EX-1.1 2 d807584dex11.htm EX-1.1 EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

NOTICE REGARDING UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

The attached Underwriting Agreement is a contractual document that establishes and governs the legal relations among the parties with respect to the transactions described therein. The Underwriting Agreement is not intended to be a source for investors of factual, business, or operational information about the Company. The representations and warranties, covenants and agreements contained in the Underwriting Agreement were made only for purposes of the Underwriting Agreement, were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Underwriting Agreement, and may be subject to limitations agreed among those parties. Accordingly, investors and security holders should not rely on representations or warranties, covenants and agreements as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the Company.


FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Common Stock, par value $2.50 per share

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

April 29, 2024

PIPER SANDLER & CO.

BOFA SECURITIES, INC.

As Representatives of the several

Underwriters named in Schedule I attached hereto,

c/o Piper Sandler & Co.

1251 Avenue of the Americas

6th Floor

New York, New York 10020

c/o BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Fulton Financial Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation (the “Company”) proposes to issue and sell to the several underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”), acting severally and not jointly, the respective number of shares (the “Firm Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $2.50 per share (the “Common Stock”) set forth in Schedule I hereto, pursuant to the terms set forth herein (this “Agreement”). In addition, the Company proposes to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,500,000 additional shares of the Common Stock on the terms set forth in Section 2 (the “Option Shares”). The Firm Shares and the Option Shares, if purchased, are hereinafter collectively called the “Shares”. This Agreement is to confirm the agreement concerning the purchase of the Shares from the Company by the Underwriters.

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an “automatic shelf registration statement” (as defined in Rule 405 of the rules and regulations (the “1933 Act Regulations”) of the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”)) on Form S-3 (No. 333-274624) covering the registration of certain securities, including the Shares, under the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations, which registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 462(e)”). Such registration statement, at any given time, including any amendments thereto existing at such time, the exhibits and any schedules thereto on file with the Commission at such time, the information incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act at such time and the information otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or included therein at such time by the 1933 Act Regulations, is referred to herein as the “Registration Statement.” Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus supplement with

 

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respect to the Shares with the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 430B”) and Rule 424(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 424(b)”). Any information included in such prospectus supplement that was omitted from the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto that is deemed to be part thereof and included therein pursuant to Rule 430B is referred to herein as the “Rule 430B Information.” The final prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the Shares, including the documents incorporated by reference or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act, in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Shares, are collectively referred to herein as the “Prospectus.” Each prospectus and related prospectus supplement used in connection with the offering of the Shares that omitted the Rule 430B Information is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”).

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules, interactive data and any other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” (or other references of like import) in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package (defined below) or any preliminary prospectus shall be deemed to include all such financial statements and schedules, interactive data and other information which are incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by the 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package or any preliminary prospectus, as the case may be, prior to the execution of this Agreement; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus shall be deemed to include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), which is incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed by the 1933 Act Regulations to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus, as the case may be, after the execution of this Agreement.

The Company confirms as follows its agreement with you as the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the Underwriters.

1. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each of the Underwriters as of the date hereof, as of the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(b) hereof) and as of each Delivery Date (as defined in Section 2 hereof), and agrees with each of the Underwriters, as follows:

(a) Status as Well Known Seasoned Issuer. (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (B) at the time of each subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act or form of prospectus), (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this subsection only, of Rule 163(c) of the 1933 Act Regulations) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 of the 1933 Act

 

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Regulations (“Rule 163”) and (D) at the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well-known seasoned issuer” (as defined in Rule 405), including not having been and not being an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405). The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement” (as defined in Rule 405), and the Shares, as of the date of their registration on the Registration Statement, were, and, as of the date hereof and as of each Delivery Date (defined below), remain, eligible for registration by the Company on an “automatic shelf registration statement” under Rule 405. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations objecting to the use of the automatic shelf registration statement form.

At the earliest time that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Shares, the Company was not nor is an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405).

(b) Registration Statement, Prospectus and Disclosure Package at Time of Sale. The Registration Statement became effective upon filing under Rule 462(e) on September 21, 2023 and any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement also will become effective upon filing under Rule 462(e). No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued under the 1933 Act and, to the knowledge of the Company, no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with.

Any offer that is a written communication relating to the Shares made by the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this subsection only, of Rule 163(c) of the 1933 Act Regulations) prior to the filing of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto has been filed with the Commission in accordance with the exemption provided by Rule 163 and otherwise complied with the requirements of Rule 163, including, without limitation, the legending requirement, to qualify such offer for the exemption from Section 5(c) of the 1933 Act provided by Rule 163.

At the time the Registration Statement became effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Shares pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations and at each Delivery Date, the Registration Statement complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations, and did not, does not and 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 statements therein not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, when read together with the Prospectus, at the time the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement was issued or at each Delivery Date, included or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will 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. Each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus complied, when filed with the Commission, in all material respects with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations, and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Shares was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

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As of the Applicable Time or each Delivery Date, any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), the most recent preliminary prospectus furnished to the Underwriters for general distribution to investors prior to the Applicable Time, and the pricing information conveyed orally to investors set forth on Schedule II hereto, when considered together (collectively, as of the Applicable Time, the “Disclosure Package”), did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:

Applicable Time” means 7:45 A.M. (New York time) on April 29, 2024, or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representatives.

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in clause (h)(1) of Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”)) relating to the Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the records of the Company pursuant to Rule 433(g).

Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors (other than a “bona fide electronic road show,” as defined in Rule 433), as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule III hereto.

Any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the offer and sale of the Shares or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representatives in writing, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated therein by reference and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is limited to any Underwriters’ Information (as defined in Section 9(a) below).

