GDC GD Culture Group Ltd

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Form 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): March 4, 2025

 

GD Culture Group Limited

(Exact name of Company as specified in charter)

 

Nevada		001-37513		47-3709051
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File No.)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

 

22F - 810 Seventh Avenue,
New York, NY 10019

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip code)

 

+1-347- 2590292

(Company’s Telephone number, including area code)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Company under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

☐

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

☐

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company ☐

 

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

 

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

 

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001		GDC		Nasdaq Capital Market

 

 

 

Item 1.01 Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement

 

On March 4, 2025, GD Culture Group Limited. (the “Company”) entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with certain investor (the “Purchaser”) for the sale of 1,115,600 shares of common stock (the “Shares”) at $0.896379 per share (the “Offering”). The Offering closed on March 6, 2025. The Company received gross proceeds in the amount of $1,000,000, before deducting placement agent’s fees and accountable expenses and other estimated expenses. The Company plans to use the proceeds from the offering for working capital purposes. Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement, the Company has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to, within sixty (60) calendar days after the date of the Securities Purchase Agreement, file a registration statement on the appropriate form providing for the resale by the Purchaser of the Shares.

  

In the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Purchaser represented to the Company, among other things, that it is an “accredited investor” (as such term is defined in Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)). The Shares were issued and sold by the Company to the Investor in reliance upon the exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

In connection with the Offering, on March 4, 2025, the Company entered into a placement agency agreement (the “Placement Agency Agreement”) with Univest Securities, LLC (the “Placement Agent”). The Company agreed to pay the Placement Agent a total cash fee equal to seven percent (7%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Offering. The Company has also agreed to reimburse the Placement Agent for all reasonable and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the Offering, including reasonable fees and expenses of the Placement Agent’s legal counsel and due diligence analysis up to $20,000.

 

The foregoing description of the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Placement Agency Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, copies of which are attached hereto as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2 and are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements were made only for purposes of such agreements and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreements and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties. A copy of the press release related to the Offering entitled “GD Culture Group Limited Announces Pricing of Private Placement” is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated by reference herein.

 

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

 

The information contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company, are hereby incorporated by reference into the Company’s Registration Statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-279141) and Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-252790). 

 

Item 3.02 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

 

The information provided under Item 1.01 above with respect to the Offering and issuance of the is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.02. The Shares were issued and sold by the Company to the Investor in reliance upon the exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit No.		Description
10.1		Form of Securities Purchase Agreement
10.2		Placement Agency Agreement, dated March 4, 2025, by and between GD Culture Group Limited. and Univest Securities, LLC
99.1		Press Release - GD Culture Group Limited Announces Pricing of Private Placement, dated March 4, 2025
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document)

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

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

 

	GD Culture Group Limited
Date: March 7, 2025	By:	/s/ Xiao Jian Wang
	Name:	Xiao Jian Wang
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors

 

 

2

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of March 4, 2025, between GD Culture Group Limited, a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and collectively the “Purchasers”).

 

WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (as defined below), and Rule 506 promulgated thereunder, the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as follows:

 

ARTICLE I.
DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:

 

“Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.

 

“Action” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).

 

“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.

 

“Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee”  or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in The City of New York are generally open for use by customers on such day.

 

“Closing” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to Section 2.1.

 

“Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Shares, in each case, have been satisfied or waived.

 

 

“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

“Common Stock” means the shares of common stock, par value $0.0001, of the Company.

 

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

 

“Company U.S. Counsel” means Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP, with offices at 366 Madison Avenue, 3^rd Floor, New York, NY 10017.

 

“Disclosure Time” means, (i) if this Agreement is signed on a day that is not a Trading Day or after 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) and before midnight (New York City time) on any Trading Day, 9:01 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the date hereof, unless otherwise instructed as to an earlier time by the Placement Agent, and (ii) if this Agreement is signed between midnight (New York City time) and 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, no later than 9:01 a.m. (New York City time) on the date hereof, unless otherwise instructed as to an earlier time by the Placement Agent.

 

“Effective Date” means the earliest of the date that (a) the initial Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission, (b) all of the Shares have been sold pursuant to Rule 144 or may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions, (c) following the one year anniversary of the Closing Date provided that a holder of Shares is not an Affiliate of the Company, or (d) all of the Shares may be sold pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(1) of the Securities Act without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions and Company Counsel has delivered to such holders a standing written unqualified opinion that resales may then be made by such holders of the Shares pursuant to such exemption which opinion shall be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to such holders.

 

“Evaluation Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(s).

 

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

 

 

“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or options to employees, officers or directors of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee directors established for such purpose for services rendered to the Company, (b) warrants to the Placement Agent in connection with the transactions pursuant to this Agreement and any securities upon exercise of warrants to the Placement Agent, securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Shares issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (other than in connection with stock splits or combinations) or to extend the term of such securities, and (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the prohibition period in Section 4.12(a) herein, and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities.

 

“FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

“GAAP” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

 

“Indebtedness” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(bb).

 

“Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(p).

 

“Legend Removal Date” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.1(c).

 

“Liens” means a lien, charge pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.

 

“Material Adverse Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1(b).

 

“Material Permits” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(n).

 

“Participation Maximum” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(a).

 

“Per Share Purchase Price” equals $0.896379, subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

 

 

“Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.

 

“Placement Agent” means Univest Securities, LLC.

 

“Proceeding” means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened.

 

“Public Information Failure” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.2(b).

 

“Public Information Failure Payments” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.2(b).

 

“Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.

 

“Registration Statement” means a registration statement meeting the requirements set forth in Section 4.11 and covering the resale by the Purchasers of the Shares.

 

“Required Approvals” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).

 

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

 

“Rule 424” means Rule 424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.

 

“SEC Reports” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).

 

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“Shares” means the shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to each Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.

 

“Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed to include locating and/or borrowing shares of Common Stock). 

 

“Subscription Amount” means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be paid for Shares purchased hereunder as specified below such Purchaser’s name on the signature page of this Agreement and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,” in United States dollars and in immediately available funds.

 

 

“Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company as set forth in the SEC Reports and shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.

 

“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading.

 

“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange, the Pink Open Market, OTCQB or the OTCQX (or any successors to any of the foregoing).

 

“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement and all exhibits and schedules thereto and hereto and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.

 

“Transfer Agent” means Continental Stock Transfer & Trust, the current transfer agent of the Company, with a mailing address of 1 State Street 30th Floor New York, NY 10004-1571 and a phone number of 212-845-3229, and any successor transfer agent of the Company.

 

“VWAP” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the Common Stock is then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b)  if OTCQB Venture Market (“OTCQB”) or OTCQX Best Market (“OTCQX”) is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable, (c) if the Common Stock is not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the Common Stock are then reported on the Pink Open Market (“Pink Market”) operated by OTC Markets, Inc. (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per share of the Common Stock so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the Purchasers of a majority in interest of the Shares then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.

 

ARTICLE II.
PURCHASE AND SALE

 

2.1 Closing. On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, which shall occur within five (5) business days from the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchasers, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase, up to an aggregate of $1,000,000 of Shares. Each Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via wire transfer or a certified check, immediately available funds equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser, and the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its respective Shares, as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing. Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall take place remotely by electronic transfer of the Closing documentation.

 

 

2.2 Deliveries.

 

(a) On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each Purchaser the following:

 

(i) this Agreement duly executed by the Company;

 

(ii) legal opinions of Company U.S. Counsel in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent and the Purchasers;

 

(iii) a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Transfer Agent instructing the Transfer Agent to deliver, on an expedited basis, a certificate evidencing a number of Shares equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase Price, registered in the name of such Purchaser or, at the election of such Purchaser, evidence of the issuance of such Purchaser’s Shares hereunder as held in DRS book-entry form by the Transfer Agent and registered in the name of such Purchaser, which evidence shall be reasonably satisfactory to such Purchaser;

 

(iv) the Company shall have provided each Purchaser with the Company’s wire instructions, on Company letterhead and executed by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer;

 

(b) On or prior to the Closing Date, each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Company, the following:

 

(i) this Agreement duly executed by such Purchaser; and

 

(ii) such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount by wire transfer to the account specified in writing by the Company.

 

2.3 Closing Conditions.

 

(a) The obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

 

(i) the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality, in all respects) on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality, in all respects) as of such date);

 

 

(ii) all obligations, covenants and agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and

 

(iii) the delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this Agreement.

 

(b) The respective obligations of the Purchasers hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:

 

(i) the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) when made and on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate in all material respects or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) as of such date);

 

(ii) all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed;

 

(iii) the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;

 

(iv) there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company;

 

(v) from the date hereof to the Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal Trading Market, and, at any time prior to the Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity of such magnitude in its effect on, or any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of such Purchaser, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Shares at the Closing.

 

 

ARTICLE III.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

3.1 Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to each Purchaser:

 

(a) Subsidiaries. All of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth in the SEC Reports. The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. If the Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.

 

(b) Organization and Qualification. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.

 

(c) Authorization; Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals. This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

 

 

(d) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, anti-dilution or similar adjustments, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(e) Filings, Consents and Approvals. The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii) the filing with the Commission pursuant to Section 4.11 herein, (iii) the notice and/or application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the issuance and sale of the Shares and the listing of the Shares for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby, and (iv) the filing of Form D with the Commission and such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).

 

(f) Issuance of the Shares. The Shares are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents. The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this Agreement.

