8-K

 

 

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

May 26, 2021

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

 

 

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-39866   85-3306396

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor,

Boston, MA

  02116
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (415) 697-0763

 

 

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

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act

 

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

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under 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

Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share   LWAC   Nasdaq Capital Market
Warrants to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock   LWACW   Nasdaq Capital Market
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one- third of one Warrant   LWACU   Nasdaq Capital Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company  ☒

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

 

 

 


Item 1.01

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

Merger Agreement

On May 26, 2021, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“LWAC”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) by and among LWAC, Locust Walk Merger, Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of LWAC (“Merger Sub”), and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“eFFECTOR”). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, a business combination between LWAC and eFFECTOR will be effected through the merger of Merger Sub with and into eFFECTOR, with eFFECTOR surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of LWAC (the “Merger”). The Board of Directors of LWAC (the “Board”) has unanimously (i) approved and declared advisable the Merger Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated thereby and (ii) resolved to recommend approval of the Merger Agreement and related matters by the stockholders of LWAC. In addition, in connection with the consummation of the Merger, LWAC will be renamed “eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.”

Treatment of eFFECTOR Securities

Preferred Stock. Immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”) and subject to the consent of the holders of 70% of eFFECTOR’s preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “eFFECTOR Preferred Stock”), each issued and outstanding share of eFFECTOR Preferred Stock will be converted into shares of the common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of eFFECTOR (the “eFFECTOR Common Stock”) at the then-applicable conversion rates.

Warrants. Immediately prior to the Effective Time, eFFECTOR will cause each outstanding warrant to purchase shares of eFFECTOR capital stock (the “eFFECTOR Warrants”) to be exercised in full on a cash or cashless basis or terminated without exercise.

Common Stock. At the Effective Time, each share of eFFECTOR Common Stock (including shares outstanding as a result of the conversion of the eFFECTOR Preferred Stock and the exercise of the eFFECTOR Warrants, but excluding shares the holders of which perfect rights of appraisal under Delaware law) will be converted into the right to receive such number of shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of LWAC (“LWAC Common Stock”) as calculated based on the Exchange Ratio (as defined below) and a number of Earn-Out Shares (as defined below) as set forth in the Merger Agreement. “Exchange Ratio” is defined in the Merger Agreement to be 34,000,000 divided by the number of shares of fully diluted eFFECTOR capital stock (which equals the outstanding shares of eFFECTOR Common Stock and options to purchase shares of eFFECTOR Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, after giving effect to the conversion of the eFFECTOR Preferred Stock and exercise of the eFFECTOR Warrants and as further adjusted pursuant to the Merger Agreement).

Stock Options. At the Effective Time, each outstanding option to purchase shares of eFFECTOR Common Stock will be converted into an option (each, an “Assumed Option”) to purchase shares of LWAC Common Stock equal to the number of shares subject to such option prior to the Effective Time multiplied by the Exchange Ratio, with the per-share exercise price equal to the exercise price prior to the Effective Time divided by the Exchange Ratio.

Earn-Out Shares. Following the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), former holders of shares of eFFECTOR Common Stock (including shares received as a result of the conversion of eFFECTOR Preferred Stock and exercise of the eFFECTOR Warrants) and eFFECTOR stock options will be entitled to receive their pro rata share of up to 5,000,000 additional shares of LWAC Common Stock (the “Earn-Out Shares”) if, within a two-year


period following the Closing (the “Earn-Out Period”), the closing share price of LWAC Common Stock equals or exceeds $20.00 over at least 20 trading days within a 30-day trading period (the “Triggering Event”) and, in respect of each former holder of eFFECTOR stock options, such holder continues to provide services to LWAC or one of its subsidiaries at the time of such Triggering Event. The Earn-Out Shares will also be earned and issuable in the event of a change in control of LWAC during the Earn-Out Period that results in the holders of LWAC Common Stock receiving a per-share price equal to or in excess of $20.00.

Representations and Warranties

The Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of the parties thereto with respect to, among other things, (a) entity organization, good standing and qualification, (b) capital structure, (c) authorization to enter into the Merger Agreement, (d) compliance with laws and permits, (e) financial statements and internal controls, (f) absence of certain changes and undisclosed liabilities, (g) litigation, (h) labor and employee matters, (i) environmental matters, (j) tax matters, (k) real and personal property, (l) intellectual property, (m) insurance, (n) material contracts, (o) brokers and finders, (p) regulatory compliance and (q) transactions with affiliates. 

Covenants

The Merger Agreement includes customary covenants of the parties with respect to operation of their respective businesses prior to consummation of the Merger and efforts to satisfy conditions to consummation of the Merger. The Merger Agreement also contains additional covenants of the parties, including, among others, covenants providing for LWAC and eFFECTOR to use reasonable best efforts to cooperate in the preparation of the Registration Statement and Proxy Statement (as each such term is defined in the Merger Agreement) required to be filed in connection with the Merger and to obtain all requisite approvals of their respective stockholders including, in the case of LWAC, approvals of the Merger Agreement and the Merger, the restated certificate of incorporation, the share issuance under the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) and the incentive award plan and employee stock purchase plan of the combined company. LWAC has also agreed to include in the proxy statement/prospectus the recommendation of the Board that stockholders approve all of the proposals to be presented at the special meeting.

LWAC Incentive Award Plan

LWAC has agreed to approve and adopt an incentive award plan (the “Incentive Plan”) and employee stock purchase plan (the “ESPP”), in each case to be effective as of the Closing and in a form mutually acceptable to LWAC and eFFECTOR. The Incentive Plan shall provide for an initial aggregate share reserve equal to 11.00% of the number of shares of LWAC Common Stock outstanding immediately following the Closing. The ESPP shall provide for an initial aggregate share reserve equal to 1.50% of the number of shares of LWAC Common Stock outstanding immediately following the Closing. Subject to approval of the Incentive Plan and the ESPP by LWAC’s stockholders, LWAC has agreed to file an effective Form S-8 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) following the Effective Time with respect to the shares of LWAC Common Stock issuable under the Incentive Plan and ESPP.

Non-Solicitation Restrictions

Each of LWAC and eFFECTOR has agreed that from the date of the Merger Agreement to the Closing or, if earlier, the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, it will not initiate any negotiations with any party, or provide non-public information or data concerning it or its subsidiaries to any party relating to a Parent Acquisition Proposal, in the case of Parent, or a Company Acquisition Proposal, in the case of the Company (as such terms are defined in the Merger Agreement), or enter into any agreement relating to such a proposal. Each of LWAC and eFFECTOR has also agreed to use its reasonable best efforts to prevent any of its representatives from doing the same.


Conditions to Closing

The consummation of the Merger is conditioned upon, among other things, (i) receipt of the LWAC stockholder approval and eFFECTOR stockholder approval, (ii) the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, (iii) the absence of any governmental order, statute, rule or regulation enjoining or prohibiting the consummation of the Transactions, (iv) the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), (v) LWAC having at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), (vi) the common stock of the combined company to be issued pursuant to the Merger Agreement being listed or having been approved for listing on Nasdaq, (vii) the consummation of the private placement financing concurrent with the Closing, (viii) solely with respect to LWAC, (A) the representations and warranties of eFFECTOR being true and correct to applicable standards in the Merger Agreement and each of the covenants of eFFECTOR having been performed or complied with in all material respects, (B) since the date of the Merger Agreement there not having been a material adverse effect on the Company that is continuing and (C) the approval of the settlement of the eFFECTOR Warrants pursuant to the terms of such warrants and such settlement of the eFFECTOR Warrants having been consummated and (ix) solely with respect to eFFECTOR, (A) the representations and warranties of LWAC being true and correct to applicable standards in the Merger Agreement and each of the covenants of LWAC having been performed or complied with in all material respects, (B) since the date of the Merger Agreement there not having been a material adverse effect on LWAC that is continuing, (C) the effective resignations of certain directors and executive officers of LWAC, and (D) the amount of Closing Parent Cash (as defined in the Merger Agreement) being equal to or exceeding $100,000,000.

Termination

The Merger Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the Effective Time as follows:

 

  (i)

by mutual written consent of LWAC and eFFECTOR;

 

  (ii)

by either LWAC or eFFECTOR if the Merger is not consummated on or before November 26, 2021 (the “Outside Date”), provided that the failure to consummate the Merger by the Outside Date is not due to a material breach by the party seeking to terminate and which such breach is the proximate cause for the conditions to close not being satisfied;

 

  (iii)

by either LWAC or eFFECTOR if the other party has breached any of its covenants or representations and warranties such that closing conditions would not be satisfied at the Closing (subject to a 30-day cure period for breaches that are curable), provided that such right to terminate will not be available to either party if it has breached in any material respect its obligations set forth in the Merger Agreement in any manner that will have proximately contributed to the occurrence of the failure of a condition to the consummation of the Merger;

 

  (iv)

by either LWAC or eFFECTOR if a governmental entity shall have issued a law or final, non-appealable governmental order, rule or regulation permanently restraining, enjoining or prohibiting the consummation of the Merger, provided that, the party seeking to terminate cannot have breached its obligations under the Merger Agreement in a manner that has proximately contributed to the governmental action;

 

  (v)

by either LWAC or eFFECTOR if LWAC stockholder approval shall not have been obtained by reason of the failure to obtain the required vote upon a vote held at the special meeting or any adjournment thereof;

 

  (vi)

by written notice from LWAC to eFFECTOR if the eFFECTOR stockholders do not approve the merger agreement within two business days following the date of the Merger Agreement; or

 

  (vii)

by written notice from eFFECTOR to LWAC if the Board shall have publicly withdrawn, modified, withheld or changed its recommendation to vote in favor of the Merger and other proposals, if such notice is given by eFFECTOR within 15 business days after such action (or inaction) by the Board.


The Merger Agreement and other agreements described below have been included to provide investors with information regarding their respective terms. They are not intended to provide any other factual information about LWAC, eFFECTOR or the other parties thereto. In particular, the assertions embodied in the representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement were made as of a specified date, are modified or qualified by information in one or more confidential disclosure letters prepared in connection with the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, may be subject to a contractual standard of materiality different from what might be viewed as material to investors, or may have been used for the purpose of allocating risk between the parties. Accordingly, the representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement are not necessarily characterizations of the actual state of facts about LWAC, eFFECTOR or the other parties thereto at the time they were made or otherwise and should only be read in conjunction with the other information that LWAC makes publicly available in reports, statements and other documents filed with the SEC. LWAC and eFFECTOR investors and security holders are not third-party beneficiaries under the Merger Agreement.

Certain Related Agreements

Sponsor Support Agreement.    In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”) entered into a sponsor support agreement (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”) with LWAC and eFFECTOR, pursuant to which to which the Sponsor has agreed to vote all shares of LWAC Common Stock beneficially owned by it in favor of the Merger.

Sponsor Lock-up Agreement/Transfer Restrictions.    In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Sponsor also entered into a sponsor lock-up agreement, which shall become effective as of the Effective Time (the “Sponsor Lock-up Agreement”), with LWAC, pursuant to which, subject to certain limited exceptions, the Sponsor has agreed not to transfer any of its shares of LWAC Common Stock during the period beginning on the date of the Closing (the “Closing Date”) and ending on the earlier of (x) 270 days after the Closing Date, (y) the date on which the price of LWAC Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period following the 90th day after the Closing Date, and (z) a Change of Control (as defined in the Sponsor Lock-up Agreement). The lock-up restrictions set forth in the Sponsor Lock-up Agreement supersede and replace the transfer restrictions set forth in that certain letter agreement, dated January 7, 2021, between LWAC, the Sponsor and the directors and officers of LWAC. In addition, the Amended and Restated Bylaws of LWAC to be effective upon the Closing contain certain restrictions on transfer with respect to the shares of LWAC Common Stock issued or issuable as merger consideration in connection with the Merger, including the Earn-Out Shares and any shares of LWAC Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Assumed Options, during the period beginning on the Closing Date and ending on the earlier of (a) 270 days after the Closing Date, (b) the date on which the price of LWAC Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period following the 90th day after the Closing Date, and (c) a Change of Control.

Subscription Agreements/PIPE.    In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, LWAC entered into subscription agreements (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain parties subscribing for shares of LWAC Common Stock (the “Subscribers”), pursuant to which the Subscribers have agreed to purchase, and LWAC has agreed to sell to the Subscribers, an aggregate of 6,000,000 shares of LWAC Common Stock, for a purchase price of $10.00 per share, resulting in an aggregate purchase price of $60,000,000. The obligations to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Subscription Agreements are conditioned upon, among other things, customary closing conditions and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement.    In connection with the Closing, eFFECTOR, LWAC, the Sponsor and certain stockholders of eFFECTOR who will receive shares of LWAC Common Stock pursuant to the Merger Agreement will enter into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (“Registration Rights Agreement”) mutually agreeable to LWAC and eFFECTOR and in substantially the form attached to the Merger Agreement, which will become effective upon the consummation of the Merger.

Employment Agreements.    In connection with the Closing, LWAC has agreed to enter into employment agreements, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to LWAC and eFFECTOR and substantially in the form attached to the Merger Agreement, with the individuals who will serve as officers of LWAC effective as of the Closing.


The foregoing descriptions of agreements and the transactions and documents contemplated thereby are not complete and are subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement, Sponsor Support Agreement, Sponsor Lock-up Agreement and forms of the Subscription Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement, copies of each of which are filed with this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 2.1, Exhibit 10.1, Exhibit 10.2, Exhibit 10.3 and Exhibit 10.4, respectively, and the terms of which are incorporated by reference herein.

 

Item 3.02

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.

The information set forth above in Item 1.01 of this Report under the heading “Subscription Agreements/PIPE” is incorporated by reference herein. The shares of LWAC Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Subscription Agreements and the transactions contemplated thereby will not be registered under the Securities Act, in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

Item 7.01

Regulation FD Disclosure.

On May 27, 2021, LWAC and eFFECTOR issued a joint press release announcing the execution of the Merger Agreement. A copy of the press release is furnished hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Furnished as Exhibit 99.2 is an investor presentation that will be used by LWAC and eFFECTOR in connection with the Merger.

LWAC and eFFECTOR will hold a webcast to discuss the Merger at 9:00 am Eastern Time on May 27, 2021. A copy of the presentation and script to be used on the webcast is furnished as Exhibits 99.3 and 99.4 hereto, respectively.

The information in this Item 7.01 and Exhibits 99.1, 99.2, 99.3 and 99.4 attached hereto shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the proposed transaction between LWAC and eFFECTOR All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this report, including statements regarding LWAC or eFFECTOR’s future results of operations and financial position, the amount of cash expected to be available to eFFECTOR after the Closing and giving effect to any redemptions by LWAC stockholders, eFFECTOR’s business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations, future results of current and anticipated products and expected use of proceeds, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the following risks relating to the proposed transaction: the risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of LWAC’s securities; the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing the transaction, including the approval by the stockholders of LWAC and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the risk that some or all of LWAC’s stockholders may redeem their shares at the closing of the transaction; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on the eFFECTOR’s business relationships and business generally; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted related to the transaction; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction; eFFECTOR may use its capital resources sooner than it expects; and the risks associated with eFFECTOR’s business set forth in the Appendix to


the investor presentations filed as exhibits to this report. Moreover, eFFECTOR operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond LWAC’s and eFFECTOR’s control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of LWAC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021, the registration statement on Form S-4 discussed below and other documents filed by LWAC from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and except as required by law. LWAC and eFFECTOR assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither LWAC nor eFFECTOR gives any assurance that either LWAC or eFFECTOR or the combined company will achieve its expectations.

Important Information for Investors and Stockholders

This document relates to a proposed transaction between LWAC and eFFECTOR. This document does not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. LWAC intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include a document that serves as a prospectus and proxy statement of LWAC, referred to as a proxy statement/prospectus. The proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all LWAC stockholders. LWAC also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors and security holders of LWAC are urged to carefully read the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction, including the terms of the proposed transaction, the parties involved and the risks associated with the proposed transaction.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by LWAC through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., 200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor, Boston, MA 02116, Attention: Chris Ehrlich.

Participants in the Solicitation

LWAC and eFFECTOR and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from LWAC’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. A list of the names of the directors and executive officers of LWAC and information regarding their interests in the Merger will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus when available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such other jurisdiction.


Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits:

 

Exhibit

  

Description

  2.1*    Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of May 26, 2021, by and among Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc. and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.
10.1    Sponsor Support Agreement dated as of May 26, 2021 by and among Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.
10.2    Sponsor Lock-up Agreement dated as of May 26, 2021 by and between Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.
10.3    Form of Subscription Agreement
10.4    Form of Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement
99.1    Press Release issued by LWAC and eFFECTOR on May 27, 2021
99.2    Investor Presentation dated May 27, 2021
99.3    Investor Presentation dated May 27, 2021
99.4    Script for Investor Webcast

 

*

Certain exhibits and schedules to this Exhibit have been omitted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(2). LWAC agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of all omitted exhibits and schedules to the SEC upon its request.


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.

Dated: May 27, 2021

 

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

/s/ Chris Ehrlich

Name:   Chris Ehrlich
Title:   Chief Executive Officer
EX-2.1

Exhibit 2.1

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

by and among

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.,

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.

and

LOCUST WALK MERGER SUB, INC.

Dated as of May 26, 2021

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  

ARTICLE I     THE MERGER

     2  

1.1

  

The Merger

     2  

1.2

  

Closing

     3  

1.3

  

Effective Time

     3  

1.4

  

The Organizational Documents of the Surviving Company

     3  

1.5

  

Directors of the Surviving Company

     3  

1.6

  

Officers of the Surviving Company

     4  

ARTICLE II      MERGER CONSIDERATION; EFFECT OF THE MERGER ON SECURITIES

     4  

2.1

  

Conversion of Securities

     4  

2.2

  

Exchange Procedures

     6  

2.3

  

Withholding Rights

     8  

2.4

  

Payment of Expenses

     8  

2.5

  

Allocation Statement

     9  

2.6

  

Appraisal Rights

     10  

2.7

  

Adjustments to Prevent Dilution

     11  

2.8

  

Earn-Out

     11  

ARTICLE III     REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

     13  

3.1

  

Organization, Good Standing and Qualification

     14  

3.2

  

Capital Structure of the Company

     14  

3.3

  

Corporate Authority; Approval and Fairness

     16  

3.4

  

Governmental Filings; No Violations; Certain Contracts, Etc.

