FUSHI COPPERWELD, INC. 6,500,000 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit
1.1
FUSHI COPPERWELD,
INC.
6,500,000
SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
January
26, 2010
XXXXXXXXX
& COMPANY, INC.
As
Representative of the Underwriters
c/o
JEFFERIES & COMPANY, INC.
000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Fushi
Copperweld, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue
and sell to the underwriters named in Schedule A (the
“Underwriters”) an
aggregate of 6,500,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.006 per share
(the “Shares”). The
6,500,000 Shares to be sold by the Company are herein called the “Firm Shares.” In
addition, the Company has granted to the Underwriters an option to purchase up
to an additional 975,000 Shares as provided in Section 2. The
additional 975,000 Shares to be sold by the Company pursuant to such option are
collectively called the “Optional
Shares.” The Firm Shares and, if and to the extent such option
is exercised, the Optional Shares are herein collectively called the “Offered
Shares.” Jefferies & Company, Inc. (“Jefferies”) has agreed to act
as representative of the Underwriters (in such capacity, the “Representative”) in connection
with the offering and sale of the Offered Shares.
The
Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“Commission”) a shelf
registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-160449), and has
prepared a base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”) to be used
in connection with the public offering and sale of the Offered
Shares. Such registration statement, as amended, including the
financial statements, exhibits and schedules thereto, in the form in which it
was declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the
“Securities Act”),
including all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference
therein and any information deemed to be a part thereof at the time of
effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act or the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”), is called the
“Registration
Statement.” Any registration statement filed by the Company
pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act is called the “Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement,” and from and after the date and time of filing of the Rule
462(b) Registration Statement the term “Registration Statement” shall
include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The preliminary
prospectus supplement dated January 19, 2010 describing the Offered Shares and
the offering thereof, together with the Base Prospectus, is called the “Preliminary Prospectus,” and
the Preliminary Prospectus and any other preliminary prospectus supplement to
the Base Prospectus that describes the Offered Shares and the offering thereof
and is used prior to the filing of the Prospectus (as defined below), together
with the Base Prospectus, is called a “preliminary
prospectus.” As used herein, the term “Prospectus” shall mean the
final prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus that describes the Offered
Shares and the offering thereof (the “Final Prospectus Supplement”),
together with the Base Prospectus, in the form first used by the Underwriters to
confirm sales of the Offered Shares or in the form first made available to the
Underwriters by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173
under the Securities Act. As used herein, “Applicable Time” is 07:00 p.m.
(New York time) on January 26, 2010. As used herein, “free writing prospectus” has
the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, and “Time of Sale Prospectus” means
the preliminary prospectus, immediately prior to the Applicable Time, together
with the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule B
hereto, and each “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act),
if any, related to the offering of the Offered Shares contemplated hereby that
is a “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act)
(each such road show, a “Road
Show”). As used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,”
“Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” “Preliminary Prospectus,” “preliminary
prospectus,” “Base Prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus” shall
include the documents incorporated and deemed to be incorporated by reference
therein. All references in this Agreement to amendments or
supplements to the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus, the Base
Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be,
shall be deemed to mean and include any document filed under the Exchange Act
which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus,
any preliminary prospectus, the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or
the Prospectus, as the case may be. All references in this Agreement
to (i) the Registration Statement, the 462(b) Registration Statement, any
Preliminary Prospectus, a preliminary prospectus, the Base Prospectus or the
Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing, shall
include any copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic
Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“XXXXX”) and (ii) the
Prospectus shall be deemed to include the “electronic Prospectus”
provided for use in connection with the offering of the Offered Shares as
contemplated by Section 3(n) of this Agreement. All references
in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information
which are “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the
Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, any preliminary
prospectus, the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus
(and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include
all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is
deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to
amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus,
the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case
may be, and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the
Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Preliminary
Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus, the Base Prospectus, the Time of Sale
Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of
any document under the Exchange Act which is or is deemed to be incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,
the Preliminary Prospectus, any preliminary prospectus, the Base Prospectus, the
Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
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The
Company hereby confirms its agreements with the Underwriters as
follows:
Section
1. Representations and Warranties of the
Company. The Company hereby represents, warrants and covenants
to each Underwriter, as of the date of this Agreement, as of the First Closing
Date (as hereinafter defined) and as of each Option Closing Date (as hereafter
defined), if any, and covenants with each Underwriter, as follows:
(a) Compliance with Registration
Requirements. The Registration Statement and any
Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the
Commission under the Securities Act. The Company has complied to the
Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or
supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness
of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is
in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are
pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened
by the Commission.
Each
preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus when filed complied in all material
respects with the Securities Act and, if filed by electronic transmission
pursuant to XXXXX (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the
Securities Act), was identical to the copy thereof delivered to the Underwriters
for use in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered
Shares. Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it
became effective and at all subsequent times, complied and will comply in all
material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading. As of the Applicable Time, the Time of Sale Prospectus
did not, and at the time of each sale of the Offered Shares and at the First
Closing Date (as defined in Section 2), the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then
amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which
they were made, not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or
supplemented, as of its date and at all subsequent times, did not and will not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The
representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding
sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration
Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective
amendment thereto, or the Prospectus or the Time of Sale Prospectus, or any
amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by
the Representative expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed
that the only such information furnished by the Representative to the Company
consists of the information described in Section 9(b) below. There
are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Time of Sale
Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration
Statement which have not been described or filed as required.
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The
Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering of the
Offered Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities
Act. Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file
pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed
with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities
Act. Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is
required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was
prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or
will comply in all material respects with the requirements of Rule 433 under the
Securities Act including timely filing with the Commission or retention where
required and legending, and each such free writing prospectus, as of its issue
date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and
sale of the Offered Shares did not, does not and will not include any
information that conflicted, conflicts with or will conflict with the
information contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any
preliminary prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference
therein. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified
in Schedule B hereto, and electronic road shows, if any, furnished to you before
first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not,
without your prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing
prospectus.
(b) Offering Materials Furnished to
Underwriters. The Company has delivered to the Representative
two complete copies of the Registration Statement, each amendment thereto and
any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and each consent and certificate of
experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration
Statement, each amendment thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement
(without exhibits) and preliminary prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus,
the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, and any free writing prospectus
reviewed and consented to by the Representative, in such quantities and at such
places as the Representative has reasonably requested for each of the
Underwriters.
(c) Distribution of Offering Material By
the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not
distribute, prior to the later of (i) the expiration or termination of the
option granted to the Underwriters in Section 2 and (ii) the completion of the
Underwriters’ distribution of the Offered Shares, any offering material in
connection with the offering and sale of the Offered Shares other than a
preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any free
writing prospectus reviewed and consented to by the Representative, or the
Registration Statement.
(d) The Underwriting
Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed
and delivered by, and is a valid and binding agreement of, the Company,
enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnification
hereunder may be limited by applicable law and except as the enforcement hereof
may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other
similar laws relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors or by
general equitable principles.
(e) No Applicable Registration or Other
Similar Rights. There are no persons with registration or
other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale
under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by
this Agreement, other than the selling stockholders included in the resale
prospectus which forms a part of the Registration Statement.
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(f) Authorization of the Offered
Shares. The Offered Shares have been duly authorized for
issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by
the Company pursuant to this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable, and the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares is not subject to
any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to
subscribe for or purchase the Offered Shares.
(g) No Material Adverse
Change. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Time of Sale
Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given
in the Time of Sale Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse
change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a
material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the
earnings, business, operations or prospects, whether or not arising from
transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its
subsidiaries, considered as one entity (any such change is called a “Material Adverse Change”);
(ii) the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not
incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent,
not in the ordinary course of business nor entered into any material transaction
or agreement not in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) there has
been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the
Company or, except for dividends paid to the Company or other subsidiaries, any
of its subsidiaries on any class of capital stock or repurchase or redemption by
the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any class of capital
stock.
(h) Independent
Accountants. Xxxxxx Xxxxx, LLP (f/k/a Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx and Xxxxxx, LLP), who have expressed their opinion with respect to the
financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related
notes thereto) filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement
and included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and Time of Sale
Prospectus (each, an “Applicable Prospectus” and
collectively, the “Applicable
Prospectuses”), are (i) independent public or certified public
accountants as required by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, (ii) to the
Company’s knowledge, in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to
the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X and (iii) a
registered public accounting firm as defined by the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) whose registration has
not been suspended or revoked and who has not requested such registration to be
withdrawn.