 

 

(g) Capitalization. The capitalization of the Company as of the date hereof is as set forth in the SEC Reports. The Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act. No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any shares of Common Stock or the capital stock of any Subsidiary, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents or capital stock of any Subsidiary. The issuance and sale of the Shares will not obligate the Company or any Subsidiary to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the Purchasers). There are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary with any provision that adjusts the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price of such security or instrument upon an issuance of securities by the Company or any Subsidiary. There are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary that contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or such Subsidiary. The Company does not have any stock appreciation rights or “phantom stock” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Shares. There are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.

 

(h) SEC Reports; Financial Statements. The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

 

 

(i) Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as set forth in the SEC Reports, (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option plans. The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information. Except for the issuance of the Shares contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in the SEC Reports, no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, prospects, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.

 

(j) Litigation. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”). None of the Actions set forth in the SEC Reports, (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Shares or (ii) could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.

 

 

(k) Labor Relations. No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good. To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(l) Compliance. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree, or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(m) Environmental Laws. The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with all federal, state, local and foreign laws relating to pollution or protection of human health or the environment (including ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata), including laws relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, or toxic or hazardous substances or wastes (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) into the environment, or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials, as well as all authorizations, codes, decrees, demands, or demand letters, injunctions, judgments, licenses, notices or notice letters, orders, permits, plans or regulations, issued, entered, promulgated or approved thereunder (“Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received all permits licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval where in each clause (i), (ii) and (iii), the failure to so comply could be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(n) Regulatory Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.

 

(o) Title to Assets. The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii) Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP and the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.

 

(p) Intellectual Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(q)  [Reserved]

 

(r) Transactions with Affiliates and Employees. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.

 

(s) Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date. The Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the end of the period covered by the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) of the Company and its Subsidiaries that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries.

 

 

(t) Certain Fees. Except for fees payable by the Company to the Placement Agent, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiary to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Purchasers shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.

 

(u) Private Placement. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, no registration under the Securities Act is required for the offer and sale of the Shares by the Company to the Purchasers as contemplated hereby. The issuance and sale of the Shares hereunder does not contravene the rules and regulations of the Trading Market.

 

(v) Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Shares, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(w) Registration Rights. Other than each of the Purchasers, no Person has any right to cause the Company or any Subsidiary to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.

 

(x) Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements. The Common Stock is currently eligible for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation and the Company is current in payment of the fees to the Depository Trust Company (or such other established clearing corporation) in connection with such electronic transfer.

 

 

(y) Application of Takeover Protections. The Company and the Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Company’s certificate of incorporation (or similar charter documents) or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Purchasers as a result of the Purchasers and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Shares and the Purchasers’ ownership of the Shares.

 

(z) Disclosure. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information. The Company understands and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchasers regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The press releases disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made and when made, not misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.

 

(aa) No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Shares to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of (i) the Securities Act which would require the registration of any such securities under the Securities Act, or (ii) any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.

 

(bb) Solvency. Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, consolidated and projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid. The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt). The Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date. The SEC Reports set forth as of the date hereof all outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.

 

 

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

 

(dd) No General Solicitation. Neither the Company nor any Person acting on behalf of the Company has offered or sold any of the Shares by any form of general solicitation or general advertising. The Company has offered the Shares for sale only to the Purchasers and certain other “accredited investors” within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act.

 

(ee) Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.

 

(ff) Accountants. The Company’s accounting firm is HTL International, LLC. To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

 

(gg) No Disagreements with Accountants and Lawyers. There are no disagreements of any kind presently existing, or reasonably anticipated by the Company to arise, between the Company and the accountants and lawyers formerly or presently employed by the Company and the Company is current with respect to any fees owed to its accountants and lawyers which could affect the Company’s ability to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents.

 

 

(hh) Acknowledgment Regarding Purchasers’ Purchase of Shares. The Company acknowledges and agrees that each of the Purchasers is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby. The Company further acknowledges that no Purchaser is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Purchasers’ purchase of the Shares. The Company further represents to each Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.

 

(ii)  [Reserved]

 

(jj) Regulation M Compliance.  The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Shares, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Shares, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Placement Agent in connection with the placement of the Shares.

 

(kk) [Reserved]

 

(ll) Form S-3 Eligibility. The Company is eligible to register the resale of the Shares for resale by the Purchaser on Form S-3 promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

 

(mm) Stock Option Plans. Each stock option granted by the Company under the Company’s stock option plan was granted (i) in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan and (ii) with an exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date such stock option would be considered granted under GAAP and applicable law. No stock option granted under the Company’s stock option plan has been backdated. The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is no and has been no Company policy or practice to knowingly grant, stock options prior to, or otherwise knowingly coordinate the grant of stock options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.

 

(nn) Cybersecurity.  To the knowledge and belief of the Company, (i)(x) there has been no security breach or other compromise of or relating to any of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of its respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of it), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) and (y) the Company and the Subsidiaries have not been notified of, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to its IT Systems and Data; (ii) the Company and the 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 Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) the Company and the Subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable safeguards to maintain and protect its material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and Data; and (iv) the Company and the Subsidiaries have implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practices.

 

(oo) Compliance with Data Privacy Laws. To the knowledge and belief of the Company, (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries are, and at all times during the last three (3) years were, in compliance with all applicable state, federal and foreign data privacy and security laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679) (collectively, “Privacy Laws”); (ii) the Company and the Subsidiaries have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance with their policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling and analysis of Personal Data (as defined below) (the “Policies”); (iii) the Company provides accurate notice of its applicable Policies to its customers, employees, third party vendors and representatives as required by the Privacy Laws; and (iv) applicable Policies provide accurate and sufficient notice of the Company’s then-current privacy practices relating to its subject matter, and do not contain any material omissions of the Company’s then-current privacy practices, as required by Privacy Laws. “Personal Data” means (i) a natural person’s name, street address, telephone number, email address, photograph, social security number, bank information, or customer or account number; (ii) any information which would qualify as “personally identifying information” under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended; (iii) “personal data” as defined by GDPR; and (iv) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person, or his or her family, or permits the collection or analysis of any identifiable data related to an identified person’s health or sexual orientation. (i) None of such disclosures made or contained in any of the Policies have been inaccurate, misleading, or deceptive in violation of any Privacy Laws and (ii) the execution, delivery and performance of the Transaction Documents will not result in a breach of any Privacy Laws or Policies.  Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries (i) to the knowledge of the Company, has received written notice of any actual or potential liability of the Company or the Subsidiaries under, or actual or potential violation by the Company or the Subsidiaries of, any of the Privacy Laws; (ii) is currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation or other corrective action pursuant to any regulatory request or demand pursuant to any Privacy Law; or (iii) is a party to any order, decree, or agreement by or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority that imposed any obligation or liability under any Privacy Law.

 

 

(pp) Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).

 

(qq) U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon Purchaser’s request.

 

(rr) Bank Holding Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.

 

(ss) Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no Action or Proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.

 

(tt) No Disqualification Events.  With respect to the Shares to be offered and sold hereunder in reliance on Rule 506 under the Securities Act, none of the Company, any of its predecessors, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the offering hereunder, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, nor any promoter (as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity at the time of sale (each, an “Issuer Covered Person” and, together, “Issuer Covered Persons”) is subject to any of the “Bad Actor” disqualifications described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i) to (viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”), except for a Disqualification Event covered by Rule 506(d)(2) or (d)(3). The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Issuer Covered Person is subject to a Disqualification Event. The Company has complied, to the extent applicable, with its disclosure obligations under Rule 506(e), and has furnished to the Purchasers a copy of any disclosures provided thereunder.

 

 

(uu) Other Covered Persons. Other than the Placement Agent, the Company is not aware of any person (other than any Issuer Covered Person) that has been or will be paid (directly or indirectly) remuneration for solicitation of purchasers in connection with the sale of any Shares.

 

(vv) Notice of Disqualification Events. The Company will notify the Purchasers and the Placement Agent in writing, prior to the Closing Date of (i) any Disqualification Event relating to any Issuer Covered Person and (ii) any event that would, with the passage of time, become a Disqualification Event relating to any Issuer Covered Person.

 

3.2 Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers. Each Purchaser, for itself and for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date therein, in which case they shall be accurate as of such date):

 

(a) Organization; Authority. Such Purchaser is either an individual or an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents and performance by such Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of such Purchaser. Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by such Purchaser, and when delivered by such Purchaser in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.

 

(b) Own Account. Such Purchaser understands that the Shares are “restricted securities” and have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and is acquiring the Shares as principal for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Shares or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, has no present intention of distributing any of such Shares in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Shares in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law (this representation and warranty not limiting such Purchaser’s right to sell the Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws). Such Purchaser is acquiring the Shares hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.

 

 

(c) Purchaser Status. At the time such Purchaser was offered the Shares, it was, and as of the date hereof it is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (a)(12), or (a)(13) under the Securities Act.

 

(d) Experience of Such Purchaser. Such Purchaser, either alone or together with its representatives, has such knowledge, sophistication and experience in business and financial matters so as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment in the Shares, and has so evaluated the merits and risks of such investment. Such Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Shares and, at the present time, is able to afford a complete loss of such investment.

 

(e) General Solicitation. Such Purchaser is not, to such Purchaser’s knowledge, purchasing the Shares as a result of any advertisement, article, notice or other communication regarding the Shares published in any newspaper, magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio or presented at any seminar or, to the knowledge of such Purchaser, any other general solicitation or general advertisement.