(c) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, when read together with the other information in the preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement became effective or such documents were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, did not, and at the earlier of the time the Prospectus was first used and the first “time of sale,” within the meaning of Rule 159 under the 1933 Act Regulations, of the Shares in this offering and on each Delivery Date will not, include an untrue statement of a material fact or

 

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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 documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, when filed with the Commission, conformed or will conform, as the case may be, in all material respects to the applicable requirements of the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

(d) Independent Accountants. KPMG LLP, who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

(e) Financial Statements. The consolidated historical financial statements, together with the related schedules and notes, included in the preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package and the Registration Statement present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated, and the statements of income, changes in equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified. Such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included therein present fairly, in all material respects, the information required to be stated therein. The summary financial data included therein present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the Prospectus. All disclosures included in the most recent preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package and the Registration Statement regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act, to the extent applicable.

(f) Interactive Data. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

(g) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package and the Registration Statement, except as otherwise stated therein, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has incurred any material losses or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, (B) there has been no material adverse change, or any development which could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse change, (i) in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, properties, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business or (ii) in the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under, and to consummate the transactions contemplated by, this Agreement (each of (i) and (ii), a “Material Adverse Effect”), (C) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered any transaction, other than in the ordinary course of business, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, (D) there has

 

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not been any material change in the capital stock of the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries (as defined below) (other than issuances or other transfers of capital stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit plans, the Company’s dividend reinvestment plan and employee stock purchase plan or repurchases of Common Stock by the Company pursuant to a share repurchase program disclosed in the Prospectus) or any material increase in the long term indebtedness of the Company or its Significant Subsidiaries, and (E) the Company has not declared, paid or made any dividend or distribution of any kind on any class of its capital stock (each of clauses (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E), a “Material Adverse Change”).

(h) Regulatory Enforcement Matters. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is subject or is party to, or has received any written notice that any of them may or will become subject or party to any investigation with respect to, any cease-and-desist order, written agreement, consent agreement, memorandum of understanding or other regulatory enforcement action, proceeding or order with or by, or is a party to any commitment letter or similar undertaking to, or is subject to any directive by, or has been a recipient of any supervisory letter from, or has adopted any board resolutions at the request of, any Regulatory Agency (as defined below) that in any material respect (considered on a consolidated basis) currently relates to or restricts the conduct of their business or that in any manner relates to their capital adequacy, their credit policies, or their management (each, a “Regulatory Agreement”), nor has the Company or any of its subsidiaries been advised in writing by any Regulatory Agency that it is considering issuing or requesting any such Regulatory Agreement, where any such Regulatory Agreement could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, there is no unresolved violation, criticism or exception by any Regulatory Agency with respect to any report or statement relating to any examination of the Company or any of its subsidiaries which, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, is expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or is expected to prevent or materially delay the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. As used herein, the term “Regulatory Agency” means any federal or state agency charged with the supervision or regulation of depository institutions, or holding companies of depository institutions, or engaged in the insurance of depository institution deposits, or engaged in the regulation and enforcement of consumer financial services, or any court, administrative agency or commission or other federal or state governmental agency, authority or instrumentality having supervisory or regulatory authority with respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

(i) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, and to issue or direct the issuance of the Shares, and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification or license is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(j) Financial Holding Company. The Company is duly registered as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”), does not (directly or indirectly) own or control the stock or voting securities of any depository institution other than the Bank (as defined below), and its direct and indirect activities and investments are authorized for a bank holding company and its subsidiaries pursuant to the BHC Act. The Company is “well capitalized” as that term is defined at 12 CFR part 225. The Company is a “financial holding company” as such term is defined in 12 C.F.R. § 225.81.

(k) Subsidiaries. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) (each, a “Significant Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Significant Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package and is duly qualified and licensed to transact business and is in good standing in each foreign jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. Fulton Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) is a national banking association formed under the laws of the United States and authorized thereunder to transact in the business of banking. The Bank is a member in good standing of its applicable Federal Home Loan Bank. The deposit accounts of the Bank are insured up to the applicable limit by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), all premiums and assessments required to be paid in connection therewith have been paid when due, and no proceedings for the revocation or termination of such insurance is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened. The Bank is “well capitalized” as that term is defined at 12 CFR part 6. The only Significant Subsidiary of the Company is Fulton Bank, N.A.

(l) Capital Stock Duly Authorized and Validly Issued. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Bank have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company, directly or through one or more other subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equitable right. None of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company or the Bank were issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any shareholder of the Company or the Bank, as the case may be, arising by operation of law, or under the articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational documents of the Company or the Bank or under any agreement to which the Company or the Bank is a party.

(m) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company as set forth in the most recent preliminary prospectus supplement under “Description of Capital Stock.” There have not been any subsequent issuances of capital stock of the Company since such date (except issuances of common stock pursuant to exercises of employee stock options and pursuant to the Company’s dividend reinvestment plan and employee stock purchase plan).

 

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(n) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the valid and legally binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforceability may be limited by (1) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (2) general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity) (collectively, the “Enforceability Exceptions”).

(o) Authorization and Description of the Shares. The Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, will be issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws and will be free of preemptive or similar rights of any person or entity of the Company arising by operation of law, or under the articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational documents of the Company or under any agreement to which the Company is a party.

(p) Not an Investment Company. The Company is not, and immediately following consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the application of the net proceeds as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, the Company will not be, an “investment company” or an entity controlled by an “investment company,” in each case within the meaning of Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), without regard to Section 3(c) of the 1940 Act.

(q) Description of the Shares. The Shares will conform, in all material respects, to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package.