(i) Preparation of the Financial
Statements. The financial statements and the related notes
thereto filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and
included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the
Prospectus present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and
its subsidiaries as of and at the dates indicated and the results of their
operations and cash flows for the periods specified. Such financial
statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles, as applied in the United States, applied on a consistent basis
throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the
related notes thereto. No other financial statements or supporting
schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement or any
Applicable Prospectus. The financial data set forth in each
Applicable Prospectus under the captions “Prospectus Supplement Summary—Summary
Consolidated Financial Information” and “Capitalization” fairly present the
information set forth therein on a basis consistent with that of the audited
financial statements contained in the Registration Statement and each Applicable
Prospectus. The Company’s ratios of earnings to fixed charges and
preferred stock dividends set forth in the Base Prospectus under the caption
“Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges” and in Exhibit 12.1 to the Registration
Statement have been calculated in compliance with Item 503(d) of Regulation S K
under the Securities Act. To the Company’s knowledge, no person who
has been suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public
accounting firm, or who has failed to comply with any sanction pursuant to Rule
5300 promulgated by the PCAOB, has participated in or otherwise aided the
preparation of, or audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or
other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration
Statement and included in any Applicable Prospectus.
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(j) Company’s Accounting
System. The Company and each of its subsidiaries make and keep
accurate books and records and maintain a system of internal accounting controls
sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are
executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization;
(ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles
as applied in the United States and to maintain accountability for assets;
(iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s
general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for
assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate
action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described
in each Applicable Prospectus there has not been and is no material
weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or
not remediated) and except as described in each Applicable Prospectus, since
December 31, 2008, 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.
(k) Incorporation and Good Standing of
the Company and its Subsidiaries. Each of the Company and its
subsidiaries has been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is
validly existing as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as
applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation or organization and has the power and authority (corporate or
other) to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as
described in each Applicable Prospectus and, in the case of the Company, to
enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. Each of
the Company and each subsidiary is duly qualified as a foreign corporation,
partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, to transact business
and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is
required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the
conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions in which the failure to be so
qualified or in good standing, would not, individually or in the aggregate,
result in a Material Adverse Change. All of the issued and
outstanding capital stock or other equity or ownership interests of each
subsidiary have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and
nonassessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries,
except as described in each Applicable Prospectus, free and clear of any
security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse
claim. The Company does not own or control through equity interest or
otherwise, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity
other than (i) the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 (the
“Annual Report”) and
(ii) such other entities omitted from Exhibit 21.1 which, when such omitted
entities are considered in the aggregate as a single subsidiary, would not
constitute a “significant subsidiary” within the meaning of Rule 1-02(w) of
Regulation S-X. The term “U.S. Subsidiaries” shall mean
Fushi Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation and Copperweld Bimetallics, LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company.
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(l) Capitalization and Other Capital
Stock Matters. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital
stock of the Company is as set forth in each Applicable Prospectus under the
caption “Capitalization” (other than for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant
to employee benefit plans described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or upon the
exercise of outstanding options or warrants described in each Applicable
Prospectus). The Shares (including the Offered Shares) conform in all
material respects to the description thereof contained in the Time of Sale
Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding Shares have been duly
authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been
issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws. None of
the outstanding Shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights
of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities
of the Company. There are no authorized or outstanding options,
warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to
purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or
exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries
other than those accurately described in each Applicable
Prospectus. The description of the Company’s stock option, stock
bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights
granted thereunder, set forth in each Applicable Prospectus, or incorporated or
deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, accurately and fairly presents
the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements,
options and rights.
(m) Stock Exchange
Listing. The Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b)
of the Exchange Act and are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and the
Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of,
terminating the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting
the Shares from the Nasdaq Global Select Market, nor has the Company received
any notification that the Commission or the Nasdaq Global Select Market is
contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
(n) Non-Contravention of Existing
Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals
Required. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is
in violation of its charter or by-laws, partnership agreement or operating
agreement or similar organizational document, as applicable, or is in default
(or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would be in default) (“Default”) under any indenture,
mortgage, loan or credit agreement, note, contract, franchise, lease or other
instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by
which it or any of them may be bound (including, without limitation, any credit
agreement, indenture, pledge agreement, security agreement or other instrument
or agreement evidencing, guaranteeing, securing or relating to indebtedness of
the Company or any of its subsidiaries ), or to which any of the property
or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (each, an “Existing Instrument”), except
for such Defaults as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a
Material Adverse Change and such Defaults disclosed in each Applicable
Prospectus. The Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this
Agreement, consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by each
Applicable Prospectus and the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares
(i) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will
not result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws,
partnership agreement or operating agreement or similar organizational document
of the Company or any subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) will not conflict
with or constitute a breach of, or Default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event
(as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien,
charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries pursuant to, or require the consent of any other party to, any
Existing Instrument (including, as a result of any right of first refusal, right
of first offer or other similar provision) and (iii) will not result in any
violation of any law, administrative regulation or administrative or court
decree applicable to the Company or any subsidiary. No consent,
approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any
court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency, is required for
the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by each Applicable
Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in
full force and effect under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or
blue sky laws. As used herein, a “Debt Repayment Triggering
Event” means any event or condition which gives, or with the giving of
notice or lapse of time would give, the holder of any note, debenture or other
evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the
right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of
such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
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(o) No Material Actions or
Proceedings. Except as otherwise disclosed in each Applicable
Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental actions, suits or proceedings
pending or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, threatened (i) against
or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) which have as the
subject thereof any officer or director of, or property owned or leased by, the
Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) relating to environmental or
discrimination matters, where in any such case (A) there is a reasonable
possibility that such action, suit or proceeding might be determined adversely
to the Company, such subsidiary or such officer or director, (B) any such
action, suit or proceeding, if so determined adversely, would reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Change or adversely affect the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (C) any such
action, suit or proceeding is or would be material in the context of the sale of
Shares. No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries, or with the employees of any principal supplier,
manufacturer, customer or contractor of the Company, exists or, to the best of
the Company’s knowledge, is threatened or imminent.
(p) Intellectual Property
Rights. Except as disclosed in the Time of Sale Prospectus and
the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries own or possess sufficient
trademarks, trade names, patent rights, copyrights, domain names, licenses,
approvals, trade secrets and other similar rights (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”)
reasonably necessary to conduct their businesses as now conducted; and the
expected expiration of any of such Intellectual Property Rights would not result
in a Material Adverse Change. Neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries has received, or has any reason to believe that it will receive,
any notice of infringement or conflict with asserted Intellectual Property
Rights of others. 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
Prospectus and are not described therein. (The Time of Sale
Prospectus contains in all material respects the same description of the matters
set forth in the preceding sentence contained in the
Prospectus.) None of the technology employed by the Company or any of
its subsidiaries has been obtained or is being used by the Company or any of its
subsidiaries in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company
or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its or its
subsidiaries’ officers, directors or employees or otherwise in violation of the
rights of any persons.
8
(q) All Necessary Permits,
etc. The Company and each subsidiary possess such valid and
current certificates, authorizations or permits issued by the appropriate state,
federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their
respective businesses, and neither the Company nor any subsidiary has received,
or has any reason to believe that it will receive, any notice of proceedings
relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such
certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the
subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could result in a
Material Adverse Change.
(r) Title to
Properties. The Company and each of its subsidiaries has good
and marketable title to all of the real and personal property and other assets
reflected as owned in the financial statements referred to in Section 1(h)
above (or elsewhere in any Applicable Prospectus), in each case free and clear
of any security interests, mortgages, liens, encumbrances, equities, adverse
claims and other defects, except as disclosed in each Applicable
Prospectus. The real property, improvements, equipment and personal
property held under lease by the Company or any subsidiary are held under valid
and enforceable leases, with such exceptions as are not material and do not
materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such real
property, improvements, equipment or personal property by the Company or such
subsidiary.
(s) Tax Law
Compliance. The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all
necessary federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns and have
paid all taxes required to be paid by any of them and, if due and payable, any
related or similar assessment, fine or penalty levied against any of
them. The Company has made adequate charges, accruals and reserves in
the applicable financial statements referred to in Section 1(h) above in
respect of all federal, state and foreign income and franchise taxes for all
periods as to which the tax liability of the Company or any of its subsidiaries
has not been finally determined.
(t) Company Not an “Investment
Company”. The Company has been advised of the rules and
requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
“Investment Company
Act”). The Company is not, and will not be, either after
receipt of payment for the Offered Shares or after the application of the
proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds” in each Applicable
Prospectus, an “investment
company” within the meaning of Investment Company Act and will conduct
its business in a manner so that it will not become subject to the Investment
Company Act.
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(u) Insurance. Each of
the Company, its U.S. Subsidiaries and Copperweld Bimetallics UK, LLC are
insured by recognized, financially sound and reputable institutions with
policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such risks as
are generally deemed adequate and customary for their businesses or the
geographic region in which their assets are located including, but not limited
to, policies covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company
and its subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction, acts of vandalism and
earthquakes and policies covering the Company and its subsidiaries for product
liability claims. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any
U.S. subsidiary will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance
coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable
coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct
its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not result in a Material
Adverse Change. The PRC Subsidiaries maintain insurance in such
amounts and covering against such losses and risks as is required under PRC law
for the businesses in which the Company and its Subsidiaries are engaged in
China. Neither the Company nor any subsidiary has been denied any
insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.
