration statements may be amended and supplemented from time to time, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein.

 

(aa) “Registration Period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3(a).

 

(bb) “Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act, as such rule may be amended from time to time, or any other similar or successor rule or regulation of the Commission that may at any time permit the Investor to sell securities of the Company to the public without registration.

 

(cc) “Rule 415” means Rule 415 promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act, as such rule may be amended from time to time, or any other similar or successor rule or regulation of the Commission providing for offering securities on a delayed or continuous basis.

 

(dd) “Staff” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 2(c).

 

(ee) “Violations” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6(a).

 

2.	Registration.

 

(a) Mandatory Registration. The Company shall prepare and, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than the Filing Deadline, file with the Commission the Initial Registration Statement on Form S-1 (or any successor form) covering the resale by the Investor of (i) all of the Commitment Shares and (ii) the maximum number of additional Registrable Securities as shall be permitted to be included thereon in accordance with applicable Commission rules, regulations and interpretations so as to permit the resale of such Registrable Securities by the Investor under Rule 415 under the Securities Act at then prevailing market prices (and not fixed prices) (the “Initial Registration Statement”). The Initial Registration Statement shall contain the “Selling Stockholder” and “Plan of Distribution” sections in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit B. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the Initial Registration Statement declared effective by the Commission as soon as reasonably practicable, but in no event later than the applicable Effectiveness Deadline.

 

(b) Legal Counsel. Subject to Section 5 hereof, the Investor shall have the right to select one legal counsel to review, solely on its behalf, any registration pursuant to this Section 2 (“Legal Counsel”), which shall be Reed Smith LLP, or such other counsel as thereafter designated by the Investor. Except as provided under Section 10.1(i) of the Purchase Agreement, the Company shall have no obligation to reimburse the Investor for any and all legal fees and expenses of the Legal Counsel incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

 

(c) Sufficient Number of Shares Registered. If at any time all Registrable Securities are not covered by the Initial Registration Statement filed pursuant to Section 2(a) as a result of Section 2(e) or otherwise, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission one or more additional Registration Statements so as to cover all of the Registrable Securities not covered by the Initial Registration Statement, in each case, as soon as practicable (taking into account any position of the staff of the Commission (“Staff”) with respect to the date on which the Staff will permit such additional Registration Statement(s) to be filed with the Commission and the rules and regulations of the Commission) (each such additional Registration Statement, a “New Registration Statement”), but in no event later than the applicable Filing Deadline for such New Registration Statement(s). The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause each such New Registration Statement to become effective as soon as reasonably practicable following the filing thereof with the Commission, but in no event later than the applicable Effectiveness Deadline for such New Registration Statement.

 

(d) No Inclusion of Other Securities. In no event shall the Company include any securities other than Registrable Securities on any Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(a) or Section 2(c).

 

(e) Offering. If the Staff or the Commission seeks to characterize any offering pursuant to a Registration Statement filed pursuant to this Agreement as constituting an offering of securities that does not permit such Registration Statement to become effective and be used for resales by the Investor on a delayed or continuous basis under Rule 415 at then-prevailing market prices (and not fixed prices), or if after the filing of any Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(a) or Section 2(c), the Company is otherwise required by the Staff or the Commission to reduce the number of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement, then the Company shall reduce the number of Registrable Securities to be included in such Registration Statement (after consultation with the Investor and Legal Counsel as to the specific Registrable Securities to be removed therefrom) until such time as the Staff and the Commission shall so permit such Registration Statement to become effective and be used as aforesaid. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if after giving effect to the actions referred to in the immediately preceding sentence, the Staff or the Commission does not permit such Registration Statement to become effective and be used for resales by the Investor on a delayed or continuous basis under Rule 415 at then-prevailing market prices (and not fixed prices), the Company shall not request acceleration of the Effective Date of such Registration Statement, the Company shall promptly (but in no event later than 48 hours) request the withdrawal of such Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 477 under the Securities Act, and the Effectiveness Deadline shall automatically be deemed to have elapsed with respect to such Registration Statement at such time as the Staff or the Commission has made a final and non-appealable determination that the Commission will not permit such Registration Statement to be so utilized (unless prior to such time the Company has received assurances from the Staff or the Commission that a New Registration Statement filed by the Company with the Commission promptly thereafter may be so utilized). In the event of any reduction in Registrable Securities pursuant to this paragraph, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to file one or more New Registration Statements with the Commission in accordance with Section 2(c) until such time as all Registrable Securities have been included in Registration Statements that have been declared effective and the Prospectuses contained therein are available for use by the Investor.

 

(f) Any Registrable Security shall cease to be a “Registrable Security” at the earliest of the following: (i) when a Registration Statement covering such Registrable Security becomes or has been declared effective by the Commission and such Registrable Security has been sold or disposed of pursuant to such effective Registration Statement; (ii) when such Registrable Security is held by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries; and (iii) the date that is the later of (A) the first (1^st) anniversary of the effective date of termination of the Purchase Agreement in accordance with Article VIII of the Purchase Agreement and (B) the first (1^st) anniversary of the date of the last sale of any Registrable Securities by the Company to the Investor pursuant to the Purchase Agreement.