(r) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter, bylaws or other organizational document, (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of its assets is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (iii) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, in violation of any U.S. or non-U.S. federal, state or local statute, law (including, without limitation, common law) or ordinance, or any judgment, decree, rule, regulation, order or injunction of any U.S. or non-U.S. federal, state, local or other governmental or regulatory authority, governmental or Regulatory Agency or body, court, arbitrator or self-regulatory organization applicable to the Company or the Bank or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and compliance by the Company with the terms of this Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company, and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, (i) violate, conflict with or constitute a

 

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breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any, security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, charge, encumbrance, claim or equitable right upon any assets of the Company or the Bank pursuant to, any of the Agreements and Instruments, (ii) result in any violation of any provision of the charter, bylaws or other organizational document of the Company or the Bank or (iii) result in any violation by the Company or the Bank of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition that 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 or any of their respective properties.

(s) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or the Bank exists or, to the knowledge of the senior management of the Company, is contemplated or threatened, which would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(t) Compliance with ERISA. Each of the Company, its subsidiaries and each ERISA Affiliate (as hereinafter defined) has fulfilled its obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) with respect to each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any member of the Company’s “control group” (within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) for employees or former employees of the Company and its affiliates, or with respect to which it has (or within the last three years had) any obligation to make contributions, and each such plan is in compliance in all respects with the presently applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code, except where such failure to fulfil its obligations or such non-compliance would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company, its subsidiaries or any ERISA Affiliate has incurred any unpaid liability to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (other than for the payment of premiums in the ordinary course) or to any such plan under Title IV of ERISA, except where such unpaid liability would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. No prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any such plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption, that could reasonably be expected to result in a material liability to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole. “ERISA Affiliate” means a corporation, trade or business that is, along with the Company or any subsidiary, a member of a controlled group of corporations or a controlled group of trades or businesses, as described in Section 414 of the Code or Section 4001 of ERISA.

(u) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, which (i) is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and is not disclosed; (ii) would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or (iii) would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated

 

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by this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there are no legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective assets is the subject, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, which would, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(v) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity, other than those that have been made or obtained, is necessary or required for the authority, execution, delivery or performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated thereunder, except as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the securities laws of any state or non-U.S. jurisdiction, or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).

(w) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities that are necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and have made all declarations and filings with the appropriate Governmental Entities that are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, except where the failure to possess such Governmental Licenses or make such declarations or filings would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, individually or in the aggregate, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, is reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(x) Conduct of Business. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, each of the Company and the Bank is conducting its business in compliance with all laws, rules, regulations, decisions, directives and orders, and all regulations and orders of, or agreements with, Governmental Entities applicable to it, except where failure to so comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(y) Environmental Matters. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, and decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, including, without limitation, those applicable to emissions to the environment, waste management and waste disposal (collectively,

 

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the “Environmental Laws”), except where such noncompliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, and, to the knowledge of the Company, there are no circumstances that would prevent, interfere with or materially increase the cost of such compliance in the future. There is no claim under any Environmental Law, including common law, pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any of its subsidiaries (an “Environmental Claim”), which would have a Material Adverse Effect, and, to the knowledge of the Company, under applicable law, there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, events or incidents, including without limitation, releases of any material into the environment, that are reasonably likely to form the basis of any Environmental Claim against the Company or the Bank which would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(z) Title to Property. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has good and marketable title in fee simple to all of its real and personal properties, reflected as owned in the consolidated financial statements or as described in the Prospectus, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects, except as do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or such subsidiary or which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. All of the leases and subleases under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds properties used in its business are in full force and effect, except where the failure of such leases and subleases to be in full force and effect and would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has any notice of any claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of such entity to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease, except any claim that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(aa) Intellectual Property. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries owns or possesses all necessary and adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) presently employed by it in connection with the business now operated by it or reasonably necessary in order to conduct such business, and none of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, except where the failure to possess such Intellectual Property or where such infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

(bb) Taxes. The Company and each Significant Subsidiary has, through the date hereof: (i) timely filed all tax returns required to be filed and such returns are true correct and complete, and (ii) timely paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes, except to the extent any such taxes are being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been made under GAAP, except where the failure to timely file such tax returns or to timely pay such taxes would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. Giving effect to any applicable extensions and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there is no material tax deficiency that has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or the Bank or any of their respective assets.

 

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(cc) Insurance. The Company and the Bank have insurance covering their respective assets, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in such amounts and insures against such losses and risks as are adequate to protect the Company and the Bank and their respective assets, operations, personnel and businesses; and neither the Company nor the Bank has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business.

(dd) Payment of Dividends. No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from transferring any of its property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, or from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package.

(ee) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company and its directors and officers, in their capacities as such, are in compliance in all material respects with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof with which the Company or any of its directors or officers is required to comply.

(ff) Accounting and Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidance applicable thereto. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective in all material respects, and since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, (x) the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal controls, and (y) 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. The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the

 

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1934 Act Regulations) that comply with the requirements of the 1934 Act; and such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

(gg) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company or its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, employee or any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has, in the course of its actions for, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity in violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “FCPA”); (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any domestic government official, “foreign official” (as defined in the FCPA) or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the FCPA or any applicable non-U.S. anti-bribery statute or regulation; or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment to any domestic government official, such foreign official or employee. The Company and its subsidiaries, and, to the knowledge of the Company and its subsidiaries, its and their other affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance therewith.

(hh) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are, and have been at all times in the past five years, conducted 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 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 its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries, threatened.

(ii) Compliance with OFAC. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or other person acting on their behalf is an individual or entity (“Person”) currently subject to any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government (including without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, or His Majesty’s Treasury (collectively, “Sanctions”); 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 or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that currently is the subject to any Sanctions. The Company and its subsidiaries are not knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any Person that is the subject or target of Sanctions or with or in any country or territory that is the target or subject of Sanctions.