(v) No Price Stabilization or
Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M. The Company has
not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be
reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the
price of the Shares or any other “reference security” (as
defined in Rule 100 of Regulation M under the 1934 Act (“Regulation M”)) whether to
facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Shares or otherwise, and has taken
no action which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation
M. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters may engage in
passive market making transactions in the Offered Shares on the Nasdaq Global
Select Market in accordance with Regulation M.
(w) Related Party
Transactions. There are no business relationships or
related-party transactions involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or
any other person required to be described in each Applicable Prospectus which
have not been described as required. (The Time of Sale Prospectus
contains in all material respects the same description of the matters set forth
in the preceding sentence contained in the Prospectus.)
(x) S-3
Eligibility. At the time the Registration Statement was
originally declared effective, the Company met the then applicable requirements
for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. The Company meets the
requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act specified in Rule
5110(b)(7)(C)(i) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
(y) Exchange Act
Compliance. The documents incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter
are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects
with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and, when read together with the
other information in the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement and
any amendments thereto become effective and at the First Closing Date and the
applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, will not contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the 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.
(z) FINRA Matters. All
of the information provided to the Underwriters or to counsel for the
Underwriters by the Company, 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 letters, filings or other supplemental information provided
to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 2710 or NASD Conduct Rule 2720 is true,
complete and correct.
10
(aa) Parties to Lock-Up
Agreements. Each of the Company’s directors and executive
officers and each of the other person listed in Exhibit B has executed and
delivered to Jefferies a lock-up agreement in the form of Exhibit C hereto.
Exhibit B hereto contains a true, complete and correct list of all
directors and officers of the Company. If any additional persons shall become
directors or executive officers of the Company prior to the end of the Company
Lock-up Period (as defined below), the Company shall cause each such person,
prior to or contemporaneously with their appointment or election as a director
or executive officer of the Company, to execute and deliver to Jefferies an
agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C.
(bb) Statistical and Market-Related
Data. The statistical, demographic and market-related data
included in the Registration Statement and each Applicable Prospectus are based
on or derived from sources that the Company believes 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.
(cc) No Unlawful Contributions or Other
Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor,
to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or
any subsidiary, has made any contribution or other payment to any official of,
or candidate for, any federal, state or foreign office in violation of any law
or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and
each Applicable Prospectus.
(dd) Disclosure Controls and Procedures;
Deficiencies in or Changes to Internal Control Over Financial
Reporting. The Company has established and maintains
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)), which (i) are designed to ensure that
material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its
principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during
the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are
being prepared; (ii) have been evaluated by management of the Company for
effectiveness as of the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter; and
(iii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which
they were established. The Company is not aware of (i) any
significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of
internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial information or (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting. The Company is not aware
of any change in its internal control over financial reporting that has occurred
during its most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting.
11
(ee) Compliance with Environmental
Laws. Except as described in each Applicable Prospectus and
except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse
Change, (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of
any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance,
code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative
interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent,
decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the
environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water,
groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without
limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release
of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous
substances, petroleum or petroleum products (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to
the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal,
transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (ii) the
Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals
required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with
their requirements, (iii) there are no pending or threatened administrative,
regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens,
notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to
any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries and (iv)
there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form
the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or
proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or
affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials
or any Environmental Laws.
(ff) Periodic Review of Costs of
Environmental Compliance. In the ordinary course of its
business, the Company conducts a review of the effect of Environmental Laws on
the business, operations and properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, in
the course of which it identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities
(including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required
for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any
permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and
any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such
review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and
liabilities would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material
Adverse Change.
(gg) ERISA
Compliance. The Company and its subsidiaries and any “employee benefit plan” (as
defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended,
and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively,
“ERISA”)) established or
maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined
below) are in compliance in all material respects with ERISA. “ERISA Affiliate” means, with
respect to the Company or a subsidiary, any member of any group of organizations
described in Sections 414(b),(c),(m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder
(the “Code”) of which
the Company or such subsidiary is a member. No “reportable event” (as defined
under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any
“employee benefit plan”
established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA
Affiliates. No “employee benefit plan”
established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA
Affiliates, if such “employee
benefit plan” were terminated, would have any “amount of unfunded benefit
liabilities” (as defined under ERISA). Neither the Company,
its subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably
expects to incur any liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with
respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” or
(ii) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code. Each
“employee benefit plan”
established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA
Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to
act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.
12
(hh) Brokers. Except
for the underwriting discounts and commissions payable to the Underwriters as
described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, there is no broker,
finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage
or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
(ii) No Outstanding Loans or Other
Extensions of Credit. Since the adoption of Section 13(k) of
the Exchange Act, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has extended
or maintained credit, arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed any
extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan, to or for any director or
executive officer (or equivalent thereof) of the Company and/or such subsidiary
except for such extensions of credit as are expressly permitted by Section 13(k)
of the Exchange Act.
(jj) Compliance with
Laws. The Company has not been advised, and has no reason to
believe, that it and each of its subsidiaries are not conducting business in
compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdictions
in which it is conducting business, except where failure to be so in compliance
would not result in a Material Adverse Change.
(kk) Dividend
Restrictions. Except as disclosed in the Time of Sale
Prospectus and the Prospectus, no subsidiary of the Company is prohibited or
restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or
from making any other distribution with respect to such subsidiary’s equity
securities or from repaying to the Company or any other subsidiary of the
Company any amounts that may from time to time become due under any loans or
advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any property
or assets to the Company or to any other subsidiary.
(ll) Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to
the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate
or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is
aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that has resulted or
would result in a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as
amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without
limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of
interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to
pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift,
promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any
“foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign
political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political
office, in contravention of the FCPA; and the Company and its subsidiaries and,
to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates have conducted their
respective businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and
maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably
expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(mm) Money Laundering
Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are,
and have been conducted at all times, in compliance with applicable financial
recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign
Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of
all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any
related or similar applicable rules, regulations or guidelines, issued,
administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no
action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency,
authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its
subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the
best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
13
(nn) OFAC. Neither the
Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any
director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or person acting on behalf of the
Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions
administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury
Department (“OFAC”); and
the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of this offering,
or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary,
joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing
the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions
administered by OFAC.
(oo) PRC
Subsidiaries. Schedule C sets forth a correct and complete
list of each and every subsidiary of the Company including each of the
subsidiaries incorporated or established in the People’s Republic of China
(“PRC”) (each a “PRC Subsidiary” and
collectively, the “PRC
Subsidiaries”). Each of the PRC Subsidiaries has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing under the laws of the PRC with full legal
right, power and authority (corporate or other) to own, use, lease and operate
its properties, conduct its business in the manner presently conducted and, if
such manner is described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, as
described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, and is duly
qualified to conduct business in each jurisdiction in which it conducts business
and is duly qualified to own, use, lease and operate its properties in each
jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties and such qualification is
required, or is and will be subject to no material liability or disability by
reason of the failure to be so qualified in any such jurisdiction. Each of the
PRC Subsidiaries has been duly established as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise
with limited liability legal person status under the laws and regulations of the
PRC. The businesses conducted by each of the PRC Subsidiaries, in the
manner presently conducted, do not exceed the scope of business permitted in its
respective business license. All approvals, permits, licenses, registrations and
qualifications required by the laws and regulations of the PRC for establishing
a wholly foreign-owned enterprise and the overseas affiliated companies have
been duly obtained from appropriate government authorities of the PRC in
connection with the establishment of each of the PRC Subsidiaries and the
overseas affiliated companies and all such approvals, permits, licenses,
registrations and qualifications are subsisting with no change, amendment or
limitation. The articles of association of each of the PRC
Subsidiaries comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and
regulations of the PRC and have been approved by relevant PRC governmental
authorities and are in full force and effect. The entire amount of
registered capital as stated in each PRC Subsidiary’s articles of association
and business license as amended from time to time has been fully and timely
contributed by the Company, verified by qualified independent accounting firms
confirming the Company’s contribution of the entire amount of registered capital
of each PRC Subsidiary, and filed and registered with relevant PRC registration
authorities. The Company’s equity interest in each of the PRC
Subsidiaries is free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien,
encumbrance, claim or equity in favor of any third party. Each of the
PRC Subsidiaries has passed its 2007 and 2008 annual examination by the relevant
governmental authorities. None of the PRC Subsidiaries has been found
to have any deficiency or default under applicable PRC laws and regulations and
its articles of association, and each has timely received all requisite
certifications from each applicable governmental authority in respect of such
annual examinations, except to the extent that any such deficiency or default
would not have a material adverse effect on such PRC
Subsidiaries. The Company has no reason to believe that any PRC
governmental authority is considering modifying, suspending or revoking any
Approvals and each of the PRC Subsidiaries is in compliance with the provisions
of all such Approvals in all material respects.