 

 

3.	Related Obligations.

 

The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect the registration of the Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method of disposition thereof, and, pursuant thereto, during the term of this Agreement, the Company shall have the following obligations:

 

(a) The Company shall promptly prepare and file with the Commission the Initial Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof and one or more New Registration Statements pursuant to Section 2(c) hereof with respect to the Registrable Securities, but in no event later than the applicable Filing Deadline therefor, and the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause each such Registration Statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing, but in no event later than the applicable Effectiveness Deadline therefor. Subject to Allowable Grace Periods, the Company shall keep each Registration Statement effective (and the Prospectus contained therein available for use) pursuant to Rule 415 for resales by the Investor on a continuous basis at then-prevailing market prices (and not fixed prices) at all times until the earlier of (i) the date on which the Investor shall have sold all of the Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement and (ii) the date of termination of the Purchase Agreement if as of such termination date the Investor holds no Registrable Securities (or, if applicable, the date on which such securities cease to be Registrable Securities after the date of termination of the Purchase Agreement) (the “Registration Period”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement (but subject to the provisions of Section 3(p) hereof), the Company shall ensure that, when filed and at all times while effective, each Registration Statement (including, without limitation, all amendments and supplements thereto) and the Prospectus (including, without limitation, all amendments and supplements thereto) used in connection with such Registration Statement shall 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 the case of Prospectuses, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made) not misleading. The Company shall submit to the Commission, as soon as reasonably practicable after the date that the Company learns that no review of a particular Registration Statement will be made by the Staff or that the Staff has no further comments on a particular Registration Statement (as the case may be), a request for acceleration of effectiveness of such Registration Statement to a time and date as soon as reasonably practicable in accordance with Rule 461 under the Securities Act.

 

 

(b) Subject to Section 3(p) of this Agreement, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to prepare and file with the Commission such amendments (including, without limitation, post-effective amendments) and supplements to each Registration Statement and the Prospectus used in connection with each such Registration Statement, which Prospectus is to be filed pursuant to Rule 424 promulgated under the Securities Act, as may be necessary to keep each such Registration Statement effective (and the Prospectus contained therein current and available for use) at all times during the Registration Period for such Registration Statement, and, during such period, comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect to the disposition of all Registrable Securities of the Company required to be covered by such Registration Statement until such time as all of such Registrable Securities shall have been disposed of in accordance with the intended methods of disposition by the Investor. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company covenants and agrees that (i) at or before 8:30 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the Effective Date of the Initial Registration Statement and any New Registration Statement (or any post-effective amendment thereto), the Company shall file with the Commission in accordance with Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act the final Prospectus to be used in connection with sales pursuant to such Registration Statement (or post-effective amendment thereto), and (ii) if the transactions contemplated by any one or more VWAP Purchases and/or any one or more Intraday VWAP Purchases are material to the Company (individually or collectively), the material terms of which have not previously been described in the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement filed with the Commission under Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (or in any periodic report, statement, schedule or other document filed by the Company with the Commission under the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus), or if otherwise required under the Securities Act (or the public written interpretive guidance of the Staff of the Commission relating thereto), in each case as reasonably and mutually determined by the Company and the Investor, then, no later than (i) 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the Purchase Date for such VWAP Purchase and (ii) as soon as reasonably practicable on the Purchase Date for such Intraday VWAP Purchase(s), the Company shall file with the Commission a Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act with respect to such VWAP Purchase(s) and such Intraday VWAP Purchase(s) (as applicable) requiring such filing, disclosing the total number of Shares that are to be issued and sold to the Investor pursuant to such VWAP Purchase(s) and Intraday VWAP Purchase(s) (as applicable), the total purchase price for the Shares subject thereto, the applicable purchase price(s) for such Shares and the estimated net proceeds to be received by the Company from the sale of such Shares. To the extent not previously disclosed in the Prospectus or a Prospectus Supplement, the Company shall disclose in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in its Annual Reports on Form 10-K the information described in the immediately preceding sentence relating to all VWAP Purchase(s) and all Intraday VWAP Purchase(s) (as applicable) effected and settled during the relevant fiscal quarter and shall file such Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Reports on Form 10-K with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such report under the Exchange Act. In the case of amendments and supplements to any Registration Statement on Form S-1 or Prospectus related thereto which are required to be filed pursuant to this Agreement (including, without limitation, pursuant to this Section 3(b)) by reason of the Company filing a report on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q or Form 10-K or any analogous report under the Exchange Act, the Company shall have incorporated such report by reference into such Registration Statement and Prospectus, if applicable, or shall promptly file such amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus with the Commission, for the purpose of including or incorporating such report into such Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company consents to the use of the Prospectus (including, without limitation, any supplement thereto) included in each Registration Statement in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act and with the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the jurisdictions in which the Registrable Securities may be sold by the Investor, in connection with the resale of the Registrable Securities and for such period of time thereafter as such Prospectus (including, without limitation, any supplement thereto) (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Securities Act) is required by the Securities Act to be delivered in connection with resales of Registrable Securities.