 

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(jj) IT Systems. The Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform as required in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants, except where failure in the adequacy, operation or performance of such IT Systems would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards designed to maintain and protect their confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses consistent with industry standards and practices, and, to the Company’s knowledge, there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same, except where failure to implement or maintain such controls, policies, procedures and safeguards or the occurrence of breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses or access would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except where failure in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(kk) No Brokers. Other than the Underwriters, 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.

(ll) Stabilization. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has taken or will 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.

(mm) Pending Proceedings and Examinations. The Registration Statement is not the subject of a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act, and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Shares.

(nn) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities of the Company or its subsidiaries registered by the Company or any other person under the 1933 Act.

(oo) Statistical and Market Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable or is not accurate in all material respects.

 

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(pp) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the 1933 Act and Section 21E of the 1934 Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Package has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

(qq) Distribution of Offering Material by the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of the Underwriters’ distribution of the Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than the Registration Statement, the preliminary prospectus contained in the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus reviewed and consented to by the Representatives and, if such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus, included in Schedule III hereto.

Any certificate signed by any duly authorized officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

2. Purchase of the Shares by the Underwriters. On the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants contained in, and subject to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price per share set forth below, the number of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Shares which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.

In addition, the Company grants to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,500,000 additional Option Shares as set forth in Section 4 hereof. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of Option Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representatives may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of Option Shares to be sold on such Delivery Date as the number of Firm Shares opposite the name of the Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares.

The purchase price per share of Common Stock payable by the Underwriters for both the Firm Shares and any Option Shares is $14.268750 per share.

The Company is not obligated to deliver any of the Firm Shares or Option Shares to be delivered on the applicable Delivery Date, except upon payment for all such Shares to be purchased on such Delivery Date as provided herein.

3. Offering of Shares by the Underwriters. Upon authorization by the Representatives of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions to be set forth in the Prospectus.

 

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4. Delivery of and Payment for the Shares. Delivery of and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the second full business day following the date of this Agreement or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. This date and time are sometimes referred to as the “Initial Delivery Date”. Delivery of the Firm Shares shall be made to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives of the aggregate purchase price for the Firm Shares being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Firm Shares through the facilities of DTC unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.

The option granted in Section 2 will expire 30 days after the date of this Agreement and may be exercised in whole or from time to time in part by written notice being given to the Company by the Representatives; provided that if such date falls on a day that is not a business day, the option granted in Section 2 will expire on the next succeeding business day. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of Option Shares as to which the option is being exercised, the names in which the Option Shares are to be registered, the denominations in which the Option Shares are to be issued and the date and time, as determined by the Representatives, when the Option Shares are to be delivered; provided, that this date and time shall not be earlier than the Initial Delivery Date nor earlier than the second business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised nor later than the fifth business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised. Each date and time the Option Shares are delivered is sometimes referred to as an “Option Shares Delivery Date”, and the Initial Delivery Date and any Option Shares Delivery Date are sometimes each referred to as a “Delivery Date”.

Delivery of the Option Shares by the Company and payment for the Option Shares by the several Underwriters through the Representatives shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in the preceding paragraph or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. On each Option Shares Delivery Date, the Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, the Option Shares, to the Representatives for the account of each Underwriter, against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives of the aggregate purchase price for the Option Shares being sold by the Company to or upon the order of the Company of the purchase price by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder. The Company shall deliver the Option Shares through the facilities of DTC unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.

 

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5. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with the Underwriters as follows:

(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. Prior to the last Delivery Date as contemplated in this Agreement, the Company will notify the Representatives promptly, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement relating to the Shares shall become effective, or any amendment or supplement to the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus shall have been used or filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments with respect to the Registration Statement from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or the filing of a new registration statement or any amendment or supplement to the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any document incorporated therein by reference or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or such new registration statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act. With respect to the Shares, subject to Section 5(e), the Company will comply with the requirements of Rule 430B, will prepare the Prospectus in the form approved by the Representatives, will effect the filings required under Rule 424(b) in the manner and within the time period specified therein (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the Prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) under the 1933 Act Regulations was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such Prospectus. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or other order and, if any stop order or other order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof as soon as possible. The Company shall pay the required filing fees of the Commission relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) (i) of the 1933 Act Regulations without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) of the 1933 Act Regulations.

(b) Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter and counsel for the Underwriters, upon request, without charge, signed or conformed copies of the Registration Statement and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein or otherwise deemed to be a part thereof) and signed or conformed copies of all consents and certificates of experts. The copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Representatives will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

(c) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when a prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request, unless, with the prior consent of the Representatives, such delivery requirement can be satisfied by the provisions of Rule 172 of the 1933 Act Regulations. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

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(d) Notice and Effect of Material Events. The Company will comply with the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations, as applicable, so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Shares as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. Prior to the completion of the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters and the last Delivery Date, the Company will immediately notify the Representatives, and confirm such notice in writing, of (x) any filing made by the Company of information relating to the offering of the Shares with any securities exchange or any other regulatory body in the United States, and (y) any event or condition that results or is reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Change, which (i) makes any statement in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus false or misleading or (ii) which is not disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus. If, at any time when a prospectus is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the reasonable opinion of the Company, its counsel, the Representatives or counsel to the Underwriters, to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order that the Prospectus not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to purchasers, or if for any other reason it shall be necessary, in the reasonable opinion of the Company, its counsel, the Representatives or counsel to the Underwriters, during such period to amend the Registration Statement or to file a new registration statement or to amend or supplement any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus to comply with the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives of such event or condition and forthwith amend the Registration Statement, file such registration statement and/or amend or supplement any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, subject to Section 5(e), so as to correct such untrue statement or omission or effect such compliance, and the Company will furnish to each Underwriter such number of written and electronic copies of such amendment or supplement as such Underwriter may reasonably request. If at any time following the Applicable Time or at any time following the issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Disclosure Package or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, individually or together with other information that is part of the Disclosure Package, as the case may be, conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or any other registration statement relating to the Shares 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 will promptly notify the Representatives of such event and condition and will promptly amend or supplement, at the Company’s own expense, the Disclosure Package or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as the case may be, to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