     16  

3.5

  

Financial Statements; Internal Controls

     17  

3.6

  

Absence of Certain Changes

     18  

3.7

  

No Undisclosed Liabilities

     18  

3.8

  

Litigation

     18  

3.9

  

Compliance with Laws; Permits

     18  

3.10

  

Employee Benefits

     20  

3.11

  

Labor Matters

     21  

3.12

  

Environmental Matters

     22  

3.13

  

Tax Matters

     23  

3.14

  

Real and Personal Property

     24  

3.15

  

Intellectual Property; IT Assets; Data Privacy

     25  

3.16

  

Insurance

     27  

3.17

  

Company Material Contracts

     28  

3.18

  

Brokers and Finders

     30  

3.19

  

Registration Statement

     30  

3.20

  

No Outside Reliance

     30  

3.21

  

Regulatory Compliance

     30  

3.22

  

Transactions with Affiliates

     33  

3.23

  

No Other Representations or Warranties

     33  

 

i


ARTICLE IV     REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB

     34  

4.1

  

Organization, Good Standing and Qualification

     34  

4.2

  

Capital Structure of Parent

     34  

4.3

  

Corporate Authority; Approval

     36  

4.4

  

Governmental Filings; No Violations; Certain Contracts

     37  

4.5

  

Parent Reports; Internal Controls

     38  

4.6

  

Absence of Certain Changes

     39  

4.7

  

Business Activities; Liabilities

     40  

4.8

  

Litigation and Proceedings

     41  

4.9

  

Compliance with Laws

     41  

4.10

  

Investment Company Act; JOBS Act

     42  

4.11

  

Parent Trust Account

     42  

4.12

  

Private Placements

     43  

4.13

  

Valid Issuance

     43  

4.14

  

Takeover Statutes and Charter Provisions

     43  

4.15

  

NASDAQ Stock Market Quotation

     44  

4.16

  

Brokers and Finders

     44  

4.17

  

Registration Statement and Proxy Statement

     44  

4.18

  

Taxes

     44  

4.19

  

Title to Property

     46  

4.20

  

No Outside Reliance

     46  

4.21

  

No Other Representations or Warranties

     46  

ARTICLE V     COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

     47  

5.1

  

Interim Operations

     47  

5.2

  

Inspection

     50  

5.3

  

No Claim Against the Parent Trust Account

     50  

5.4

  

Exclusivity

     51  

5.5

  

Prospectus/Proxy Filing; Information Supplied

     51  

5.6

  

FIRPTA Certificates

     52  

5.7

  

Amendments to Third Party Contracts

     52  

ARTICLE VI     COVENANTS OF PARENT

     53  

6.1

  

Conduct of Parent

     53  

6.2

  

Parent Trust Account Matters

     55  

6.3

  

Indemnification; Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance

     55  

6.4

  

Approval of Sole Stockholder of Merger Sub

     57  

6.5

  

Inspections

     57  

6.6

  

Parent NASDAQ Listing

     58  

6.7

  

Parent Public Filings

     58  

6.8

  

Private Placements

     58  

6.9

  

Director and Officer Appointments

     58  

6.10

  

Exclusivity

     59  

6.11

  

Governing Documents

     60  

6.12

  

Stockholder Litigation

     60  

 

ii


6.13

  

Parent Public Filings

     60  

ARTICLE VII     JOINT COVENANTS

     60  

7.1

  

Preparation of Registration Statement

     60  

7.2

  

Parent Special Meeting

     62  

7.3

  

Company Stockholder Approval

     63  

7.4

  

Cooperation; Efforts to Consummate

     64  

7.5

  

Status; Notifications

     65  

7.6

  

Publicity

     65  

7.7

  

Section 16 Matters

     66  

7.8

  

Tax Matters

     66  

7.9

  

Parent Incentive Plan

     67  

7.10

  

Employee Matters

     67  

ARTICLE VIII     CONDITIONS

     68  

8.1

  

Mutual Conditions to Obligation of Each Party

     68  

8.2

  

Conditions to Obligation of Parent and Merger Sub

     69  

8.3

  

Conditions to Obligation of the Company

     70  

ARTICLE IX     TERMINATION; SURVIVAL

     72  

9.1

  

Termination by Mutual Written Consent

     72  

9.2

  

Termination by Either Parent or the Company

     72  

9.3

  

Termination by Parent

     72  

9.4

  

Termination by the Company

     73  

9.5

  

Effect of Termination

     73  

ARTICLE X     NO SURVIVAL

     73  

ARTICLE XI     MISCELLANEOUS

     74  

11.1

  

Amendment; Waiver

     74  

11.2

  

Counterparts

     74  

11.3

  

Governing Law

     74  

11.4

  

Forum; Waiver of Jury Trial

     74  

11.5

  

Equitable Remedies

     75  

11.6

  

Notices

     76  

11.7

  

Entire Agreement

     77  

11.8

  

Expenses

     77  

11.9

  

Successors and Assigns

     78  

11.10

  

Third Party Beneficiaries

     78  

11.11

  

Non-Recourse

     78  

11.12

  

Severability

     79  

11.13

  

Interpretation and Construction

     79  

11.14

  

Definitions

     80  

 

iii


EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit A   

Certain Definitions

Exhibit B   

Form of Sponsor Support Agreement

Exhibit C   

Form of Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement

Exhibit D   

Form of Employment Agreement

Exhibit E   

Form of Parent Restated Bylaws

Exhibit F   

Form of Parent Restated Charter

Exhibit G   

Form of Parent Incentive Plan

Exhibit H   

Form of Parent ESPP

Exhibit I   

Form of Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation

Exhibit J   

Form of Surviving Company Bylaws

Exhibit K   

Form of Registration Rights Agreement

 

iv


AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

This AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (including the exhibits and schedules hereto, this “Agreement”), dated as of May 26, 2021 (the “Execution Date”), is entered into by and among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”, and together with the Company and Parent, the “Parties” and each, a “Party”). Except as otherwise indicated, capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in Exhibit A of this Agreement.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, Parent is a special purpose acquisition company formed to acquire one or more operating businesses through a Business Combination.

WHEREAS, Merger Sub is a newly formed, wholly-owned, direct Subsidiary of Parent, and was formed for the sole purpose of the Merger.

WHEREAS, the Parties intend that, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, Merger Sub shall merge with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving as the Surviving Company pursuant to the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”).

WHEREAS, the respective boards of directors or similar governing bodies of each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company have each approved and declared advisable the Transactions upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement and in accordance with the DGCL.

WHEREAS, contemporaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, in connection with the Transactions, Parent and each of the parties subscribing for Parent Common Stock (the “Subscribers”) have entered into certain subscription agreements, dated as of the date hereof (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”), for private placements of Parent Common Stock resulting in at least $60,000,000 in cash proceeds in the aggregate (the “Private Placements,” and such amount, the “Private Placement Amount”), such private placements to be consummated immediately prior to the consummation of the Transactions.

WHEREAS, contemporaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, in connection with the Transactions, the Sponsor has entered into (a) that certain Sponsor Support Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”), with Parent and the Company, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B, pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor has agreed to vote in favor of this Agreement, the Merger and the Transactions, and (b) that certain Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (the “Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement”), with Parent and the Company, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C, pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor has agreed to certain transfer restrictions on certain shares of Parent Common Stock following the Effective Time.


WHEREAS, at the Effective Time, each of Stephen T. Worland, Alana McNulty, Mike Byrnes, Premal Patel and Mark Densel will enter into an employment agreement with Parent, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D (together, the “Employment Agreements”).

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Parent Organizational Documents, Parent shall provide an opportunity to its stockholders to have their Parent Common Stock redeemed for the consideration, and on the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations, set forth in this Agreement, the Parent Organizational Documents, the Parent Trust Agreement, and the Proxy Statement in conjunction with, inter alia, obtaining approval from the stockholders of Parent for the Business Combination (the “Redemption Offer”).

WHEREAS, at the Effective Time, Parent shall adopt the Parent Restated Bylaws, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit E.

WHEREAS, at the Effective Time, Parent shall, subject to obtaining the Parent Stockholder Approval, adopt the Parent Restated Charter substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit F.

WHEREAS, at the Effective Time, Parent shall, subject to obtaining the Parent Stockholder Approval, adopt an omnibus equity incentive plan substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G, (the “Parent Incentive Plan”) and employee stock purchase plan substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit H, (the “Parent ESPP”) as provided herein.

WHEREAS, each of the Parties intends that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and for purposes of any applicable state or local income tax law that follows U.S. federal income tax treatment), (i) this Agreement shall constitute a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) and the Treasury Regulations Sections 1.368-2(g) and 1.368-3(a) and (ii) the Merger shall constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code to which Parent and the Company are to be parties under Section 368(b) of the Code.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement, the Parties agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

THE MERGER

1.1    The Merger. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, at the Effective Time, (a) Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Company in accordance with the DGCL, and the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall thereupon cease, (b) the Company shall be the surviving corporation in the Merger (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the “Surviving Company”) and become a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent, and the separate corporate existence of the Company with all of its rights, privileges, immunities, powers and franchises shall continue unaffected by the Merger as provided in the DGCL, and (c) the Merger shall have such other effects as provided in the DGCL and in this Agreement.

 

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1.2    Closing. The closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take place remotely, via electronic exchange of documents, at 11:00 a.m. (New York Time) on the third (3rd) Business Day following the day on which the last of the conditions set forth in ARTICLE VIII are satisfied or waived (other than those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of those conditions) in accordance with this Agreement, or at such other date, time or place as the Company and Parent may mutually agree in writing (the date on which the Closing actually occurs, the “Closing Date”).

1.3    Effective Time. As soon as practicable following the Closing but on the Closing Date, the Company and Parent will cause a certificate of merger relating to the Merger (the “Certificate of Merger”) to be executed, acknowledged and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as provided in Section 251 of the DGCL. The Merger shall become effective at the time when the Certificate of Merger has been duly filed with and accepted by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware or at such later date and time as may be agreed by the Parties in writing and specified in the Certificate of Merger (such date and time, the “Effective Time”).

1.4    The Organizational Documents of the Surviving Company.

(a)    At the Effective Time, the certificate of incorporation of the Company, as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall be amended and restated in its entirety, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit I, and as so amended, shall be the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving Company, until thereafter supplemented or amended in accordance with its terms and the DGCL (the “Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation”);

(b)    At the Effective Time, the bylaws of the Company, as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall be amended and restated in its entirety, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit J, and as so amended, shall be the bylaws of the Surviving Company, until thereafter supplemented or amended in accordance with its terms, the Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation and applicable Law (the “Surviving Company Bylaws”); and

(c)    At the Effective Time, the Governing Documents of the Company shall be amended to change the name of the Surviving Company to “eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc.”

1.5    Directors of the Surviving Company. The Parties shall take all necessary action prior to the Effective Time such that (a) each director of the Company in office immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to be a director immediately following the Effective Time (including by causing each such director to tender an irrevocable resignation as a director effective as of the Effective Time) and (b) each person set forth in Section 1.6 of the Company Disclosure Letter shall be appointed to the board of directors of the Surviving Company, effective as of immediately following the Effective Time, and as of such time, shall be the only directors of the Surviving Company (including by causing the Company Board to adopt resolutions prior to the Effective Time that expand or decrease the size of the Company Board, as necessary, and appoint such persons to the vacancies resulting from the incumbent directors’ respective resignations, or if applicable, the newly created directorships upon any expansion of the size of the Company Board). Each person appointed as a director of the Surviving Company pursuant to the preceding sentence shall remain in office as a director of the Surviving Company until his or her successor

 

3


is elected or appointed and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal in accordance with the Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation and the Surviving Company Bylaws.

1.6    Officers of the Surviving Company. The Parties shall take all necessary actions so that the officers of the Company at the Effective Time shall, from and after the Effective Time, be the officers of the Surviving Company until their successors have been duly elected or appointed and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or removal in accordance with the Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation and the Surviving Company Bylaws.

ARTICLE II

MERGER CONSIDERATION; EFFECT OF THE MERGER ON SECURITIES

2.1    Conversion of Securities.

(a)    Treatment of Convertible Securities.

(i)    Company Preferred Stock. Subject to the written consent of the holders of seventy percent (70%) of the then outstanding shares of Company Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, in accordance with Section B.4(b)(ii) of Article IV of the Company Charter, immediately prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall cause each share of Company Preferred Stock that is issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time to be automatically converted into a number of shares of Company Common Stock at the then-effective conversion rate as calculated pursuant to the Company Charter (the “Preferred Stock Conversion”). After the Preferred Stock Conversion, all of the shares of Company Preferred Stock shall no longer be outstanding and shall cease to exist, and each holder of Company Preferred Stock shall thereafter cease to have any rights with respect to such securities.

(ii)    Company Warrants. Effective as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall cause each Company Warrant that is issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time to be either exercised in full on a cash or cashless basis or terminated without exercise in accordance with the respective terms of such Company Warrant (such actions, collectively the “Company Warrant Settlement”). After the Company Warrant Settlement, all of the Company Warrants shall no longer be outstanding and shall cease to exist and each holder of Company Warrants shall thereafter cease to have any rights with respect to such securities except as set forth in this Section 2.1(a)(iii).

(b)    Treatment of Company Stock. At the Effective Time (and, for the avoidance of doubt, following the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement), by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of any holder thereof:

(i)    Company Common Stock. Each share of Company Common Stock (including Company Common Stock resulting from the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement) that is issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, other than the Company Dissenting Shares, shall thereupon be converted into the right to receive, and the holder of such share of Company Stock shall be entitled to receive, (i) a number

 

4


of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the Exchange Ratio, subject to rounding pursuant to Section 2.2(f) (the “Per Share Merger Consideration”) and (ii) a number of Earn-Out Shares in accordance with Section 2.8;

(ii)    Company Treasury Stock. Each share of Company Stock held in the treasury of the Company (“Treasury Shares”) immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be cancelled without any conversion thereof and no payment or distribution shall be made with respect thereto; and

(iii)    Company Dissenting Share. Each of the Company Dissenting Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be cancelled and cease to exist in accordance with Section 2.6(a) and shall thereafter represent only the right to receive the applicable payments set forth in Section 2.6(a).

(c)    Treatment of Company Options.

(i)    Company Options. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action of any Party or any other Person (but subject to Section 2.1(c)(ii)), Parent shall assume the Stock Plan (the “Assumed Plan”). At the Effective Time, each outstanding option to purchase shares of Company Common Stock (a “Company Option”) under the Stock Plan, whether vested or unvested, shall, automatically and without any required action on the part of the holder thereof, cease to represent an option to purchase shares of Company Common Stock and shall be converted into an option to purchase such number of shares of Parent Common Stock determined in accordance with this Section 2.1(c) (each, an “Assumed Option”). Each holder of an Assumed Option shall also be considered an Earn-Out Holder for purposes of Section 2.8. Each Assumed Option shall represent an option to purchase a number of shares of Parent Common Stock at such exercise price, in each case, determined as follows and as set forth in the Allocation Statement:

(A)    The number of shares of Parent Common Stock eligible for purchase under the Assumed Option shall be equal to (rounded down to the nearest whole number): (I) the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to such Company Option immediately prior to the Effective Time, multiplied by (II) the Exchange Ratio.

(B)    The exercise price shall be equal to (rounded up to the nearest whole cent): (I) the exercise price per share of Company Common Stock of such Company Option immediately prior to the Effective Time, divided by (II) the Exchange Ratio.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in all cases, the exercise price and the number of shares of Parent Common Stock purchasable pursuant to the Assumed Options shall be determined in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Additionally, in the case of any Company Option to which Section 422 of the Code applies, the exercise price and the number of shares of Parent Common Stock purchasable pursuant to such option shall be determined in accordance with the foregoing, subject to such adjustments as are necessary in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 424(a) of the Code. Except as expressly provided above, following the Effective Time, each Company Option shall continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions (including vesting and exercisability terms) as were applicable to such

 

5


Company Option immediately prior to the Effective Time. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.1(c), in the event the exercise price per share of a Company Option as in effect as of immediately prior to the Effective Time is greater than the Per Share Merger Consideration, such Company Option shall be cancelled at the Effective Time for no consideration, and each such holder of Company Options shall thereafter cease to have any rights with respect to such securities.

(ii)    Company and Parent Actions. Prior to the Closing, the Company and Parent shall take, or cause to be taken, all necessary or appropriate actions under or in connection with the Stock Plan (and the underlying grant, award or similar agreements), including to reserve for issuance a sufficient number of Parent Common Stock for delivery upon exercise of the Assumed Options under the Assumed Plan, or otherwise to give effect to the provisions of this Section 2.1; no less than five (5) business days prior to Closing, the Company and Parent shall each provide to the other copies of all such necessary or appropriate actions and a meaningful opportunity to provide comments, which comments will be adopted in good faith.

(d)    Merger Sub Stock. Each share of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall no longer be outstanding and shall thereupon be converted into and become one validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable share of common stock, par value $0.0001, of the Surviving Company, and all such shares shall constitute the only outstanding shares of capital stock of the Surviving Company as of immediately following the Effective Time.

For the avoidance of doubt, but subject to Section 2.7, the number of shares of Parent Common Stock issued or issuable in accordance with this Section 2.1 (including in connection with the exercise of Assumed Options) shall not exceed 34,000,000 (which number shall exclude any Earn-Out Shares issued in accordance with Section 2.8).

2.2    Exchange Procedures.

(a)    Exchange Agent. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall deposit or cause to be deposited with a bank or trust company selected by Parent, and consented to by the Company (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), to serve as the exchange agent (the “Exchange Agent”), for the benefit of the holders of Company Stock, an aggregate number of shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued in non-certificated book-entry form comprising the amounts required to be delivered in respect of the Merger Consideration pursuant to Section 2.1. In addition, Parent shall deposit or cause to be deposited with the Exchange Agent, as necessary from time to time after the Effective Time, any dividends or other distributions, if any, to which the holders of Company Stock may be entitled pursuant to Section 2.2(e) with both a record and payment date after the Effective Time and prior to the surrender of such Company Stock. Such shares of Parent Common Stock and the amount of any dividends or other distributions deposited with the Exchange Agent pursuant to this Section 2.2 shall be the “Exchange Fund.” The Exchange Fund shall not be used for any purpose other than a purpose expressly provided for in this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, references to “Company Stock” in this Section 2.2(a) shall exclude Company Dissenting Shares.

 

6


(b)    Procedures for Surrender. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall cause the Exchange Agent to mail to each holder of Company Stock evidenced by electronic certificates (the “Certificates”) entitled to receive the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration pursuant to Section 2.1 a letter of transmittal, which shall be in a form reasonably acceptable to Parent and the Company (the “Letter of Transmittal”) and shall specify (i) that delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title to the Certificates shall pass, only upon proper delivery of the Letter of Transmittal to the Exchange Agent, and (ii) instructions for use in effecting the surrender of the Certificates pursuant to the Letter of Transmittal. Within two (2) Business Days (but in no event prior to the Effective Time) after the surrender to the Exchange Agent of a Letter of Transmittal with respect to all Certificates held by such holder for cancellation, duly completed and validly executed in accordance with the instructions thereto and such other documents as may be required pursuant to such instructions (the “Transmittal Documents”), the holder of such Certificates shall be entitled to receive in exchange therefor and Parent shall cause the Exchange Agent to deliver, the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.1 and as set forth in the Allocation Statement, and the Certificates so surrendered shall forthwith be cancelled. Until surrendered as contemplated by this Section 2.2(b), each Certificate entitled to receive the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration in accordance with Section 2.1 shall be deemed at all times after the Effective Time to represent only the right to receive upon such surrender the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration that such holder is entitled to receive in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.1.

(c)    Delivery of Consideration to Other Persons. If any Per Share Merger Consideration is to be delivered or issued to a Person other than the Person in whose name the surrendered Certificate is registered immediately prior to the Effective Time, it shall be a condition to such delivery that (i) the transfer of such Company Stock shall have been permitted in accordance with the terms of the Organizational Documents of the Company as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) such Certificate shall be properly endorsed or shall otherwise be in proper form for transfer, (iii) the recipient of such Per Share Merger Consideration, or the Person in whose name such Per Share Merger Consideration is delivered or issued, shall have already executed and delivered such other Transmittal Documents as are reasonably deemed necessary by the Exchange Agent or Parent and (iv) the Person requesting such delivery shall pay to the Exchange Agent any transfer or other similar Taxes required as a result of such delivery to a Person other than the registered holder of such Certificate or establish to the satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such Tax has been paid or is not payable.

(d)    Stop Transfer. After the Effective Time, there shall be no further registration of transfers of Company Stock. If, after the Effective Time, Certificates are presented to the Surviving Company, Parent or the Exchange Agent, they shall be canceled and exchanged for the Per Share Merger Consideration in accordance with, the procedures set forth in this Section 2.2.

(e)    Distributions with Respect to Un-surrendered Certificates. All shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued pursuant to the Merger shall be deemed issued and outstanding as of the Effective Time and whenever a dividend or other distribution is declared by Parent in respect of the Parent Common Stock, the record date for which is at or after the Effective Time, that declaration shall include dividends or other distributions in respect of all shares issuable pursuant to this Agreement. No dividends or other distributions in respect of shares of Parent

 

7


Common Stock shall be paid to any holder of any un-surrendered Certificate until the Certificate is surrendered for exchange in accordance with this ARTICLE II. Subject to applicable Law, following such surrender, there shall be issued or paid to the holder of record of the whole shares of Parent Common Stock issued in exchange for Company Stock (other than Company Dissenting Shares) in accordance with this ARTICLE II, (i) at the time of such surrender, the dividends or other distributions with a record date after the Effective Time theretofore payable with respect to such whole shares of Parent Common Stock and not paid and (ii) at the appropriate payment date, the dividends or other distributions payable with respect to such whole shares of Parent Common Stock with a record date after the Effective Time and prior to surrender, but with a payment date subsequent to surrender.

(f)    Fractional Shares. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no fraction of a share of Parent Common Stock will be issued by virtue of the Merger or the other Transactions, and each Person who would otherwise be entitled to a fraction of a share of Parent Common Stock (after aggregating all fractional shares of Parent Common Stock that otherwise would be received by such holder) shall instead have the number of shares of Parent Common Stock issued to such Person rounded down in the aggregate to the nearest whole share of Parent Common Stock.

(g)    No Interest. No interest will be paid or accrued on any amount payable for shares of Parent Common Stock pursuant to this ARTICLE II.