 

 

(c) The Company shall (A) permit Legal Counsel an opportunity to review and comment upon (i) each Registration Statement at least two (2) Business Days prior to its filing with the Commission and (ii) all amendments and supplements to each Registration Statement (including, without limitation, the Prospectus contained therein) (except for Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any similar or successor reports or Prospectus Supplements the contents of which is limited to that set forth in such reports) within a reasonable number of days prior to their filing with the Commission, and (B) shall reasonably consider any comments of the Investor and Legal Counsel on any such Registration Statement or amendment or supplement thereto or to any Prospectus contained therein. The Company shall promptly furnish to Legal Counsel, without charge, (i) electronic copies of any correspondence from the Commission or the Staff to the Company or its representatives relating to each Registration Statement (which correspondence shall be redacted to exclude any material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of its Subsidiaries), (ii) after the same is prepared and filed with the Commission, one (1) electronic copy of each Registration Statement and any amendment(s) and supplement(s) thereto, including, without limitation, financial statements and schedules, all documents incorporated therein by reference, if requested by the Investor, and all exhibits and (iii) upon the effectiveness of each Registration Statement, one (1) electronic copy of the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement and all amendments and supplements thereto; provided, however, the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus, which may be provided in .PDF format) to Legal Counsel to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

(d) Without limiting any obligation of the Company under the Purchase Agreement, the Company shall promptly furnish to the Investor, without charge, (i) after the same is prepared and filed with the Commission, at least one (1) electronic copy of each Registration Statement and any amendment(s) and supplement(s) thereto, including, without limitation, financial statements and schedules, all documents incorporated therein by reference, if requested by the Investor, all exhibits thereto, (ii) upon the effectiveness of each Registration Statement, one (1) electronic copy of the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement and all amendments and supplements thereto (or such other number of copies as the Investor may reasonably request from time to time) and (iii) such other documents, including, without limitation, copies of any final Prospectus and any Prospectus Supplement thereto, as the Investor may reasonably request from time to time in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by the Investor; provided, however, the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus, which may be provided in .PDF format) to the Investor to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

(e) The Company shall take such action as is reasonably necessary to (i) register and qualify, unless an exemption from registration and qualification applies, the resale by the Investor of the Registrable Securities covered by a Registration Statement under such other securities or “Blue Sky” laws of all applicable jurisdictions in the United States, (ii) prepare and file in those jurisdictions, such amendments (including, without limitation, post-effective amendments) and supplements to such registrations and qualifications as may be necessary to maintain the effectiveness thereof during the Registration Period, (iii) take such other actions as may be reasonably necessary to maintain such registrations and qualifications in effect at all times during the Registration Period, and (iv) take all other actions reasonably necessary or advisable to qualify the Registrable Securities for sale in such jurisdictions; provided, however, the Company shall not be required in connection therewith or as a condition thereto to (x) qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify but for this Section 3(e), (y) subject itself to general taxation in any such jurisdiction, or (z) file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction. The Company shall promptly notify Legal Counsel and the Investor of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the registration or qualification of any of the Registrable Securities for sale under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of any jurisdiction in the United States or its receipt of actual notice of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose.

 

 

(f) The Company shall notify Legal Counsel and the Investor in writing of the happening of any event, as promptly as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of such event, as a result of which the Prospectus included in a Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits 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 (provided that in no event shall such notice contain any material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of its Subsidiaries), and, subject to Section 3(p), promptly prepare a supplement or amendment to such Registration Statement and such Prospectus contained therein to correct such untrue statement or omission and deliver one (1) electronic copy of such supplement or amendment to Legal Counsel and the Investor (or such other number of copies as Legal Counsel or the Investor may reasonably request). The Company shall also promptly notify Legal Counsel and the Investor in writing (i) when a Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement or post-effective amendment has been filed, when a Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment has become effective (notification of such effectiveness shall be delivered to Legal Counsel and the Investor by facsimile or e-mail on the same day of such effectiveness), and when the Company receives written notice from the Commission that a Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment will be reviewed by the Commission, (ii) of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to a Registration Statement or related Prospectus or related information, (iii) of the Company’s reasonable determination that a post-effective amendment to a Registration Statement would be appropriate and (iv) of the receipt of any request by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority for any additional information relating to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto or any related Prospectus. The Company shall also advise the Investor promptly (but in no event later than 24 hours) and shall confirm such advice in writing of the Company becoming aware of the happening of any event, which makes any statement made in the FINRA Filing untrue or which requires the making of any additions to or changes to the statements then made in the FINRA Filing in order to comply with FINRA Rules 5110 and 5121. The Company shall respond as promptly as reasonably practicable to any comments received from the Commission with respect to a Registration Statement or any amendment thereto. Nothing in this Section 3(f) shall limit any obligation of the Company under the Purchase Agreement.

 

(g) The Company shall (i) use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or other suspension of effectiveness of a Registration Statement or the use of any Prospectus contained therein, or the suspension of the qualification, or the loss of an exemption from qualification, of any of the Registrable Securities for sale in any jurisdiction and, if such an order or suspension is issued, to obtain the withdrawal of such order or suspension as soon as practicable and (ii) notify Legal Counsel and the Investor of the issuance of such order and the resolution thereof or its receipt of actual notice of the initiation or threat of any proceeding.

 

 

(h) The Company shall hold in confidence and not make any disclosure of information concerning the Investor provided to the Company unless (i) disclosure of such information is necessary to comply with federal or state securities laws, (ii) the disclosure of such information is necessary to avoid or correct a misstatement or omission in any Registration Statement or is otherwise required to be disclosed in such Registration Statement pursuant to the Securities Act, (iii) the release of such information is ordered pursuant to a subpoena or other final, non-appealable order from a court or governmental body of competent jurisdiction, or (iv) such information has been made generally available to the public other than by disclosure in violation of this Agreement or any other Transaction Document. The Company agrees that it shall, upon learning that disclosure of such information concerning the Investor is sought in or by a court or governmental body of competent jurisdiction or through other means, give prompt written notice to the Investor and allow the Investor, at the Investor’s expense, to undertake appropriate action to prevent disclosure of, or to obtain a protective order for, such information.