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(e) Amendment to Prospectus or Registration Statement. The Company will advise the Representatives promptly of any notice of its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement relating to the Shares or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus or supplement to the Disclosure Package, and will furnish the Representatives with copies thereof a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document with respect to the Shares without the consent of the Representatives, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Neither the consent of the Representatives, nor the Representatives’ delivery of any such amendment or supplement, shall constitute a waiver of any of the conditions set forth in Section 8 hereof. For purposes of clarity, nothing in this Section 5(e) shall restrict the Company from making any filings required in order to comply with its reporting obligations under the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Regulations; provided that the Company shall give the Representatives written notice of such filings and furnish the Representatives with copies of such filings a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed filing, if such filings will amend or be incorporated into the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, and will not make such filings to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.

(f) No Stabilization or Manipulations. The Company will not, and will cause its subsidiaries not to, take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to, or that could reasonably be expected to, cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares.

(g) DTC. The Company will cooperate with the Underwriters and use its commercially reasonable efforts to permit the Shares to be eligible for clearance, settlement and trading through the facilities of DTC.

(h) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will qualify the Shares for offer and sale under the state securities, or blue sky, laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the offering and resale of the Shares; provided that the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where they would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject themselves to taxation in any such jurisdiction if they are not otherwise so subject.

(i) Further Obligations. In the event the Company, at any time, or from time to time, shall not have sufficient funds to promptly pay in full any amount then due and payable to any person pursuant to this Agreement, the Company shall promptly take all such actions that do not require prior regulatory approval to obtain sufficient funds to pay such amount and, if the funds obtained from such actions shall not be sufficient to pay such amount in full, the Company shall promptly take all such further actions, including obtaining all required regulatory approvals, to obtain sufficient additional funds necessary to pay such amount in full.

(j) Earnings Statement. The Company shall timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act, as applicable, as are necessary in order to make generally available to their respective securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.

 

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(k) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied, with the prior consent of the Representatives, by Rule 172 under the 1933 Act Regulations), will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations.

(l) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package.

(m) Restriction on Sale of Securities. For a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the 60th day after the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, (A) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise transfer or dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the Shares and shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans existing on the date hereof), or sell or grant options, rights or warrants with respect to any Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock (other than the Shares and the grant of options pursuant to option plans existing on the date hereof), (B) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of such Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (C) confidentially submit or file or cause to be confidentially submitted or filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any Common Stock or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into Common Stock or any other securities of the Company (other than any registration statement on Form S-8), or (D) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, in each case without the prior written consent of the Representatives, on behalf of the Underwriters, and to cause each officer and director of the Company set forth on Schedule IV hereto to furnish to the Representatives, prior to the date hereof, a letter or letters, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Lock-Up Agreements”).

(n) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representatives, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433) or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representatives is referred to herein as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated, and agrees that it will treat, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433(h)(i)) and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.

 

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6. Covenant of Underwriters. Each Underwriter severally agrees that (i) such Underwriter shall not include any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433 under the 1933 Act) in any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act) used or referred to by such Underwriter without the prior consent of the Company (any such issuer information with respect to whose use the Company has given its consent, “Permitted Issuer Information”); provided that no such consent shall be required with respect to any such issuer information contained in any document filed by the Company with the Commission prior to the use of such free writing prospectus, and (ii) such Underwriter is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Company if any such proceeding against it is initiated during any time that the delivery of a prospectus is required by law in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares or any other securities relating thereto).

7. Expenses. The Company agrees, whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated, to pay all expenses, costs and fees incident to and in connection with (a) the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares and any stamp duties payable in that connection, and the preparation and printing of certificates for the Shares; (b) the preparation, printing and filing under the 1933 Act of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto; (c) the distribution of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, or any document incorporated by reference therein, all as provided in this Agreement; (d) the production and distribution of this Agreement, any supplemental agreement among Underwriters, and any other related documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (e) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, determining the compliance of the terms of the sale of the Shares with FINRA’s rules; (f) the inclusion of the Shares on The Nasdaq Stock Market and/or any other exchange; (g) the qualification of the Shares under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(h) and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters up to a maximum of $5,000); (h) the investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with any electronic road show, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company; and (i) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section 7, Sections 9, 10(c) and 11 hereof, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them.

8. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The respective obligations of the Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on each Delivery Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions:

 

22


(a) Filing of Prospectus. The Prospectus containing the Rule 430B Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) (or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and become effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430B); all materials required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433 under the 1933 Act. The Registration Statement is effective and no stop order or other order referred to in Section 5(a)(iv) hereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the Representatives’ satisfaction.

(b) Opinion of Counsel for Company. Each of Holland & Knight LLP, Pennsylvania counsel for the Company, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives its written opinion, as counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives. Each such counsel may state that, insofar as its opinion involves factual matters, it has relied, to the extent it deems proper, upon certificates of officers of the Company or the Bank and public officials.

(c) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. The Representatives shall have received from Covington & Burling LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated such Delivery Date, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Shares, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters. Such counsel may state that, insofar as its opinion involves factual matters, it has relied, to the extent it deems proper, upon certificates of officers of the Company or the Bank and public officials.

(d) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from KPMG LLP a letter, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the date hereof (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the 1933 Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, and (ii) stating, as of the date hereof (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the most recent preliminary prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date hereof), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings.