 

(f) Access to Information. Such Purchaser acknowledges that it has had the opportunity to review the Transaction Documents (including all exhibits and schedules thereto) and the SEC Reports and has been afforded (i) the opportunity to ask such questions as it has deemed necessary of, and to receive answers from, representatives of the Company concerning the terms and conditions of the offering of the Shares and the merits and risks of investing in the Shares; (ii) access to information about the Company and its financial condition, results of operations, business, properties, management and prospects sufficient to enable it to evaluate its investment; and (iii) the opportunity to obtain such additional information that the Company possesses or can acquire without unreasonable effort or expense that is necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the investment.  Such Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that neither the Placement Agent nor any Affiliate of the Placement Agent has provided such Purchaser with any information or advice with respect to the Shares nor is such information or advice necessary or desired.  Neither the Placement Agent nor any Affiliate has made or makes any representation as to the Company or the quality of the Shares and the Placement Agent and any Affiliate may have acquired non-public information with respect to the Company which such Purchaser agrees need not be provided to it.  In connection with the issuance of the Shares to such Purchaser, neither the Placement Agent nor any of its Affiliates has acted as a financial advisor or fiduciary to such Purchaser.

 

 

(g) Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Other than consummating the transactions contemplated hereunder, such Purchaser has not, nor has any Person acting on behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with such Purchaser, directly or indirectly executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the securities of the Company during the period commencing as of the time that such Purchaser first received a term sheet (written or oral) from the Company or any other Person representing the Company setting forth the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereunder and ending immediately prior to the execution hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Shares covered by this Agreement. Other than to other Persons party to this Agreement or to such Purchaser’s representatives, including, without limitation, its officers, directors, partners, legal and other advisors, employees, agents and Affiliates, such Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and terms of this transaction). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.

 

The Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in this Section 3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect such Purchaser’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.

 

 

ARTICLE IV.
OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES

 

4.1 Transfer Restrictions.

 

(a) The Shares may only be disposed of in compliance with state and federal securities laws. In connection with any transfer of Shares other than pursuant to an effective registration statement or Rule 144, to the Company or to an Affiliate of a Purchaser or in connection with a pledge as contemplated in Section 4.1(b), the Company may require the transferor thereof to provide to the Company an opinion of counsel selected by the transferor and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the form and substance of which opinion shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to the effect that such transfer does not require registration of such transferred Shares under the Securities Act. As a condition of transfer, any such transferee shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement and shall have the rights and obligations of a Purchaser under this Agreement.

 

(b) The Purchasers agree to the imprinting, so long as is required by this Section 4.1, of a legend on any of the Shares in the following form:

 

THIS SECURITY HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR THE SECURITIES COMMISSION OF ANY STATE IN RELIANCE UPON AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS. THIS SECURITY MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT WITH A REGISTERED BROKER-DEALER OR OTHER LOAN WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT IS AN “ACCREDITED INVESTOR” AS DEFINED IN RULE 501(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR OTHER LOAN SECURED BY SUCH SECURITIES.

 

The Company acknowledges and agrees that a Purchaser may from time to time pledge pursuant to a bona fide margin agreement with a registered broker-dealer or grant a security interest in some or all of the Shares to a financial institution that is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act and, if required under the terms of such arrangement, such Purchaser may transfer pledged or secured Shares to the pledgees or secured parties. Such a pledge or transfer would not be subject to approval of the Company and no legal opinion of legal counsel of the pledgee, secured party or pledgor shall be required in connection therewith. Further, no notice shall be required of such pledge. At the appropriate Purchaser’s expense, the Company will execute and deliver such reasonable documentation as a pledgee or secured party of Shares may reasonably request in connection with a pledge or transfer of the Shares, including, if the Shares are subject to registration pursuant to Section 4.11 herein, the preparation and filing of any required prospectus supplement under Rule 424(b)(3) under the Securities Act or other applicable provision of the Securities Act to appropriately amend the list of selling stockholders thereunder.

 

 

(c) Certificates evidencing the Shares shall not contain any legend (including the legend set forth in Section 4.1(b) hereof), (i) while a registration statement (including the Registration Statement) covering the resale of such security is effective under the Securities Act, (ii) following any sale of such Shares pursuant to Rule 144, (iii) if such Shares are eligible for sale under Rule 144, without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144 as to such Shares and without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions, or (iv) if such legend is not required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the Commission). The Company shall cause its counsel to issue a legal opinion to the Transfer Agent or the Purchaser promptly after the Effective Date if required by the Transfer Agent to effect the removal of the legend hereunder, or if requested by a Purchaser, respectively. The Company agrees that following the Effective Date or at such time as such legend is no longer required under this Section 4.1(c), it will, no later than the earlier of (i) one (1) Trading Day and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period (as defined below) following the delivery by a Purchaser to the Company or the Transfer Agent of a certificate representing Shares, issued with a restrictive legend (such date, the “Legend Removal Date”), deliver or cause to be delivered to such Purchaser a certificate representing such shares that is free from all restrictive and other legends. The Company may not make any notation on its records or give instructions to the Transfer Agent that enlarge the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Section 4. Certificates for Shares subject to legend removal hereunder shall be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Purchaser by crediting the account of the Purchaser’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company System as directed by such Purchaser. As used herein, “Standard Settlement Period” means the standard settlement period, expressed in a number of Trading Days, on the Company’s primary Trading Market with respect to the Common Stock as in effect on the date of delivery of a certificate representing Shares issued with a restrictive legend.

 

(d) In addition to such Purchaser’s other available remedies, the Company shall pay to a Purchaser, in cash, (i) as partial liquidated damages and not as a penalty, for each $1,000 of Shares (based on the VWAP of the Common Stock on the date such Shares are submitted to the Transfer Agent) delivered for removal of the restrictive legend and subject to Section 4.1(c), $10 per Trading Day (increasing to $20 per Trading Day three (3) Trading Days after the Legend Removal Date) for each Trading Day after the Legend Removal Date until such certificate is delivered without a legend and (ii) if the Company fails to (a) issue and deliver (or cause to be delivered) to a Purchaser by the Legend Removal Date a certificate representing the Shares so delivered to the Company by such Purchaser that is free from all restrictive and other legends and (b) if after the Legend Removal Date such Purchaser purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by such Purchaser of all or any portion of the number of shares of Common Stock, or a sale of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to all or any portion of the number of shares of Common Stock that such Purchaser anticipated receiving from the Company without any restrictive legend, then, an amount equal to the excess of such Purchaser’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions and other out-of-pocket expenses, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased (including brokerage commissions and other out-of-pocket expenses, if any) (the “Buy-In Price”) over the product of (A) such number of Shares that the Company was required to deliver to such Purchaser by the Legend Removal Date multiplied by (B) the lowest closing sale price of the Common Stock on any Trading Day during the period commencing on the date of the delivery by such Purchaser to the Company of the Shares and ending on the date of such delivery and payment under this clause (ii).

 

 

(e) Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, agrees with the Company that such Purchaser will sell any Shares pursuant to either the registration requirements of the Securities Act, including any applicable prospectus delivery requirements, or an exemption therefrom, and that if Shares are sold pursuant to a Registration Statement, they will be sold in compliance with the plan of distribution set forth therein, and acknowledges that the removal of the restrictive legend from certificates representing Shares as set forth in this Section 4.1 is predicated upon the Company’s reliance upon this understanding.

 

4.2 Furnishing of Information; Public Information.

 

(a) Until no Purchaser owns any Shares, the Company covenants to maintain the registration of the Common Stock under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.

 

(b) At any time during the period commencing from the six (6) month anniversary of the date hereof and ending at such time that all of the Shares may be sold without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) and otherwise without restriction or limitation pursuant to Rule 144, if the Company (i) shall fail for any reason to satisfy the current public information requirement under Rule 144(c) or (ii) has ever been an issuer described in Rule 144(i)(1)(i) or becomes an issuer in the future, and the Company shall fail to satisfy any condition set forth in Rule 144(i)(2) (a “Public Information Failure”) then, in addition to such Purchaser’s other available remedies, the Company shall pay to a Purchaser, in cash, as partial liquidated damages and not as a penalty, by reason of any such delay in or reduction of its ability to sell the Shares, an amount in cash equal to two percent (2.0%) of the aggregate Subscription Amount of such Purchaser’s Shares on the day of a Public Information Failure and on every thirtieth (30^th) day (pro rated for periods totaling less than thirty days) thereafter until the earlier of (a) the date such Public Information Failure is cured and (b) such time that such public information is no longer required  for the Purchasers to transfer the Shares pursuant to Rule 144.  The payments to which a Purchaser shall be entitled pursuant to this Section 4.2(b) are referred to herein as “Public Information Failure Payments.”  Public Information Failure Payments shall be paid on the earlier of (i) the last day of the calendar month during which such Public Information Failure Payments are incurred and (ii) the third (3^rd) Business Day after the event or failure giving rise to the Public Information Failure Payments is cured.  In the event the Company fails to make Public Information Failure Payments in a timely manner, such Public Information Failure Payments shall bear interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (prorated for partial months) until paid in full. Nothing herein shall limit such Purchaser’s right to pursue actual damages for the Public Information Failure, and such Purchaser shall have the right to pursue all remedies available to it at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief.

 

 

4.3 Integration. The Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Shares in a manner that would require the registration under the Securities Act of the sale of the Securities or that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Shares for purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction.