 

(i) Without limiting any obligation of the Company under the Purchase Agreement, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts either to (i) cause all of the Registrable Securities covered by each Registration Statement to be listed on the Trading Market, or (ii) secure designation and quotation of all of the Registrable Securities covered by each Registration Statement on another Eligible Market. The Company shall pay all fees and expenses in connection with satisfying its obligation under this Section 3(i).

 

(j) The Company shall cooperate with the Investor and, to the extent applicable, facilitate the timely preparation and delivery of Registrable Securities, as DWAC Shares, to be offered pursuant to a Registration Statement and enable such DWAC Shares to be in such denominations or amounts (as the case may be) as the Investor may reasonably request from time to time and registered in such names as the Investor may request. Investor hereby agrees that it shall cooperate with the Company, its counsel and its transfer agent in connection with any issuances of DWAC Shares, and hereby represents, warrants and covenants to the Company that it will resell such DWAC Shares only pursuant to the Registration Statement in which such DWAC Shares are included, in a manner described under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in such Registration Statement, and in a manner in compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, any applicable prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. At the time such DWAC Shares are offered and sold pursuant to the Registration Statement, such DWAC Shares shall be free from all restrictive legends and may be transmitted by the Company’s transfer agent to the Investor by crediting an account at DTC as directed in writing by the Investor.

 

(k) Upon the written request of the Investor, the Company shall as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt of notice from the Investor and subject to Section 3(p) hereof, (i) incorporate in a Prospectus Supplement or post-effective amendment such information as the Investor reasonably requests to be included therein relating to the sale and distribution of Registrable Securities, including, without limitation, information with respect to the number of Registrable Securities being offered or sold, the purchase price being paid therefor and any other terms of the offering of the Registrable Securities to be sold in such offering; (ii) make all required filings of such Prospectus Supplement or post-effective amendment after being notified of the matters to be incorporated in such Prospectus Supplement or post-effective amendment; and (iii) supplement or make amendments to any Registration Statement or Prospectus contained therein if reasonably requested by the Investor.

 

 

(l) The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Registrable Securities covered by a Registration Statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental agencies or authorities as may be necessary to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities.

 

(m) The Company shall make generally available to its security holders (which may be satisfied by making such information available on EDGAR) as soon as practical, but not later than ninety (90) days after the close of the period covered thereby, an earnings statement (in form complying with, and in the manner provided by, the provisions of Rule 158 under the Securities Act) covering a twelve-month period beginning not later than the first day of the Company’s fiscal quarter next following the applicable Effective Date of each Registration Statement.

 

(n) The Company shall otherwise use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Commission in connection with any registration hereunder.

 

(o) Within one (1) Business Day after each Registration Statement which covers Registrable Securities is declared effective by the Commission, the Company shall deliver, and shall cause legal counsel for the Company to deliver, to the transfer agent for such Registrable Securities (with copies to the Investor) confirmation that such Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A or such form as shall be reasonably acceptable to the transfer agent.

 

(p) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein (but subject to the last sentence of this Section 3(p)), at any time after the Effective Date of a particular Registration Statement, the Company may, upon written notice to Investor, suspend Investor’s use of any prospectus that is a part of any Registration Statement (in which event the Investor shall discontinue sales of the Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement contemplated by this Agreement, but shall settle any previously made sales of Registrable Securities) if the Company (x) is pursuing an acquisition, merger, tender offer, reorganization, disposition or other similar transaction and the Company determines in good faith that (A) the Company’s ability to pursue or consummate such a transaction would be materially adversely affected by any required disclosure of such transaction in such Registration Statement or other registration statement or (B) such transaction renders the Company unable to comply with Commission requirements, in each case under circumstances that would make it impractical or inadvisable to cause any Registration Statement (or such filings) to be used by Investor or to promptly amend or supplement any Registration Statement contemplated by this Agreement on a post effective basis, as applicable, or (y) has experienced some other material non-public event the disclosure of which at such time, in the good faith judgment of the Company, would materially adversely affect the Company (each, an “Allowable Grace Period”); provided, however, that in no event shall the Investor be suspended from selling Registrable Securities pursuant to any Registration Statement for a period that exceeds forty-five (45) consecutive Trading Days or an aggregate of ninety (90) Trading Days in any 365-day period; and provided, further, the Company shall not effect any such suspension during (A) the first ten (10) consecutive Trading Days after the Effective Date of the particular Registration Statement or (B) the five-Trading Day period commencing on the Purchase Date for each VWAP Purchase and for each Intraday VWAP Purchase (as applicable). Upon disclosure of such information or the termination of the condition described above, the Company shall provide prompt notice, but in any event within one Business Day of such disclosure or termination, to the Investor and shall promptly terminate any suspension of sales it has put into effect and shall take such other reasonable actions to permit registered sales of Registrable Securities as contemplated in this Agreement (including as set forth in the first sentence of Section 3(f) with respect to the information giving rise thereto unless such material, non-public information is no longer applicable). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 3(p), the Company shall cause its transfer agent to deliver DWAC Shares to a transferee of the Investor in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement in connection with any sale of Registrable Securities with respect to which (i) the Company has made a sale to Investor and (ii) the Investor has entered into a contract for sale, and delivered a copy of the Prospectus included as part of the particular Registration Statement to the extent applicable, in each case prior to the Investor’s receipt of the notice of an Allowable Grace Period and for which the Investor has not yet settled.