(e) Bring-down Comfort Letter. With respect to the letter of KPMG LLP referred to in the preceding paragraph and delivered to the Representatives concurrently with the execution of this Agreement (the “initial letter”), the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a letter (the “bring-down letter”) of such accountants, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such Delivery Date (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the 1933 Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, (ii) stating, as of the date of the bring-down letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not more than three days prior to the date of the bring-down letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by the initial letter, and (iii) confirming in all material respects the conclusions and findings set forth in the initial letter.

 

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(f) Officers’ Certificate. The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate, dated such Delivery Date, of its Chief Executive Officer and its Interim Chief Financial Officer as to such matters as the Representatives may reasonably request, including, without limitation, a statement:

(i) That the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company in Section 1 are true and correct on and as of such Delivery Date, and the Company has complied with all its agreements contained herein and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Delivery Date;

(ii) That no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued; and no proceedings or examination for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of such officers, threatened and the Commission shall not have notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto;

(iii) That they have examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, and, in their opinion, (1) the Registration Statement, as of its effective date, (2) the Prospectus, as of its date and on the applicable Delivery Date, and (3) the Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not and do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and did not and do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (except in the case of the Registration Statement, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; and

(iv) To the effect of Section 8(g) (provided that no representation with respect to the judgment of the Representatives need be made).

(g) No Material Adverse Change. No Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or the Disclosure Package, and the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares.

(h) No Downgrade. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined by the Commission in Section 3(a)(62) of the 1934 Act), and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s debt securities or preferred stock.

 

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(i) Other Events. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on any securities exchange that has registered with the Commission under Section 6 of the 1934 Act (including the New York Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq Global Select Market, The Nasdaq Global Market or The Nasdaq Capital Market), (ii) trading in any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or materially limited or the settlement of such trading generally shall have been materially disrupted or minimum prices shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the Commission, by such exchange or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by federal or state authorities, or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities after the date hereof (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such) or any other calamity or crisis either within or outside the United States, the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering or delivery of the Shares being delivered on such Delivery Date on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares.

(j) No Legal Impediment to Issuance and/or Sale. No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any Governmental Entity that would, as of each Delivery Date, prevent the offer, issuance or sale of the Shares; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of each Delivery Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares.

(k) Exchange Listing. The Shares shall have been approved for inclusion by the Nasdaq Stock Market, subject only to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution.

(l) Lock-Up Agreements. The Lock-Up Agreements between the Representatives and the officers and directors of the Company set forth on Schedule IV, delivered to the Representatives on or before the date of this Agreement, shall be in full force and effect on such Delivery Date.

(m) Interim CFO Certificate. On the date hereof and on each Delivery Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Representatives a certificate of the Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to you.

Additional Documents. On or prior to each Delivery Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters such further certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request.

 

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9. Indemnification and Contribution.

(a) Indemnification of Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, their respective affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations), partners, directors, officers, employees and agents and each person, if any, who controls (within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act) any Underwriter (each such person, a “controlling person”):

 

  (i)

against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of (A) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto) 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, (B) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing 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;

 

  (ii)

against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 9(d) hereof) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company; and

 

  (iii)

against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Representatives), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (1) or (2) above;

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representatives expressly for inclusion in the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) and the parties hereto agree that such information consists only of the following: (i) the concession figures appearing in the first paragraph under the caption “Underwriting—Discounts and Expenses”, and (ii) the information relating to short sales and stabilizing transactions under the caption “Underwriting—Stabilization Transactions” in each of the most recent preliminary prospectus supplement, preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Underwriters’ Information”).

(b) Indemnification of the Company, Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section (9) above, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in conformity with the Underwriters’ Information provided by such Underwriter.

 

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(c) Actions Against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof, and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action or, if it so elects within a reasonable time after receipt of such notice, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such claim; but if it so elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by it and approved by the indemnified parties, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event that an indemnifying party elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, the indemnified party or parties shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel thereafter retained by such indemnified party or parties; provided, however, that the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to employ counsel (in addition to local counsel) to represent the indemnified party or parties who may be subject to liability arising out of any action in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the indemnifying party if, (i) the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by one of the indemnifying parties in connection with the defense of such action, (ii) the indemnifying parties shall not have employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such action within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action, or (iii) in the reasonable judgment of counsel for the indemnified party or parties, there may be legal defenses available to such indemnified person which are different from or in addition to those available to such indemnifying person, in which event the reasonable fees and expenses of appropriate separate counsel shall be borne by the indemnifying party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 9 (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

(d) Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party shall have validly requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 9(a)(2) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

 

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(e) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances under which the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is for any reason held to be unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (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 Shares pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) 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, liabilities, claims, damages 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 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 Shares pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total commission received by the Underwriters bears to the aggregate initial offering price of the Shares.

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 statements of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 9 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 above in this Section 9. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 9 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 9, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discount received by such Underwriter in connection with the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public.

 

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No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

For purposes of this Section 9, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and the respective partners, directors, officers, employees and agents of such Underwriter or any such controlling person shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, while each officer, employee, agent and director of the Company, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. The obligations of the Underwriters in this Section 9 to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

10. Defaulting Underwriters.

(a) If, on any Delivery Date, any Underwriter defaults in its obligations to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase under this Agreement, the remaining non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Shares by the non-defaulting Underwriters or other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Shares on such terms. In the event that within the respective prescribed periods, the non-defaulting Underwriters notify the Company that they have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company notifies the non-defaulting Underwriters that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company may postpone such Delivery Date for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package or in any other document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Disclosure Package or in any such other document or arrangement that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context requires otherwise, any party not listed in Schedule I hereto that, pursuant to this Section 10, purchases Shares that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.