(h)    Termination of Exchange Fund. Any portion of the Exchange Fund (including the proceeds of any deposit of the Exchange Fund and any shares of Parent Common Stock) that remains unclaimed by the 180th day after the Effective Time shall be delivered to Parent. Any holder of Company Stock (other than Company Dissenting Shares) who has not theretofore complied with this ARTICLE II shall thereafter look only to Parent for delivery of the Merger Consideration and any unpaid non-stock dividends and any other dividends or other distributions, in each case, that such holder has the right to receive pursuant to this ARTICLE II.

2.3    Withholding Rights. Each of Parent and the Surviving Company shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable pursuant to this Agreement to any recipient such amounts as it is required to deduct and withhold with respect to the making of such payment under the Code or any other applicable state, local or foreign Tax Law. Except when such withholding would result from a failure by the Company to deliver the FIRPTA Certificates pursuant to Section 5.6, Parent shall provide the Company with at least ten (10) days prior written notice of any amounts that Parent (or any of Parent’s representatives) intends to withhold from consideration payable to the holders of Company Common Stock hereunder and shall cooperate with the reasonable requests of the Company to reduce or eliminate any such withholding. To the extent that amounts are so withheld by Parent or the Surviving Company, as applicable, consistent with the terms of this Section 2.3, such withheld amounts (a) shall be timely remitted by Parent or the Surviving Company, as applicable, to the applicable Governmental Entity, and (b) shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the Person in respect of which such deduction and withholding was made by Parent or the Surviving Company, as applicable.

2.4    Payment of Expenses. Except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, all fees and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement, the Transaction Documents and the

 

8


transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including the fees and disbursements of counsel, financial advisors and accountants, shall be paid by the Party incurring such fees or expenses. If this Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, the Company shall pay, or cause to be paid, all fees and disbursements of the Company or its Subsidiaries for outside counsel incurred in connection with the Transactions and fees and expenses of the Company for any other agents, advisors, consultants, experts and financial advisors employed by the Company incurred in connection with the Transactions (collectively, the “Outstanding Company Expenses”) and Parent shall pay, or cause to be paid, all fees and disbursements of Parent, or Merger Sub for outside counsel and fees and expenses of Parent or Merger Sub or for any other agents, advisors, consultants, experts and financial advisors employed by or on behalf of Parent or Merger Sub incurred in connection with the Transactions (collectively, the “Outstanding Parent Expenses”). If the Closing occurs, then, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Parent shall pay, or cause to be paid, all Outstanding Company Expenses and all Outstanding Parent Expenses by wire transfer of immediately available funds.

2.5    Allocation Statement.

(a)    No later than the third (3rd) Business Day preceding the anticipated Closing Date, the Company shall prepare and deliver to Parent a statement containing the following information (the “Allocation Statement”):

(i)    the number of shares of Company Common Stock, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement, held by each Company Stockholder, the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to each Company Option held by each holder thereof and, in the case of the Company Options, the exercise price thereof;

(ii)    the number of shares of Parent Common Stock that will be subject to each Assumed Option and the exercise price of each such Assumed Option at the Effective Time, in each case, determined after giving effect to the conversion of such options in accordance with Section 2.1(c);

(iii)    the allocation of the Merger Consideration payable to the holders of Company Common Stock, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement and the portion of the Merger Consideration receivable by such holder of Company Common Stock pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement; and

(iv)    the allocation of the Earn-Out Share Consideration (as defined in Section 2.8(a)) payable, subject to Section 2.8, to the Company Earn-Out Holders (as defined in Section 2.8(a)), after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion, and the Company Warrant Settlement and the portion of the Earn-Out Share Consideration receivable by such holder of Company Common Stock pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement.

(v)    a certification, duly executed by an authorized officer of the Company, solely in his or her capacity as an authorized officer of the Company, that, to his or her

 

9


knowledge, the information and calculations delivered pursuant to clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) are, and will be as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, (a) true and correct in all respects and (b) in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Agreement, the Organizational Documents of the Company, the Company Stockholders Agreements, and applicable Laws and, in the case of the Company Options, the Stock Plan and any applicable grant or similar agreement with respect to any such Company Option.

The Company will consider in good faith any reasonable comments proposed by Parent to the Allocation Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, in no event shall the Allocation Statement (or the calculations or determinations therein) breach, as applicable, any applicable Law, the Organizational Documents of the Company, the Company Stockholders Agreements, the Company Benefit Plan or any other Contract to which the Company is a party or bound (taking into account, for the avoidance of doubt, any actions taken by the Company pursuant to Section 2.1(c)(ii)).

(b)    Parent and Merger Sub shall be entitled to rely on the information in the Allocation Statement in issuing the Per Share Merger Consideration and converting the Company Options into the Assumed Options.

2.6    Appraisal Rights.

(a)    Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary and to the extent available under the DGCL, shares of Company Stock that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and that are held by Company Stockholders who shall have not voted in favor of the Merger, consented thereto in writing or waived their respective appraisal or dissenters’ rights under the Company Stockholders Agreements or otherwise, and who shall have demanded properly in writing appraisal or dissenters’ rights for such Company Stock in accordance with Section 262 of the DGCL, and otherwise complied with all of the provisions of the DGCL relevant to the exercise and perfection of appraisal rights, shall not be converted into, and such Company Stockholders shall have no right to receive, the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration, unless and until such stockholder fails to perfect, withdraws or otherwise loses his, her or its right to appraisal and payment under the DGCL. Any Company Stockholder who fails to perfect, effectively withdraws or otherwise loses his, her or its rights to appraisal with respect to such shares of Company Stock under Section 262 of the DGCL shall thereupon be deemed to have been converted into, and to have become exchangeable, as of the Effective Time, for the right to receive the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration, without any interest thereon, upon surrender, if applicable, in the manner provided in Section 2.2(b), of the Certificate or Certificates that formerly evidenced such shares of Company Stock, and such shares of Company Stock shall cease to be “Company Dissenting Shares” for purposes of this Agreement.

(b)    Prior to the Closing, the Company shall give Parent prompt notice (and in any event within two Business Days) of any demands received by the Company for appraisal of shares of Company Stock, attempted withdrawals of such demands and any other instruments served pursuant to the DGCL and received by the Company relating to rights to be paid the fair value of Company Dissenting Shares, and Parent shall have the right to participate in, at its sole cost and expense, but not control, all negotiations and proceedings with respect to such demands. Prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall not, except with the prior written consent of Parent

 

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(which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), make any payment with respect to, or settle or compromise or offer to settle or compromise, any such demands or waive any failure to timely deliver a written demand for appraisal or otherwise comply with the provisions under Section 262 of the DGCL, or agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.

2.7    Adjustments to Prevent Dilution. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if, from the date of this Agreement to the earlier of the Effective Time and termination in accordance with ARTICLE IX, the issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for shares of Company Common Stock or the issued and outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for shares of Parent Common Stock shall have been changed into a different number of shares or securities or a different class by reason of any reclassification, stock split (including a reverse stock split), stock dividend or distribution, recapitalization, merger, issuer tender or exchange offer, or other similar transaction, or a stock dividend with a record date within such period shall have been declared, then the Per Share Merger Consideration shall be equitably adjusted to provide the holders of shares of Company Common Stock and Parent the same economic effect as contemplated by this Agreement prior to such event, and such items so adjusted shall, from and after the date of such event, be the Per Share Merger Consideration. Nothing in this Section 2.7 shall be construed to permit the Parties to take any action except to the extent consistent with, and not otherwise prohibited by, the terms of this Agreement.

2.8    Earn-Out.

(a)    Issuance of Earn-Out Shares. Following the Closing, and as additional consideration in respect of Participating Company Common Shares (as defined in this Section 2.8(d)), within ten (10) Business Days after the occurrence of the Triggering Event (as defined in Section 2.8(d)), Parent shall issue or cause to be issued to Persons who held such Participating Company Common Shares (the “Company Earn-Out Holders”), in accordance with their respective Earn-Out Pro Rata Shares (as defined in Section 2.8(d)), a one-time aggregate issuance of 5,000,000 shares of Parent Common Stock (which shall be equitably adjusted for stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations, reclassifications, combinations, mergers, issuer tender or exchange offers or other like changes or transactions with respect to shares of Parent Common Stock occurring on or after the date hereof until the termination of the Earn-Out Period (as defined in Section 2.8(d)) (other than the Merger and the conversion of shares of Parent Class B Common Stock into shares of Parent Class A Common Stock at the Closing)), fully paid, non-assessable and free and clear of all Encumbrances other than applicable securities Law restrictions (as so adjusted, the “Earn-Out Shares” and such consideration, the “Earn-Out Share Consideration”).

(b)    Acceleration Event. If, during the Earn-Out Period, there is a Change of Control (as defined in Section 2.8(d)) that will result in the holders of Parent Common Stock receiving a per share price (based on the value of the cash, securities or in-kind consideration being delivered in respect of such Parent Common Stock) equal to or in excess of the Parent Common Share Price (as defined in Section 2.8(d)) required in connection with the Triggering Event (an “Acceleration Event”), then immediately prior to the consummation of such Change of Control (i) the Triggering Event shall be deemed to have occurred and (ii) Parent shall issue the applicable

 

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Earn-Out Shares to the Company Earn-Out Holders (in accordance with their respective Earn-Out Pro Rata Share), and the Company Earn-Out Holders shall be eligible to participate in such Change of Control. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of a Change of Control which does not constitute an Acceleration Event, the Earn-Out Period shall expire upon such Change of Control and the Earn-Out Share Consideration shall not be paid or payable under any circumstances.

(c)    Earn-Out Cap; Service Requirements. For the avoidance of doubt, (i) the Triggering Event (or Acceleration Event, if applicable) shall only occur once, if at all, and in no event shall the Company Earn-Out Holders be entitled to receive more than 5,000,000 Earn-Out Shares (subject to adjustment for stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations, reclassifications, combinations, mergers, issuer tender or exchange offers or other like changes or transactions with respect to shares of Parent Common Stock occurring on or after the date hereof until the termination of the Earn-Out Period (other than the Merger and the conversion of shares of Parent Class B Common Stock into shares of Parent Class A Common Stock at the Closing)) and (ii) the opportunity for the Company Earn-Out Holders to receive the Earn-Out Share Consideration upon the occurrence of a Triggering Event (or Acceleration Event, if applicable) shall expire at the end of the Earn-Out Period. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any Earn-Out Shares issuable under this Section 2.8 to any Company Earn-Out Holder in respect of Assumed Options held by such Company Earn-Out Holder as of the Effective Time (such Earn-Out Shares, “Earn-Out Option Shares”) shall be issued to such Company Earn-Out Holder only if such Company Earn-Out Holder continues to provide services (whether as an employee, director or individual independent contractor) to Parent or one of its Subsidiaries through the date of the occurrence of the Triggering Event (or Acceleration Event, if applicable) (the “Service Requirement”) (any Earn-Out Holder not eligible to receive Earn-Out Option Shares in respect of his or her Assumed Options by reason of failure to meet the Service Requirement, an “Ineligible Earn-Out Option Holder”). Any Earn-Out Option Shares that are not issued pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be reallocated to the other Company Earn-Out Holders who remain entitled to receive Earn-Out Shares in accordance with their respective Earn-Out Pro Rata Shares.

(d)    Defined Terms. The following terms shall be defined as follows:

(i)    “Change of Control” means any transaction or series of transactions the result of which is: (a) the acquisition by any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) of Persons of direct or indirect beneficial ownership of securities representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent; (b) a merger, consolidation, business combination, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar transaction, however effected, resulting in any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) acquiring 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent or the surviving or successor entity immediately after such combination; (c) a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; provided, however, that any securities of Parent issued in a bona fide financing transaction or series of bona fide financing transactions shall be excluded from the definition of “Change of Control”.

 

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(ii)    “Earn-Out Period” means the period beginning on the first Business Day following the Closing Date and ending on the date that is two (2) years after such date.

(iii)    “Earn-Out Pro Rata Share” means, for each Company Earn-Out Holder, a percentage determined by the quotient of:

(A)    The Participating Company Common Shares held by or issuable to the Company Earn-Out Holder as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, divided by

(B)    The total Participating Company Common Shares that are held by or issuable to all Company Earn-Out Holders as of immediately prior to the Effective Time.

(iv)    “Parent Common Share Price” means the share price equal to the closing share price of Parent Common Stock for a period of at least 20 trading days out of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the trading day immediately prior to the date of determination (as equitably adjusted for stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations, reclassifications, combinations, mergers, issuer tender or exchange offers or other like changes or transactions with respect to shares of Parent Common Stock occurring on or after the date hereof until the termination of the Earn-Out Period (other than the Merger and the conversion of shares of Parent Class B Common Stock into shares of Parent Class A Common Stock at the Closing)).

(v)    “Participating Company Common Shares” means (A) all shares of Company Common Stock (after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement) as of immediately prior to the Effective Time plus (B) the total number of shares of Company Common Stock issuable assuming full exercise of all Assumed Options as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (without regard to the vested or unvested status of such Assumed Options), excluding any Assumed Options held by Ineligible Earn-Out Option Holders.

(vi)    “Triggering Event” means that, subject to Section 2.8(b) and Section 2.8(c), the date on which the Parent Common Share Price equals or exceeds $20.00 over at least 20 trading days out of 30 consecutive trading day period commencing after the Closing Date, but within the Earn-Out Period.

ARTICLE III

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

Except as set forth in the corresponding sections or subsections of the disclosure letter delivered to Parent by the Company concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement (the “Company Disclosure Letter”) (it being agreed that for purposes of the representations and warranties set forth in this ARTICLE III, (a) disclosure of any item in any section or subsection of the Company Disclosure Letter shall be deemed disclosure with respect to the corresponding section of this Agreement notwithstanding the omission of a reference to such

 

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section of the Company Disclosure Letter in such section of this Agreement and (b) disclosure of any item in any section or subsection of the Company Disclosure Letter shall be deemed disclosure with respect to any other section or subsection to which the relevance of such item is reasonably apparent on its face), the Company hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Merger Sub as follows:

3.1    Organization, Good Standing and Qualification. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is a legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization, except in the case of the Company’s Subsidiaries, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as presently conducted and is qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other legal entity in each jurisdiction where the ownership, leasing or operation of its assets or properties or conduct of its business requires such qualification, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has made available to Parent complete and correct copies of the Company’s Organizational Documents, each as amended prior to the execution of this Agreement, and complete and correct copies of its Subsidiaries’ Organizational Documents, each as amended prior to the execution of this Agreement, and each as made available to Parent is in full force and effect. Section 3.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter contains a true and correct list as of the Execution Date of each jurisdiction in which the Company and its Subsidiaries are organized and qualified to do business.

3.2    Capital Structure of the Company.

(a)    Company Stock. Section 3.2(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, as of the date of this Agreement, the following true and correct information with respect to the shares of Company Stock: (i) the authorized, issued and outstanding shares of each class and series of Company Stock, (ii) the holders of the shares of each class and series of Company Stock and (iii) the shares of Company Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to the Company Warrants, Company Options, and the Stock Plan. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company (A) have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, (B) were offered, sold and issued in compliance in all material respects with applicable securities Laws, and (C) were not issued in breach or violation of the Company’s Organizational Documents or any preemptive rights, purchase option, call option, right of first refusal or offer, subscription right or any similar right issued by the Company.

(b)    Company Options. Section 3.2(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, as of the date of this Agreement, the following true and correct information with respect to Company Options: (i) the Company Options issued and outstanding, and the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to each Company Option; (ii) the holder of each Company Option; (iii) the exercise price with respect to each Company Option; (iv) the grant date of each Company Option; (v) the vesting schedule for each Company Option; and (vi) whether such Company Option is intended to qualify as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code. Each Company Option was granted in compliance in all material respects with all applicable securities Laws, the Company’s Organizational Documents and the terms and conditions of the Stock Plan pursuant to which it was issued. Upon any issuance of any shares of

 

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Company Common Stock in accordance with the terms of the Company Option governing such shares and the Stock Plan, such shares of Company Common Stock will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free and clear of Encumbrances created by the Company or applicable Law (other than such Encumbrances as created by the Company’s Organizational Documents or applicable securities Laws).

(c)    Company Warrants. Section 3.2(c) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, as of the date of this Agreement, the following true and correct information with respect to the Company Warrants: (i) the Company Warrants issued and outstanding, and the number of shares of each class and series of Company Stock subject to each Company Warrant; (ii) the holder of each Company Warrant; (iii) the exercise or purchase price of such Company Warrant; (iv) the date on which such Company Warrant was issued; and (v) the date on which such Company Warrant expires. The Company has made available to Parent true and correct copies of the Company Warrants. All outstanding Company Warrants (A) were issued in compliance in all material respects with applicable securities Laws and (B) were not issued in material breach or violation of the Company’s Organizational Documents or any preemptive rights, purchase option, call option, right of first refusal or offer, subscription right or any similar right issued by the Company. All shares of the Company subject to issuance pursuant to any Company Warrant, upon issuance on the terms and conditions specified therein, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

(d)    No Other Securities or Rights. Except as set forth in Section 3.2(a) through (c) of the Company Disclosure Letter, there are no (i) shares of any class or series of capital stock of the Company authorized, issued, outstanding or reserved for issuance, (ii) options, warrants, convertible securities, subscription rights or other similar instruments or rights entitling its holder to receive or acquire shares of capital stock or other securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) equity appreciation rights, restricted stock units, phantom stock or other securities, instruments or awards issued or granted as compensatory equity or pursuant any equity incentive arrangements of the Company. Except as set forth in the Company’s Organizational Documents, none of the Company’s shares of capital stock or other securities are subject to any preemptive rights, redemption rights, repurchase rights, rights of refusal or offer, tag-along rights, drag-along rights or other similar rights issued by the Company. The Company does not have outstanding any bonds, debentures, notes or other debt securities the holders of which have the right to vote (or convertible into or exercisable for securities having the right to vote) with the stockholders of the Company on any matter. Except for the Organizational Documents of the Company and the Company Stockholders Agreements, as of the date of this Agreement, there are no stockholders agreements, investor rights agreements, voting agreements or trusts, proxies, or other agreements with respect to the voting or disposition of the Company Stock or any capital stock or equity securities of its Subsidiaries to which the Company is a party.

(e)    Subsidiaries. Section 3.2(e) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth (i) each of the Company’s Subsidiaries and the ownership interest of the Company (or another of its Subsidiaries) in each such Subsidiary and (ii) the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ capital stock, other equity interest, or other direct or indirect ownership interest in any other Person. Each of the outstanding shares of capital stock or other securities of each of the Company’s Subsidiaries is duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and owned by the Company or by a direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company, free and clear of any Encumbrance

 

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(other than such Encumbrances as created by such Subsidiary’s Organizational Documents or applicable securities Laws). Except as set forth in Section 3.2(e), the Company has no other Subsidiaries and does not directly or indirectly own or hold any (i) equity securities, including any partnership, limited liability company or joint venture interests, in any other Person, (ii) securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities of any other Person or (iii) options or other rights to acquire equity securities of any other Person, in each case, other than securities in a publicly traded entity held for investment by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and consisting of less than 1% of the outstanding capital stock of such entity. The Company is not party to any Contract that obligates the Company to invest money in, loan money to or make any capital contribution to any other Person.

3.3    Corporate Authority; Approval and Fairness.

(a)    The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority and has taken all corporate action necessary in order to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Agreement and each Transaction Document to which it is a party and to consummate the Transactions, subject only to adoption of this Agreement by (i) a majority of the outstanding number of shares of Company Stock as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (voting together as a single class on an as-converted to Company Common Stock basis) and (ii) fifty-five percent (55%) of the outstanding number of shares of Company Preferred Stock as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (voting together as a single class on an as-converted to Company Common Stock basis), in each case, in favor of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Merger (the “Company Stockholder Approval”). This Agreement has been, and each Transaction Document will be, duly executed and delivered by the Company, and assuming due authorization and execution by each other party hereto and thereto, constitutes, or will constitute, as applicable, a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar Laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles (the “Bankruptcy and Equity Exception”). The Company Stockholder Approval is the only vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Company required to approve and adopt this Agreement and approve the Transactions.

(b)    The Company Board has (i) determined that the Merger is fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and the Company Stockholders, approved and declared advisable this Agreement, the Merger and the other Transactions, and resolved to recommend adoption of this Agreement to the holders of shares of Company Stock and (ii) directed that this Agreement be submitted to the Company Stockholders for their adoption.