 

 

4.	Obligations of the Investor.

 

(a) At least five (5) Business Days prior to the first anticipated filing date of each Registration Statement (or such shorter period to which the parties agree), the Company shall notify the Investor in writing of the information the Company requires from the Investor with respect to such Registration Statement. It shall be a condition precedent to the obligations of the Company to complete the registration pursuant to this Agreement with respect to the Registrable Securities of the Investor that the Investor shall furnish to the Company such information regarding itself, the Registrable Securities held by it and the intended method of disposition of the Registrable Securities held by it, as shall be reasonably required to effect and maintain the effectiveness of the registration of such Registrable Securities and shall execute such documents in connection with such registration as the Company may reasonably request.

 

(b) The Investor, by its acceptance of the Registrable Securities, agrees to cooperate with the Company as reasonably requested by the Company in connection with the preparation and filing of each Registration Statement hereunder, unless the Investor has notified the Company in writing of the Investor’s election to exclude all of the Investor’s Registrable Securities from such Registration Statement.

 

(c) The Investor agrees that, upon receipt of any notice from the Company of the happening of any event of the kind described in Section 3(p) or the first sentence of 3(f), the Investor shall immediately discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities pursuant to any Registration Statement(s) covering such Registrable Securities until the Investor’s receipt of the copies of the supplemented or amended Prospectus contemplated by Section 3(p) or the first sentence of Section 3(f) or receipt of notice that no supplement or amendment is required. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4(c), the Company shall cause its transfer agent to deliver DWAC Shares to a transferee of the Investor in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement in connection with any sale of Registrable Securities with respect to which the Investor has entered into a contract for sale prior to the Investor’s receipt of a notice from the Company of the happening of any event of the kind described in Section 3(p) or the first sentence of Section 3(f) and for which the Investor has not yet settled.

 

(d) The Investor covenants and agrees that it shall comply with the prospectus delivery and other requirements of the Securities Act as applicable to it in connection with sales of Registrable Securities pursuant to a Registration Statement.

 

 

5.	Expenses of Registration.

 

Each party shall bear its own fees and expenses related to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall pay for all registration, listing and qualifications fees, printers and accounting fees, and fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; and the Investor shall pay any sales or brokerage commissions and fees and disbursements of counsel for, and other expenses of, the Investor incurred in connection with the registrations, filings or qualifications pursuant to Section 2 and 3, and all U.S. federal, state and local stamp and other similar transfer and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the sale of the Securities pursuant hereto.

 

6.	Indemnification.

 

(a) In the event any Registrable Securities are included in any Registration Statement under this Agreement, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company will, and hereby does, indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Investor, each of its directors, officers, stockholders, members, partners, employees, agents, advisors, representatives (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding the lack of such title or any other title) and each Person, if any, who controls the Investor within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act and each of the directors, officers, stockholders, members, partners, employees, agents, advisors, representatives (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding the lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling Persons (each, an “Investor Party” and collectively, the “Investor Parties”), against any losses, obligations, claims, damages, liabilities, contingencies, judgments, fines, penalties, charges, costs (including, without limitation, court costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs of defense and investigation), amounts paid in settlement or expenses, joint or several, (collectively, “Claims”) reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending any action, claim, suit, inquiry, proceeding, investigation or appeal taken from the foregoing by or before any court or governmental, administrative or other regulatory agency, body or the Commission, whether pending or threatened, whether or not an Investor Party is or may be a party thereto (“Indemnified Damages”), to which any of them may become subject insofar as such Claims (or actions or proceedings, whether commenced or threatened, in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon: (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact in a Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or in any filing made in connection with the qualification of the offering under the securities or other “Blue Sky” laws of any jurisdiction in which Registrable Securities are offered (“Blue Sky Filing”), or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) or in any Prospectus Supplement or the omission or alleged omission to state therein any material fact necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which the statements therein were made, not misleading (the matters in the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii) being, collectively, “Violations”). Subject to Section 6(e), the Company shall reimburse the Investor Parties, promptly as such expenses are incurred and are due and payable, for any reasonable and documented out-of-pocket legal fees or other reasonable expenses incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such Claim. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the indemnification agreement contained in this Section 6(a): (i) shall not apply to a Claim by an Investor Party arising out of or based upon a Violation which occurs in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by such Investor Party for such Investor Party expressly for use in connection with the preparation of such Registration Statement, Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement or any such amendment thereof or supplement thereto (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that the written information set forth on Exhibit C attached hereto is the only written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Investor expressly for use in any Registration Statement, Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement); (ii) shall not be available to the Investor to the extent such Claim is based on a failure of the Investor to deliver or to cause to be delivered the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) made available by the Company (to the extent applicable), including, without limitation, a corrected Prospectus, if such Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) or corrected Prospectus was timely made available by the Company pursuant to Section 3(d) and then only if, and to the extent that, following the receipt of the corrected Prospectus no grounds for such Claim would have existed; and (iii) shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any Claim if such settlement is effected without the prior written consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Such indemnity shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Investor Party and shall survive the transfer of any of the Registrable Securities by the Investor pursuant to Section 9.