 

4.4 Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity. The Company shall (a) by the Disclosure Time, issue a press release disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and (b) file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act. From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Purchasers that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to any of the Purchasers by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, Affiliates or agents, including, without limitation, the Placement Agent, in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. In addition, effective upon the issuance of such press release, the Company acknowledges and agrees that any and all confidentiality or similar obligations under any agreement, whether written or oral, between the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees, Affiliates or agents, including, without limitation, the Placement Agent, on the one hand, and any of the Purchasers or any of their Affiliates on the other hand, shall terminate and be of no further force or effect. The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. The Company and each Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor any Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of any Purchaser, or without the prior consent of each Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of any Purchaser, or include the name of any Purchaser in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading Market, without the prior written consent of such Purchaser, except (a) as required by federal securities law in connection with (i) any registration statement contemplated by Section 4.11 herein and (ii) the filing of final Transaction Documents with the Commission and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchasers with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b) and reasonably cooperate with such Purchaser regarding such disclosure.

 

 

4.5 Shareholder Rights Plan. No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or, with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an “Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company, or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Shares under the Transaction Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the Purchasers.

 

4.6 Non-Public Information. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, which shall be disclosed pursuant to Section 4.4, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf will provide any Purchaser or its agents or counsel with any information that constitutes, or the Company reasonably believes constitutes, material non-public information, unless prior thereto such Purchaser shall have consented in writing to the receipt of such information and agreed in writing with the Company to keep such information confidential. The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. To the extent that the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates delivers any material, non-public information to a Purchaser without such Purchaser’s consent, the Company hereby covenants and agrees that such Purchaser shall not have any duty of confidentiality to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, Affiliates or agents, including, without limitation, the Placement Agent, or a duty to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, Affiliates or agents, including, without limitation, the Placement Agent, not to trade on the basis of, such material, non-public information, provided that the Purchaser shall remain subject to applicable law. To the extent that any notice provided pursuant to any Transaction Document constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously with the delivery of such notice file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.

 

4.7 Use of Proceeds. The Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares hereunder for working capital purposes and shall not use such proceeds: (a) for the satisfaction of any portion of the Company’s debt (other than payment of trade payables in the ordinary course of the Company’s business and prior practices), (b) for the redemption of any Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents, (c) for the settlement of any outstanding litigation or (d) in violation of FCPA or OFAC regulations.

 

4.8 Indemnification of Purchasers. Subject to the provisions of this Section 4.8, the Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls such Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Purchaser Parties in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser Party, with respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents (unless such action is solely based upon a material breach of such Purchaser Party’s representations, warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or understandings such Purchaser Party may have with any such stockholder or any violations by such Purchaser Party of state or federal securities laws or any conduct by such Purchaser Party which is finally judicially determined to constitute fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct. If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and, the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party. Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel. The Company will not be liable to any Purchaser Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by a Purchaser Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Purchaser Party’s breach of any of the representations and warranties of such Purchaser Party in this Agreement. The indemnification required by this Section 4.8 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party against the Company or others and any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.

 

 

4.9 Reservation of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, the Company has reserved and the Company shall continue to reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

 

4.10 Listing of Common Stock. The Company hereby agrees to use best efforts to maintain the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market on which it is currently listed, and concurrently with the Closing, the Company shall apply to list or quote all of the Shares on such Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the Shares on such Trading Market. The Company further agrees, if the Company applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other Trading Market, it will then include in such application all of the Shares, and will take such other action as is necessary to cause all of the Shares to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as possible. The Company will then take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a Trading Market and will comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market. The Company agrees to maintain the eligibility of the Common Stock for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation, including, without limitation, by timely payment of fees to the Depository Trust Company or such other established clearing corporation in connection with such electronic transfer.

 

4.11 Registration Statement. The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to, within sixty (60) calendar days after the date hereof, file a registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) on the appropriate form providing for the resale by the Purchasers of all Shares issued pursuant to this Agreement. The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective within ninety (90) days following, solely with respect to the Registration Statement, the date hereof, and to keep the Registration Statement and any replacement or additional registration statement effective at all times until no Purchaser owns any Shares.

 

4.12 [Reserved]

 

4.13 Equal Treatment of Purchasers. No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any Person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of this Agreement unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to this Agreement. For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or voting of Shares or otherwise.

 

 

4.14 Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it, nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction (other than as disclosed to its legal and other representatives).  Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality or duty not to trade in the securities of the Company to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, Affiliates or agent, including, without limitation, the Placement Agent after the issuance of the initial press release as described in Section 4.4.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Shares covered by this Agreement.

 

4.15 Form D; Blue Sky Filings. The Company agrees to timely file a Form D with respect to the Shares as required under Regulation D and to provide a copy thereof, promptly upon request of any Purchaser. The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the Shares for, sale to the Purchasers at the Closing under applicable securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the states of the United States, and shall provide evidence of such actions promptly upon request of any Purchaser.

 

4.16 Capital Changes. Until the one year anniversary of the Effective Date, the Company shall not undertake a reverse or forward stock split or reclassification of the Common Stock without the prior written consent of the Purchasers holding a majority in interest of the Shares other than a reverse stock split that is required, in the good faith determination of the Board of Directors, to maintain the listing of the Common Stock on the Trading Market.

 

4.17 Acknowledgment of Dilution. The Company acknowledges that the issuance of the Shares may result in dilution of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, which dilution may be substantial under certain market conditions. The Company further acknowledges that its obligations under the Transaction Documents, including, without limitation, its obligation to issue the Shares pursuant to the Transaction Documents, are unconditional and absolute and not subject to any right of set off, counterclaim, delay or reduction, regardless of the effect of any such dilution or any claim the Company may have against any Purchaser and regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership of the other stockholders of the Company.

 

 

ARTICLE V.
MISCELLANEOUS

 

5.1 Termination.  This Agreement may be terminated by any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the Company and the other Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not been consummated on or before the fifth (5^th) Trading Day following the date hereof; provided, however, that no such termination will affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by any other party (or parties).

 

5.2 Fees and Expenses. At the Closing, the Company has agreed to reimburse the Placement Agent for all expenses (including, without limitation, fees and disbursements of the Placement Agent’s counsel and all travel and other out-of-pocket expenses) incurred by the Placement Agent in connection with the transaction contemplated by the Transaction Documents, up to a maximum of $20,000, taken together and not individually. Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement. The Company shall pay all Depositary fees (including, without limitation, any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company), stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Shares to the Purchasers.

 

5.3 Entire Agreement. The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.

 

5.4 Notices. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number or email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2^nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto.

 

5.5 Amendments; Waivers. No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and Purchasers which purchased at least 50.1% in interest of the Shares based on the initial Subscription Amounts hereunder (or, prior to the Closing, the Company and each Purchaser) or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such waived provision is sought, provided that if any amendment, modification or waiver disproportionately and adversely impacts a Purchaser (or multiple Purchasers), the consent of such disproportionately impacted Purchaser (or at least 50.1% in interest of such multiple Purchasers) shall also be required. No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 5.5 shall be binding upon each Purchaser and holder of Shares and the Company.

 

5.6 Headings. The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.

 

5.7 Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns. The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Purchaser (other than by merger). Any Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any Person to whom such Purchaser assigns or transfers any Shares, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Shares, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents that apply to the “Purchasers.”

 

5.8 No Third-Party Beneficiaries. The Placement Agent shall be the third party beneficiary of the representations, warranties, and covenants of the Company in this Agreement and the representations, warranties, and covenants of the Purchasers in this Agreement. This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8 and this Section 5.8.

 

5.9 Governing Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal Proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any Action or Proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such Action or Proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such Proceeding. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such Action or Proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. If any party shall commence an Action or Proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing party in such Action or Proceeding shall be reimbursed by the non-prevailing party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such Action or Proceeding.

 

 

5.10 Survival. The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closing and the delivery of the Shares.

 

5.11 Execution. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.

 

5.12 Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.

 

5.13 Rescission and Withdrawal Right. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in (and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction Documents, whenever any Purchaser exercises a right, election, demand or option under a Transaction Document and the Company does not timely perform its related obligations within the periods therein provided, then such Purchaser may rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in part without prejudice to its future actions and rights.

 

5.14 Replacement of Securities. If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Shares is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction. The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Shares.

 

 

5.15 Remedies. In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, each of the Purchasers and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents. The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any Action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.

 

5.16 Payment Set Aside. To the extent that the Company makes a payment or payments to any Purchaser pursuant to any Transaction Document or a Purchaser enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other Person under any law (including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.

 

5.17 Independent Nature of Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights. The obligations of each Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other Purchaser under any Transaction Document. Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Each Purchaser shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights including, without limitation, the rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents, and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an additional party in any Proceeding for such purpose. Each Purchaser has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in its review and negotiation of the Transaction Documents. The Company has elected to provide all Purchasers with the same terms and Transaction Documents for the convenience of the Company and not because it was required or requested to do so by any of the Purchasers. It is expressly understood and agreed that each provision contained in this Agreement and in each other Transaction Document is between the Company and a Purchaser, solely, and not between the Company and the Purchasers collectively and not between and among the Purchasers.

 

5.18 Liquidated Damages.  The Company’s obligations to pay any partial liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid partial liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been canceled.

 

 

5.19 Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.

 

5.20 Construction. The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.

 

5.21 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.

 

(Signature Pages Follow)

 

 

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

 

GD CULTURE GROUP LIMITED			Address for Notice:
			22F - 810 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019
By:
	Name: Xiaojian Wang
	Title: Chief Executive Officer
			Attention: Xiaojian Wang Email: Xiaojian.gdc@gmail.com

 

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

 

Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP

366 Madison Avenue, 3^rd Floor, New York, NY 10017

Attn: Jason Ye, Esq.

Email: jye@orllp.legal

 

[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]

 

 

[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO GDC SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.