3.4    Governmental Filings; No Violations; Certain Contracts, Etc.

(a)    Other than the filings, notices, reports, consents, registrations, approvals, permits, clearances, expirations or terminations of waiting periods or authorizations (i) pursuant to the DGCL, (ii) under the HSR Act, the Exchange Act and the Securities Act, and (iii) under state securities, takeover and “blue sky” Laws, no filings, notices, reports, consents, registrations, approvals, permits, clearances, expirations or terminations of waiting periods or authorizations are required to be made by the Company with, or obtained by the Company from, any Governmental

 

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Entity in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company and the consummation of the Transactions, or in connection with the continuing operation of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries following the Effective Time, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions.

(b)    Except as set forth on Section 3.4(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Transaction Documents by the Company do not, and the consummation of the Transactions by the Company will not, constitute or result in (i) a breach or violation of, or a default under, the Organizational Documents of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) with or without notice, lapse of time or both, a breach or violation of, a termination (or right of termination) of or default under, the creation or acceleration of any obligations under or the creation of an Encumbrance on any of the material assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any Company Material Contract binding upon the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or assuming (solely with respect to performance of this Agreement and consummation of the Transactions) compliance with the matters referred to in Section 3.4(a), under any Law to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is subject or (iii) any change in the rights or obligations of any party under any Company Material Contract binding upon the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except, in the case of clause (ii) or (iii) above, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions.

3.5    Financial Statements; Internal Controls.

(a)    Section 3.5 of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth (i) the audited consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2019 and the audited consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss, statement of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit and statement of cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the same period, together with the auditor’s report thereon, and (ii) the unaudited balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss, statement of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit and statement of cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the same period (the “Financial Statements”). The Financial Statements (including any related notes and schedules thereto) present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position, results of operations, income (loss), changes in equity and cash flows of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the dates and for the periods indicated in such Financial Statements (subject, in the case of unaudited Financial Statements, to customary year-end audit adjustments), in each case, in conformity with GAAP (except, in the case of unaudited Financial Statements, for the omission of notes thereto), consistently applied during the periods involved, and were derived from, and accurately reflect in all material respects, the books and records of the Company and its Subsidiaries.

(b)    The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls designed 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

 

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accountability; (iii) access to property 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.

3.6    Absence of Certain Changes. Between December 31, 2020, and the date hereof:

(a)    there has not occurred any effect, event, development, change, state of facts, condition, circumstance or occurrence that, individually or in the aggregate with others, resulted in or would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and

(b)    the Company and its Subsidiaries have, in all material respects, operated in the ordinary course of business.

3.7    No Undisclosed Liabilities. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no liabilities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that would be required to be set forth or reserved for on a balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries (and the notes thereto) prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied and in accordance with past practice, except for liabilities (a) reflected or reserved against in the Financial Statements or disclosed in the notes thereto, (b) incurred in the ordinary course of business between December 31, 2020 and the date hereof, (c) incurred in connection with this Agreement, (d) disclosed in the Company Disclosure Letter, (e) incurred pursuant to Contracts or Permits binding on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and entered into or obtained by the Company in the ordinary course of business (other than those resulting from any breach of or default under such Contract or Permit) or (f) that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

3.8    Litigation.

(a)    As of the date hereof, there are no Proceedings pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions.

(b)    As of the date hereof, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or subject to the provisions of any Governmental Order that restricts the manner in which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries conducts its business, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions.

3.9    Compliance with Laws; Permits.

(a)    Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries are, and since the Look-Back Date have been, in compliance with all applicable Laws, except where the failure to be, or to have been, in compliance with such Laws would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole or prevent, materially

 

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delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions. As of the Execution Date, the Company has not received any written notice of any noncompliance with any such Laws that has not been cured as of the date of this Agreement, except for any noncompliance that would not, individually or in the aggregate with other instances of noncompliance, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(b)    As of the Execution Date, no investigation or review by any Governmental Entity with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened, except with respect to regulatory matters covered by Section 3.21 or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(c)    The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has obtained and is in compliance in all material respects with all Permits necessary for them to own, lease or operate their properties and assets and to conduct their respective businesses and operations as presently conducted. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in default or violation (and no event has occurred which, with notice or the lapse of time or both, would constitute a default or violation) of any term, condition or provision of Permit to which it is a party, except where such default or violation would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, nor, as of the Execution Date, are there any pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened modifications, amendments, cancellations, suspensions, limitations, non-renewals or revocations of any such Permit by any Governmental Entity, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Permits shall cease to be effective as a result of the consummation of the Transactions, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries.

(d)    The Company, its Subsidiaries, and to the Knowledge of the Company, their respective Representatives are in compliance with, and since the Look-Back Date have complied with, (i) the FCPA, and (ii) the provisions of all anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering Laws of each jurisdiction in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate or have operated and in which any agent thereof is conducting or has conducted business involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except, in each case of clauses (i) and (ii), for any noncompliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or to the Knowledge of the Company, any of their respective Representatives have paid, offered or promised to pay, or authorized or ratified the payment, directly or indirectly, of any unlawful bribes, kickbacks or other similar unlawful payments, to any national, provincial, municipal or other Government Official or any political party or candidate for political office for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of such official or of any Governmental Entity to obtain or retain business, or direct business to any person or to secure any other improper benefit or advantage, in each case, in violation in any material respect of the FCPA and any Laws described in clause (ii). The Company and each of its Subsidiaries is, and since the Look-Back Date have been, in compliance with relevant sanctions and export control Laws and regulations in jurisdictions in which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries do business or are otherwise subject to jurisdiction.

 

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3.10    Employee Benefits.

(a)    Section 3.10(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth an accurate and complete list of each material Company Benefit Plan.

(b)    With respect to each material Company Benefit Plan, the Company has made available to Parent, to the extent applicable, accurate and complete copies of (i) the Company Benefit Plan document, including any amendments thereto, and all related trust documents, insurance contracts or other funding vehicles, (ii) a written description of such Company Benefit Plan if such plan is not set forth in a written document, (iii) the most recent summary plan description together with any summaries of all material modifications thereto, (iv) the most recent IRS determination or opinion letter, (v) the most recent annual reports (Form 5500 or 9900 series and all schedules and financial statements attached thereto), (vi) the most recently prepared actuarial report and (vii) all material and non-routine correspondence to or from any Governmental Entity received in the last three years with respect to any Company Benefit Plan.

(c)    Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: (i) each Company Benefit Plan (including any related trusts), other than any “multiemployer plans” within the meaning of Section 3(37) of ERISA (each, a “Multiemployer Plan”), has been established, operated and administered in compliance with its terms and applicable Law, including ERISA and the Code, (ii) all contributions or other amounts payable by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to each Company Benefit Plan in respect of current or prior plan years have been paid or accrued in accordance with GAAP and (iii) there are no Proceedings (other than routine claims for benefits) pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing by a Governmental Entity by, on behalf of or against any Company Benefit Plan or any trust related thereto.

(d)    Each ERISA Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has been determined by the IRS to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code (or time is remaining to apply for such determination), and to the Knowledge of the Company nothing has occurred that would adversely affect the qualification or tax exemption of any such Company Benefit Plan. With respect to any ERISA Plan, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged in a transaction in connection with which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries reasonably could be subject to either a civil penalty assessed pursuant to Section 409 or 502(i) of ERISA or a tax imposed pursuant to Section 4975 or 4976 of the Code, in either case, that could reasonably be expected to result in any material liability to the Company.

(e)    No Company Benefit Plan is, and neither the Company nor any Company ERISA Affiliate sponsors, maintains, contributes to (is required to contribute to) or has any liability or obligation with respect to or under: (i) a Multiemployer Plan; (ii) a “defined benefit plan” (as defined in Section 3(35) of ERISA, whether or not subject to ERISA) or a plan that is or was subject to Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code; (iii) a “multiple employer plan” within the meaning of Section of 413(c) of the Code or Section 210 of ERISA; or (iv) a “multiple employer welfare arrangement” as defined in Section 3(40) of ERISA.

(f)    Except as required by applicable Law, no Company Benefit Plan provides retiree or post-employment medical, disability, life insurance or other welfare benefits coverage to any Person, and none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has any obligation to provide such benefits.

 

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(g)    Each Company Benefit Plan that constitutes in any part a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” (as defined under
Section 409A(d)(1) of the Code) subject to Section 409A of the Code has been operated and administered in all material respects in operational compliance with, and is in all material respects in documentary compliance with, Section 409A of the Code and its purpose.

(h)    Except as set forth on Section 3.10(h) of the Company Disclosure Letter, neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the consummation of the Transactions could, either alone or in combination with another event, (i) entitle any Company Employee to severance pay or any increase in severance pay, or (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of compensation due to any such Company Employee, or (iii) result in the payment of any amount that could individually or in combination with any other such payment, constitute an “excess parachute payment” as defined in Section 280G(b)(1) of the Code.

(i)    Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any obligation to provide, and no Company Benefit Plan or other agreement provides, any individual with the right to, a gross up, indemnification, reimbursement or other payment for any excise or additional taxes, interest or penalties incurred pursuant to Section 409A or Section 4999 of the Code.

(j)    Each Company Benefit Plan that is subject to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”) has been established, maintained and administered in compliance with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

3.11    Labor Matters.

(a)    Section 3.11 of the Company Disclosure Letter contains a complete and accurate list of all employees of the Company as of the date of this Agreement, setting forth for each employee: (i) the employee’s position or title; (ii) the entity that employs the individual; (iii) whether classified as exempt or non-exempt for wage and hour purposes; (iv) whether paid on a salary, hourly or commission basis; (v) the employee’s actual annual base salary (if paid on a salary basis), hourly rate (if paid on an hourly basis), or commission rate (if paid on a purely commission basis), as applicable; (vi) bonus and commission potential; (vii) for any part-time employee, average scheduled hours per week; (viii) date of hire; (ix) business location; (x) status (i.e., active or inactive and if inactive, the type of leave and estimated duration); and (xi) any visa or work permit status and the date of expiration, if applicable.

(b)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or other agreement with a labor union or like organization, and to the Knowledge of the Company, there are no activities or Proceedings by any individual or group of individuals, including representatives of any labor organizations or labor unions, to organize any employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

(c)    As of the date of this Agreement and since the Look-Back Date, there is no, and has not been any, strike, lockout, slowdown, work stoppage, unfair labor practice or other

 

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material labor dispute, or material arbitration or grievance pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing that may interfere in any material respect with the respective business activities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of the Company to consummate the Transactions. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no Proceedings by or on behalf of any Company Employee against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries.

(d)    Except as would not reasonably be expected to result in, individually or in the aggregate, a material Liability to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, each the Company and any of its Subsidiaries is, and since Look-Back Date has been, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws regarding labor, employment and employment practices, including all Laws respecting terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, employee classification (including the classification of independent contractors and exempt and non-exempt employees), discrimination, harassment or retaliation, whistleblowing, immigration (including the completion of Forms I-9 for all U.S. employees and the proper confirmation of employee visas), disability rights or benefits, equal opportunity, plant closures and layoffs (including the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act or any similar state or local Law), COVID-19, affirmative action, workers’ compensation, labor relations, employee leave issues, employee trainings and notices, and unemployment insurance.

(e)    As of the date hereof, no employee of any of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries who will qualify as an “executive officer” (as defined in Rule 3b-7 of the Exchange Act) following the Closing, has given written or, to the knowledge of the Company, oral notice to the Company or any of such Subsidiary of his or her intent to terminate his or her employment with the Company or any of such Subsidiary prior to the one-year anniversary of the Closing.

3.12    Environmental Matters. (a) The Company and its Subsidiaries have, since the Look-Back Date, complied in all material respects with all applicable Environmental Laws; (b) to the Knowledge of the Company, no property currently or formerly owned or operated by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (including soils, groundwater, surface water, buildings and surface and subsurface structures) is contaminated with any Hazardous Substance; (c) to the Knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to material liability for any Hazardous Substance disposal or contamination on any third party property; (d) as of the Execution Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice, demand letter, claim or request for information alleging that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries may be in violation of or subject to liability under any Environmental Law; (e) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any current Governmental Order relating to any non-compliance with any Environmental Law by the Company or its Subsidiaries; and (f) to the Knowledge of the Company, there are no other circumstances or conditions involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that could reasonably be expected to result in any material claim, liability, investigation, cost or restriction on the ownership, use, or transfer of any property pursuant to any Environmental Law.

The Company has made available to Parent copies of all material environmental, health and safety reports that were prepared for the Company by third parties and are in the Company’s possession relating to the operations, properties or facilities of the Company since the Look-Back Date.

 

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3.13    Tax Matters.

(a)    The Company and each of its Subsidiaries (i) have filed (taking into account any extension of time within which to file) all material Tax Returns required to be filed by any of them with the appropriate Taxing authority, and all such filed Tax Returns are complete and accurate in all material respects; and (ii) have paid all material Taxes that are required to be paid by them (whether or not shown on any Tax Returns), except for Taxes being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been established in accordance with GAAP.

(b)    No written claims have been made in the last six years by any Governmental Entity in a jurisdiction where the Company or any of its Subsidiaries does not file Tax Returns that such entity is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction, which claims have not been resolved or withdrawn.

(c)    No deficiency with respect to material Taxes has been proposed, asserted or assessed against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except for deficiencies which have been fully satisfied by payment, settled, withdrawn or otherwise resolved. There are no Proceedings pending or threatened in writing regarding any material Taxes of the Company and its Subsidiaries.

(d)    There are no Encumbrances for Taxes (except for statutory Encumbrances with respect to Taxes not yet due and payable) on any of the assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

(e)    Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has timely withheld and paid to the appropriate Governmental Entity all material amounts required to have been withheld and paid in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee, individual independent contractor, other service providers, equity interest holder or other third party.

(f)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has consented to extend or waive the time in which any material Tax may be assessed or collected by any Governmental Entity, other than any such extensions or waivers that are no longer in effect or that were extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business.

(g)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or is bound by any Tax sharing, allocation or indemnification agreement or arrangement (other than such an agreement or arrangement exclusively between or among the Company and its Subsidiaries, and other than any commercial contract entered into by the Company or its Subsidiaries the primary subject of which is not Taxes).

(h)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries (A) has been a member of an affiliated group filing a consolidated federal income Tax Return (other than a group the common parent of which is or was the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) or (B) has any material liability for the Taxes of any person (other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar provision of Law), as a transferee or successor or by contract (other than liabilities pursuant to a commercial contract entered into by the Company or its Subsidiaries the primary subject of which is not Taxes).

 

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(i)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has been, within the past two (2) years, a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” (within the meaning of Section 355(a)(1)(A) of the Code) in a distribution of stock intended to qualify for tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Code.

(j)    Neither Parent nor any Affiliate thereof (including after the Closing, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) will be required to include any material item of income in, or exclude any material item of deduction from, taxable income for any Tax period (or portion thereof) commencing after the Closing as a result of: (i) any change in method of accounting for a taxable period ending prior to the Closing Date; (ii) any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code (or any corresponding or similar provision of state, provincial, municipal, local or non-U.S. income Tax law) executed on or prior to the Closing Date; (iii) any deferred intercompany gain or excess loss account described in Treasury Regulations under Section 1502 of the Code (or any corresponding or similar provision of state, provincial, municipal, local or non-U.S. income Tax law) arising from transactions occurring before the Closing Date; (iv) any installment sale or open transaction disposition made prior to the Closing Date; (v) any prepaid or deferred amount received prior to the Closing Date; or (vi) any election under Sections 108(i) or 965 of the Code or any corresponding or similar provision of state, provincial, municipal, local or non-U.S. income Tax law.

(k)    Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has participated in a “listed transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b)(2).

(l)    To the Knowledge of the Company, there are no facts, circumstances or plans that, either alone or in combination, could reasonably be expected to prevent the Transaction from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment.

3.14    Real and Personal Property.

(a)    Neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries owns any real property.

(b)    Section 3.14(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, as of the date of this Agreement, a true and correct list of each real property lease or sublease entered into by the Company or any Subsidiary (the “Leases”). The Company or one of its Subsidiaries holds a valid and enforceable leasehold interest under such Leases, free and clear of all Encumbrances created by the Company or its Subsidiaries, other than (i) Encumbrances that do not materially affect the use of such real property by the Company or its Subsidiary, and (ii) Permitted Encumbrances. Each Lease is a valid and binding obligation on the Company or its Subsidiary, and to the Knowledge of the Company, the other parties thereto, and is enforceable and in full force and effect in accordance with its terms, subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception. Neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries has delivered or received any written notice of any default or breach of any Lease which has not been cured. The Company has made available to Parent true and correct copies of the Leases.

 

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(c)    Except for assets sold, consumed or disposed of in the ordinary course of business since December 31, 2020, the Company and its Subsidiary own good title to, or hold a valid leasehold interest in or license to, all of their material tangible personal property shown to be owned or leased by it on the Financial Statement for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2020 or acquired after the date thereof, free and clear of all Encumbrances, other than Permitted Encumbrances.

3.15    Intellectual Property; IT Assets; Data Privacy.

(a)    Section 3.15(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth a true and complete list as of the Execution Date of all Company Intellectual Property that is Registered (collectively, the “Registered Intellectual Property”). The Registered Intellectual Property is subsisting, and each of the issued and granted items included in the Registered Intellectual Property is, to the Knowledge of the Company, valid and enforceable. There are no inventorship challenges, opposition or nullity proceedings or interferences with respect to any patents or patent applications included in the Registered Intellectual Property, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing. There has been no claim, action, suit or proceeding pending, or to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened in writing since the Look-Back Date, against the Company or its Subsidiaries concerning the ownership, validity, registerability or enforceability of any Company Intellectual Property.

(b)    Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, to the Knowledge of the Company, the Company and its Subsidiaries own or have the sufficient right to use, pursuant to a written license, all material Intellectual Property Rights used in or necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted. To the Knowledge of the Company, the Company Intellectual Property is not subject to any outstanding Governmental Order adversely affecting the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ rights to or use of such Intellectual Property Rights.

(c)    With the exception of any material Intellectual Property set forth at Section 3.15(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company and its Subsidiaries solely and exclusively own all material Company Intellectual Property, free and clear of all Encumbrances, other than Permitted Encumbrances.

(d)    To the Knowledge of the Company, none of the products or services distributed, sold, or offered by the Company and its Subsidiaries nor the conduct of the respective businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate, or have infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated since the Look-Back Date, any Intellectual Property Rights of any Person, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company. As of the Execution Date, there has been no claim or action, suit or other Proceeding pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing against the Company or its Subsidiaries since the Look-Back Date alleging the foregoing.

(e)    To the Knowledge of the Company, no Person is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated since the Look-Back Date any Company Intellectual Property. Since the Look-Back Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has asserted in writing, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened a claim, action, suit or proceeding against any third party alleging the foregoing.

 

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(f)    The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality and value of all trade secrets and other material confidential information that are owned, used or held by the Company or its Subsidiaries, and to the Knowledge of the Company, such trade secrets and confidential information have not been disclosed by the Company or its Subsidiaries to any Person, except pursuant to written non-disclosure and/or license agreements which, to the Knowledge of the Company, have not been breached.

(g)    To the Knowledge of the Company, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have obtained from all Persons (including current or former employees, officers, directors, consultants and contractors) who have created or developed any material Intellectual Property Rights for or on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries written, present assignments of all right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights to the Company or its applicable Subsidiary.

(h)    To the Knowledge of the Company, no Software included in the Company Intellectual Property is subject to any “open source” or “copyleft” obligations that conditions the distribution of any such Software on (i) the disclosure, licensing or distribution of any source code for such Software; (ii) the grant to licensees of the right to make derivative works or other modifications to such Software; (iii) the licensing under terms that allow such Software to be reverse engineered; or (iv) redistribution or public disclosure of such Software at no license fee, in each case of (i)-(iv) except as would not be expected to be material to the Company.

(i)    To the Knowledge of the Company, no Person other than the Company and its Affiliates and employees and contractors of the Company and its Affiliates has been provided with the source code, or has a right to be provided with the source code (including any such right that may arise after the occurrence of any specified event or circumstance), for any material Software included in the Company Intellectual Property.

(j)    To the Knowledge of the Company, the IT Assets owned, controlled or otherwise used by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (i) are sufficient in all material respects for the current needs of the businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries, (ii) operate and perform in all material respects as required by each of the Company and its Subsidiaries in connection with their respective businesses as currently conducted, and (iii) have not materially malfunctioned or failed since the Look-Back Date. To the Knowledge of the Company, no Person has gained or attempted to gain unauthorized access to such IT Assets since the Look-Back Date. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries have implemented commercially reasonable backup and disaster recovery technology processes.