 

 

(b) In connection with any Registration Statement in which the Investor is participating, the Investor agrees to severally and not jointly indemnify, hold harmless and defend, to the same extent and in the same manner as is set forth in Section 6(a), the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement and each Person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act (each, a “Company Party”), against any Claim or Indemnified Damages to which any of them may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such Claim or Indemnified Damages arise out of or are based upon any Violation, in each case, to the extent, and only to the extent, that such Violation occurs in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to the Investor furnished to the Company by the Investor expressly for use in connection with such Registration Statement, the Prospectus included therein or any Prospectus Supplement thereto (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that the written information set forth on Exhibit C attached hereto is the only written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Investor expressly for use in any Registration Statement, Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement); and, subject to Section 6(e) and the below provisos in this Section 6(b), the Investor shall reimburse a Company Party any reasonable, documented out-of-pocket legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Company Party in connection with investigating or defending any such Claim; provided, however, the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 6(b) and the agreement with respect to contribution contained in Section 7 shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any Claim if such settlement is effected without the prior written consent of the Investor, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; and provided, further that the Investor shall be liable under this Section 6(b) for only that amount of a Claim or Indemnified Damages as does not exceed the net proceeds to the Investor as a result of the applicable sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement, Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement. Such indemnity shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of such Company Party and shall survive the transfer of any of the Registrable Securities by the Investor pursuant to Section 9.

 

(c) Promptly after receipt by an Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) under this Section 6 of notice of the commencement of any action or proceeding (including, without limitation, any governmental action or proceeding) involving a Claim, such Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) shall, if a Claim in respect thereof is to be made against any indemnifying party under this Section 6, deliver to the indemnifying party a written notice of the commencement thereof, and the indemnifying party shall have the right to participate in, and, to the extent the indemnifying party so desires, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly noticed, to assume control of the defense thereof with counsel mutually satisfactory to the indemnifying party and the Investor Party or the Company Party (as the case may be); provided, however, an Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) shall have the right to retain its own counsel with the reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees and expenses of such counsel to be paid by the indemnifying party if: (i) the indemnifying party has agreed in writing to pay such fees and expenses; (ii) the indemnifying party shall have failed promptly to assume the defense of such Claim and to employ counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) in any such Claim; or (iii) the named parties to any such Claim (including, without limitation, any impleaded parties) include both such Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) and the indemnifying party, and such Investor Party or such Company Party (as the case may be) shall have been advised by counsel that a conflict of interest is likely to exist if the same counsel were to represent such Investor Party or such Company Party and the indemnifying party (in which case, if such Investor Party or such Company Party (as the case may be) notifies the indemnifying party in writing that it elects to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party, then the indemnifying party shall not have the right to assume the defense thereof on behalf of the indemnified party and such counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party, provided further that in the case of clause (iii) above the indemnifying party shall not be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one (1) separate legal counsel for all Investor Parties or Company Parties (as the case may be). The Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be) shall reasonably cooperate with the indemnifying party in connection with any negotiation or defense of any such action or Claim by the indemnifying party and shall furnish to the indemnifying party all information reasonably available to the Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be) which relates to such action or Claim. The indemnifying party shall keep the Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be) reasonably apprised at all times as to the status of the defense or any settlement negotiations with respect thereto. No indemnifying party shall be liable for any settlement of any action, claim or proceeding effected without its prior written consent; provided, however, the indemnifying party shall not unreasonably withhold, delay or condition its consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be), consent to entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement or other compromise which does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be) of a release from all liability in respect to such Claim or litigation, and such settlement shall not include any admission as to fault on the part of the Company Party. For the avoidance of doubt, the immediately preceding sentence shall apply to Sections 6(a) and 6(b) hereof. Following indemnification as provided for hereunder, the indemnifying party shall be subrogated to all rights of the Company Party or Investor Party (as the case may be) with respect to all third parties, firms or corporations relating to the matter for which indemnification has been made. The failure to deliver written notice to the indemnifying party within a reasonable time of the commencement of any such action shall not relieve such indemnifying party of any liability to the Investor Party or Company Party (as the case may be) under this Section 6, except to the extent that the indemnifying party is materially and adversely prejudiced in its ability to defend such action.

 

 

(d) No Person involved in the sale of Registrable Securities who is guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) in connection with such sale shall be entitled to indemnification from any Person involved in such sale of Registrable Securities who is not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

(e) The indemnification required by this Section 6 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or Indemnified Damages are incurred; provided that any Person receiving any payment pursuant to this Section 6 shall promptly reimburse the Person making such payment for the amount of such payment to the extent a court of competent jurisdiction determines that such Person receiving such payment was not entitled to such payment.

 

(f) The indemnity and contribution agreements contained herein shall be in addition to (i) any cause of action or similar right of the Company Party or Investor Party against the indemnifying party or others, and (ii) any liabilities the indemnifying party may be subject to pursuant to the law.