 

Name of Purchaser: ________________________________________________________

 

Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser: __________________________________

 

Name of Authorized Signatory: ____________________________________________________

 

Title of Authorized Signatory: _____________________________________________________

 

Email Address of Authorized Signatory: ______________________________________________

 

Address for Notice to Purchaser:

 

Address for Delivery of Securities to Purchaser (if not same as address for notice):

 

Subscription Amount: $_________________

 

Shares: _________________

 

EIN Number: _______________________

 

 

37

 

Exhibit 10.2

 

PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT

 

March 4, 2025

 

Univest Securities, LLC

75 Rockefeller Plaza #1838
New York, NY 10019

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Introductory. This Placement Agency Agreement the (“Agreement”) sets forth the terms upon which Univest Securities, LLC, (“Univest” or the “Placement Agent”) shall be engaged by GD Culture Group Limited, a corporation formed under the laws of the State of Nevada (the “Company”), to act as the exclusive Placement Agent in connection with the private placement (hereinafter referred to as the “Offering”) of securities of the Company, as more fully described below. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Securities Purchase Agreement (defined below).

 

The Offering will consist of an aggregate of (i) $1,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”). Each person desiring to purchase Shares in the Offering will be required to (i) execute and deliver to the Company a fully completed Securities Purchase Agreement; and (ii) transmit the full amount of the purchase price of the Shares subscribed for to the Company, in accordance with the instructions agreed by parties, unless the Company and the Investors agree to wire transfer to a separate account specified in writing between the parties.

 

The Shares will be offered and sold to the Investors (as defined below) in the Offering pursuant to the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act (“Regulation D”).

 

The term of the Placement Agent’s exclusive engagement will be until the earlier of (i) March 31, 2025 and (ii) the completion and consummation of the Offering (the “Offering Period”). The date on which the engagement terminates as referenced in the prior sentence shall be referred to as the “Termination Date.” Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the provisions concerning indemnification and contribution contained herein and the Company’s obligations contained in the indemnification provisions will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement, and the Company’s obligation to pay fees actually earned and payable and to reimburse expenses actually incurred and reimbursable pursuant to Section 1 hereof and which are permitted to be reimbursed under Rule 5110(f)(2)(D) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement. The Company may hold the closing at any time after the conditions to closing have been satisfied or, where legally permissible, waived (the “Closing”). Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the ability of the Placement Agent or its Affiliates to pursue, investigate, analyze, invest in, or engage in investment banking, financial advisory or any other business relationship with Persons (as defined below) other than the Company. As used herein (i) “Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind and (ii) “Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Act.

 

 

The Shares shall be sold to the investors (the “Investors”) named in the securities purchase agreement to be entered into by the Company and the Investors on the date hereof (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Securities Purchase Agreement on the Closing Date. As used in this Agreement, the term “Offering Documents” means, collectively, this Agreement, the Securities Purchase Agreement, and each of the other agreements and instruments entered into or delivered in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, as may be amended from time to time.

 

The Company hereby confirms its agreement with the Placement Agent as follows:

 

Section 1. Agreement to Act as Placement Agent; Placement Agent Compensation.

 

(a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement between the Company and the Placement Agent, the Placement Agent is appointed as the Company’s exclusive placement agent during the Offering Period. On the basis of such representations and warranties and subject to such terms and conditions, the Placement Agent hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services hereunder diligently and in good faith and in a professional and businesslike manner and to use its reasonable best efforts to assist the Company in finding subscribers of the Shares who qualify as “accredited investors,” as such term is defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D, and to complete the Offering. The Placement Agent has no obligation to purchase any of the Shares. Unless sooner terminated in accordance with this Agreement, the engagement of the Placement Agent hereunder shall continue until the later of the Termination Date or the Closing.

 

(b) As compensation for services rendered, on the Closing Date, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent a cash fee (the “Cash Fee”) equal to 7.0% of the aggregate purchase price paid by the Investors in respect of the Shares at the Closing. The Cash Fee shall be paid on the Closing. The Company also agrees to reimburse (i) the Placement Agent for all reasonable and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the Placement Agent’s engagement, including reasonable fees and expenses of the Placement Agent’s legal counsel and due diligence analysis up to $20,000 which amount shall be paid at the Closing from the gross proceeds of the sales of the Shares.

  

(c) The Company hereby acknowledges that (i) the Offering, including the determination of the offering price of the Shares any related discounts, commissions and fees, shall be an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Investors, (ii) the Placement Agent will be acting as an independent contractor and will not be the agent or fiduciary of the Company or its stockholders, creditors, employees, the Investors or any other party, (iii) the Placement Agent shall not assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company (irrespective of whether the Placement Agent has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and the Placement Agent shall not have any obligation to the Company with respect to the Offering, except as may be set forth expressly herein, (iv) the Placement Agent and its Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company and (v) the Placement Agent will not provide any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the Offering, and the Company shall consult its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deems appropriate.

 

 

(e) The Company is and will be solely responsible for the contents of any and all written or oral communications provided to the Investors regarding the Offering or the Shares; and the Company recognizes that the Placement Agent, in acting pursuant to this Agreement, will be using information provided by the Company and its agents and representatives and the Placement Agent assumes no responsibility for, and may rely, without independent verification, on the accuracy and completeness of any such information.

 

(f) The Company agrees that any information or advice rendered by the Placement Agent or any of its representatives in connection with this engagement is for the confidential use of the Board of Directors of the Company only and the Company will not, and will not permit any third party to, disclose or otherwise refer to such advice or information, or to the Placement Agent, in any manner without the Placement Agent’s prior written consent.

 

Section 2. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Company.

 

The Company hereby represents, warrants and covenants to the Placement Agent as of the date hereof, and as of the date of the Closing, as follows, except as otherwise disclosed in the Securities Purchase Agreement or the schedules or exhibits thereto:

 

(a) Compliance with Applicable Regulations. The Offering Documents have been prepared by the Company in conformity with all applicable laws and in compliance with Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D and the requirements of all other rules and regulations of the Commission relating to offerings of the type contemplated by the Offering and the applicable securities laws and the rules and regulations of those jurisdictions wherein the Placement Agent notifies the Company that the Shares are to be offered and sold. The Shares will be offered and sold to the Investors in the Offering pursuant to the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D as a transaction not involving a public offering and the requirements of any other applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws and the respective rules and regulations thereunder in those United States jurisdictions in which the Placement Agent notifies the Company that the Shares are being offered for sale. None of the Company, its affiliates, or any person acting on its or their behalf (other than the Placement Agent, its affiliates or any person acting on its behalf, in respect of which no representation is made) has taken nor will it take any action that conflicts with the conditions and requirements of, or that would make unavailable with respect to the Offering, the exemption(s) from registration available pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D, or knows of any reason why any such exemption would be otherwise unavailable to it. None of the Company, its predecessors or affiliates has been subject to any order, judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction temporarily, preliminarily or permanently enjoining such person for failing to comply with Rule 503 of Regulation D. The Company has not, for a period of six months prior to the commencement of the offer and sale of the Shares sold, offered for sale or solicited any offer to buy any of its securities in a manner that would cause the exemption from registration set forth in Rule 506 of Regulation D to become unavailable with respect to the offer and sale of the Shares pursuant to the Offering Documents.

 

 

(b) No Material Misstatements or Omissions. The SEC Documents (as defined below) do not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. None of the statements, documents, certificates or other items made, prepared or supplied by the Company with respect to the Offering and the other transactions contemplated by the Offering Documents contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements contained therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. There is no fact which the Company has not disclosed in the SEC Documents or the Offering Documents and of which the Company is aware that materially adversely affects or that could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to fully and timely perform its obligations under this Agreement and the other Offering Documents (a “Material Adverse Effect”).

 

(c) Offering Materials. The Company made available to the Placement Agent copies of its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and any other SEC Documents filed subsequent to the end of the fiscal period covered thereby and the Offering Documents (collectively, the “Disclosure Package”). The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the Closing, any materials in connection with the Offering other than the Disclosure Package.

 

(d) Incorporation and SEC Filings. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Nevada. From January 1, 2024, the Company has timely filed all reports, schedules, forms, proxy statements, statements and other documents required to be filed by it with the SEC pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “Exchange Act”) (all of the foregoing filed prior to the date hereof, including without limitation, Current Reports on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Commission whether required to be filed or not (but excluding Item 7.01 thereunder), and all exhibits and appendices included therein (other than Exhibits 99.1 to any Current Reports on Form 8-K disclosing matters exclusively under Item 7.01) and financial statements, notes and schedules thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein being hereinafter referred to as the “SEC Documents”). All such SEC Documents, as at their respective filing dates, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act. There has been no action instigated or, to our knowledge, threatened or otherwise commenced by any applicable regulatory body alleging that, the SEC Documents failed to so comply.

 

 

(e) Corporate Authority. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to conduct its business as presently conducted and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Disclosure Package, has all the necessary and requisite documents and approvals from any applicable governmental authorities, has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the other Offering Documents, to issue, sell and deliver the Shares, and to make the representations in this Agreement and the other Offering Documents accurate and not misleading. Prior to the Closing, this Agreement and each of the other Offering Documents will have been duly authorized by all necessary action of the Company. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered and constitutes and each of the other Offering Documents, upon due execution and delivery, will constitute, valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms (i) except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect related to laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, including the effect of statutory and other laws regarding fraudulent conveyances and preferential transfers, and except that no representation is made herein regarding the enforceability of the Company’s obligations to provide indemnification and contribution remedies under the securities laws and (ii) subject to the limitations imposed by general equitable principles (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity).