(k)    To the Knowledge of the Company, the Company and its Subsidiaries have established and implemented written policies and organizational, physical, administrative, and technical policies regarding privacy and cybersecurity that are, in all material respects, commercially reasonable and consistent with applicable data privacy and security contractual obligations, of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and applicable Law. The Company and its Subsidiaries’ privacy policies are posted and accessible on the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’

 

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websites and on any other mechanism through which the Company or its Subsidiaries collects, uses, stores, processes, transmits, transfers or discloses Personal Information, in each case, as required under applicable Law, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have complied with all of such policies, and with all applicable Laws, in each case, regarding Personal Information, including with respect to the collection, use, storage, processing, transmission, transfer (including cross-border transfers), disclosure and protection of Personal Information, including complying with all applicable requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and all other Laws implementing, supplementing, amending, replacing or superseding the foregoing, except where the failure to comply would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(l)    To the Knowledge of the Company, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and to the extent required under applicable Laws, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have written agreements in place with all Persons who collect, use, store, process, transmit, transfer, or disclose Personal Information by or on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries, which agreements require such Persons to safeguard such Personal Information in a manner consistent with commitments of the Company and its Subsidiaries and in compliance with all applicable Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable steps designed to ensure that Personal Information that is collected, used, stored, processed, transmitted, transferred, or disclosed by the Company or its Subsidiaries is protected against loss and against unauthorized access, use, disclosure or processing. To the Knowledge of the Company, except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, there have not been any data breaches or other incidents of unauthorized access to, or unauthorized disclosure, use or processing of, such Personal Information since the Look-Back Date. Since the Look-Back Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written claim, notice or complaint alleging a material violation of any Person’s rights or reasonable expectations of privacy or confidentiality.

3.16    Insurance. All fire and casualty, general liability, business interruption, product liability, sprinkler and water damage, workers’ compensation and employer liability, directors, officers and fiduciaries policies and other liability insurance policies (“Insurance Policies”) maintained by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are with reputable insurance carriers and are in full force and effect. All premiums due with respect to all Insurance Policies have been paid. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has taken any action or failed to take any action that (including with respect to the Transactions), with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a breach or default, or permit a termination of any of the Insurance Policies, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has made available to Parent true and correct copies in all material respects of the Insurance Policies.

 

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3.17    Company Material Contracts.

(a)    Section 3.17(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, as of the date of this Agreement, a list of the following Contracts to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party (any Contract listed or required to be listed on Section 3.17(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter or Section 3.22 of the Company Disclosure Letter, the “Company Material Contracts”):

(i)    any Contract with third party manufacturers and suppliers for the manufacture and supply of products providing for minimum order quantities, minimum purchase requirements or exclusive supply, manufacturing or purchase requirements;

(ii)    any Contract that is reasonably likely to require, during the remaining term of such Contract, annual payments to or from the Company and its Subsidiaries of more than $250,000;

(iii)    any Contract that cannot be terminated by the Company or its Subsidiaries on less than ninety (90) days’ notice (without a monetary penalty) and is reasonably likely to require, during the remaining term of such Contract, annual payments to or from the Company and its Subsidiaries of more than $250,000;

(iv)    any Contract that obligates the Company to make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any Person (other than advances to employees for business expenses in the ordinary course of business);

(v)    any Contract (other than those made in the ordinary course of business): (A) providing for the grant of any preferential rights to purchase or lease any material asset (other than any services or products) of the Company and its Subsidiaries; or (B) providing for any exclusive right to sell or distribute any Company Product of the Company and its Subsidiaries;

(vi)    any obligation to register any Company Common Stock, Company Preferred Stock or other securities of the Company with any Governmental Entity;

(vii)    any partnership, joint venture, strategic alliance or other similar agreement or arrangement relating to the formation, creation, operation, management or control of any partnership, joint venture or strategic alliance that is material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole;

(viii)    any Contract entered into in connection with an acquisition or disposition by the Company or its Subsidiaries since the Look-Back Date involving consideration in excess of $350,000 of any Person or other business organization, division or business of any Person (whether by merger or consolidation, by the purchase of a controlling equity interest in or substantially all of the assets of such Person or by any other manner);

(ix)    any Contract with outstanding obligations for the sale or purchase of personal property or fixed assets having a value individually, with respect to all sales or purchases thereunder, in excess of $250,000, other than sales or purchases in the ordinary course of business and sales of obsolete equipment;

 

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(x)    any Contract (other than solely among direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company) relating to Indebtedness for borrowed money in excess of $250,000;

(xi)    any Contract that contain provisions that (A) expressly limit in any material respect either the type of business in which the Company or its Subsidiaries (or after the Effective Time, Parent or its Subsidiaries) may engage in or the manner or locations in which any of them may so engage in, (B) grants “most favored nation” status that, following the Merger, would apply to Parent and its Subsidiaries, including the Surviving Company and its Subsidiaries or (C) expressly prohibits or limits the rights of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to make, sell, manufacture, develop, commercialize, test or research the Company Products, directly or indirectly through third parties, in any material respect or that would so limit or purports to limit, in any material respect, Parent or any of its Affiliates after the Closing;

(xii)    any Contract pursuant to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries grants or receives any license, covenant not to sue, or other right to or from a third party under any material Company Intellectual Property or Intellectual Property Rights material to the businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries (other than confidentiality agreements, agreements with employees, non-exclusive licenses granted to the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ customers, and non-exclusive licenses to commercially available, off-the-shelf Software that have been granted on standardized, generally available terms);

(xiii)    any Contract with any Person (A) pursuant to which the Company (or Parent or any of its Affiliates after the Closing) may be required to pay milestones, royalties or other contingent payments based on any research, testing, development, regulatory filings or approval, sale, distribution, commercial manufacture or other similar occurrences, developments, activities or events, in each case, relating to Company Products, or (B) under which the Company grants to any Person any right of first refusal, right of first negotiation, option to purchase, option to license or any other similar rights with respect to any Company Product or any Company Intellectual Property; and

(xiv)    any Contracts with any employee, officer, director or other individual service provider that (A) provide for annual compensation in excess of $200,000 or (B) are not terminable by the Company on no more than thirty (30) days’ notice and without liability or financial obligation to the Company.

(b)    A true and correct copy of each Company Material Contract has been made available to Parent. Except for any Company Material Contract that has terminated or will terminate upon the expiration of the stated term thereof prior to the Closing Date, each Company Material Contract is valid and binding on the Company or its Subsidiaries, as applicable, and to the Knowledge of the Company, each other party thereto, and is in full force and effect, subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There is no default under any such Contracts by the Company or its Subsidiaries, or to the Knowledge of the Company as of the Execution Date, any other party thereto, and no event has occurred that with the lapse of time or the giving of notice or both would constitute a default thereunder by the Company or its Subsidiaries, or to the Knowledge of the Company, any other party thereto, in each case, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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3.18    Brokers and Finders. Neither the Company nor any of its directors, officers or employees has employed any broker or finder or incurred any liability for any brokerage fees, commissions or finders’ fees on behalf of the Company in connection with the Transactions.

3.19    Registration Statement. None of the information relating to the Company or its Subsidiaries supplied by the Company, or by any other Person acting on behalf of the Company, in writing specifically for inclusion in or incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement will, as of the time the Registration Statement becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 3.19, no representation or warranty is made by the Company with respect to information or statements made in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement that were not supplied by or on behalf of the Company for use therein.

3.20    No Outside Reliance. Notwithstanding anything contained in this ARTICLE III or any other provision hereof, each of the Company and its Representatives acknowledge and agree that the Company has made its own investigation of Parent and Merger Sub and that none of Parent, Merger Sub or any other Person is making, nor is the Company relying on, any representation or warranty whatsoever, express or implied, relating to Parent, Merger Sub or any of their Affiliates or any of their respective businesses, operations, assets, liabilities, conditions (financial or otherwise) or prospects, except for those representations and warranties made by Parent and Merger Sub that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE IV or in the Parent Closing Certificate. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company understands and agrees that any financial projections, predictions, forecasts, estimates, budgets or prospective information relating to Parent or Merger Sub, any of their Affiliates or any of their respective businesses that may be contained or referred to in the Parent Disclosure Letter or elsewhere, as well as any information, documents or other materials (including any such materials contained in any “data room” (whether or not accessed by the Company or its Representatives) or reviewed by the Company pursuant to the Confidentiality Agreement) or management presentations that have been or shall hereafter be provided to the Company or any of its Affiliates, or any of their Representatives, are not and will not be deemed to be representations or warranties of Parent or Merger Sub, and no representation or warranty is made as to, and neither the Company nor any of its Representatives have relied on, the accuracy or completeness of any of the foregoing. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the representations and warranties made by Parent and Merger Sub that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE IV, the Company understands and agrees that any assets, properties and business of Parent and Merger Sub are furnished “as is”, “where is” and subject to, with all faults and without any other representation or warranty of any nature whatsoever.

3.21    Regulatory Compliance.

(a)    The Company and, to the Knowledge of the Company, all Company Representatives are and have been, since the Look-Back Date, in compliance in with all applicable Healthcare Laws and all Regulatory Permits, except where the failure to so comply would not,

 

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individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Knowledge of the Company, since the Look-Back Date, no Governmental Entity has threatened to limit, suspend or revoke any Regulatory Permit, except where such limitations, suspensions or revocations would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company.

(b)    Since the Look-Back Date, except as set forth on Section 3.21(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company has not nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, has any of its Representatives acting for or on behalf of the Company, received any written, verbal or other notice that the FDA or any other Governmental Entity responsible for oversight or enforcement of any applicable Healthcare Law, or any applicable institutional review board (or similar body responsible for oversight of human subjects research) or applicable institutional animal care and use committees or ethics review board (or similar body responsible for oversight of animal research), has initiated, or to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened to initiate, any material Proceeding to terminate or suspend any clinical trials or preclinical studies conducted or sponsored by the Company with respect to any Company Product, or in which the Governmental Entity alleges or asserts a material failure to comply, with applicable Healthcare Laws with respect to such clinical trials or preclinical studies.

(c)    There are no Proceedings pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened, with respect to any alleged material violation by the Company or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any of its Representatives acting for or on behalf of the Company, of the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (the “FDCA”) or any other applicable Healthcare Law as it relates to the Company’s business or a Company Product, and neither the Company nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any of its Representatives acting for or on behalf of the Company, is party to or subject to any corporate integrity agreement, monitoring agreement, consent decree, deferred prosecution agreement, settlement orders or similar Contract with or imposed by any Governmental Entity related to any applicable Healthcare Law.

(d)    All Company Products are being and since the Look-Back Date have been developed, tested, investigated, manufactured, packaged, labeled and distributed in compliance with all applicable Healthcare Laws and Regulatory Permits, except where the failure to so comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries. Since the Look-Back Date, no manufacturing site used for the manufacture of any Company Product is subject to a Governmental Entity shutdown or import or export prohibition, or has received any FDA Form 483, written notice of violation, warning letter, untitled letter or similar written correspondence or written notice any Governmental Entity alleging noncompliance with any applicable Healthcare Law with respect to the manufacture of the Company Products, in each case, that has not been complied with or closed to the satisfaction of the relevant Governmental Entity. To Knowledge of the Company, no Governmental Entity is considering such action against any manufacturing site used for the manufacture of a Company Product.

(e)    Since the Look-Back Date, the Company has not, nor as it relates to the Company or any Company Product, to the Knowledge of the Company, has any Person engaged by the Company for contract research, contract manufacturing, consulting, or other collaboration

 

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services, in each case, with respect to any Company Product, committed any act, made any statement or failed to make any statement, that establishes a reasonable basis for the FDA to invoke its Fraud, Untrue Statements of Material Facts, Bribery, and Illegal Gratuities Final Policy, or similar policies of any other Governmental Entity to take action against the Company under any similar laws or policies.

(f)    To the Knowledge of the Company, except as set forth on Section 3.21(f) of the Company Disclosure Letter, the preclinical and clinical studies, tests or trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company are being and have been, since the Look-Back Date, conducted in all material respects in accordance with all applicable protocols, procedures, controls, accepted professional and scientific standards, and applicable Healthcare Laws. Except as set forth on Section 3.21(f) of the Company Disclosure Letter, since the Look-Back Date, the Company has not received any written notices or other correspondence from the FDA or any applicable Governmental Entity performing functions similar to those performed by the FDA with respect to any ongoing clinical trials or preclinical studies or tests requiring or recommending the material modification, termination or suspension of such studies or tests other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such studies.

(g)    None of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees, and, to the Knowledge of the Company, none of the Company’s individual independent contractors or other service providers, including clinical trial investigators, coordinators, or monitors, (i) have been, since the Look-Back Date, or are currently disqualified, excluded or debarred under, (ii) to the Knowledge of the Company, currently subject to an investigation or Proceeding that would reasonably be expected to result in criminal liability, disqualification, exclusion or debarment, the assessment of civil monetary penalties for material violation of any health care programs of any Governmental Entity under, or (iii) have been, since the Look-Back Date, convicted of any crime regarding health care products or services, or, to the Knowledge of the Company, engaged in any conduct that would reasonably be expected to result in any such debarment, exclusion, disqualification, criminal liability, or ineligibility under applicable Healthcare Laws. Since the Look-Back Date, none of the Company or any of its current directors, officers or employees, and, to the Knowledge of the Company, none of the Company’s individual independent contractors or other service providers to the extent acting on behalf of the Company have been subject to any consent decree of, or criminal or civil fine or penalty imposed by, any Governmental Entity related to fraud, theft, embezzlement, breach of fiduciary responsibility, financial misconduct, or obstruction of any government investigation. To the Company’s knowledge, since the Look-Back Date: (i) none of the Company or any of its current directors, officers or employees, individual independent contractors or other service providers to the extent acting on behalf of the Company, has been subject to any enforcement, regulatory or administrative proceedings against or affecting the Company relating to material violations of any Healthcare Law and (ii) no such enforcement, regulatory or administrative proceeding has been threatened. To the Knowledge of the Company, since the Look-Back Date, none of the Company’s individual independent contractors or other service providers to the extent acting on behalf of the Company, have received written notice from any Governmental Entity with respect to debarment, disqualification or restriction.

(h)    Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company, since the Look-Back Date, all required filings,

 

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declarations, submissions, and reports with respect to any Regulatory Permit held by the Company, including but not limited to adverse event reports, have been maintained or timely submitted by the Company to the applicable Governmental Entity to which such filings, declarations, submissions, reports or related information must be submitted. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to the Company, since the Look-Back Date, all such filings, declarations, submissions, or reports are being maintained by or on behalf of the Company and were submitted, if applicable, in a manner and form that complied with the applicable requirements of such Governmental Entity (or were corrected in or supplemented by a subsequent filing), and, since the Look-Back Date, no deficiencies have been asserted in writing by any applicable Governmental Entity with respect to any such filings, declarations, submissions, reports or related information.

3.22    Transactions with Affiliates. Section 3.22 of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth all Contracts between (a) the Company, on the one hand, and (b) any officer, director, employee, equityholder or Affiliate of the Company, or any family member or Affiliate of the foregoing Persons, on the other hand (each Person identified in this clause (b), a “Company Related Party”) (for clarity, excluding any portfolio company of a venture capital, private equity or angel investor in the Company), other than Contracts with respect to a Company Related Party’s employment with or service as a director to (including benefit plans and other ordinary course compensation from) the Company entered into in the ordinary course of business. Except in connection with the Contracts and Company Related Party Transactions set forth on Section 3.22 of the Company Disclosure Letter, no Company Related Party (A) owns any interest in any material asset used in the Company’s business, (B) possesses, directly or indirectly, any material financial interest in, or is a director or executive officer of, any Person which is a supplier, lender, lessor, lessee or other material business relation of the Company or (C) owes any material amount to, or is owed any material amount by, the Company (other than ordinary course accrued compensation, employee benefits, employee or director expense reimbursement or other transactions entered into after the date of this Agreement that are either permitted pursuant to Section 5.1(b) or entered into in accordance with Section 5.1(b)). All Contracts, arrangements, understandings, interests and other matters that are required to be disclosed pursuant to this Section 3.22 are referred to herein as “Company Related Party Transactions”.

3.23    No Other Representations or Warranties. Except for the representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in this ARTICLE III (as modified by the Company Disclosure Letter) or in the Company Closing Certificate, neither the Company nor any other Person makes any express or implied representation or warranty relating to Company or any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses, operations, assets, liabilities, conditions (financial or otherwise) or prospects, and the Company expressly disclaims any such other representations or warranties. In particular, without limiting the foregoing, neither the Company nor any other Person makes or has made any representation or warranty to Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Affiliates or Representatives with respect to (a) any projections, predictions, forecast, estimate, budget or prospective information relating to the Company, any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses or (b) any oral, or except for the representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in this ARTICLE III or in the Company Closing Certificate, written information made available to Parent, Merger Sub or any of their Affiliates or Representatives in the course of their evaluation of the Company, the negotiation of this Agreement or in the course of the Transactions.

 

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ARTICLE IV

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB

Except as set forth in the Parent Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC prior to the date of this Agreement (excluding (a) any disclosures set forth or referenced in any risk factor section or in any other section to the extent they are reasonably apparent on their face to be forward-looking statements or cautionary, predictive or forward-looking in nature or do not otherwise constitute statements of fact and (b) any exhibits or other documents appended thereto) (it being agreed that nothing disclosed in such Parent Reports will be deemed to modify or qualify the representations and warranties set forth in Section 4.1, Section 4.2, Section 4.3, Section 4.11 and Section 4.18) (such Parent Reports, taking into account such exclusions, the “Parent Disclosure Reports”) or in the corresponding sections or subsections of the disclosure letter delivered to the Company by Parent concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement (the “Parent Disclosure Letter”) (it being agreed that for purposes of the representations and warranties set forth in this ARTICLE IV, (i) disclosure of any item in any section or subsection of the Parent Disclosure Letter shall be deemed disclosure with respect to the corresponding section of this Agreement notwithstanding the omission of a reference to such section of the Parent Disclosure Letter in such section of this Agreement and (ii) disclosure of any item in any section or subsection of the Parent Disclosure Letter shall be deemed disclosure with respect to any other section or subsection to which the relevance of such item is reasonably apparent on its face), Parent and Merger Sub each hereby represents and warrants to the Company as follows:

4.1    Organization, Good Standing and Qualification. Each of Parent and Merger Sub (a) is a legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization, (b) has all requisite corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as presently conducted and (c) is qualified to do business, and to the extent such concept is applicable, is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other legal entity in each jurisdiction where the ownership, leasing or operation of its assets or properties or conduct of its business requires such qualification, except in the case of clauses (b) or (c), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or to have such power or authority would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions. Parent has made available to the Company complete and correct copies of Parent’s Organizational Documents, each as amended prior to the execution of this Agreement, and complete and correct copies of Merger Sub’s Organizational Documents, each as amended prior to the execution of this Agreement, and each as made available to the Company is in full force and effect. Merger Sub has no assets or operations other than those required to effect the transactions contemplated hereby.

4.2    Capital Structure of Parent.

(a)    Parent Stock. As of the date hereof and without taking into effect the Private Placements, the authorized capital stock of Parent consists of 100,000,000 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, of which 18,045,000 shares were issued and outstanding as of the date of this Agreement, 10,000,000 shares of Parent Class B Common Stock, of which 4,511,250 shares were outstanding as of the close of business on the date of this Agreement, and 1,000,000 shares of

 

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preferred stock par value $0.0001 per share (“Parent Preferred Stock”), of which no shares were outstanding as of the date of this Agreement. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Parent Class A Common Stock and Parent Class B Common Stock (i) have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable (ii) were offered, sold and issued in compliance in all material respects with applicable securities Laws, and (iii) were not issued in material breach or violation of (1) Parent’s Organizational Documents or (2) any preemptive rights, purchase option, call option, right of first refusal or offer, subscription right or any similar right. Parent has no shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, Parent Class B Common Stock or Parent Preferred Stock reserved for issuance, except that, as of the date of this Agreement, there were 6,196,667 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock reserved for issuance upon the exercise of any outstanding Parent Warrants and 4,511,250 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock subject to issuance upon conversion of shares of Parent Class B Common Stock.