14
(pp) State Administration of Foreign
Exchange Registrations. To the Company’s knowledge after due
inquiry, each of the Company’s direct and indirect beneficial shareholders and
grantee of any stock option who are PRC residents have complied with all
relevant foreign exchange registration requirements of the PRC State
Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”) including, but not
limited to registration in respect of the establishment of the Company and the
exercise of any stock options.
(qq) M&A Rules. The
PRC Rules on the Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (the
“M&A Rules”) or any
official clarifications, guidance, interpretations or implementation rules in
connection with or related to the M&A Rules do not apply to and do not
otherwise affect in any way the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares, the
listing and trading of the Offered Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or
the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(rr) PRC Tax
Concessions. All local, municipal, regional, provincial and
national PRC governmental tax waivers and other local, municipal, regional,
provincial and national PRC tax relieves, concessions and preferential
treatments are valid, binding and enforceable and do not violate any provision
of any law or statute or any order, rule or regulation of any local or national
governmental agency. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have
paid all taxes in each jurisdiction in which they conduct business.
(ss) No Taxes on Offered
Shares. Under the PRC laws as currently in effect, the
Underwriters will not be deemed resident, domiciled, carrying on business or
subject to taxation in the PRC solely by reason of the execution, delivery,
consummation of any transaction contemplated in, or the enforcement of, this
Agreement and any other document to be furnished hereunder or ownership of any
Offered Shares.
(tt) No Stamp Duty. No
stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties and no withholding taxes are
payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters to the United States, the PRC, Hong
Kong, the United Kingdom or any political subdivision or taxing authority
thereof or therein in connection with (a) the issue, sale and delivery of the
Offered Shares to or for the respective accounts of the Underwriters, (b) the
execution and delivery of this Agreement and (c) the sale and delivery of the
Offered Shares by the Underwriters as part of the Underwriters’ distribution of
the Offered Shares as contemplated hereunder.
(uu) No Violation of
Offering. The issuance and sale of the Offered Shares being
delivered at such time of delivery and the listing and trading of the Offered
Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, will not conflict with or result in a
breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a
default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit
agreement or other agreement or instrument known to us and governed by PRC Law
to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or any
subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or
any subsidiary is subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the
provisions of the articles of association, business license or any other
constitutional documents of any of the Company or any subsidiary or any PRC
Law.
15
(vv) Legal
Proceedings. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Time of Sale
Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no legal, arbitration, administrative
or governmental proceedings before or by any governmental agency in progress or
pending, to which the Company is a party, or of which the business or any
property of the Company or any subsidiary is the subject which, if determined
adversely to any of the PRC subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate
result in a Material Adverse Change, and, to the knowledge of the Company no
such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any Governmental Agency or
threatened by others; none of the directors and executive officers of the
Company, are currently subject to any litigation proceedings, bankruptcy
proceedings or any investigation, hearing or proceeding brought or instituted by
any Governmental Agency in the PRC and nor to the knowledge of the Company are
there any such proceedings pending or threatening to happen.
Any
certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and
delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be
deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to
the matters covered thereby.
The
Company acknowledges that the Underwriters and, for purposes of the opinions to
be delivered pursuant to Section 6 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to
the Underwriters, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing
representations and hereby consents to such reliance.
Section
2. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of the
Offered Shares.
(a) The Firm
Shares. Upon the terms herein set forth, the Company agrees to
issue and sell to the Underwriters an aggregate of 6,500,000 Firm
Shares. On the basis of the representations, warranties and
agreements herein contained, and upon the terms but subject to the conditions
herein set forth, the Underwriters agree, severally and not jointly, to purchase
from the Company the respective number of Firm Shares set forth opposite their
names on Schedule A. The
purchase price per Firm Share to be paid by the Underwriters to the Company
shall be $8.00 per share.
(b) The First Closing
Date. Delivery of certificates for the Firm Shares to be
purchased by the Underwriters and payment therefor shall be made at the offices
of Jefferies, 000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 (or such other
place as may be agreed to by the Company and the Representative) at 9:00 a.m.
New York time, on February 1, 2010,or such other time and date not later than
1:30 p.m. New York time, on February 4, 2010 as the Representative shall
designate by notice to the Company (the time and date of such closing are called
the “First Closing
Date”). The Company hereby acknowledges that circumstances
under which the Representative may provide notice to postpone the First Closing
Date as originally scheduled include, but are in no way limited to, any
determination by the Company or the Representative to recirculate to the public
copies of an amended or supplemented Prospectus or a delay as contemplated by
the provisions of Section 11.
16
(c) The Optional Shares; Option Closing
Date. In addition, on the basis of the representations,
warranties and agreements herein contained, and upon the terms but subject to
the conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the
Underwriters to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to an aggregate of
975,000 Optional Shares from the Company at the purchase price per share to be
paid by the Underwriters for the Firm Shares. The option granted
hereunder is for use by the Underwriters solely in covering any over-allotments
in connection with the sale and distribution of the Firm Shares. The
option granted hereunder may be exercised at any time and from time to time in
whole or in part upon notice by the Representative to the
Company, which notice may be given at any time within 30 days
from the date of this Agreement. Such notice shall set forth
(i) the aggregate number of Optional Shares as to which the Underwriters
are exercising the option, (ii) the names and denominations in which the
certificates for the Optional Shares are to be registered and (iii) the
time, date and place at which such certificates will be delivered (which time
and date may be simultaneous with, but not earlier than, the First Closing Date;
and in the event that such time and date are simultaneous with the First Closing
Date, the term “First Closing
Date” shall refer to the time and date of delivery of certificates for
the Firm Shares and such Optional Shares). Any such time and date of
delivery, if subsequent to the First Closing Date, is called an “Option Closing Date” and shall
be determined by the Representative and shall not be earlier than three nor
later than five full business days after delivery of such notice of
exercise. If any Optional Shares are to be purchased, each
Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of
Optional Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as
the Representative may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total
number of Optional Shares to be purchased as the number of Firm Shares set forth
on Schedule A
opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm
Shares. The Representative may cancel the option at any time prior to
its expiration by giving written notice of such cancellation to the
Company.
(d) Public Offering of the Offered
Shares. The Representative hereby advises the Company that the
Underwriters intend to offer for sale to the public, initially on the terms set
forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, their respective
portions of the Offered Shares as soon after this Agreement has been executed as
the Representative, in its sole judgment, have determined is advisable and
practicable.
(e) Payment for the Offered
Shares. Payment for the Offered Shares to be sold by the
Company shall be made at the First Closing Date (and, if applicable, at each
Option Closing Date) by wire transfer of immediately available funds to the
order of the Company.
It is
understood that the Representative has been authorized, for its own account and
the accounts of the Underwriters, to accept delivery of and receipt for, and
make payment of the purchase price for, the Firm Shares and any Optional Shares
the Underwriters have agreed to purchase. Jefferies, individually and
not as the Representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated
to) make payment for any Offered Shares to be purchased by any Underwriter whose
funds shall not have been received by the Representative by the First Closing
Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, for the account
of such Underwriter, but any such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter
from any of its obligations under this Agreement.
17
(f) Delivery of the Offered
Shares. The Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered,
to the Representative for the accounts of the Underwriters certificates for the
Firm Shares to be sold by them at the First Closing Date, against the
irrevocable release of a wire transfer of immediately available funds for the
amount of the purchase price therefor. The Company shall also
deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Representative for the accounts of the
Underwriters, certificates for the Optional Shares the Underwriters have agreed
to purchase from them at the First Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing
Date, as the case may be, against the irrevocable release of a wire transfer of
immediately available funds for the amount of the purchase price
therefor. The certificates for the Offered Shares shall be in
definitive form and registered in such names and denominations as the
Representative shall have requested at least two full business days prior to the
First Closing Date (or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be)
and shall be made available for inspection on the business day preceding the
First Closing Date (or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be)
at a location in New York City as the Representative may
designate. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and
place specified in this Agreement is a further condition to the obligations of
the Underwriters.
Section
3. Additional
Covenants.
The
Company further covenants and agrees with each Underwriter as
follows:
(a) Delivery of Registration Statement,
Time of Sale Prospectus and Prospectus. The Company shall
furnish to you, without charge, two signed copies of the Registration Statement,
any amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement (including
exhibits thereto) and for delivery to each other Underwriter a conformed copy of
the Registration Statement, any amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and shall furnish to you in
New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the
business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period
mentioned in Section 3(e) or 3(f) below, as many copies of the Time of Sale
Prospectus, the Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the
Registration Statement as you may reasonably request.