 

7.	Contribution.

 

To the extent any indemnification by an indemnifying party is prohibited or limited by law, the indemnifying party agrees to make the maximum contribution with respect to any amounts for which it would otherwise be liable under Section 6 to the fullest extent permitted by law; provided, however: (i) no contribution shall be made under circumstances where the maker would not have been liable for indemnification under the fault standards set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement, (ii) no Person involved in the sale of Registrable Securities which Person is guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) in connection with such sale shall be entitled to contribution from any Person involved in such sale of Registrable Securities who was not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation; and (iii) contribution by any seller of Registrable Securities shall be limited in amount to the amount of net proceeds received by such seller from the applicable sale of such Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, the Investor shall not be required to contribute, in the aggregate, any amount in excess of the amount by which the net proceeds actually received by the Investor from the applicable sale of the Registrable Securities subject to the Claim exceeds the amount of any damages that the Investor has otherwise been required to pay, or would otherwise be required to pay under Section 6(b), by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

 

 

8.	Reports Under the Exchange Act.

 

With a view to making available to the Investor the benefits of Rule 144, the Company agrees to:

 

(a) use its commercially reasonable efforts to make and keep public information available, as those terms are understood and defined in Rule 144;

 

(b) use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission in a timely manner all reports and other documents required of the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act so long as the Company remains subject to such requirements (it being understood that nothing herein shall limit any of the Company’s obligations under the Purchase Agreement) and the filing of such reports and other documents is required for the applicable provisions of Rule 144;

 

(c) furnish to the Investor so long as the Investor owns Registrable Securities, promptly upon request, (i) a written statement by the Company, if true, that it has complied with the reporting, submission and posting requirements of Rule 144 and the Exchange Act, (ii) a copy of the most recent annual or quarterly report of the Company and such other reports and documents so filed by the Company with the Commission if such reports are not publicly available via EDGAR, and (iii) such other information as may be reasonably requested to permit the Investor to sell such securities pursuant to Rule 144 without registration; and

 

(d) take such additional action as is reasonably requested by the Investor to enable the Investor to sell the Registrable Securities pursuant to Rule 144, including, without limitation, delivering all such legal opinions, consents, certificates, resolutions and instructions to the Company’s transfer agent as may be reasonably requested from time to time by the Investor and otherwise fully cooperate with Investor and Investor’s broker to effect such sale of securities pursuant to Rule 144.

 

9.	Assignment of Registration Rights.

 

Neither the Company nor the Investor shall assign this Agreement or any of their respective rights or obligations hereunder; provided, however, that any transaction, whether by merger, reorganization, restructuring, consolidation, financing or otherwise, whereby the Company remains the surviving entity immediately after such transaction shall not be deemed an assignment.

 

10.	Amendment or Waiver.

 

No provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived by the parties from and after the date that is one (1) Trading Day immediately preceding the date on which the Initial Registration Statement is initially filed with the Commission. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence, no provision of this Agreement may be (i) amended other than by a written instrument signed by both parties hereto or (ii) waived other than in a written instrument signed by the party against whom enforcement of such waiver is sought. Failure of any party to exercise any right or remedy under this Agreement or otherwise, or delay by a party in exercising such right or remedy, shall not operate as a waiver thereof.

 

 

11.	Miscellaneous.

 

(a) Solely for purposes of this Agreement, a Person is deemed to be a holder of Registrable Securities whenever such Person owns or is deemed to own of record such Registrable Securities. If the Company receives conflicting instructions, notices or elections from two or more Persons with respect to the same Registrable Securities, the Company shall act upon the basis of instructions, notice or election received from such record owner of such Registrable Securities.

 

(b) Any notices, consents, waivers or other communications required or permitted to be given under the terms of this Agreement shall be given in accordance with Section 10.4 of the Purchase Agreement.

 

(c) Failure of any party to exercise any right or remedy under this Agreement or otherwise, or delay by a party in exercising such right or remedy, shall not operate as a waiver thereof. The Company and the Investor acknowledge and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that either party shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent or cure breaches of the provisions of this Agreement by the other party and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof (without the necessity of showing economic loss and without any bond or other security being required), this being in addition to any other remedy to which either party may be entitled by law or equity.

 

(d) All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Agreement shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any law or rule (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdictions) that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdictions other than the State of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts sitting in The City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof to such party at the address for such notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law. If any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in that jurisdiction or the validity or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO, AND AGREES NOT TO REQUEST, A JURY TRIAL FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR IN CONNECTION HEREWITH OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

 

 

(e) The Transaction Documents set forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties solely with respect to the subject matter thereof and supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, negotiations and understandings between the parties, both oral and written, solely with respect to such matters. There are no promises, undertakings, representations or warranties by either party relative to subject matter hereof not expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary and without implication that the contrary would otherwise be true, nothing contained in this Agreement shall limit, modify or affect in any manner whatsoever (i) the conditions precedent to a VWAP Purchase and an Intraday VWAP Purchase contained in Article VII of the Purchase Agreement or (ii) any of the Company’s obligations under the Purchase Agreement.

 

(f) This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors. This Agreement is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any Person, other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and the Persons referred to in Sections 6 and 7 hereof.

 

(g) The headings in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall not limit or otherwise affect the meaning hereof. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, each pronoun herein shall be deemed to include the masculine, feminine, neuter, singular and plural forms thereof. The terms “including,” “includes,” “include” and words of like import shall be construed broadly as if followed by the words “without limitation.” The terms “herein,” “hereunder,” “hereof” and words of like import refer to this entire Agreement instead of just the provision in which they are found.