(b) If, on any Delivery Date, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of Shares that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-tenth of the total number of Shares, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the total number of Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the total number of Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; provided that the non-defaulting Underwriters shall not be obligated to purchase more than 110% of the total number of Shares that it agreed to purchase on such Delivery Date pursuant to the terms of Section 2.

 

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(c) If, on any Delivery Date, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of Shares that remains unpurchased exceeds one-tenth of the total number of Shares to be purchased on such Delivery Date, or if the Company did not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10 shall be without liability on the part of the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Sections 7 and except that the provisions of Section 1, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 21 shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.

(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.

11. Termination.

(a) The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to the Initial Delivery Date if, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (i) there has occurred any Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or any other calamity or crisis, or any change or development involving a prospective change in national political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares, or (iii) trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or limited by the Commission or by the Nasdaq, or if trading generally on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq has been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a banking moratorium has been declared by the United States, New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania authorities or a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearances services in the United States.

(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 7 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 9, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22 and 27 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

12. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 11(a), as a result of clause (iii) thereof, and trading generally shall not have been have been suspended or materially limited on or by any of the New York Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market, (ii) the Company for any reason fails to tender the Shares for delivery to the Underwriters (other than pursuant to clauses (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) of Section 8(i)) or (iii) the Underwriters decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this

 

30


Agreement (other than pursuant to clauses (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) of Section 8(i)), the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the fees and expenses of their counsel) reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby; provided, if the conditions in clauses (ii) and (iii) of this section relate to the Option Shares only, then the obligation in this section shall relate only to the reimbursement of out of pocket costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the proposed purchase of the Option Shares; provided, further, in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 10, the Company shall have no obligation to reimburse a defaulting underwriter for such costs and expenses.

13. Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters’ research analysts and research departments are required to be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and that such Underwriters’ research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company and/or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their independent research analysts and research departments may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by such Underwriters’ investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Underwriters is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

14. No Fiduciary Duty. The Company acknowledges and agrees that in connection with this offering, sale of Shares or any other services the Underwriters may be deemed to be providing hereunder, notwithstanding any preexisting relationship, advisory or otherwise, between the parties or any oral representations or assurances previously or subsequently made by the Underwriters: (i) no fiduciary or agency relationship between the Company and any other person, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, exists; (ii) the Underwriters are not acting as advisors, expert or otherwise and are not providing a recommendation or investment advice, to the Company, including, without limitation, with respect to the determination of the public offering price of the Shares, and such relationship between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, is entirely and solely commercial, based on arm’s length negotiations and, as such, not intended for use by any individual for personal, family or household purposes; (iii) any duties and obligations that the Underwriters may have to the Company shall be limited to those duties and obligations specifically stated herein; and (iv) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company hereby (a) waive any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any breach of fiduciary duty in connection with this offering and (b) agree that none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. Each of the Company has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.

 

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15. Notices, etc. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any standard form of telecommunication, and (a) if to the Underwriters, shall be delivered or sent by mail to Piper Sandler & Co., 1251 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10020, Attention: General Counsel, and BofA Securities, Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Syndicate Department with a copy to: Attention: ECM Legal, with a copy to Covington & Burling, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, Attention: Michael P. Reed, Esq. and Charlotte May, Esq.; and (b) if to the Company, shall be delivered or sent by mail to the Company at P.O. Box 4887, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604, Attention: General Counsel, with a copy to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004, Attention: Catherine M. Clarkin, Esq. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof. The Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any request, consent, notice or agreement given or made on behalf of the Underwriters by the Representatives.

16. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon each Underwriter, the Company and their respective successors and the officers and directors and any controlling persons and other persons referred to in Section 9 hereof and their heirs and legal representatives. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No purchaser of Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.

17. Entire Agreement. 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.

18. Survival. The respective indemnities, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, the Bank and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Shares and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any of them or any person controlling any of them.

19. Definition of the Terms “Business Day”, “Affiliate” and “Subsidiary”. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close, and (b) “affiliate” and “subsidiary” have the meanings set forth in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act.

20. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws principles.

21. Jurisdiction. The Company hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of (i) the federal courts of the United States located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan and (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan, in connection with any suit, action or proceeding related to this Agreement or any of the matters contemplated hereby.

 

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22. Waiver of Jury Trial. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

23. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same agreement. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Agreement or in any other certificate, agreement or document related to this Agreement shall include images of manually executed signatures transmitted by facsimile or other electronic format (including, without limitation, “pdf”, “tif” or “jpg”) and other electronic signatures (including, without limitation, DocuSign and AdobeSign). The use of electronic signatures and electronic records (including, without limitation, any contract or other record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means) shall be of the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as a manually executed signature or use of a paper-based record-keeping system to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and any other applicable law, including, without limitation, any state law based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the Uniform Commercial Code.

24. Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.

25. Partial Enforceability. 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.

26. Headings. The headings herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.

27. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. (a) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

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For purposes of this Section 26, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement among the Company and the Underwriters, please indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.

 

Very truly yours,
FULTON FINANCIAL CORPORATION
By:  

/s/ Curtis J. Myers

  Name: Curtis J. Myers
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

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Accepted:
PIPER SANDLER & CO.
BOFA SECURITIES, INC.

As Representatives of the several

Underwriters named in Schedule I

attached hereto,

By PIPER SANDLER & CO.
By:  

/s/ Neil Riley

  Name: Neil Riley
  Title: Managing Director
By BOFA SECURITIES, INC.
By:  

/s/ Pankaj Vasudev

  Name: Pankaj Vasudev
  Title: Managing Director

 

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SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriters    Number of
Shares of
Firm
Shares
 

Piper Sandler & Co.

     10,000,000  

BofA Securities, Inc.