 

(f) Authorization of Shares. The Shares will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable upon payment of the purchase price therefor to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, and will have the rights, preferences and priorities set forth in the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation. The holders of Shares will not be subject to personal liability solely by reason of being such holders.

 

(g) No Conflicts. None of the execution and delivery of or performance by the Company under this Agreement or any of the other Offering Documents or the consummation of the transactions herein or therein contemplated conflicts with or violates, or will result in the creation or imposition of, any lien, charge or other encumbrance upon any of the assets of the Company under (i) any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company or its assets may be bound, (ii) any term of the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the Company, or (iii) any license, permit, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its assets, except in the case of (i) or (iii) above, as disclosed in the Securities Purchase Agreement or that would not, or could not reasonably be expected to, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(h) Consents. The Company is not required to obtain any consent from, authorization or order of, or make any filing or registration with (other than (i) a Form D with the SEC and any other filings as may be required by any state securities agencies, (ii) such as may be required under applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, and (iii) a Listing of Additional Shares filing with the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., any court, governmental agency or any regulatory or self-regulatory agency or any other person in order for it to execute, deliver or perform any of its obligations under, or contemplated by, this Agreement or any of the other Offering Documents, in each case, in accordance with the terms hereof or thereof. All consents, authorizations, orders, filings and registrations which the Company is required to obtain at or prior to the Closing shall have been obtained or effected on or prior to the Closing, and the Company is not aware of any facts or circumstances which might prevent the Company from obtaining or effecting any of the registration, application or filings contemplated by this Agreement, or the other Offering Documents.

  

 

(i) Litigation. Except as set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement, there is no action, suit, claim, proceeding, hearing, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any securities of the Company or any of the Company’s officers or directors (in their capacity as such) which is outside of the ordinary course of business or individually or in the aggregate material to the Company or, if determined adversely to the Company or such officer or director, could reasonably be expected to adversely affect the Offering or the enforceability of this Agreement or the other Offering Documents.

 

(j) Brokers. Except for the Placement Agent, 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 the Offering.

 

(k) No Registration Required Under the Securities Act. Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Investors contained in the Securities Purchase Agreement and the compliance of such parties with the agreements set forth therein, it is not necessary, in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares under the Offering Documents, to register the such offerings, issuances and sales under the Securities Act or any state securities or “Blue Sky” laws.

 

(l) No Transfer Taxes or Other Fees. There are no transfer taxes or other similar fees or charges under United States law or the laws of any state or any political subdivision thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Offering Documents or the issuance and sale by the Company of the Shares.

 

(m) No General Solicitation. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates have engaged, or will engage, directly or indirectly in any form of “general solicitation” or “general advertising” in connection with the Offering of the Shares (as those terms are used in Regulation D) under the Securities Act or in any manner involving a public offering within the meaning of Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act; and the Company has not entered, and will not enter, into any arrangement or agreement with respect to the distribution of the Shares, except for the Offering Documents.

 

(n) No Integration. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates has directly or indirectly sold, offered for sale, solicited offers to buy or otherwise negotiated in respect of any “security” (as defined in the Securities Act) that is, or would be, integrated with the sale of any of the Shares in a manner that would require the registration of the offering, issuance or sale of any of the Shares under the Securities Act.

 

(o) Patriot Act Compliance. Neither the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company nor the Company’s use of the proceeds thereof will violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as amended, or any of the foreign assets control regulations of the United States Treasury Department (31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as amended) or any enabling legislation or executive order relating thereto. The Company is in compliance, in all material respects, with the USA Patriot Act of 2001 (signed into law October 26, 2001).

 

(p) No Third Parties. The Company represents to the Placement Agent that the Company has not engaged and is not working with any third party finder in connection with the Offering or the introduction of the Company to the Placement Agent and the Company agrees not to engage, work with or pay fees to any third party finder in connection with the Offering or the introduction of the Company to the Placement Agent. The Company represents and warrants to the Placement Agent that the entry into this Agreement or any other action of the Company in connection with the Offering will not violate any agreement between the Company and any other broker-dealer.

 

(q) No Disqualification Events. Neither the Company nor any Company Related Persons (as defined below) are subject to any of the disqualifications set forth in Rule 506(d) of Regulation D (each, a “Disqualification Event”). The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Company Related Person is subject to a Disqualification Event. The Disclosure Package contains a true and complete description of the matters required to be disclosed with respect to the Company and the Company Related Persons pursuant to the disclosure requirements of Rule 506(e) of Regulation D, to the extent applicable. As used herein, “Company Related Persons” means any predecessor of the Company, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the Offering, any general partner or managing member of the Company, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, and any “promoter” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity. The Company will promptly notify the Placement Agent in writing of (1) any Disqualification Event relating to any Company Related Person and (2) any event that would, with the passage of time, become a Disqualification Event relating to any Company Related Person.

 

(r) Certificates. Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Placement Agent in connection herewith or in connection with any Offering shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agent as to the matters set forth therein.

 

(s) Disclosure. The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 3.1 of the Securities Purchase Agreement are true and correct as of the date of the Closing. For the benefit of the Placement Agent, the Company hereby incorporates by reference all of its representations and warranties as set forth in Section 3.1 of the Securities Purchase Agreement with the same force and effect as if specifically set forth herein.

 

In addition, for the benefit of the Placement Agent, each of the representations and warranties (together with any related disclosure schedules thereto) made by the Company to the Investors in the Transaction Documents, is hereby incorporated in this Section 2 by reference as though fully restated herein, and each is hereby made to, and in favor of, the Placement Agent.

 

Section 3. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of Placement Agent.

 

The Placement Agent hereby represents, warrants and covenants to the Company as of the date hereof, and as of the date of the Closing, as follows:

 

(a) Authority. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Placement Agent, and upon due execution and delivery by the Company, this Agreement will be a valid and binding agreement of the Placement Agent enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by principles of public policy and, as to enforceability, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws relating to or affecting creditor’s rights from time to time in effect and subject to general equity principles.

 

 

(b) No Conflict. None of the execution or delivery of or performance by the Placement Agent under this Agreement or any other agreement or document entered into by the Placement Agent in connection herewith or the consummation of the transactions herein or therein contemplated conflicts with or violates, any agreement or other instrument to which the Placement Agent is a party or by which its assets may be bound, or its limited liability company agreement, or any license, permit, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Placement Agent or any of its assets, except in each case as would not have a material adverse effect on the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

(c) Compliance with FINRA; Regulation D. The Placement Agent is a member in good standing of FINRA and is registered as a broker-dealer under the Exchange Act, and under the securities acts of each state into which it is making offers or sales of the Shares. The Placement Agent is in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations of the Commission and FINRA, except to the extent that such noncompliance would not have a material adverse effect on the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the Placement Agent or its affiliates, or any person acting on behalf of the foregoing (other than the Company or its affiliates or any person acting on its or their behalf, in respect of which no representation is made) has taken nor will take any action that conflicts with the conditions and requirements of, or that would make unavailable with respect to the Offering, the exemption(s) from registration available pursuant to Rule 506(b) of Regulation D or Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, or knows of any reason why any such exemption would be otherwise unavailable to it.

 

(d) No Disqualification Event. Neither the Placement Agent nor any of the Placement Agents Related Persons (as defined below) are subject to any Disqualification Event as of the date hereof. The Placement Agent has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Placement Agent Related Person is subject to such a Disqualification Event. As used herein, “Placement Agent Related Persons” means any predecessor of the relevant Placement Agent, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Placement Agent participating in the Offering, any general partner or managing member of the Placement Agent, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Placement Agent’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, and any “promoter” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Placement Agent in any capacity. The Placement Agent agrees to promptly notify the Company in writing of (1) any Disqualification Event relating to any Placement Agent Related Person and (2) any event that would, with the passage of time, become a Disqualification Event relating to any Placement Agent Related Person. 

 

Section 4. Reserved.

 

Section 5. Offering and Closing Procedures

 

(a) The Company shall cause to be delivered to the Placement Agent copies of the Offering Documents and has consented, and hereby consents, to the use of such copies for the purposes permitted by the Securities Act and applicable securities laws and in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and hereby authorizes the Placement Agent and its agents and employees to use the Offering Documents in connection with the offering of the Shares until the earlier of (i) the Termination Date or (ii) the Closing, and no person or entity is or will be authorized to give any information or make any representations other than those contained in the Disclosure Package and the Offering Documents or to use any offering materials other than those contained in the Disclosure Package in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares, unless the Company first provides the Placement Agent with notification of such information, representations or offering materials.

 

 

(b) The Company shall make available to the Placement Agent and its representatives such information, including, but not limited to, financial information, and other information regarding the Company (the “Information”), as may be reasonably requested in making a reasonable investigation of the Company and its affairs. The Company shall provide access to the officers, directors, employees, independent accountants, legal counsel and other advisors and consultants of the Placement Agent as shall be reasonably requested by the Placement Agent. The Company recognizes and agrees that the Placement Agent (i) will use and rely primarily on the Information and generally available information from recognized public sources in performing the services contemplated by this Agreement without independently verifying the Information or such other information, (ii) does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the Information or such other information, and (iii) will not make an appraisal of any assets or liabilities owned or controlled by the Company or its market competitors.

 

(c) Each of the Company and the Investors will be required to complete and execute an original signature page for each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, which will be forwarded or delivered to the Placement Agent at the Placement Agent’s offices at the address set forth in Section 10.