(b) Representative’s Review of Proposed
Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing
the Registration Statement (including any registration statement filed under
Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act), any preliminary prospectus, the Time
of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus (including any amendment or supplement
through incorporation by reference of any report filed under the Exchange Act),
the Company shall furnish to the Representative for review, a reasonable amount
of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such
proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file or use any such
proposed amendment or supplement without the Representative’s consent, and to
file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b)
under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such
Rule.
18
(c) Free Writing
Prospectuses. The Company shall furnish to the Representative
for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or
use thereof, a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or
supplement thereto to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by
the Company and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any proposed free
writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto without the
Representative’s consent. The Company shall furnish to each
Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of any free writing prospectus
prepared by or on behalf of, or used by the Company, as such Underwriter may
reasonably request. If at any time when a prospectus is required by
the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d))
to be delivered in connection with sales of the Offered Shares (but in any event
if at any time through and including the First Closing Date) there occurred or
occurs an event or development as a result of which any free writing prospectus
prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company conflicted
or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement
or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted
or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time,
not misleading, the Company shall promptly amend or supplement such free writing
prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict or so that the statements in
such free writing prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
prevailing at such subsequent time, not misleading, as the case may be;
provided, however, that prior to amending or supplementing any such free writing
prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Representative for review, a
reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a
copy of such proposed amended or supplemented free writing prospectus and the
Company shall not file, use or refer to any such amended or supplemented free
writing prospectus without the Representative’s consent.
(d) Filing of Underwriter Free Writing
Prospectuses. The Company shall not to take any action that
would result in an Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing
prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter
otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.
(e) Amendments and Supplements to Time
of Sale Prospectus. If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being
used to solicit offers to buy the Shares at a time when the Prospectus is not
yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur or condition
exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of
Sale Prospectus so that the Time of Sale Prospectus does not include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when delivered
to a prospective purchaser, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or
condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with
the information contained in the Registration Statement, or if, in the opinion
of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time
of Sale Prospectus to comply with applicable law, including the Securities Act,
the Company shall (subject to Sections 3(b) and 3(c)) forthwith prepare, file
with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to
any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale
Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended
or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in
light of the circumstances when delivered to a prospective purchaser, not
misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented,
will no longer conflict with the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of
Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law
including the Securities Act.
19
(f) Securities Act
Compliance. After the date of this Agreement, the Company
shall promptly advise the Representative in writing (i) of the receipt of any
comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the
Commission, (ii) of the time and date of any filing of any post-effective
amendment to the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement
or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale
Prospectus, any free writing prospectus or the Prospectus, (iii) of the time and
date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or any Rule
462(b) Registration Statement becomes effective and (iv) of the issuance by the
Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration
Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement or any amendment or supplement to any Preliminary Prospectus, the Time
of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus or of any order preventing or suspending
the use of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free
writing prospectus or the Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend
or terminate from listing or quotation the Shares from any securities exchange
upon which they are listed for trading or included or designated for quotation,
or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such
purposes. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any
time, the Company will use its best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order
at the earliest possible moment. Additionally, the Company agrees
that it shall comply with the provisions of Rule 424(b), Rule 433 and Rule 430B,
as applicable, under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to
confirm that any filings made by the Company under such Rule 424(b) or Rule 433
were received in a timely manner by the Commission.
(g) Amendments and Supplements to the
Prospectus and Other Securities Act Matters. If any event
shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or
supplement the Prospectus so that the Prospectus does not include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the
Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if in the opinion of
the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters it is otherwise necessary to
amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, including the
Securities Act, the Company agrees (subject to Sections 3(b) and 3(c)) to
promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish at its own expense to the
Underwriters and to dealers, amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that
the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include
an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or
so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable
law including the Securities Act. Neither the Representative’s
consent to, or delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a
waiver of any of the Company’s obligations under Sections 3(b) or
(c).
20
(h) Blue Sky
Compliance. The Company shall cooperate with the
Representative and counsel for the Underwriters to qualify or register the
Offered Shares for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) the
state securities or blue sky laws or Canadian provincial securities laws (or
other foreign laws) of those jurisdictions designated by the Representative,
shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications,
registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution
of the Offered Shares. The Company shall not be required to qualify
as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general
service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified
or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign
corporation. The Company will advise the Representative promptly of
the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption
relating to) the Offered Shares for offering, sale or trading in any
jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose,
and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification,
registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the
withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(i) Use of
Proceeds. The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the
sale of the Offered Shares sold by it in the manner described under the caption
“Use of Proceeds” in each Applicable Prospectus.
(j) Transfer
Agent. The Company shall engage and maintain, at its expense,
a registrar and transfer agent for the Shares.
(k) Earnings
Statement. As soon as practicable, but in any event no later
than twelve months after the date of this Agreement, the Company will make
generally available to its security holders and to the Representative an
earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least
twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring
after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section
11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder.
(l) Exchange Act
Compliance. The Company shall file all documents required to
be filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15 of the Exchange
Act in the manner and within the time periods required by the Exchange
Act.
(m) Listing. The
Company will use its best efforts to effect and maintain the inclusion and
quotation of the Offered Shares on the Nasdaq Global Market and to maintain the
inclusion and quotation of the Shares on the Nasdaq Global
Market.
21
(n) Company to Provide Copy of the
Prospectus in Form That May be Downloaded from the
Internet. The Company shall cause to be prepared and
delivered, at its expense, within one business day from the effective date of
this Agreement, to Jefferies and the other Underwriters an “electronic Prospectus” to be
used by the Underwriters in connection with the offering and sale of the Offered
Shares. As used herein, the term “electronic Prospectus” means a
form of Time of Sale Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, that
meets each of the following conditions: (i) it shall be encoded in an electronic
format, satisfactory to Jefferies, that may be transmitted electronically by
Jefferies and the other Underwriters to offerees and purchasers of the Offered
Shares; (ii) it shall disclose the same information as the paper Time of
Sale Prospectus, except to the extent that graphic and image material cannot be
disseminated electronically, in which case such graphic and image material shall
be replaced in the electronic Prospectus with a fair and accurate narrative
description or tabular representation of such material, as appropriate; and
(iii) it shall be in or convertible into a paper format or an electronic
format, satisfactory to Jefferies, that will allow investors to store and have
continuously ready access to the Time of Sale Prospectus at any future time,
without charge to investors (other than any fee charged for subscription to the
Internet as a whole and for on-line time). The Company hereby
confirms that it has included or will include in the Prospectus filed pursuant
to XXXXX or otherwise with the Commission and in the Registration Statement at
the time it was declared effective an undertaking that, upon receipt of a
request by an investor or his or her representative, the Company shall transmit
or cause to be transmitted promptly, without charge, a paper copy of the Time of
Sale Prospectus.
(o) Agreement Not to Offer or Sell
Additional Shares. During the period commencing on and
including the date hereof and ending on and including the 90th day following the
date of this Agreement (as the same may be extended as described below, the
“Lock-up Period”), the
Company will not, without the prior written consent of Jefferies (which consent
may be withheld at the sole discretion of Jefferies), directly or indirectly,
sell (including, without limitation, any short sale), offer, contract or grant
any option to sell, pledge, transfer or establish an open “put equivalent
position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-1(h) under the Exchange Act, or
otherwise dispose of or transfer, or announce the offering of, or file any
registration statement under the Securities Act in respect of, any Shares,
options, rights or warrants to acquire Shares or securities exchangeable or
exercisable for or convertible into Shares (other than as contemplated by this
Agreement with respect to the Offered Shares) or publicly announce the intention
to do any of the foregoing; provided, however, that the Company may issue Shares
or options to purchase Shares, or issue Shares upon exercise of options,
pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement
described in each Applicable Prospectus, but only if the holders of such shares,
options, or shares issued upon exercise of such options, agree in writing not to
sell, offer, dispose of or otherwise transfer any such shares or options during
such Lock-up Period without the prior written consent of Jefferies (which
consent may be withheld at the sole discretion of the
Jefferies). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (i) during the last 17
days of the Lock-up Period, the Company issues an earnings release or material
news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (ii) prior to the
expiration of the Lock-up Period, the Company announces that it will release
earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the
Lock-up Period, then in each case the Lock-up Period will be extended until the
expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of the issuance of the
earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, as
applicable, unless Jefferies waives, in writing, such extension (which waiver
may be withheld at the sole discretion of Jefferies), except that such extension
will not apply if, (i) within three business days prior to the 15th calendar day
before the last day of the Lock-up Period, the Company delivers a certificate,
signed by the Chief Financial Officer or Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
certifying on behalf of the Company that (i) the Shares are “actively traded
securities” (as defined in Regulation M), (ii) the Company meets the applicable
requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 139 under the Securities Act
in the manner contemplated by NASD Conduct Rule 2711(f)(4), and (iii) the
provisions of NASD Conduct Rule 2711(f)(4) are not applicable to any
research reports relating to the Company published or distributed by any of the
Underwriters during the 15 days before or after the last day of the Lock-up
Period (before giving effect to such extension). The Company will
provide the Representative with prior notice of any such announcement that gives
rise to an extension of the Lock-up Period.