     6,666,667  

Total

     16,666,667  
  

 

 

 

 

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SCHEDULE II

ORALLY CONVEYED PRICING INFORMATION

1. The public offering price per share for the Shares will be $15.00 per share.

2. 16,666,667 Firm Shares and 2,500,000 Option Shares.

 

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SCHEDULE III

ISSUER GENERAL USE FREE WRITING PROSPECTUS

None

 

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SCHEDULE IV

PERSONS DELIVERING LOCK-UP AGREEMENTS

Directors

Jennifer Craighead Carey

Lisa M. Crutchfield

Denise L. Devine

Steven S. Etter

George K. Martin

James R. Moxley III

Antionette M. Pergolin

Scott A. Snyder, Ph.D.

Ronald H. Spair

E. Philip Wenger

Officers

Curtis J. Myers

Beth Ann L. Chivinski

Anthony L. Cossetti

Andy B. Fiol

Natasha R. Luddington

Atul Malhotra

Meg R. Mueller

Angela M. Sargent

Angela M. Snyder

Karthik K. Sridharan

Bernadette M. Taylor

 

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EXHIBIT A

LOCK-UP LETTER AGREEMENT

PIPER SANDLER & CO.

BOFA SECURITIES, INC.

As Representatives of the several

Underwriters named in Schedule I attached hereto,

c/o Piper Sandler & Co.

1251 Avenue of the Americas

6th Floor

New York, New York 10020

c/o BofA Securities, Inc.

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned understands that you and certain other firms (the “Underwriters”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Fulton Financial Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation (the “Company”), providing for the purchase by the Underwriters of shares (the “Stock”) of Common Stock, par value $2.50 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, and that the Underwriters propose to offer the Stock to the public (the “Offering”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Underwriting Agreement.

In consideration of the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Underwriters, and for other good and valuable consideration, the undersigned hereby irrevocably agrees that, without the prior written consent of Piper Sandler & Co. and BofA Securities, Inc., on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, (1) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise transfer or dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could be expected to, result in the transfer or disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any shares of Common Stock (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and shares of Common Stock that may be issued upon exercise of any options or warrants) or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of shares of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for or exercise any right or cause to be confidentially submitted or filed a registration statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or any other securities of the Company, or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing for a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the 60th day after the date of the Prospectus relating to the Offering (such 60-day period, the “Lock-Up Period”).

The foregoing restrictions are expressly agreed to preclude the undersigned from engaging in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of Common Stock or any other securities of the Company even if such Common Stock or other securities of the Company would be disposed of by someone other than the undersigned, including, without limitation, any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including without limitation any put or call option, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument) with respect to any Common Stock, or any other security of the Company that includes, relates to, or derives any significant part of its value from Common Stock or other securities of the Company.

 

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The restrictions set forth in this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall not apply to (a) bona fide gifts, sales or other dispositions of shares of any class of the Company’s capital stock, in each case that are made exclusively between and among the undersigned or members of the undersigned’s family, or affiliates of the undersigned (including any trust, family limited partnership or similar entity for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned), including its partners (if a partnership) or members (if a limited liability company); provided that it shall be a condition to any transfer pursuant to this clause (a) that (i) the transferee/donee agrees to be bound in writing by the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement to the same extent as if the transferee/donee were a party hereto and (ii) each party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) shall not be required by law (including without limitation the disclosure requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to make, and shall agree to not voluntarily make, any filing or public announcement of the transfer or disposition prior to the expiration of the 60-day period referred to above, (b) transfers by will or intestate upon the death of the undersigned; provided that the transferee agrees to be bound in writing by the terms of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement to the same extent as if such transferee were a party hereto, (c) the exercise of warrants or the exercise of stock options granted pursuant to the Company’s stock option/incentive plans or otherwise outstanding on the date hereof; provided, that the restrictions in this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall apply to shares of Common Stock issued upon such exercise or conversion, (d) transfers to the Company to satisfy any tax withholding obligations of the Company or the undersigned, or to satisfy the exercise price of warrants or stock options by the undersigned, upon the exercise or vesting of equity awards outstanding or hereinafter granted under any stock option/equity incentive plan that is in place prior to the date hereof; provided, that neither the undersigned nor the Company shall voluntarily make any public announcement or filing with respect to such transfer and that any public announcement or filing required with respect to such transfer shall include a statement to the effect that the transfer was made in connection with the payment of taxes or the satisfaction of the exercise price, (e) transfers pursuant to a contract, instruction or plan that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 (a “Rule 10b5-1 Plan”) under the Exchange Act that was in effect as of, and only for Common Stock scheduled for sale thereunder on, the date hereof, and (f) the establishment of any new Rule 10b5-1 Plan under the Exchange Act; provided, however, that no sales of Common Stock or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, Common Stock, shall be made pursuant to such new Rule 10b5-1 Plan prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period and that any public announcement or filing made during the Lock-Up Period, if required of or voluntarily made by or on behalf of the undersigned or the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Lock-Up Period.

In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

It is understood that, if the Company notifies the Underwriters that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Stock, the undersigned will be released from its obligations under this Lock-Up Letter Agreement.

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters will proceed with the Offering in reliance on this Lock-Up Letter Agreement. The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement. All authority herein conferred or agreed to be conferred and any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the successors, assigns, heirs or personal representatives of the undersigned.

Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters have not provided any recommendation or investment advice nor have the Underwriters solicited any action from the undersigned with respect to the Offering and the undersigned has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.

 

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This Lock-Up Letter Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York (other than Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law).

This Lock-Up Letter Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the earliest to occur, if any, of (1) the termination of the Underwriting Agreement before the sale of any Stock to the Underwriters or (2) May 1, 2024, in the event that the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by that date.

[Signature page follows]

 

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The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Letter Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. Any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of the undersigned.

 

Very truly yours,
 

 

  Name:

Dated:      

 

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