 

(d) If all of the conditions set forth elsewhere in this Agreement and in the Securities Purchase Agreement are fulfilled or, where legally permissible, waived by the applicable party, a Closing shall be held promptly with respect to the Shares sold in the Offering. Delivery of payment for the Shares will be made at the Closing against delivery of the Shares sold by the Company.

 

Section 6. Further Covenants of the Company.

 

The Company further covenants to and agrees with the Placement Agent as follows:

 

(a) Representations and Warranties True and Correct. Except upon prior written notice to the Placement Agent, the Company shall not, at any time prior to the Closing, knowingly take any action that would cause any of the representations and warranties made by it in this Agreement not to be complete and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of the Closing (the “Closing Date”) with the same force and effect as if such representations and warranties had been made on and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent any such representation or warranty expressly speaks of an earlier date or time, in which case such representation or warranty shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date or time, as applicable).

 

 

(b) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company will cooperate with the Placement Agent and the Investors in endeavoring to qualify the Shares for sale under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of such jurisdictions (United States and foreign) as the Placement Agent and the Investors may reasonably request and will make such applications, file such documents, pay such fees and furnish such information as may be reasonably required for that purpose, provided the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or required to file such a consent. The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports and other documents as are or may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long a period as the Placement Agent may reasonably request with respect to the Offering. All such filings under applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws related to this Offering shall be prepared by the Company’s counsel at the Company’s expense, with copies of all filings to be promptly forwarded to the Placement Agent and its counsel. The Company shall comply with the Securities Act, all applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws and the rules and regulations thereunder in the states in which the Placement Agent may reasonably request with respect to the Offering so as to permit the continuance of the sales of the Shares, and will file or cause to be filed with the Commission no later than 15 days after the commencement of the sale of Shares, and shall promptly thereafter forward or cause to be forwarded to the Placement Agent, any and all Notice of Sales of Shares on Form D and shall file all amendments thereto with the Commission as may be required. Copies of all Form D and all amendments thereto shall be provided to the Placement Agent.

  

(c) Amendments and Supplements to the Disclosure Package. If, at any time prior to the Closing, any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the information or documents, or other information in the Disclosure Package in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Disclosure Package is delivered to an Investor, not misleading, or if it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement any portion of the Disclosure Package to comply with the Securities Act or any other applicable law, then the Company agrees to promptly prepare and furnish at its own expense to the Placement Agent, amendments or supplements to the Disclosure Package so that the statements therein as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Disclosure Package is delivered to an Investor, be misleading or so that the Disclosure Package, as amended or supplemented, will comply with the Securities Act and other applicable law. Neither the Placement Agent’s consent to, nor delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Company’s obligations under this Section 6(c). The Company agrees to furnish to the Placement Agent and counsel to the Placement Agent, without charge, as soon as available, as many copies of any amendments and supplements to the Disclosure Package as the Placement Agent or its counsel may request. The Company shall not at any time before the Closing prepare or use any amendment or supplement to the Disclosure Package with respect to which the Placement Agent has not been previously advised and furnished with a copy, or that is not in compliance with the Securities Act and other applicable law. As soon as the Company is advised thereof, the Company shall advise the Placement Agent and its counsel, and confirm the advice in writing, of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Disclosure Package, or the suspension of or exemption for such qualification or registration thereof for offering in any jurisdiction, or of the institution or threatened institution of any proceedings for any of such purposes, and the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order and, if issued, to obtain as soon as reasonably possible the lifting thereof.

 

(d) Marketing. The Company shall participate, and cause its officers and representatives to participate, in the Offering as reasonably requested by the Placement Agent, including in the marketing of the Shares and meeting with prospective Investors, and afford prospective Investors the opportunity to conduct customary due diligence and make inquiries relevant to their investment decisions regarding the Shares.

 

 

(e) Use of Proceeds. The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares sold by it in the manner to be described in the Securities Purchase Agreement.

 

(f) Legends. The Company shall place a legend, upon conversion or exercise, as applicable, on certificates representing the Shares, that the offering, issuance, sale or resale of the securities evidenced thereby has not been registered under the Securities Act or applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws, setting forth or referring to the applicable restrictions on transferability and sale of such securities under the Securities Act and applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws.

 

(g) No Requirement to Register as an Investment Company. The Company shall not invest, or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Shares in such a manner as would require the Company to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

  

(h) Press Releases. Prior to the earlier of the Closing or the Termination Date and except as otherwise requirement by law or regulation (including the rules of the Commission), the Company shall not issue any press release or other communication directly or indirectly or hold any press conference with respect to the Company, its condition, financial or otherwise, or earnings, business affairs or business prospects, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, which consent may be provided to the Company via e-mail. If practical, the Company shall afford the Placement Agent and its counsel with the opportunity to review and comment upon the form and substance of, and shall give reasonable consideration to all such comments from the Placement Agent and its counsel on, the initial press release, Commission filing or any other public disclosure by or on behalf of the Company relating to the Offering, the Shares, the Investors, the Placement Agent or any aspect of the Offering Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby, not less than 24 hours prior to the issuance, filing or public disclosure thereof.

 

(i) Compliance with Rule 502(d). The Company will exercise reasonable care to assure that no Investor is an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act and, without limiting the foregoing, that such purchases will comply with Rule 502(d) under the Securities Act.

 

(j) Conduct of Business. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, at any time prior to the earlier of the Closing or the Termination Date, except as contemplated by the Disclosure Package, (i) engage in or commit to engage in any transaction outside the ordinary course of business as described in the Disclosure Package, (ii) issue, agree to issue or set aside for issuance any securities (debt or equity) or any rights to acquire any such securities, (iii) incur, outside the ordinary course of business, any material indebtedness or obligation, direct or contingent, (iv) dispose of any material assets, or (v) change its business or operations.

 

(k) No Stabilization or Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors or Affiliates has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed or intended to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security of the Company, or that caused or resulted in, or that might in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company.

 

 

(l) No Other Offerings. Except as described in the Offering Documents, the Company will not, before or during the Offering Period, directly or indirectly (except through the Placement Agent), sell or offer, or attempt to offer to dispose of, or solicit any offer to buy, or otherwise approach or negotiate in respect of, any of the Shares or any other securities of the Company.

 

(m) Additional Documents. In addition to the Offering Documents, the Company will execute and deliver any other customary agreements, documents, certificates and instruments as the Placement Agent or the Investors deem necessary or appropriate to consummate the Offering, all of which will be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Placement Agent and the Investor. The Company agrees that the Placement Agent may rely upon, and is a third party beneficiary of, the representation and warranties (together with any related disclosure schedules thereto) and applicable covenants set forth in the Transaction Documents to be executed and delivered by the Company at the Closing and any other agreements, documents, legal opinions, certificates and instruments executed and delivered by the Company or otherwise in connection with the Offering.

 

Section 7. Conditions to the Obligations of the Placement Agent.

 

The obligation of the Placement Agent hereunder shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 2 as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date as though then made, to the timely performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder on and as of such dates, and to the satisfaction or, where legally permissible, the waiver, of each of the following additional conditions:

 

(a) Corporate Proceedings. All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form and validity of the Offering Documents, the Shares, and all other legal matters relating to the offering, issuance and sale, as applicable, of the Shares and the other transactions contemplated hereby and under the Offering Documents shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to the Placement Agent; and the Company shall have furnished to the counsel to the Placement Agent, all documents and information that it may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters, including a Secretary’s Certificate, if requested.

 

(b) Consents and Approvals. On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have obtained all consents, waivers and approvals required to be obtained by the Company in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.

  

(c) Disclosure Package. The Disclosure Package did not, does not and, as of the date of any amendment or supplement thereto, will 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 light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. No order enjoining the Offering or the issuance and sale of the Shares shall have been issued, and no proceedings for that purpose or a similar purpose shall have been initiated or pending, or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened.

 

(d) No Material Adverse Effect. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date, there shall not have occurred any change, event or development resulting or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, which, in the Placement Agent’s sole judgment, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the Offering.

 

(e) Offering Documents. Each of the Offering Documents shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent and shall have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto, and the Shares shall have been duly issued, executed (as applicable) and delivered by the Company.

 

 

(f) Placement Agent Compensation. The Cash Fee calculated in the manner provided in Section 1(b) of this Agreement and reimbursement of expenses calculated in the manner provided in Section 1(b) of this Agreement shall have been paid to the Placement Agent by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account specified by the Placement Agent to the Company prior to the Closing.

 

(g) Additional Documents. On or before the Closing Date, the Placement Agent and counsel for the Placement Agent shall have received such information and documents as they may reasonably require for the purposes of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Shares as contemplated herein, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations and warranties, or the satisfaction of any of the conditions or agreements, herein contained.

 

If any condition specified in this Section 7 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Placement Agent by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to the Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that Section 1(b), Section 2, Section 8 and Section 9 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.