22
(p) Future Reports to the
Representative. During the period of five years hereafter the
Company will furnish to Jefferies at 000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000, Attention: Capital Markets: (i) as soon as practicable after the end of
each fiscal year, copies of the Annual Report of the Company containing the
balance sheet of the Company as of the close of such fiscal year and statements
of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the year then ended and the
opinion thereon of the Company’s independent public or certified public
accountants; (ii) as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, copies of
each proxy statement, Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,
Current Report on Form 8-K or other report filed by the Company with the
Commission, FINRA or any securities exchange; and (iii) as soon as available,
copies of any report or communication of the Company mailed generally to holders
of its capital stock. The foregoing obligations shall be satisfied so
long as such filings are publicly available and accessible on
XXXXX.
(q) Investment
Limitation. The Company shall not invest, or otherwise use the
proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Offered Shares in such a
manner as would require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register as an
investment company under the Investment Company Act.
(r) No Stabilization or Manipulation;
Compliance with Regulation M. The Company will not take,
directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably
expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the
Shares or any other reference security, whether to facilitate the sale or resale
of the Offered Shares or otherwise, and the Company will, and shall cause each
of its affiliates to, comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation
M. If the limitations of Rule 102 of Regulation M (“Rule 102”) do not apply with
respect to the Offered Shares or any other reference security pursuant to any
exception set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102, then promptly upon notice from
the Representative (or, if later, at the time stated in the notice), the Company
will, and shall cause each of its affiliates to, comply with Rule 102 as though
such exception were not available but the other provisions of Rule 102 (as
interpreted by the Commission) did apply.
(s) Existing Lock-Up
Agreements. During the Lock-up Period, the Company will
enforce all existing agreements between the Company and any of its security
holders that prohibit the sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or hypothecation of
any of the Company’s securities. In addition, the Company will direct
the transfer agent to place stop transfer restrictions upon any such securities
of the Company that are bound by such existing “lock-up” agreements for the
duration of the periods contemplated in such agreements, including, without
limitation, “lock-up” agreements entered into by the Company’s officers and
directors pursuant to Section 6(j).
(t) Retention of
Proceeds. After the First Closing Date, the Company will
retain sufficient proceeds to redeem the Company’s $40,000,000 Guaranteed Senior
Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2012 (the “HY Notes”), in accordance with
Article 3 of the HY Indenture among the Company, Fushi Holdings, Inc. and The
Bank of New York, as trustee, dated January 25, 2007 (the “HY Indenture”), until the
redemption of the HY Notes in full or the expiration of the Change of Control
Offer, as defined in Section 4.17 of the HY Indenture, made by the Company in
connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares.
23
Jefferies,
on behalf of the Underwriters, may, in its sole discretion, waive in writing the
performance by the Company of any one or more of the foregoing covenants or
extend the time for their performance.
Section
4. Payment of
Expenses. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and
expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its obligations
hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including
without limitation (i) all expenses incident to the issuance and delivery
of the Offered Shares (including all printing and engraving costs),
(ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the
Offered Shares, (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes
in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares to the
Underwriters, (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel,
independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors,
(v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation,
printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement
(including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates
of experts), the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any free writing
prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company,
and each preliminary prospectus, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and
this Agreement, (vi) all filing fees, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred
by the Company or the Underwriters in connection with qualifying or registering
(or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any
part of the Offered Shares for offer and sale under the state securities or blue
sky laws or the provincial securities laws of Canada, and, if requested by the
Representative, preparing and printing a “Blue Sky Survey” or memorandum
and a “Canadian wrapper”, and any supplements thereto, advising the Underwriters
of such qualifications, registrations, determinations and exemptions,
(vii) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and expenses of
counsel for the Underwriters in connection with, FINRA’s review, if any, and
approval of the Underwriters’ participation in the offering and distribution of
the Offered Shares, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating
to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the
marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses
associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show,
expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees
and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show
presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging
expenses of the representatives, employees and officers of the Company and of
the Representative and any such consultants, and the cost of any aircraft
chartered in connection with the road show, (ix) the fees and expenses
associated with including the Offered Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market,
and (ix) all other fees, costs and expenses of the nature referred to in
Item 14 of Part II of the Registration Statement. Except as
provided in this Section 4, Section 7, Section 9 and
Section 10 hereof, the Underwriters shall pay their own expenses, including
the fees and disbursements of their counsel.
Section
5. Covenant of the
Underwriters. Each Underwriter severally and not jointly,
covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the
Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under
the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of such
Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company
thereunder, but for the action of the Underwriter.
24
Section
6. Conditions of the Obligations of the
Underwriters. The obligations of the several Underwriters to
purchase and pay for the Offered Shares as provided herein on the First Closing
Date and, with respect to the Optional Shares, each Option Closing Date, shall
be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of
the Company set forth in Section 1 hereof as of the date hereof and as of
the First Closing Date as though then made and, with respect to the Optional
Shares, as of each Option Closing Date as though then made, to the timely
performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and
to each of the following additional conditions:
(a) Accountants’ Comfort
Letter. On the date hereof, the Representative shall have
received from Xxxxxx Xxxxx, LLP, independent public or certified public
accountants for the Company, (i) a letter dated the date hereof addressed
to the Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative,
containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in
accountant’s “comfort letters” to underwriters, delivered according to Statement
of Auditing Standards No. 72 (or any successor bulletin), with respect to the
audited and unaudited financial statements and certain financial information
contained in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, Time of
Sale Prospectus, and each free writing prospectus, if any, and, with respect to
each letter dated the date hereof only, the Prospectus (and the Representative
shall have received an additional two conformed copies of such accountants’
letter for each of the Underwriters), and (ii) confirming that they are (A)
independent public or certified public accountants as required by the Securities
Act and the Exchange Act and (B) in compliance with the applicable requirements
relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation
S-X.
(b) Compliance with Registration
Requirements; No Stop Order; No Objection from FINRA. For the
period from and after effectiveness of this Agreement and prior to the First
Closing Date and, with respect to the Optional Shares, each Option Closing
Date:
i. the
Company shall have filed the Prospectus with the Commission (including the
information previously omitted from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule
430B under the Securities Act) in the manner and within the time period required
by Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act; or the Company shall have filed a
post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement containing the
information previously omitted pursuant to such Rule 430B, and such
post-effective amendment shall have become effective;
ii. no
stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, any
Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment to the
Registration Statement, shall be in effect and no proceedings for such purpose
shall have been instituted or threatened by the Commission; and
iii. FINRA
shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the
underwriting terms and arrangements.
(c) No Material Adverse Change or
Ratings Agency Change. For the period from and after the date
of this Agreement and through and including the First Closing Date and, with
respect to the Optional Shares, each Option Closing Date:
25
i. in
the judgment of the Representative there shall not have occurred any Material
Adverse Change; and
ii there
shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of
any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change
that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating
accorded any securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any
“nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined
for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Securities Act.
(d) Opinion of Counsel for the
Company. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option
Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of (i) Xxxxx
& Xxxx LLP, Nevada legal counsel for the Company, dated as of such Closing
Date, the form of which is attached as Exhibit A-1 and to such further effect as
counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably request and (ii) Loeb & Loeb
LLP, counsel for the Company, dated as of such Closing Date, the form of which
is attached as Exhibit A-2 and
to such further effect as counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably request
(and the Representative shall have received an additional two signed copies of
such counsel’s legal opinion for each of the several Underwriters).
(e) Opinion of China Counsel for the
Company. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option
Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of DaCheng Law
Offices, China counsel for the Company, dated as of such Closing Date, the form
of which is attached as Exhibit A-3 and to such further effect as counsel
for the Underwriters shall reasonably request (and the Representative shall have
received an additional two signed copies of such counsel’s legal opinion for
each of the several Underwriters).
(f) Opinion of Counsel for the
Underwriters. On each of the First Closing Date and each
Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of Xxxxx
Day, counsel for the Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the
Underwriters, dated as of such Closing Date.
(g) Opinion of China Counsel for the
Underwriters. On each of the First Closing Date and each
Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of
Commerce & Finance Law Offices, China counsel for the Underwriters, in form
and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, dated as of such Closing
Date.