(b)    Parent Warrants. As of the date hereof and without taking into effect the Private Placements, Parent has issued and outstanding 5,833,333 public warrants (the “Parent Public Warrants”) and 181,667 private placement warrants (the “Parent Private Placement Warrants”, and together with the Parent Public Warrants, the “Parent Warrants”) entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Parent Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share of Parent Common Stock pursuant to, and subject to adjustments as provided by, the terms of the Parent Warrant Agreement. Subject to the terms of conditions of the Parent Warrant Agreement, the Parent Warrants will be exercisable after giving effect to the Merger for one share of Parent Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. The Parent Warrants are not exercisable until the later of (x) 12 months from the closing of Parent’s initial public offering and (y) thirty (30) days after the Closing. Parent has made available to the Company true and correct copies of the Parent Warrants and Parent Warrant Agreement. All outstanding Parent Warrants (A) have been duly authorized and validly issued and constitute valid and binding obligations of Parent, enforceable against Parent in accordance with their terms, subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception, (B) were issued in compliance in all material respects with applicable securities Laws and (C) were not issued in material breach or violation of Parent’s Organizational Documents or any preemptive rights, purchase option, call option, right of first refusal or offer, subscription right or any similar right. All shares of Parent subject to issuance pursuant to any Parent Warrant, upon issuance on the terms and conditions specified therein, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

(c)    No Other Securities or Rights. Except as set forth in Section 4.2(a) and (b) above, the Subscription Agreements or this Agreement, or Section 4.2(c) of the Parent Disclosure Letter, there are no (i) shares of any class or series of capital stock of Parent authorized, issued, outstanding or reserved for issuance, (ii) options, warrants, convertible securities, subscription rights or other similar instruments or rights entitling its holder to receive or acquire shares of capital stock or other securities of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) equity appreciation rights, restricted stock units, phantom stock or other securities, instruments or awards issued or granted as compensatory equity or pursuant any equity incentive arrangements of Parent. Except as set forth in Parent’s Organizational Documents, the Subscription Agreements or this Agreement, or Section 4.2(c) of the Parent Disclosure Letter, none of Parent’s shares of capital stock or other securities are subject to any preemptive rights, redemption rights, repurchase rights, rights of refusal or offer, tag-along rights, drag-along rights or other similar rights. Parent does not have outstanding any bonds, debentures, notes or other debt securities the holders of which have the

 

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right to vote (or convertible into or exercisable for securities having the right to vote) with the stockholders of Parent on any matter. Except for the Organizational Documents of Parent, or Section 4.2(c) of the Parent Disclosure Letter, as of the date of this Agreement, there are no stockholders agreements, investor rights agreements, voting agreements or trusts, proxies, or other agreements with respect to the voting or disposition of the Parent Stock or any capital stock or other securities of its Subsidiaries.

(d)    Merger Sub Stock. The authorized capital stock of Merger Sub consists of 1,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 100 shares of which are validly issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to any preemptive rights. All of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Merger Sub is, and at the Effective Time will be, owned by Parent, free and clear of all Encumbrances (other than such Encumbrances as created by Merger Sub’s Organizational Documents or applicable securities Laws). There are (i) no other shares of capital stock or voting securities of Merger Sub, (ii) no securities of Merger Sub convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or voting securities of Merger Sub and (iii) no options or other rights to acquire from Merger Sub, and no obligations of Merger Sub to issue, any capital stock, voting securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for capital stock or voting securities of Merger Sub. Merger Sub has not conducted any business prior to the date of this Agreement and has no, and prior to the Effective Time will have no, assets, liabilities or obligations of any nature other than those incident to its formation and pursuant to this Agreement and the Transactions.

(e)    Subsidiaries. Other than Merger Sub, Parent has no Subsidiaries and does not directly or indirectly own or hold any (i) equity interests, including any partnership, limited liability company or joint venture interests, in any other Person, (ii) securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity interests of any other Person or (iii) options or other rights to acquire equity interests of any other Person. Parent is not party to any Contract that obligates Parent to invest money in, loan money to or make any capital contribution to any other Person.

4.3    Corporate Authority; Approval.

(a)    Each of Parent and Merger Sub has all requisite corporate power and authority and has taken all corporate action necessary in order to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Agreement and each Transaction Document to which it is a party and to consummate the Transactions, subject only to the Parent Stockholder Approval. This Agreement has been, and each Transaction Document will be, duly and validly executed and delivered by each of Parent and Merger Sub, and assuming due authorization and execution by each other party hereto and thereto, constitutes, or will constitute, a valid and binding agreement of each of Parent and Merger Sub, enforceable against each of Parent and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms, subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception. This Agreement has been, and each Transaction Document will be, duly authorized and approved by Parent as the sole stockholder of Merger Sub.

(b)    The affirmative vote of (i) a majority of the votes cast by the stockholders of Parent present in person or represented by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting shall be required to approve the Transaction Proposal, the NASDAQ Proposal, and the Parent Incentive Plan Proposal, and (ii) a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of each of the Parent Class A Common Stock and Parent Class B Common

 

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Stock, voting separately, shall be required to approve the Amendment Proposal (the approval by Parent Stockholders of all of the foregoing, collectively, the “Parent Stockholder Approval”). The Parent Stockholder Approval is the only vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of Parent required to approve and adopt this Agreement and approve the Transactions, and no other vote of any Parent’s capital stock shall be required to approve the Proposals in connection with the entry into this Agreement by Parent, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Closing.

(c)    At a meeting duly called and held, the Parent Board has: (i) determined that this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby are fair to, advisable and in the best interests of Parent and its stockholders; (ii) determined that the fair market value of the Company is equal to at least 80% of the amount held in the Parent Trust Account (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) as of the date hereof; (iii) approved the transactions contemplated by this Agreement as a Business Combination; (iv) resolved to recommend to the stockholders of Parent approval of each of the matters requiring Parent Stockholder Approval.

4.4    Governmental Filings; No Violations; Certain Contracts.

(a)    Other than the filings, notices, reports, consents, registrations, approvals, permits, clearances, expirations or terminations of waiting periods or authorizations (i) pursuant to the DGCL, (ii) under the HSR Act, the Exchange Act and the Securities Act, (iii) required to be made with NASDAQ, and (iv) state securities, takeover and “blue sky” Laws, no filings, notices, reports, consents, registrations, approvals, permits, clearances, expirations or terminations of waiting periods or authorizations are required to be made by Parent or Merger Sub with, or obtained by Parent or Merger Sub from, any Governmental Entity in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub and the consummation of the Transactions, or in connection with the continuing operation of the business of Parent and its Subsidiaries immediately following the Effective Time, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions.

(b)    The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub do not, and the consummation of the Transactions will not, constitute or result in (i) a breach or violation of, or a default under, the Organizational Documents of Parent, Merger Sub or any of Parent’s other Subsidiaries, (ii) with or without notice, lapse of time or both, a breach or violation of, a termination (or right of termination) of or default under, the creation or acceleration of any obligations under or the creation of an Encumbrance on any of the assets of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to, any Contract binding upon Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, or assuming (solely with respect to performance of this Agreement and consummation of the Transactions) compliance with the matters referred to in Section 4.4(a), under any Law to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries is subject or (iii) any change in the rights or obligations of any party under any Contract binding upon Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, except, in the case of clause (ii) or (iii) above, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent to consummate the Transactions.

 

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4.5    Parent Reports; Internal Controls.

(a)    Parent has filed or furnished, as applicable, on a timely basis, all forms, statements, certifications, reports and documents required to be filed or furnished by it with the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act or the Securities Act since January 7, 2021 (the forms, statements, reports and documents filed or furnished to the SEC since January 7, 2021, and those filed or furnished to the SEC subsequent to the date of this Agreement, including any amendments thereto, the “Parent Reports”). Each of the Parent Reports, at the time of its filing or being furnished (or if amended, as of the date of such amendment) complied, or if not yet filed or furnished, will comply, in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to the Parent Reports. As of their respective dates (or if amended, as of the date of such amendment), the Parent Reports did not, and any Parent Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC subsequent to the date of this Agreement will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading; provided, that any representation and warranty in respect of any Parent Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC subsequent to the date of this Agreement is made assuming that the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.19 are true and correct in all respects.

(b)    Except as is not required in reliance on exemptions from various reporting requirements by virtue of Parent’s status as an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, or “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Exchange Act, since its initial public offering, (i) Parent has established and maintained a system of internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of Parent’s financial reporting and the preparation of Parent’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and (ii) Parent has established and maintained disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) designed to ensure that material information relating to Parent is made known to Parent’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within Parent.

(c)    Parent has established and maintains systems of internal accounting controls that are designed to provide, in all material respects, reasonable assurance that (i) all transactions are executed in accordance with management’s authorization and (ii) all transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of proper and accurate financial statements in accordance with GAAP and to maintain accountability for Parent’s and its Subsidiaries’ assets. Parent maintains and, for all periods covered by the Parent Financial Statements, has maintained books and records of Parent in the ordinary course of business that are accurate and complete in all material respects and reflect the revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities of Parent.

(d)    There are no outstanding loans or other extensions of credit made by Parent to any executive officer (as defined in Rule 3b-7 under the Exchange Act) or director of Parent. Parent has not taken any action prohibited by Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

(e)    Since its incorporation, Parent (including to Parent’s knowledge any employee thereof) has not, nor have Parent’s independent auditors, identified, been made aware of

 

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or received any written complaint, allegation, assertion or claim that there is (i) a “significant deficiency” in the internal controls over financial reporting of Parent, (ii) a “material weakness” in the internal controls over financial reporting of Parent or (iii) fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees of Parent who have a significant role in the internal controls over financial reporting of Parent.

(f)    To the Knowledge of Parent, as of the date hereof, there are no outstanding comments from the SEC with respect to the Parent Reports. To the Knowledge of Parent, none of the Parent Reports filed on or prior to the date hereof is subject to ongoing SEC review or investigation as of the date hereof.

(g)    To the Knowledge of Parent, each director and executive officer of Parent has filed with the SEC on a timely basis all statements required by Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Parent has not taken any action prohibited by Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

(h)    Since January 7, 2021, Parent has complied in all material respects with the applicable listing and corporate governance rules and regulations of NASDAQ. The Parent Class A Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is listed for trading on NASDAQ. There is no Proceeding pending, or to the knowledge of Parent, threatened against Parent by NASDAQ or the SEC with respect to any intention by such entity to deregister the Parent Class A Common Stock or prohibit or terminate the listing of Parent Class A Common Stock on NASDAQ.

(i)    The Parent Reports contain true and complete copies of the audited balance sheet as of December 31, 2020, and statement of operations, cash flow and stockholders’ equity of Parent for the period from October 2, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, together with the auditor’s reports thereon (the “Parent Financial Statements”). Except as disclosed in the Parent Reports, the Parent Financial Statements (i) fairly present in all material respects the financial position of Parent, as at the respective dates thereof, and the results of operations and consolidated cash flows for the respective periods then ended, (ii) were prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except as may be indicated therein or in the notes thereto), and (iii) comply in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements and with the rules and regulations of the SEC, the Exchange Act and the Securities Act in effect as of the respective dates thereof. The books and records of Parent have been, and are being, maintained in all material respects in accordance with GAAP and any other applicable legal and accounting requirements.

4.6    Absence of Certain Changes. Since Parents incorporation:

(a)    There has not been any effect, event, development, change, state of facts, condition, circumstance or occurrence in the financial condition, properties, assets, liabilities, business or results of operations of Parent which has had, or would, individually or in the aggregate with others, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions.

 

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(b)    Except as set forth in Section 4.6 of the Parent Disclosure Letter, Parent has, in all material respects, conducted its business and operated its properties in the ordinary course of business.

4.7    Business Activities; Liabilities.

(a)    Since its date of incorporation, neither Parent nor Merger Sub has carried on any business or conducted any operations other than: (i) directed towards the accomplishment of a Business Combination and (ii) the execution of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the performance of its obligations hereunder and thereunder and matters ancillary thereto. Except as set forth in Section 4.7 of the Parent Disclosure Letter and other than under the Transaction Documents or pursuant to the performance of its obligations thereunder, neither Parent nor Merger Sub has any liabilities.

(b)    Merger Sub was formed solely for the purpose of effecting the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and has not engaged in any business activities or conducted any operations other than in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and has no, and at all times prior to the Effective Time, except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, the Transaction Documents and the other documents and transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, will have no, assets, liabilities or obligations of any kind or nature whatsoever other than those incident to its formation.

(c)    Except as set forth in Parent’s Organizational Documents or as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or the Transaction Documents and the Transactions, there is no Contract, commitment, or Governmental Order binding upon Parent or Merger Sub or to which Parent or Merger Sub is a party which has or would reasonably be expected to have the effect of prohibiting or impairing any business practice of Parent or Merger Sub or any acquisition of property by Parent or Merger Sub or the conduct of business by Parent or Merger Sub as currently conducted or as contemplated to be conducted as of the Closing, other than such effects, individually or in the aggregate, which have not been and would not reasonably be expected to be material to Parent or Merger Sub.

(d)    Except for this Agreement and the Transaction Documents and the Transactions, Parent has no material interests, rights, obligations or liabilities with respect to, and is not party to, bound by or has its assets or property subject to, in each case whether directly or indirectly, any Contract or transaction which is, or would reasonably be interpreted as constituting, a Business Combination. Except for the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Transaction Documents, Merger Sub does not own or have a right to acquire, directly or indirectly, any interest or investment (whether equity or debt) in any corporation, partnership, joint venture, business, trust or other entity.

(e)    Except for this Agreement and the agreements expressly contemplated hereby or with respect to advisors and consultants in connection with the Transactions (including any agreements permitted by Section 6.1) or Parent’s initial public offering and contemporaneous private placement, neither Parent nor Merger Sub is and at no time has been, party to any Contract with any Person that would require payments by Parent or Merger Sub in excess of $250,000 in the aggregate with respect to any individual Contract or more than $1,000,000 in the aggregate when taken together with all other Contracts (other than this Agreement and the agreements expressly contemplated hereby (including any agreements permitted by Section 6.1)).

 

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4.8    Litigation and Proceedings.

(a)    There are no Proceedings pending, or to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing against Parent or any of its Subsidiaries except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent to consummate the Transactions.

(b)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub is a party to or subject to the provisions of any Governmental Order that restricts the manner in which Parent or Merger Sub conducts its business, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions.

4.9    Compliance with Laws.

(a)    Each of Parent and Merger Sub are, and have been since their respective incorporations, in compliance with all applicable Laws, except where the failure to be, or to have been, in compliance with such Laws has not or would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be material to Parent and Merger Sub, taken as a whole, or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions. Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice of any noncompliance with any Laws that has not been cured as of the date of this Agreement, except for any noncompliance that would not, individually or in the aggregate with other instances of noncompliance, reasonably be expected to be material to Parent and Merger Sub, taken as a whole.

(b)    No investigation or review by any Governmental Entity with respect to Parent or Merger Sub is pending, or to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing, except with respect to regulatory matters covered by Section 7.4 or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions.

(c)    Parent, Merger Sub, and to the Knowledge of Parent, their respective Representatives are in compliance with, and since the date of Parent’s incorporation have complied with, (i) the FCPA, and (ii) the provisions of all anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering Laws of each jurisdiction in which Parent and Merger Sub operate or have operated and in which any agent thereof is conducting or has conducted business involving Parent or Merger Sub, except, in each case of clauses (i) and (ii), for any noncompliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent. None of Parent, Merger Sub, or to the Knowledge of Parent, any of their respective Representatives have paid, offered or promised to pay, or authorized or ratified the payment, directly or indirectly, of any unlawful bribes, kickbacks or other similar unlawful payments, to any national, provincial, municipal or other Government Official or any political party or candidate for political office for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of such official or of any Governmental Entity to obtain or retain business, or direct business to any person or to secure any other improper benefit

 

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or advantage, in each case, in violation in any material respect of the FCPA and any Laws described in clause (ii). Parent and Merger Sub are, and have been since their respective dates of incorporation, in compliance with relevant sanctions and export control Laws and regulations in jurisdictions in which Parent or Merger Sub do business or are otherwise subject to jurisdiction.

4.10    Investment Company Act; JOBS Act. Parent is not an “investment company” or a Person directly or indirectly “controlled” by or acting on behalf of an “investment company”, in each case within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Parent constitutes an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the JOBS Act.

4.11    Parent Trust Account. As of the date of this Agreement, Parent has approximately $175,005,179 in the account established by Parent for the benefit of its stockholders at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Parent Trust Account”), such monies being invested in U.S. government securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in money market funds meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4) and (d)(5) of Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and held in trust pursuant to that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of January 7, 2021, between Parent and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (the “Parent Trust Agreement”). The Parent Trust Agreement is valid and in full force and effect and enforceable in accordance with its terms (subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception) and has not been amended or modified. There are no separate Contracts, side letters or other arrangements or understandings (whether written or unwritten, express or implied) that would cause the description of the Parent Trust Agreement in the Parent Reports to be inaccurate or that would entitle any Person (other than any Parent Stockholder who is a Redeeming Stockholder) to any portion of the proceeds in the Parent Trust Account. Prior to the Closing, none of the funds held in the Parent Trust Account may be released other than to pay Taxes and payments with respect to the redemption of any shares of Parent Common Stock required by the Redemption Offer. There are no Proceedings pending, or to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing with respect to the Parent Trust Account. Parent has performed all material obligations required to be performed by it to date under, and is not in default, breach or delinquent in performance or any other respect (claimed or actual) in connection with, the Parent Trust Agreement, and no event has occurred which, with due notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default or breach thereunder. As of the Effective Time, the obligations of Parent to dissolve or liquidate pursuant to Parent’s Organizational Documents shall terminate, and as of the Effective Time, Parent shall have no obligation whatsoever pursuant to Parent’s Organizational Documents to dissolve and liquidate the assets of Parent by reason of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. To the Knowledge of Parent, as of the date hereof, following the Effective Time, no Parent Stockholder shall be entitled to receive any amount from the Parent Trust Account, except to the extent such Parent Stockholder validly elects to redeem their shares of Parent Common Stock in connection with the Redemption Offer. As of the date hereof, assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and the compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder, neither Parent or Merger Sub have any reason to believe that any of the conditions to the use of funds in the Parent Trust Account will not be satisfied or funds available in the Parent Trust Account will not be available to Parent and Merger Sub on the Closing Date.

 

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4.12    Private Placements. Parent has made available to the Company true and correct copies of the Subscription Agreements. As of the date of this Agreement, the Subscription Agreements (a) are in full force and effect without amendment or modification, (b) are the valid, binding and enforceable obligations of Parent (or its applicable Affiliate), subject to the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception, and to the Knowledge of Parent, each other party thereto (except, in any case, as may be limited by the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception) and (c) have not been withdrawn, terminated or rescinded in any respect. The Private Placements, together with the amount in the Parent Trust Account at the Closing, will be in the aggregate sufficient to enable Parent to pay all cash amounts required to be paid by Parent under or in connection with this Agreement, including the Outstanding Company Expenses and Outstanding Parent Expenses. There are no other Contracts between Parent and any Subscriber relating to any Subscription Agreement, that would reasonably be expected to affect the obligations of the Subscribers to contribute to Parent the applicable portion of the Private Placements set forth in the Subscription Agreements, and to the Knowledge of Parent, no facts or circumstances exist that may reasonably be expected to result in any of the conditions set forth in any Subscription Agreement not being satisfied, or the Private Placements not being available to Parent, on the Closing Date. No event has occurred that, with or without notice, lapse of time or both, would constitute a default or breach on the part of Parent under any material term or condition of any Subscription Agreement, and as of the date hereof, Parent has no reason to believe that it will be unable to satisfy in all material respects on a timely basis any term or condition of Closing to be satisfied by it contained in any Subscription Agreement. The Subscription Agreements contain all of the conditions precedent (other than the conditions contained in this Agreement or the Transaction Documents) to the obligations of the Subscribers to contribute to Parent the applicable portion of the Private Placements set forth in the Subscription Agreements on the terms therein. No fees, consideration or other discounts are payable or have been agreed by Parent or any of its Affiliates to any Subscriber in respect of its portion of the Private Placement Amount, except as set forth in the Subscription Agreements. The Subscription Agreements provide that the Company is a third party beneficiary thereof.

4.13    Valid Issuance. The shares of Parent Common Stock issuable as Merger Consideration, when issued, sold and delivered in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and will be issued free and clear of any Encumbrances (other than such Encumbrances as created by Parent’s Organizational Documents, applicable securities Laws) or any preemptive rights.

4.14    Takeover Statutes and Charter Provisions. Each of the board of directors of Parent and Merger Sub has taken all action necessary so that the restrictions on a “business combination” (as such term is used in Section 203 of the DGCL) contained in Section 203 of the DGCL or any similar restrictions under any applicable foreign Laws will be inapplicable to this Agreement and the Merger. As of the date of this Agreement, no “fair price,” “moratorium,” “control share acquisition” or other applicable antitakeover Law or similar domestic or foreign Law applies with respect to Parent or Merger Sub in connection with this Agreement or the Merger. As of the date of this Agreement, there is no stockholder rights plan, “poison pill” or similar antitakeover agreement or plan in effect to which Parent or Merger Sub is subject, party or otherwise bound.