 

Section 8. Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a) Indemnification of the Placement Agent. In consideration of the Placement Agent’s execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations under, this Agreement, and in addition to all of the Company’s other obligations under the Offering Documents, the Company shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agent, each of its Affiliates, each Person, if any, who controls the Placement Agent or any of its Affiliates within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and each of its and its directors, officers, partners, members, shareholders, direct or indirect investors, employees, representatives and agents (including, without limitation, those attorneys and other agents retained by Placement Agent or any such other Person in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other Offering Documents) (collectively, the “Placement Agent Indemnified Parties,” and each a “Placement Agent Indemnified Party”), from and against any and all claims, actions, causes of action, suits, proceedings (including, without limitation, as a party in interest or otherwise in any action or proceeding for injunctive or other equitable relief), including, without limitation, any and all derivative actions brought on behalf of the Company or any majority or wholly owned subsidiary (each, a “Subsidiary”), and any and all civil, criminal or regulatory investigations, whether formal or informal, to which any Placement Agent Indemnified Party may become subject (irrespective of whether any such Placement Agent Indemnified Party is a party, threatened to be made a party, or a witness to the claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding or investigation for which indemnification hereunder is sought), and all damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) incurred by any Placement Agent Indemnified Party (including, without limitation, in settlement of any claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding or investigation), in each case as incurred (collectively, a “Claim”), as a result of, or arising out of, or relating to (i) any misrepresentation, inaccuracy or breach of any representation or warranty made by the Company or any Subsidiary in this Agreement or in any of the other Offering Documents, (ii) any breach of any covenant, agreement or obligation of the Company or any Subsidiary contained in this Agreement or in any of the other Offering Documents, (iii) the execution, delivery, performance or enforcement of this Agreement or any of the other Offering Documents, (iv) any transaction financed or to be financed in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, with the proceeds of the issuance of the Shares, (v) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any SEC Document or in any Offering Document, 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (vi) the status of such Placement Agent Indemnified Party as a holder of any of the Shares, or as a party (or agent or attorney of such party) to this Agreement or any of the other Offering Documents, (vii) any act or failure to act by any Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with, or relating in any manner to, the Shares, the Offering or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any of the other Offering Documents, provided that the Company shall not be liable under this clause (vii) to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction shall have determined by a final, non-appealable judgment that such claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding, investigation, damage, loss, liability or expense resulted from the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of such Placement Agent Indemnified Party; and to reimburse such Placement Agent Indemnified Party for any and all expenses (including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party) incurred by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding, investigation, damage, loss, liability or expense. To the extent that the foregoing undertaking by the Company may be unenforceable for any reason, the Company shall make the maximum contribution to the payment and satisfaction of each of the indemnified liabilities which is permissible under applicable law as provided in Section 8(d).

  

 

(b) Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by a Placement Agent Indemnified Party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, such Placement Agent Indemnified Party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the Company under this Section 8, notify the Company in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the Company will not relieve it from any liability that it may have to any Placement Agent Indemnified Party for contribution to the extent it is not prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure. In case any such action is brought against any Placement Agent Indemnified Party and the such Placement Agent Indemnified Party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from the Company, the Company shall assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Placement Agent Indemnified Party; provided, however, if the defendants in any such action include both the Placement Agent Indemnified Party and the Company, and the Placement Agent Indemnified Party shall have reasonably concluded on the advice of its counsel that a conflict may arise between the positions of the Company and the Placement Agent Indemnified Party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other Placement Agent Indemnified Parties that are different from or additional to those available to the Company, such Placement Agent Indemnified Party or Placement Agent Indemnified Parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such Placement Agent Indemnified Party or Placement Agent Indemnified Parties. Upon receipt of notice from the Company to the Placement Agent Indemnified Party of the Company’s assumption the defense of such action and approval by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party of counsel, the Company will not be liable to such Placement Agent Indemnified Party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with the defense thereof unless: (i) the Placement Agent Indemnified Party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the immediately preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the Company shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), approved by the Company), representing the Placement Agent Indemnified Parties who are parties to such action; (ii) the Company shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the Placement Agent Indemnified Party to represent the Placement Agent Indemnified Party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action; or (iii) the Company has authorized the employment of counsel for the Placement Agent Indemnified Party at the expense of the Company, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the Company.

 

(c) Settlements. The Company shall not be liable under this Section 8 for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Company agrees to indemnify the applicable Placement Agent Indemnified Party or Placement Agent Indemnified Parties against any claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding, investigation, damage, loss, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent Indemnified Party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any Placement Agent Indemnified Party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes: (i) an unconditional release of such Placement Agent Indemnified Party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding; 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 Placement Agent Indemnified Party.

  

 

(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless a Placement Agent Indemnified Party under Section 8(a) above in respect of any claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding, investigation, damage, loss, liability or expense, then the Company shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and such Placement Agent Indemnified Party, on the other, from the Offering. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law then the Company shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and such Placement Agent Indemnified Party, on the other, in connection with the actions or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action or omission.

 

The Company and Placement Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 8(d). The amount paid or payable by a Placement Agent Indemnified Party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) referred to above in this Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending any such claim, action, cause of action, suit, proceeding or investigation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d): (i) the Placement Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount of the Cash Fee actually received by Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement; and (ii) no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

 

(e) Timing of Any Payments of Indemnification. Any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses for which a Placement Agent Indemnified Party is entitled to indemnification or contribution under this Section 8 shall be paid by the Company to the Placement Agent Indemnified Party as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are incurred, but in all cases, no later than fifteen (15) days of invoice to the Company.

 

(f) Acknowledgements of Parties. The parties to this Agreement hereby acknowledge that they are sophisticated business persons who were represented by counsel during the negotiations regarding the provisions hereof including, without limitation, the provisions of this Section 8, and are fully informed regarding said provisions. They further acknowledge that the provisions of this Section 8 fairly allocate the risks in light of the ability of the parties to investigate the Company and its business in order to assure that adequate disclosure is made in the Disclosure Package.

 

Section 9. Representations and Indemnities to Survive Delivery.

 

The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of: (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Placement Agent Indemnified Party or any of their respective representatives or agents; (ii) acceptance of any Shares and payment therefor; and (iii) any termination of this Agreement or expiration of the Offering Period. A successor to any Placement Agent Indemnified Party shall be entitled to the benefits of the indemnity, contribution and reimbursement agreements contained in Section 8.

 

 

Section 10. Notices.

 

All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed (registered or certified mail, return receipt requested), personally delivered or sent by electronic mail transmission and confirmed and shall be deemed given when so delivered and confirmed or if mailed, two (2) days after such mailing as follows:

 

If to Placement Agent:

Univest Securities, LLC

75 Rockefeller Plaza #1838 New York, NY 10019

Attn: Edric Guo, Chief Executive Officer

Email: yguo@univest.us

 

If to the Company:

GD Culture Group Limited 22F - 810 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019 Attention: Xiaojian Wang, Chief Executive Officer Email: awang@gdculturegroup.com

 

Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others.

 

Section 11. Successors.

 

This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the Placement Agent Indemnified Parties (or any of their respective successors) referred to in Section 8, and to their respective successors, and personal representatives, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

 

Section 12. Partial Unenforceability.

 

The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

  

Section 13. Governing Law Provisions.

 

(a) Governing Law. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the state of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state.

 

 

(b) Consent to Jurisdiction. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in New York, New York, or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. EACH OF THE PLACEMENT AGENT AND THE COMPANY HEREBY WAIVES (ON ITS OWN BEHALF AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS RESPECTIVE EQUITY HOLDERS AND CREDITORS) ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY CLAIM BASED UPON, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE OFFERING).

 

Section 14. General Provisions.

 

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to this Offering. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit. Section headings herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms.

 

	Very truly yours,
	GD Culture Group Limited
	By:	/s/ Xiaojian Wang
	Name:	Xiaojian Wang
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer

 

The foregoing Placement Agency Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Placement Agent as of the date first above written.

 

Univest Securities, LLC
By:	/s/ Edric Guo
Name:	Edric Guo
Title:	Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to Placement Agency Agreement]

 

 

18

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

GD Culture Group Limited Announces Pricing of Private Placement

 

NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GD Culture Group Limited (“GDC” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: GDC), and its subsidiary, AI Catalysis Corp. (“AI Catalysis”), today announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Agreement”) on March 4, 2025 with certain investor for the purchase and sale of up to an aggregate of 1,115,600 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), at a purchase price of about $0.896 per share in a private placement (the “Offering”).

 

The aggregate gross proceeds to the Company are expected to be approximately $1.0 million. The transactions are expected to close on or about March 5, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

 

Univest Securities, LLC is acting as the sole placement agent.

 

The Shares will be offered and sold to investors in the Offering pursuant to the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act (“Regulation D”). The Company has agreed to register the resale of the Shares on a registration statement within 60 days from the date of the Agreement.

 

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will there be any sales of such securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the registered direct offering, together with the accompanying base prospectus, can be obtained at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

About GD Culture Group Limited

 

GD Culture Group Limited (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: GDC), is a Nevada company currently conducting business mainly through its subsidiaries, AI Catalysis Corp. (“AI Catalysis”) and Shanghai Xianzhui Technology Co, Ltd. The company plans to enter into the livestreaming market with focus on e-commerce through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, AI Catalysis, a Nevada corporation incorporated in May 2023. The Company’s main businesses include AI-driven digital human technology, live-streaming e-commerce business. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at https://www.gdculturegroup.com/.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

 

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

 

GD Culture Group Limited

Investor Relations Department

Email: ir@gdculturegroup.com

 

Ascent Investor Relations LLC

Tina Xiao

Phone: +1-646-932-7242

Email: investors@ascent-ir.com

 

v3.25.0.1

Cover	Mar. 04, 2025
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 04, 2025
Entity File Number	001-37513
Entity Registrant Name	GD Culture Group Limited
Entity Central Index Key	0001641398
Entity Tax Identification Number	47-3709051
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	NV
Entity Address, Address Line One	22F - 810 Seventh Avenue
Entity Address, City or Town	New York
Entity Address, State or Province	NY
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	10019
City Area Code	+1-347
Local Phone Number	2590292
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, par value $0.0001
Trading Symbol	GDC
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false

---