(h) Officers’
Certificate. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option
Closing Date the Representative shall have received a written certificate
executed by the Chief Executive Officer or President of the Company and the
Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated as of such Closing Date, to the
effect set forth in subsections (b)(ii) and (c)(ii) of this
Section 6, and further to the effect that:
i. for
the period from and including the date of this Agreement through and including
such Closing Date, there has not occurred any Material Adverse
Change;
26
ii. the
representations, warranties and covenants of the Company set forth in
Section 1 of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and
effect as though expressly made on and as of such Closing Date; and
iii. the
Company has complied with all the agreements hereunder and satisfied all the
conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to
such Closing Date.
(i) Bring-down Comfort
Letter. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option
Closing Date the Representative shall have received from Xxxxxx Xxxxx, LLP,
independent public or certified public accountants for the Company, a letter
dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, to
the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished by
them pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section 6, except that the
specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be
no more than three business days prior to the First Closing Date or the
applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be (and the Representative shall
have received an additional two conformed copies of such accountants’ letter for
each of the several Underwriters).
(j) Lock-Up Agreement from Certain
Securityholders of the Company. On or prior to the date
hereof, the Company shall have furnished to the Representative an agreement in
the form of Exhibit C hereto
from the persons listed on Exhibit B hereto, and
such agreement shall be in full force and effect on each of the First Closing
Date and each Option Closing Date.
(k) Additional
Documents. On or before each of the First Closing Date and
each Option Closing Date, the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters
shall have received such information, documents and opinions as they may
reasonably request for the purposes of enabling them to pass upon the issuance
and sale of the Offered Shares as contemplated herein, or in order to evidence
the accuracy of any of the representations and warranties, or the satisfaction
of any of the conditions or agreements, herein contained; and all proceedings
taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered
Shares as contemplated herein and in connection with the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement shall be satisfactory in form and substance to
the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.
(l) President’s
Certificate. On the date hereof and on each of the First
Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, the Representative shall have
received a written certificate executed by the President of the Company, dated
as of such date, the form of which is attached as Exhibit
D.
If any
condition specified in this Section 6 is not satisfied when and as required to
be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representative by notice
to the Company at any time on or prior to the First Closing Date and, with
respect to the Optional Shares, at any time on or prior to the applicable Option
Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any
party to any other party, except that Section 4, Section 6,
Section 8 and Section 9 shall at all times be effective and shall survive
such termination.
27
Section
7. Reimbursement of Underwriters’
Expenses. If this Agreement is terminated by the
Representative pursuant to Section 6, Section 8, Section 11 or
Section 12, or if the sale to the Underwriters of the Offered Shares on the
First Closing Date is not consummated because of any refusal, inability or
failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or to comply
with any provision hereof, the Company agrees to reimburse the Representative
and the other Underwriters (or such Underwriters as have terminated this
Agreement with respect to themselves), severally, upon demand for all
out-of-pocket expenses that shall have been reasonably incurred by the
Representative and the Underwriters in connection with the proposed purchase and
the offering and sale of the Offered Shares, including but not limited to fees
and disbursements of counsel, printing expenses, travel expenses, postage,
facsimile and telephone charges.
Section
8. Effectiveness of this
Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon the
execution of this Agreement by the parties hereto.
Section
9. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of the
Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless each Underwriter, its officers and employees, and each person, if any,
who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act or the
Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred,
to which such Underwriter or such officer, employee or controlling person may
become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or
state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign
jurisdictions where Offered Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or
otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), insofar as such loss,
claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as
contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (A) (i) any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the
Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information
deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act,
or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of 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 preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free
writing prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is
required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the
Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged
omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading; or (iii) any act or failure to act or any alleged act or failure to
act by any Underwriter in connection with, or relating in any manner to, the
Shares or the offering contemplated hereby, and which is included as part of or
referred to in any loss, claim, damage, liability or action arising out of or
based upon any matter covered by clause (i) or (ii) above, provided that the
Company shall not be liable under this clause (iii) to the extent that a court
of competent jurisdiction shall have determined by a final judgment that such
loss, claim, damage, liability or action resulted directly from any such acts or
failures to act undertaken or omitted to be taken by such Underwriter through
its bad faith or willful misconduct or (B) the violation of any laws or
regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Offered Shares have been offered or
sold; and to reimburse each Underwriter and each such officer, employee and
controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and
disbursements of counsel chosen by Jefferies) as such expenses are reasonably
incurred by such Underwriter or such officer, employee or controlling person in
connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any
such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that
the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage,
liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or
based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or
alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written
information furnished to the Company by the Representative expressly for use in
the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale
Prospectus, any such free writing prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment
or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such
information furnished by the Representative to the Company consists of the
information described in subsection (b) below. The indemnity
agreement set forth in this Section 9(a) shall be in addition to any
liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.
28
(b) Indemnification of the Company, its
Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and
not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors,
each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if
any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the
Exchange Act, against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as
incurred, to which the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling
person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other
federal or state statutory law or regulation, or at common law or otherwise
(including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with
the written consent of such Underwriter), insofar as such loss, claim, damage,
liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below)
arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement
of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free writing prospectus that the
Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule
433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or such amendment or supplement
thereto), or arises out of or is based upon the omission or alleged omission to
state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to
the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission
or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, such preliminary
prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, such free writing prospectus that the
Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule
433(d) of the Securities Act, the Prospectus (or such amendment or supplement
thereto), in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished
to the Company by the Representative expressly for use therein; and to reimburse
the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person for any legal
and other expense reasonably incurred by the Company, or any such director,
officer or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending,
settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability,
expense or action. The Company hereby acknowledges that the only
information that the Representative and the Underwriters have furnished to the
Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free writing prospectus that the
Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the
Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) are
the statements set forth in the table in the first paragraph and as the
second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” in the Company’s preliminary
prospectus supplement dated January 19, 2010 and the prospectus supplement dated
January 26, 2010 relating to the offering of the Offered Shares. The indemnity
agreement set forth in this Section 9(b) shall be in addition to any
liabilities that each Underwriter may otherwise have.
29
(c) Notifications and Other
Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an
indemnified party under this Section 9 of notice of the commencement of any
action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made
against an indemnifying party under this Section 9, notify the indemnifying
party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the
indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to
any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under the indemnity
agreement contained in this Section 9 or to the extent it is not prejudiced
as a proximate result of such failure. In case any such action is
brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or
intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party
will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect,
jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written
notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid
notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel
reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, if the
defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the
indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded
that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and
the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there
may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are
different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the
indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to
assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such
action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt
of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such
indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense of such action and
approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be
liable to such indemnified party under this Section 9 for any legal or
other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection
with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have
employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding
sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be
liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together
with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to
such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the
indemnified parties shall be selected by Jefferies (in the case of counsel for
the indemnified parties referred to in Section 9(a) above) or by the
Company (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in
Section 9(b) above)) (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have
employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the
indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the
action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment
of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party,
in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense
of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are
incurred.
30
(d) Settlements. The
indemnifying party under this Section 9 shall not be liable for any settlement
of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such
consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying
party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage,
liability or expense by reason of such settlement or
judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an
indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the
indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by
Section 9(c) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable
for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if
(i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by
such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying
party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such
request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party
shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any
settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or
threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party
is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought
hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or
consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all
liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or
proceeding.
Section
10. Contribution. If
the indemnification provided for in Section 9 is for any reason held to be
unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party
in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to
therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount
paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any
losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by
the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the
offering of the Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the
allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law,
in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits
referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company,
on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the
statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages,
liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable
considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the
one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the
offering of the Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be
in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering
of the Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses)
received by the Company, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions
received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the front cover page
of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the
Offered Shares as set forth on such cover. The relative fault of the
Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, shall be
determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to
state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, on the one
hand, or the Underwriters, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent,
knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such
statement or omission.
The
amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages,
liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject
to the limitations set forth in Section 9(c), any legal or other fees or
expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or
defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in
Section 9(c) with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall
apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this Section 10;
provided, however, that no additional
notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been
given under Section 9(c) for purposes of indemnification.
31
The
Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if
contribution pursuant to this Section 10 were determined by pro rata
allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such
purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the
equitable considerations referred to in this Section 10.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of this Section 10, no Underwriter shall be required to
contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions
received by such Underwriter in connection with the Offered Shares underwritten
by it and distributed to the public. No person guilty of fraudulent
misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities
Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of
such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to
contribute pursuant to this Section 10 are several, and not joint, in
proportion to their respective underwriting commitments as set forth opposite
their respective names on Schedule A. For
purposes of this Section 10, each officer and employee of an Underwriter
and each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of the
Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as
such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company
who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the
Company with the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have
the same rights to contribution as the Company.