 

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4.15    NASDAQ Stock Market Quotation. The issued and outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are listed for trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “LWAC.” The Parent Warrants are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are listed for trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “LWACW”. Parent is in compliance in all material respects with the rules of NASDAQ, and there is no action or proceeding pending, or to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing against Parent by NASDAQ, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or the SEC with respect to any intention by such entity to deregister the Parent Class A Common Stock or terminate the listing of Parent Common Stock on NASDAQ. None of Parent or its Affiliates has taken any action in an attempt to terminate the registration of the Parent Class A Common Stock or Parent Warrants under the Exchange Act except as contemplated by this Agreement.

4.16    Brokers and Finders. Except as set forth in Section 4.16 of the Parent Disclosure Letter, neither Parent nor Merger Sub, nor any of their respective directors or employees (including any officers), as applicable, has employed any investment banker, broker or finder or has incurred or will incur any obligation or liability for any brokerage fees, commissions or finders fees or other similar payments in connection with the Transactions.

4.17    Registration Statement and Proxy Statement. On the effective date of the Registration Statement, the Registration Statement, and when first filed in accordance with Rule 424(b) and/or filed pursuant to Section 14A, the Proxy Statement (or any amendment or supplement thereto), shall comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. On the date of any filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) and/or Section 14A, the date the Proxy Statement, as applicable, is first mailed to the Parent Stockholders, and at the time of the Special Meeting, the Proxy Statement, as applicable (together with any amendments or supplements thereto) will not include 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; provided, however, that Parent makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Proxy Statement in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to Parent by or on behalf of the Company specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or the Proxy Statement.

4.18    Taxes.

(a)    Parent and Merger Sub (i) have filed (taking into account any extension of time within which to file) all material Tax Returns required to be filed by any of them with the appropriate Taxing authority, and all such filed Tax Returns are complete and accurate in all material respects; and (ii) have paid all material Taxes that are required to be paid by them (whether or not shown on any Tax Returns), except for Taxes being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been established in accordance with GAAP.

(b)    No written claims have ever been made by any Governmental Entity in a jurisdiction where Parent or Merger Sub does not file Tax Returns that such entity is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction, which claims have not been resolved or withdrawn.

 

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(c)    No deficiency with respect to material Taxes has been proposed, asserted or assessed against Parent or Merger Sub, except for deficiencies which have been fully satisfied by payment, settled, withdrawn or otherwise resolved. There are no Proceedings pending or threatened in writing regarding any material Taxes of Parent or Merger Sub.

(d)    There are no Encumbrances for Taxes (except for statutory Encumbrances for Taxes not yet due and payable) on any of the assets of Parent or Merger Sub.

(e)    Parent and Merger Sub have timely withheld and paid to the appropriate Governmental Entity all material amounts required to have been withheld and paid in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee, individual independent contractor, other service providers, equity interest holder or other third party.

(f)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub has consented to extend or waive the time in which any material Tax may be assessed or collected by any Governmental Entity, other than any such extensions or waivers that are no longer in effect or that were extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business.

(g)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub is a party to or is bound by any Tax sharing, allocation or indemnification agreement or arrangement (other than any commercial contract entered into by Parent or Merger Sub the primary subject of which is not Taxes and that is not a contract with any direct or indirect equity holder of Parent).

(h)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub (A) has been a member of an affiliated group filing a consolidated federal income Tax Return (other than a group the common parent of which is Parent) or (B) has any material liability for the Taxes of any person under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar provision of applicable Law), as a transferee or successor or by contract (other than liabilities pursuant to a commercial contract entered into by Parent the primary subject of which is not Taxes and that is not a contract with any direct or indirect equity holder of Parent).

(i)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub has been, within the past two years, a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” (within the meaning of Section 355(a)(1)(A) of the Code) in a distribution of stock intended to qualify for tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Code.

(j)    Neither Parent nor Merger Sub has participated in a “listed transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b)(2).

(k)    Merger Sub was formed solely for the purpose of effectuating the Transaction and has not undertaken any business activities other than matters incidental to such purpose.

(l)    To the Knowledge of Parent, there are no facts, circumstances or plans that, either alone or in combination, could reasonably be expected to prevent the Transaction from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment.

 

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4.19    Title to Property. Neither Parent nor Merger Sub (a) owns or leases any real or material tangible personal property or (b) is a party to any Contract or option to purchase any real property, material tangible personal property or other material interest therein.

4.20    No Outside Reliance. Notwithstanding anything contained in this ARTICLE IV or any other provision hereof, each of Parent, Merger Sub and their respective Representatives acknowledge and agree that Parent has made its own investigation of the Company and that none of the Company or any other Person is making, nor is Parent or Merger Sub relying on, any representation or warranty whatsoever, express or implied, relating to Company or any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses, operations, assets, liabilities, conditions (financial or otherwise) or prospects, except for those representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE III or in the Company Closing Certificate. Without limiting the foregoing, Parent and Merger Sub understand and agree that any financial projections, predictions, forecasts, estimates, budgets or prospective information relating to the Company, any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses that may be contained or referred to in the Company Disclosure Letter or elsewhere, as well as any information, documents or other materials (including any such materials contained in any “data room” (whether or not accessed by Parent or its representatives) or reviewed by Parent pursuant to the Confidentiality Agreement) or management presentations that have been or shall hereafter be provided to Parent or any of its Affiliates, or any of their Representatives are not and will not be deemed to be representations or warranties of the Company, and no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the foregoing. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE III, Parent and Merger Sub understand and agree that any assets, properties and business of the Company and its Subsidiaries are furnished “as is”, “where is” and subject to, with all faults and without any other representation or warranty of any nature whatsoever.

4.21    No Other Representations or Warranties. Except for the representations and warranties made by Parent that are expressly set forth in this ARTICLE IV (as modified by the Parent Disclosure Letter and the Parent Disclosure Reports) or in the Parent Closing Certificate, none of Parent, Merger Sub or any other Person makes any express or implied representation or warranty relating to Parent or any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses, operations, assets, liabilities, conditions (financial or otherwise) or prospects, and Parent and Merger Sub expressly disclaim any such other representations or warranties. In particular, without limiting the foregoing, none of Parent, Merger Sub or any other Person makes or has made any representation or warranty to the Company or any of it respective Affiliates or Representatives with respect to (a) any projections, predictions, forecast, estimate, budget or prospective information relating to Parent, any of its Affiliates or any of their respective businesses or (b) any oral, or except for the representations and warranties made by Parent that are expressly set forth in this ARTICLE IV (as modified by the Parent Disclosure Letter and the Parent Disclosure Reports) or in the Parent Closing Certificate, written information made available to the Company or any of their Affiliates or Representatives in the course of their evaluation of Parent and Merger Sub, the negotiation of this Agreement or in the course of the Transactions.

 

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ARTICLE V

COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

5.1    Interim Operations.

(a)    Except (i) as described in Section 5.1(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter, (ii) as otherwise expressly required by this Agreement or any other Transaction Document (including in connection with the Private Placements), (iii) as required by applicable Law or COVID-19 Measures or (iv) as Parent shall otherwise consent to in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, delayed, or denied), the Company covenants and agrees as to itself and its Subsidiaries that, during the period from the date of this Agreement until the Closing, or the earlier termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Company shall (A) operate its business in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain and preserve intact its business organization, assets, properties and material business relations.

(b)    Without limiting the generality of, and in furtherance of, the foregoing, from the date of this Agreement until the Closing or the earlier termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, except (v) as described in the corresponding subsection of Section 5.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter, (w) as otherwise expressly required by this Agreement or any Transaction Document, (x) as required by applicable Law or COVID-19 Measures or (y) as Parent shall otherwise consent to in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, delayed or denied), the Company will not and will not permit its Subsidiaries to:

(i)    adopt or propose any change in its or its Subsidiaries’ Organizational Documents;

(ii)    (A) merge or consolidate itself or any of its Subsidiaries with any other Person, except for transactions among its wholly owned Subsidiaries or (B) adopt or enter into a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or its Subsidiaries;

(iii)    acquire assets outside of the ordinary course of business from any other Person with a value or purchase price in the aggregate in excess of $200,000, or acquire any business or entity (whether by merger or consolidation, by purchase of substantially all assets or equity interests or by any other manner), in each case, in any transaction or series of related transactions, other than acquisitions or other transactions pursuant to Contracts to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are a party that are in effect as of the date of this Agreement;

(iv)    sell, lease, license or otherwise dispose of any of its material assets or properties (other than Intellectual Property), except (A) for sales, leases, licenses or other dispositions in the ordinary course of business and (B) for sales, leases, licenses or other dispositions of assets and properties with a fair market value not in excess of $150,000 in the aggregate;

 

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(v)    except pursuant to awards granted under the Company’s Stock Plan in the ordinary course of business and in accordance with the terms of the Stock Plan as of the date of this Agreement, or in connection with the Company Warrant Settlement or the Preferred Stock Conversion, issue, sell, grant or authorize the issuance, sale or grant of any shares of capital stock or other securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than issuances by a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or another wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company), or any options, warrants, convertible securities, subscription rights or other similar rights entitling its holder to receive or acquire any shares of such capital stock or other securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries;

(vi)    reclassify, split, combine, subdivide, redeem or repurchase, any capital stock of the Company or options, warrants or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for any shares of its capital stock, except in connection with the net exercise or settlement of awards, repurchases of unvested shares subject to early-exercised Company Options under the Company’s Stock Plan or in connection with the Company Warrant Settlement or the Preferred Stock Conversion;

(vii)    declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or distribution, payable in cash, stock, property or otherwise, with respect to any of its capital stock or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting of its capital stock;

(viii)    make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to or investments in any Person (other than the Company or any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company), other than in the ordinary course of business;

(ix)    incur any Indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such Indebtedness of another Person, or issue or sell any debt securities or warrants or other rights to acquire any debt security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except for Indebtedness for borrowed money incurred in the ordinary course of business not to exceed $150,000 in the aggregate;

(x)    make or commit to make capital expenditures other than in an amount not in excess of $350,000, in the aggregate;

(xi)    enter into any Contract that would have been a Company Material Contract had it been entered into prior to the date of this Agreement, other than in the ordinary course of business;

(xii)    amend or modify in any material respect or terminate any Company Material Contract, or waive or release any material rights, claims or benefits under any Company Material Contract, in each case, other than in the ordinary course of business;

(xiii)    make any material changes with respect to its accounting policies or procedures, except as required by changes in Law or GAAP;

(xiv)    settle any Proceeding, except in the ordinary course of business or where such settlement is covered by insurance or involves only the payment of monetary damages in an amount not more than $200,000 in the aggregate;

 

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(xv)    except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, file any material amended Tax Return, make, revoke or change any material Tax election in a manner inconsistent with past practice, adopt or change any material Tax accounting method or period, enter into any agreement with a Governmental Entity with respect to material Taxes, settle or compromise any examination, audit or other action with a Governmental Entity of or relating to any material Taxes or settle or compromise any claim or assessment by a Governmental Entity in respect of material Taxes, or enter into any Tax sharing or similar agreement (excluding any commercial contract not primarily related to Taxes), in each case, to the extent such action could reasonably be expected to have any adverse and material impact on Parent;

(xvi)    except in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to the terms of any Company Benefit Plan in effect as of the date of this Agreement or as required by Law, (A) increase the annual salary or consulting fees or target annual cash bonus opportunity, of any Company Employee with an annual salary or consulting fees and target annual cash bonus opportunity in excess of $200,000 as of the date of this Agreement, (B) become a party to, establish, adopt, amend, or terminate any material Company Benefit Plan or any arrangement that would have been a material Company Benefit Plan had it been entered into prior to this Agreement, (C) take any action to accelerate the vesting or lapsing of restrictions or payment, or fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) forgive any loans or issue any loans (other than routine travel advances issued in the ordinary course of business) to any Company Employee, (E) hire any employee or engage any independent contractor (who is a natural person) with annual salary or consulting fees and target annual cash bonus opportunity in excess of $200,000 or (F) terminate the employment of any employee of the Company who would be an “executive officer” (as defined in Rule 3b-7 of the Exchange Act) other than for cause;

(xvii)    sell, assign, lease, exclusively license, pledge, encumber, divest, abandon, or allow to lapse any material Company Intellectual Property, other than grants of non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business to customers for use of the products or services of the Company or otherwise in the ordinary course of business;

(xviii)    become a party to, establish, adopt, amend, commence participation in or enter into any collective bargaining or other labor union Contract;

(xix)    fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to keep current and in full force and effect, or to comply with the requirements of, or to apply for or renew, any permit, approval, authorization, consent, license, registration or certificate issued by any Governmental Entity that is material to the conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole;

(xx)    file any prospectus supplement or registration statement or consummate any offering of securities that requires registration under the Securities Act or that includes any actual or contingent commitment to register such securities under the Securities Act in the future;

 

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(xxi)    fail to maintain, cancel or materially change coverage under, in a manner materially detrimental to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, any insurance policy maintained with respect to the Company and its Subsidiaries and their assets and properties;

(xxii)    enter into any material new line of business outside of the business currently conducted by the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement; or

(xxiii)    enter into any Contract, or otherwise become obligated, to do, or authorize, any of the foregoing.

5.2    Inspection. Subject to confidentiality obligations and similar restrictions that may be applicable to information furnished to the Company or its Subsidiaries by third parties, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, afford to Parent and its Representatives reasonable access from and after the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, during normal business hours and with reasonable advance notice, in such manner as to not unreasonably interfere with the normal operation of the Company and its Subsidiaries, to all of their respective properties, books, projections, plans, systems, Contracts, commitments, Tax Returns, records, commitments, analyses and appropriate officers and employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and shall furnish such Representatives with all financial and operating data and other information concerning the affairs of the Company and its Subsidiaries that are in the possession of the Company or its Subsidiaries as such Representatives may reasonably request; provided, that such access shall not include any unreasonably invasive or intrusive investigations or other testing, sampling or analysis of any properties, facilities or equipment of the Company or its Subsidiaries without the prior written consent of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company and its Subsidiaries shall not be required to furnish such information or afford such access described in this Section 5.2 to the extent (a) relating to interactions with prospective buyers of the Company, prospective SPAC business combination partners of the Company or the negotiation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, (b) it would result, in the judgment of legal counsel of the Company, in the loss of attorney-client privilege or other privilege from disclosure or would conflict with any applicable Law or confidentiality obligations to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or (c) prohibited by applicable Law. The Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make alternative arrangements for such disclosure where the restrictions in the preceding sentence apply, including the use of commercially reasonable efforts to (x) provide such access as can be provided (or otherwise convey such information regarding the applicable matter as can be conveyed) without violating such privilege, obligation, Law and (y) provide such information in a manner without violating such privilege, obligation, or Law. All information obtained by Parent and its Representatives under this Agreement shall be subject to the Confidentiality Agreement prior to the Effective Time.

5.3    No Claim Against the Parent Trust Account. The Company acknowledges that Parent has established the Parent Trust Account for the benefit of Parent’s public stockholders and that disbursements from the Parent Trust Account are available only in the limited circumstances set forth in the Parent Reports, Parent’s Organizational Documents, and the Parent Trust Agreement. The Company further acknowledges that Parent’s sole assets consist of the cash proceeds of Parent’s initial public offering and private placements of its securities, and that substantially all of these proceeds have been deposited in the Parent Trust Account for the benefit of its public stockholders. The Company further acknowledges that, if the transactions

 

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contemplated by this Agreement, or in the event of termination of this Agreement, another Business Combination, are or is not consummated by January 12, 2023 or such later date as approved by the stockholders of Parent to complete a Business Combination, Parent will be obligated to return to its stockholders the amounts being held in the Parent Trust Account. Accordingly, the Company (on behalf of itself and its Affiliates) hereby waives any past, present or future claim of any kind against, and any right to access, the Parent Trust Account, any trustee of the Parent Trust Account and Parent to collect from the Parent Trust Account any monies that may be owed to them by Parent or any of its Affiliates for any reason whatsoever, and will not seek recourse against the Parent Trust Account at any time for any reason whatsoever, including, without limitation, for any Willful Breach of this Agreement. This Section 5.3 shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason.

5.4    Exclusivity.

(a)    From the date of this Agreement until the earlier of the Closing and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Company shall not, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause its Representatives not to, directly or indirectly: (i) solicit, initiate, knowingly encourage (including by means of furnishing or disclosing information), knowingly facilitate, discuss (with a third party) or negotiate, directly or indirectly, any inquiry, proposal or offer (written or oral) with respect to a Company Acquisition Proposal; (ii) furnish or disclose any non-public information to any Person (other than to the Parties and their respective Representatives) in connection with, or that would reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Acquisition Proposal; (iii) enter into any Contract regarding a Company Acquisition Proposal; (iv) prepare or take any steps in connection with a public offering of any equity securities of the Company (or any Affiliate or successor of the Company); or (v) otherwise knowingly facilitate or knowingly encourage any effort or attempt by any Person to do or seek to do any of the foregoing.

(b)    The Company shall (i) notify Parent promptly upon receipt of any Company Acquisition Proposal, describing the terms and conditions of any such Company Acquisition Proposal in reasonable detail (including the identity of the Persons making such Company Acquisition Proposal, unless the Company is bound by any confidentiality obligation prohibiting the disclosure of such identity) and (ii) keep Parent reasonably informed on a reasonably current basis of any material modifications to such offer or information. The Company shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, and shall authorize and instruct its Representatives to, immediately cease any and all existing discussions or negotiations with any Person conducted prior to the Execution Date with respect to, or which is reasonably likely to give rise to or result in, a Company Acquisition Proposal.

5.5    Prospectus/Proxy Filing; Information Supplied.

(a)    The Company shall provide to Parent financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and accompanied by the report thereon of the Company’s independent auditors by no later than June 11, 2021 (except that the report thereon of the Company’s independent auditors (which report shall be unqualified) may not be delivered prior to the date of filing of the Registration Statement). Without limiting the foregoing, (i) the Company shall reasonably cooperate with Parent in connection with Parent’s preparation for

 

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inclusion in the Registration Statement of pro forma financial statements that comply with the requirements of Regulation S-X under the rules and regulations of the SEC (as interpreted by the staff of the SEC) to the extent such pro forma financial statements are required for the Registration Statement and (ii) the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide Parent, as soon as reasonably practicable following the end of the quarter ended March 31, 2021, but in no event later than June 11, 2021 (which, for the avoidance of doubt, may be after the date of the initial filing of the Registration Statement), reviewed financial statements, including consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, statements of cash flows, and statements of stockholders equity of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of and for the period ended March 31, 2021, together with the notes and schedules thereto, in each case, prepared in accordance with GAAP and Regulation S-X and reviewed in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to make its officers and employees and Representatives available to Parent and its counsel, in each case, during normal business hours and upon reasonable advanced notice by Parent, in connection with (i) the drafting of the Registration Statement and (ii) responding in a timely manner to comments on the Registration Statement from the SEC.

(b)    From and after the date on which the Registration Statement becomes effective under the Securities Act, the Company will give Parent prompt written notice of any action taken or not taken by the Company or its Subsidiaries or of any development regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries, in any such case which is known by the Company, that would cause the Registration Statement to contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, that, if any such action shall be taken or fail to be taken or such development shall otherwise occur, Parent and the Company shall cooperate fully to cause an amendment or supplement to be made promptly to the Registration Statement, such that the Registration Statement no longer contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, further, however, that no information received by Parent pursuant to this Section 5.5 shall operate as a waiver or otherwise affect any representation, warranty or agreement given or made by the party who disclosed such information, and no such information shall be deemed to change, supplement or amend the Company Disclosure Letter.

5.6    FIRPTA Certificates. At or prior to the Closing, the Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to Parent the following certificates and forms (collectively, the “FIRPTA Certificates”) a certificate, duly executed by the Company, complying with Treasury Regulations Section 1.1445-2(c)(3), together with evidence that the Company has provided notice to the Internal Revenue Service in accordance with the provisions of Treasury Regulations Section 1.897-2(h)(2), in each case, in a form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent.

5.7    Amendments to Third Party Contracts. Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to enter into an amendment with respect to each of the third-party Contracts set forth in Section 5.7 of the Company Disclosure Letter, each in a form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent.