 

(h) This Agreement may be executed in two or more identical counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party; provided that a facsimile signature or signature delivered by e-mail in a “.pdf” format data file, including any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com, www.echosign.adobe.com, etc., shall be considered due execution and shall be binding upon the signatory thereto with the same force and effect as if the signature were an original signature.

 

(i) Each party shall do and perform, or cause to be done and performed, all such further acts and things, and shall execute and deliver all such other agreements, certificates, instruments and documents as any other party may reasonably request in order to carry out the intent and accomplish the purposes of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

(j) The language used in this Agreement will be deemed to be the language chosen by the parties to express their mutual intent and no rules of strict construction will be applied against any party.

 

[Signature Pages Follow]

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Investor and the Company have caused their respective signature page to this Registration Rights Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first written above.

 

	THE COMPANY:
	STARDUST POWER INC.
	By:	/s/ Roshan Pujari
	Name:	Roshan Pujari
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Investor and the Company have caused their respective signature page to this Registration Rights Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first written above.

 

	THE INVESTOR:
	B. RILEY PRINCIPAL CAPITAL II, LLC
	By:	/s/ Jimmy Baker
	Name:	Jimmy Baker
	Title:	Authorized Signatory

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

FORM OF NOTICE OF EFFECTIVENESS

OF REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

[●]

[●]

[●]

 

Re:

Stardust Power Inc.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as counsel to Stardust Power Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with that certain Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 7, 2024 (the “Purchase Agreement”), entered into by and between the Company and the Investor named therein (the “Holder”), pursuant to which the Company has issued and may issue to the Holder from time to time shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company also has entered into a Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of October 7, 2024, with the Holder (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company agreed, among other things, to register the offer and sale by the Holder of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In connection with the Company’s obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement, on October 7, 2024, the Company filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-[●]) (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) relating to the resale by the holder of Registrable Securities and which names the Holder as an underwriter and a selling stockholder thereunder.

 

In connection with the foregoing, we advise you that the Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act; and no stop order suspending its effectiveness has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose are pending or threatened by the Commission. The statement with respect to effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the Securities Act is based solely on the Notice of Effectiveness relating to the Registration Statement issued by the Commission or published by the Commission on its website, as applicable. The statement with respect to no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement having been issued and no proceedings for that purpose being pending or threatened by the Commission is based solely on the review, by lawyers in our firm actively engaged in our representation of the Company in this matter, of the Commission’s “Stop Orders” web page (http://www.sec.gov/litigation/stoporders.shtml) at [●], Eastern Time, on the date hereof.

 

This letter is limited in all respects to the federal securities laws of the United States of America. We express no opinion as to matters relating to state securities laws or Blue Sky laws.

 

We assume no obligation to update this letter with respect to matters occurring subsequent to the date hereof.

 

This letter is addressed to you and is solely for your benefit and made only in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Registration Rights Agreement. This letter may not be relied upon by you for any other purpose or furnished to, circulated, quoted or relied upon by any other person or entity other than you for any purpose without our prior written consent solely for the benefit of the person to whom it is addressed; accordingly, it may not be quoted, filed with any governmental authority or other regulatory agency or otherwise circulated or utilized for any purposes without our prior written consent.

 

	Very truly yours,
	[ISSUER’S COUNSEL]
	By:

 

cc:	B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC

 

 

EXHIBIT B

 

SELLING STOCKHOLDER

 

 

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION (CONFLICT OF INTEREST)

 

 

EXHIBIT C

 

The business address of B. Riley Principal Capital II, LLC (“BRPC II”) is 11100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles, California 90025. BRPC II’s principal business is that of a private investor. BRPC II is a wholly-owned subsidiary of B. Riley Principal Investments, LLC (“BRPI”). As a result, BRPI may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the securities of the company held of record by BRPC II. B. Riley Financial, Inc. (“BRF”) is the parent company of BRPC II and BRPI. As a result, BRF may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the securities of the company held of record by BRPC II and indirectly beneficially owned by BRPI. Bryant R. Riley is the Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BRF. As a result, Bryant R. Riley may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the securities of the company held of record by BRPC II and indirectly beneficially owned by BRPI. Each of BRF, BRPI and Bryant R. Riley expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities of the company held of record by BRPC II, except to the extent of its/his pecuniary interest therein. None of BRF, BRPI or BRPC II is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or an independent broker-dealer; however, each of BRF, BRPI, BRPC II and Bryant R. Riley is an affiliate of B. Riley Securities, Inc. (“BRS”), a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member, and Bryant R. Riley is an associated person of BRS. BRS will act as an executing broker that will effectuate resales of common stock that have been and may be acquired by BRPC II from the company pursuant to the Purchase Agreement to the public in this offering.

 

 

v3.24.3

Cover	Oct. 07, 2024
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 07, 2024
Entity File Number	001-39875
Entity Registrant Name	STARDUST POWER INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001831979
Entity Tax Identification Number	99-3863616
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Address, Address Line One	15 E. Putnam Ave
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 378
Entity Address, City or Town	Greenwich
Entity Address, State or Province	CT
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	06830
City Area Code	(800)
Local Phone Number	742 3095
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	true
Elected Not To Use the Extended Transition Period	false
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
Trading Symbol	SDST
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50
Title of 12(b) Security	Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50
Trading Symbol	SDSTW
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ

---