Section
11. Default of One or More of the
Underwriters. If, on the First Closing Date or the applicable
Option Closing Date, as the case may be, any one or more of the several
Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Offered Shares that it or they
have agreed to purchase hereunder on such date, and the aggregate number of
Offered Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but
failed or refused to purchase does not exceed 10% of the aggregate number of the
Offered Shares to be purchased on such date, the Representative may make
arrangements satisfactory to the Company for the purchase of such Offered Shares
by other persons, including any of the Underwriters, but if no such arrangements
are made by such Closing Date, the other Underwriters shall be obligated,
severally and not jointly, in the proportions that the number of Firm Shares set
forth opposite their respective names on Schedule A bears
to the aggregate number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the names of all such
non-defaulting Underwriters, or in such other proportions as may be specified by
the Representative with the consent of the non-defaulting Underwriters, to
purchase the Offered Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters
agreed but failed or refused to purchase on such date. If, on the First Closing
Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, any one or more
of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Offered Shares and the
aggregate number of Offered Shares with respect to which such default occurs
exceeds 10% of the aggregate number of Offered Shares to be purchased on such
date, and arrangements satisfactory to the Representative and the Company for
the purchase of such Offered Shares are not made within 48 hours after such
default, this Agreement shall terminate without liability of any party to any
other party except that the provisions of Section 4, Section 7, Section 9
and Section 10 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such
termination. In any such case either the Representative or the
Company shall have the right to postpone the First Closing Date or the
applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, but in no event for longer
than seven days in order that the required changes, if any, to the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus or any other documents or arrangements may be
effected.
32
As used
in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” shall be deemed
to include any person substituted for a defaulting Underwriter under this
Section 11. Any action taken under this Section 11 shall
not relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default
of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
Section
12. Termination of this
Agreement. Prior to the purchase of the Firm Shares by the
Underwriters on the First Closing Date this Agreement may be terminated by the
Representative by notice given to the Company if at any time (i) trading or
quotation in any of the Company’s securities shall have been suspended or
limited by the Commission or by the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or trading in
securities generally on either the Nasdaq Global Select Market or the New York
Stock Exchange shall have been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum
prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges by
the Commission or FINRA; (ii) a general banking moratorium shall have been
declared by any of federal, New York or California authorities; (iii) there
shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international
hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or
international financial markets, or any substantial change or development
involving a prospective substantial change in United States’ or international
political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the
Representative is material and adverse and makes it impracticable to market the
Offered Shares in the manner and on the terms described in the Time of Sale
Prospectus or the Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities;
(iv) in the judgment of the Representative there shall have occurred any
Material Adverse Change; or (v) the Company shall have sustained a loss by
strike, fire, flood, earthquake, accident or other calamity of such character as
in the judgment of the Representative may interfere materially with the conduct
of the business and operations of the Company regardless of whether or not such
loss shall have been insured. Any termination pursuant to this
Section 12 shall be without liability on the part of (a) the Company
to any Underwriter, except that the Company shall be obligated to reimburse the
expenses of the Representative and the Underwriters pursuant to Sections 4
and 7 hereof, (b) any Underwriter to the Company, or (c) of any
party hereto to any other party except that the provisions of Section 9 and
Section 10 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such
termination.
Section
13. No Advisory or Fiduciary
Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase
and sale of the Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement, including the
determination of the public offering price of the Offered Shares and any related
discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the
Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in
connection with the offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to such
transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is
not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors,
employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an
advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the
offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of
whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on
other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect
to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth
in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be
engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from
those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal,
accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated
hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and
tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate
33
Section
14. Representations and Indemnities to
Survive Delivery. The respective indemnities, agreements,
representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, of its officers
and of the Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will
remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on
behalf of any Underwriter or the Company or any of its or their partners,
officers or directors or any controlling person, as the case may be, and,
anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, will survive delivery of and
payment for the Offered Shares sold hereunder and any termination of this
Agreement.
Section
15. Notices. All
communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered
or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:
If to the
Representative:
Xxxxxxxxx
& Company, Inc.
000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Attention: General
Counsel
with a
copy to:
Xxxxx
Day
000 Xxxx
00xx
Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
If to the
Company:
1 Shuang
Qiang Road, Jinzhou,
Dalian,
People’s Republic of China 116100
Facsimile: 8641187787111
Attention: Wenbing
(Xxxxxxxxxxx) Xxxx, President
with a
copy to:
Loeb
& Loeb, LLP
000 Xxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx, Esq.
Any party
hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written
notice to the others.
34
Section
16. Successors. This
Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto,
including any substitute Underwriters pursuant to Section 11 hereof, and to
the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons
referred to in Section 9 and Section 10, and in each case their
respective successors and personal representatives, and no other person will
have any right or obligation hereunder. The term “successors” shall not include
any purchaser of the Offered Shares as such from any of the Underwriters merely
by reason of such purchase.
Section
17. Partial
Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity
or enforceability of any other Section, paragraph or provision
hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is
for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed
to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to
make it valid and enforceable.
Section
18. Governing Law
Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed
in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to
agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any legal suit,
action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be
instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the
Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New
York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York
(collectively, the “Specified
Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive
jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of
a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to
which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit,
action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or
document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective
service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such
court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any
objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the
Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to
plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding
brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient
forum. Each party not located in the United States irrevocably
appoints CT Corporation System, which currently maintains a New York City office
at 000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000, Xxxxxx Xxxxxx of America,
as its agent to receive service of process or other legal summons for purposes
of any such suit, action or proceeding that may be instituted in any state or
federal court in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York.
With respect to any Related Proceeding,
each party irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable
law, all immunity (whether on the basis of sovereignty or otherwise) from
jurisdiction, service of process, attachment (both before and after judgment)
and execution to which it might otherwise be entitled in the Specified Courts,
and with respect to any Related Judgment, each party waives any such immunity in
the Specified Courts or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and will not
raise or claim or cause to be pleaded any such immunity at or in respect of any
such Related Proceeding or Related Judgment, including, without limitation, any
immunity pursuant to the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976,
as amended.
35
Section
19. General
Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of
the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all
contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to
the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or
more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect
as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same
instrument. This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in
writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or
implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition
is meant to benefit. The Table of Contents and the Section headings
herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the
construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
Each of
the parties hereto acknowledges that it is a sophisticated business person who
was adequately represented by counsel during negotiations regarding the
provisions hereof, including, without limitation, the indemnification provisions
of Section 9 and the contribution provisions of Section 10, and is
fully informed regarding said provisions. Each of the parties hereto
further acknowledges that the provisions of Sections 9 and 10 hereto
fairly allocate the risks in light of the ability of the parties to investigate
the Company, its affairs and its business in order to assure that adequate
disclosure has been made in the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, each free writing prospectus and the
Prospectus (and any amendments and supplements thereto), as required by the
Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
36
If the
foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, kindly sign
and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument,
along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in
accordance with its terms.
Very
truly yours,
|
|
FUSHI COPPERWELD
INC.
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Li Fu
|
Name:
Li Fu
|
|
Title:
Chairman & CEO
|
The
foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the
Representative in New York, New York as of the date first above
written.
XXXXXXXXX & COMPANY,
INC.
Acting
as Representative of the
Underwriters
named in
the
attached Schedule A.
|
|
By
XXXXXXXXX & COMPANY,
INC.
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
|
Name:
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
|
|
Title:
Managing Director
|
37
SCHEDULE
A
Underwriters
|
Number of
Firm Shares
to be Purchased
|
|||
Xxxxxxxxx
& Company, Inc.
|
4,225,000 | |||
Xxxx
Capital Partners, LLC
|
1,625,000 | |||
Xxxxxx
& Xxxxxxx, LLC
|
650,000 | |||
Total
|
6,500,000 |
SCHEDULE
B
Schedule
of Free Writing Prospectuses included in the Time of Sale
Prospectus
SCHEDULE
C
Schedule
of each and every subsidiary of the Company
EXHIBIT
A-1
Opinion of Xxxxx & Roca, LLP legal
counsel for the Company to be delivered pursuant to Section 6(d) of the
Underwriting Agreement.
A1-1
EXHIBIT
A-2
Opinion
of counsel for the Company to be delivered pursuant to Section 6(d) of the
Underwriting Agreement.
X0-0
XXXXXXX
X-0
Xxxxxxx
xx Xxxxx counsel for the Company to be delivered pursuant to Section 6(e)
of the Underwriting Agreement.
A3-1
EXHIBIT
B
LIST
OF PERSONS EXECUTING LOCK-UPS
B-1
EXHIBIT
C
Form
of Lock-Up Agreement
C-1
EXHIBIT
D
Form
of President’s Certificate
D-1