 

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ARTICLE VI

COVENANTS OF PARENT

6.1    Conduct of Parent. From the date of this Agreement until the Closing, Parent shall, and shall cause Merger Sub to, except as expressly required by this Agreement or any Transaction Document (including as contemplated by the Private Placements), as required by applicable Law or COVID-19 Measures or as consented to by the Company in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably conditioned, withheld, delayed or denied), operate its business in the ordinary course and consistent with past practice. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except (w) as described in the corresponding subsection of Section 6.1 of the Parent Disclosure Letter, (x) as otherwise expressly required by this Agreement or any Transaction Document (including as contemplated by the Private Placements), (y) as required by applicable Law or COVID-19 Measures or (z) as the Company shall otherwise consent to in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, delayed or denied), Parent will not and will not permit its Subsidiaries to:

(a)    change, modify or amend, or seek any approval from the Parent Stockholders to change, modify or amend, the Parent Trust Agreement, the Parent Organizational Documents or the organizational documents of Merger Sub, other than to effectuate the Parent Restated Charter and the Parent Restated Bylaws;

(b)     (i) make, declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other distribution (whether in cash, stock or property) in respect of any of its outstanding capital stock or other equity interests; (ii) split, combine, reclassify or otherwise change any of its capital stock or other equity interests; or (iii) other than the redemption of any shares of Parent Common Stock required by the Redemption Offer or as otherwise required by Parent’s Organizational Documents in order to consummate the Transactions, repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, or offer to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, any capital stock of, or other equity interests in, Parent;

(c)    enter into, or permit any of the assets owned or used by it to become bound by, any Contract, other than as expressly required in connection with the Transactions;

(d)    other than as expressly required by the Sponsor Support Agreement, enter into, renew or amend in any material respect, any transaction or Contract with an Affiliate of Parent or Merger Sub (including, for the avoidance of doubt, (x) the Sponsor and (y) any Person in which the Sponsor has a direct or indirect legal, contractual or beneficial ownership interest of 5% or greater);

(e)    incur or assume any Indebtedness or guarantee any Indebtedness of another Person, issue or sell any debt securities or warrants or other rights to acquire any debt securities of the Company or any of the Company’s Subsidiaries or guaranty any debt securities of another Person, other than any Indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee incurred between Parent and Merger Sub;

(f)    incur, guarantee or otherwise become liable for (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) any Indebtedness or otherwise knowingly and purposefully incur,

 

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guarantee or otherwise become liable for (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) any other material liabilities, debts or obligations, other than fees and expenses for professional services incurred in support of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Transaction Documents;

(g)    make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to or investments in any Person (other than Merger Sub);

(h)    make any changes with respect to its accounting policies or procedures, except as required by changes in Law or GAAP;

(i)     (i) issue, sell, grant or authorize the issuance, sale or grant of any shares of capital stock or other securities of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or any options, warrants, convertible securities, subscription rights or other similar rights entitling its holder to receive or acquire any shares of capital stock or other securities of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, other than (A) in connection with the exercise of any Parent Warrants outstanding on the date hereof or (B) the Transactions (including the transactions contemplated by the Subscription Agreements) or (ii) amend, modify or waive any of the terms or rights set forth in any Parent Warrant or the Parent Warrant Agreement, including any amendment, modification or reduction of the warrant price set forth therein, other than pursuant to the Sponsor Support Agreement;

(j)    except as contemplated by the Parent Incentive Plan or Parent ESPP, (i) adopt or amend any Parent Benefit Plan, or enter into any employment contract or collective bargaining agreement or (ii) hire any employee or any other individual to provide services to Parent or its Subsidiaries following Closing;

(k)    except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, file any material amended Tax Return, make, revoke or change any material Tax election, adopt or change any material Tax accounting method or period, enter into any agreement with a Governmental Entity with respect to material Taxes, settle or compromise any examination, audit or other action with a Governmental Entity of or relating to any material Taxes or settle or compromise any claim or assessment by a Governmental Entity in respect of material Taxes, or enter into any Tax sharing or similar agreement (excluding any commercial contract not primarily related to Taxes);

(l)    (i) fail to maintain its existence or merge or consolidate with, or purchase any assets or equity securities of, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture or other entity or organization or any division thereof; or (ii) adopt or enter into a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of Parent or its Subsidiaries;

(m)    make any capital expenditures;

(n)    make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (including to any of its officers, directors, agents or consultants), make any change in its existing borrowing or lending arrangements for or on behalf of such Persons, or enter into any “keep well” or similar agreement to maintain the financial condition of any other Person;

 

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(o)    enter into any new line of business outside of the business currently conducted by Parent and its Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement;

(p)    fail to maintain, cancel or materially change coverage under, in a manner materially detrimental to Parent or Merger Sub, any insurance policy maintained with respect to Parent or Merger Sub and their assets and properties;

(q)    settle any Proceeding, except claims not involving Parent Transaction Litigation (which shall be subject to Section 6.12), in the ordinary course of business or where such settlement is covered by insurance or involves only the payment of monetary damages in an amount not more than $250,000 in the aggregate; or

(r)    enter into any Contract, or otherwise become obligated, to do, or authorize any of the foregoing.

6.2    Parent Trust Account Matters.

(a)    Trust Account. Prior to the Closing, none of the funds held in the Parent Trust Account may be used or released except (i) for the withdrawal of interest to pay any tax obligations owed by Parent as a result of assets owned by Parent, including franchise taxes, and (ii) to effectuate the Redemption Offer. Following the Closing, and upon notice to the trustee of the Parent Trust Account (the “Parent Trustee”) and the satisfaction of the requirements for release set forth in the Parent Trust Agreement, the Parent Trustee shall be obligated to release as promptly as practicable any and all amounts still due to holders of shares of Parent Common Stock who have exercised their redemption rights with respect to shares of Parent Common Stock, and thereafter, release the remaining funds in the Parent Trust Account to Parent to be reflected on Parent’s consolidated balance sheet and the Parent Trust Account shall thereafter be terminated.

(b)    Redemption Offer. At the Closing, Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Parent Trustee to pay as and when due all amounts payable to Parent Stockholders holding shares of the Parent Common Stock sold in Parent’s initial public offering who shall have validly elected to redeem their shares of Parent Common Stock (and who have not rescinded such election) pursuant to Parent’s Organizational Documents and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Parent Trustee to pay, as and when due, the Deferred Discount (as defined in the Parent Trust Agreement) pursuant to the terms of the Parent Trust Agreement.

6.3    Indemnification; Directors and Officers Insurance.

(a)    From and after the Effective Time, Parent and the Surviving Company agree that they will indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent Parent, Merger Sub or the Company would be permitted to do so under applicable Law and their respective Organizational Documents in effect as of the date of this Agreement, each present and former (determined as of the Effective Time) director and officer of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company and each of their respective Subsidiaries, in each case, when acting in such capacity (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”), against any costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, losses, claims, damages or liabilities (collectively, “Costs”) incurred in connection with, arising out of or otherwise related to any Proceeding, in connection with, arising out of or otherwise related to matters existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time, whether asserted or claimed prior

 

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to, at or after the Effective Time, including in connection with (i) the Transactions, and (ii) actions to enforce this provision or any other indemnification or advancement right of any Indemnified Party, and Parent or the Surviving Company shall also advance expenses as incurred to the fullest extent that the Company, Parent or Merger Sub, as applicable, would have been permitted to do so under applicable Law and its respective Organizational Documents in effect as of the date of this Agreement; provided that any Person to whom expenses are advanced provides an undertaking to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined by final adjudication that such Person is not entitled to indemnification.

(b)    Parent shall cause the Surviving Company as of the Effective Time to obtain and fully pay the premium for “tail” insurance policies for the extension of (i) the directors’ and officers’ liability coverage of the Company’s existing directors’ and officers’ insurance policies, and (ii) the Company’s existing fiduciary liability insurance policies, in each case, for a claims reporting or discovery period of six (6) years from and after the Effective Time (the “Tail Period”) from one or more insurance carriers with the same or better credit rating as the Company’s insurance carrier as of the date of this Agreement with respect to directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and fiduciary liability insurance (collectively, “D&O Insurance”) with terms, conditions, retentions and limits of liability that are at least as favorable to the insureds as the Company’s existing policies with respect to matters existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time (including in connection with this Agreement or the Transactions).

(c)    Parent shall, as of the Effective Time, obtain and fully pay the premium for “tail” insurance policies for the extension of Parent’s existing D&O Insurance, in each case, for the Tail Period, with terms, conditions, retentions and limits of liability that are at least as favorable to the insureds as Parent’s existing policies with respect to matters existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time (including in connection with this Agreement or the Transactions). In lieu of a separate “tail” insurance policy, the tail liability may be covered in the go-forward policy obtained by Parent so long as such coverage is for the entire Tail Period and with terms, conditions, retentions and limits of liability that are at least as favorable to the insureds as Parent’s existing policies with respect to matters existing or occurring at or prior to the Effective Time (including in connection with this Agreement or the Transactions).

(d)    If Parent or the Surviving Company or any of their respective successors or assigns (i) shall consolidate with or merge into any other Person and shall not be the continuing or surviving Person of such consolidation or merger or (ii) shall transfer all or substantially all of its properties and assets to any Person, then, and in each such case, proper provisions shall be made so that the successors and assigns of Parent or the Surviving Company shall assume all of the obligations set forth in this Section 6.3.

(e)    Prior to the Closing, Parent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain D&O Insurance reasonably satisfactory to the Company and that shall be effective as of Closing and will cover those Persons who will be the directors and officers of Parent and its Subsidiaries (including the directors and officers of the Surviving Company and its Subsidiaries) at and after the Closing on terms not less favorable than the better of (a) the terms of the current directors’ and officers’ liability insurance in place for the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ directors and officers and (b) the terms of a typical directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy for a company whose equity is listed on NASDAQ which policy has a scope and amount of

 

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coverage that is reasonably appropriate for a company of similar characteristics (including the line of business and revenues) as Parent and its Subsidiaries (including the Company and its Subsidiaries).

(f)    The rights of the Indemnified Parties under this Section 6.3 are in addition to any rights such Indemnified Parties may have under the Organizational Documents of Parent, Merger Sub, the Company or any of their respective Subsidiaries, or under any applicable Contracts or Laws, and nothing in this Agreement is intended to, shall be construed or shall release, waiver or impair any rights to directors’ and officers’ insurance claims under any policy that is or has been in existence with respect to Parent, Merger Sub, the Company or any of their respective Subsidiaries for any of their respective directors, officers or other employees (it being understood that the indemnification provided for in this Section 6.3 is not prior to or in substitution of any such claims under such policies).

(g)    This Section 6.3 is intended to be for the benefit of, and from and after the Effective Time shall be enforceable by, each of the Indemnified Parties, who shall be third party beneficiaries of this Section 6.3. The obligations of Parent, the Surviving Company, and their respective successors and assigns under this Section 6.3 shall not be terminated, amended, or otherwise modified in such a manner as to adversely affect any Indemnified Party (or his or her heirs, personal representatives, successors, or assigns) without the prior written consent of such Indemnified Party (or his or her heirs, personal representatives, successors, or assigns, as applicable).

6.4    Approval of Sole Stockholder of Merger Sub. Immediately following the execution of this Agreement, Parent shall execute and deliver, in accordance with applicable Law and its Organizational Documents, in its capacity as sole stockholder of Merger Sub, a written consent adopting the plan of merger contained in this Agreement.

6.5    Inspections. Subject to confidentiality obligations and similar restrictions that may be applicable to information furnished to Parent or its Subsidiaries by third parties, Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, afford to the Company and its Representatives reasonable access from and after the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, during normal business hours and with reasonable advance notice, in such manner as to not interfere with the normal operation of Parent and its Subsidiaries, to all of their respective properties, books, projections, plans, systems, Contracts, commitments, Tax Returns, records, commitments, analyses and appropriate officers, employees and other personnel of Parent and its Subsidiaries, and shall furnish such Representatives with all financial and operating data and other information concerning the affairs of Parent and its Subsidiaries that are in the possession of Parent or its Subsidiaries as such Representatives may reasonably request. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent and its Subsidiaries shall not be required to furnish such information or afford such access described in this Section 6.5 to the extent (a) relating to interactions with prospective Business Combination partners or target companies of Parent or the negotiation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, (b) it would result, in the judgment of legal counsel of Parent, in the loss of attorney-client privilege or other privilege from disclosure or would conflict with any applicable Law or confidentiality obligations to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or (c) as prohibited by applicable Law. The Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make alternative arrangements for such disclosure where the restrictions in the preceding sentence apply

 

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including the use of commercially reasonable efforts to (x) provide such access as can be provided (or otherwise convey such information regarding the applicable matter as can be conveyed) without violating such privilege, obligation, or Law and (y) provide such information in a manner without violating such privilege, obligation, or Law. All information obtained by Company and its Representatives under this Agreement shall be subject to the Confidentiality Agreement prior to the Effective Time.

6.6    Parent NASDAQ Listing.

(a)    From the date hereof through the Closing, Parent shall use reasonable best efforts to ensure that Parent remains listed as a public company on, and for shares of Parent Common Stock to be listed on, the NASDAQ.

(b)    Parent shall cause the Parent Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Transactions to be approved for listing on the NASDAQ (and the Company shall reasonably cooperate in connection therewith), subject to official notice of issuance, prior to the Closing Date.

6.7    Parent Public Filings. From the date hereof through the Closing, Parent will use reasonable best efforts to keep current and timely file all reports required to be filed or furnished with the SEC and otherwise comply in all material respects with its reporting obligations under applicable securities Laws.

6.8    Private Placements. Parent and Merger Sub shall take, or cause to be taken, as promptly as practicable after the date hereof, all actions, and do, or cause to be done, all things necessary (including enforcing its rights under the Subscription Agreements), on or prior to the Closing Date, to consummate the purchases contemplated by the Subscription Agreements on the terms and conditions described or contemplated therein, including using its reasonable best efforts to enforce its rights under the Subscription Agreements to cause the Subscribers to pay to (or as directed by) Parent the applicable purchase price under each Subscriber’s applicable Subscription Agreement in accordance with its terms. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the Company (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), Parent shall not permit any amendment or modification to be made to, any waiver (in whole or in part) of, or provide consent to modify (including consent to terminate), any provision or remedy under, or any replacements of, any of the Subscription Agreements; provided, that any amendment, modification or waiver that is solely ministerial in nature or otherwise immaterial and does not affect any economic or any other material term of any Subscription Agreement shall not require the prior written consent of the Company.

6.9    Director and Officer Appointments.

(a)    Except as otherwise agreed in writing by the Company and Parent prior to the Closing, and conditioned upon the occurrence of the Closing, subject to any limitation imposed under applicable Laws and NASDAQ listing requirements, Parent shall take all such action within its power as may be necessary or appropriate such that effective immediately after the Effective Time (i) the Parent Board shall initially consist of seven (7) directors and shall be divided into three (3) classes of directors with staggered terms with the members of each class determined by the Company, (ii) the members of the Parent Board are the individuals determined in accordance

 

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with Section 6.9(b) and Section 6.9(c), (iii) the members of the compensation committee, audit committee and nominating committee of the Parent Board are the individuals determined in accordance with Section 6.9(d), and (iv) the officers of Parent are the individuals determined in accordance with Section 6.9(e). In furtherance of the foregoing, the Parties shall take all necessary action to remove (or cause the resignation of) the directors serving on the Parent Board as of immediately prior to the Closing who are not determined in accordance with the foregoing to serve as members of the Parent Board as of immediately after the Closing.

(b)    Parent shall designate two (2) individuals to respectively serve on the Parent Board (one of which shall serve as a Class I director and one of which shall serve as a Class III director) immediately after the Effective Time.

(c)    The Company and Parent shall mutually agree on the remaining five (5) individuals to serve as directors on the Parent Board immediately after the Effective Time.

(d)    The Company and Parent shall mutually agree on the initial members of the compensation committee, audit committee and nominating committee of the Parent Board.

(e)    The officers of the Company, or such other individuals designated by the Company, shall be the officers of Parent immediately after the Effective Time.

On the Closing Date, Parent shall enter into customary indemnification agreements (each, an “Indemnification Agreement”), in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Company, with the individuals who will serve as directors of the Parent Board or officers of Parent as described in this Section 6.9, which Indemnification Agreements shall continue to be effective following the Closing.

6.10    Exclusivity. From the date of this Agreement until the earlier of the Closing and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, Parent and Merger Sub shall not, and shall use their reasonable best efforts to cause their Representatives not to, directly or indirectly: (i) solicit, initiate, knowingly encourage (including by means of furnishing or disclosing information), knowingly facilitate, discuss (with a third party) or negotiate, directly or indirectly, any inquiry, proposal or offer (written or oral) with respect to a Parent Acquisition Proposal; (ii) furnish or disclose any non-public information to any Person in connection with, or that would reasonably be expected to lead to, a Parent Acquisition Proposal; (iii) enter into any Contract regarding a Parent Acquisition Proposal; (iv) prepare or take any steps in connection with an offering of any securities of either Parent of the Merger Sub (or any Affiliate or successor of either Parent of the Merger Sub), other than the Private Placements and the issuance of shares of Parent Common Stock as Merger Consideration; or (v) knowingly facilitate or knowingly encourage any effort or attempt by any Person to do or seek to do any of the foregoing. Parent shall (A) notify the Company promptly upon receipt of any Parent Acquisition Proposal by Parent or Merger Sub, and to describe the terms and conditions of any such Parent Acquisition Proposal in reasonable detail (including the identity of any Person making such Parent Acquisition Proposal) and (B) keep the Company reasonably informed on a reasonably current basis of any modifications to such offer or information. Parent shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, and shall authorize and instruct its Representatives to, immediately cease any and all existing discussions or negotiations with any Person conducted prior to the Execution Date with respect to, or which is reasonably likely to give rise to or result in, a Parent Acquisition Proposal.

 

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6.11    Governing Documents. In connection with the consummation of the Transactions, Parent shall adopt the Parent Restated Bylaws and shall file the Parent Restated Charter which shall become effective at the Effective Time.

6.12    Stockholder Litigation. In the event that any Proceeding related to this Agreement, any Transaction Document or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby is brought, or to the knowledge of Parent, threatened in writing, against Parent or the Board of Directors of Parent by any of Parent’s stockholders prior to the Closing (“Parent Stockholder Litigation”), Parent shall promptly notify the Company of any such Proceeding and keep the Company reasonably informed with respect to the status thereof. Parent shall provide the Company the opportunity to participate in (subject to a customary joint defense agreement), but not control, the defense of any Parent Stockholder Litigation, and shall give due consideration to the Company’s advice with respect to such litigation. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall not, except with the prior written consent of the Company (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), make any payment with respect to, or settle or compromise or offer to settle or compromise, any Parent Stockholder Litigation, or agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.

6.13    Parent Public Filings. From the date hereof through the Effective Time, Parent will keep current and timely file all reports required to be filed or furnished with the SEC and otherwise comply in all material respects with its reporting obligations under applicable Law.

ARTICLE VII

JOINT COVENANTS

7.1    Preparation of Registration Statement.

(a)    As promptly as reasonably practicable following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, Parent shall prepare, with the assistance of the Company, and cause to be filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (as amended or supplemented from time to time, and including the Proxy Statement contained therein, the “Registration Statement”) in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of the Parent Common Stock to be issued under this Agreement, which Registration Statement will also contain the Proxy Statement. Each of Parent and the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cooperate in the preparation of the Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement and any other documents and to cause the Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement to comply with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, to have the Registration Statement declared effective under the Securities Act as promptly as practicable after such filing and to keep the Registration Statement effective as long as is necessary to consummate the Merger. In addition to Section 5.5(b), each of Parent and the Company shall furnish all information concerning it as may reasonably be requested by the other Party in connection with such actions and the preparation of the Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement. Promptly after the Registration Statement is declared effective under the Securities Act, Parent will cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to stockholders of Parent.

 

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(b)    Each of Parent and the Company shall cooperate and mutually agree upon (such agreement not to be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed) the filing of the Registration Statement, the Proxy Statement and any other documents to be filed with the SEC, both preliminary and final. Parent shall provide the Company with copies of any written comments or notices and shall inform the Company of any oral comments or notices that Parent receives from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Registration Statement promptly after the receipt of such comments and shall give the Company a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on any proposed written or oral responses to such comments prior to responding to the SEC or its staff. Each of Parent and the Company shall cooperate and mutually agree upon (such agreement not to be unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed), any response to such comments with respect to the Registration Statement and any amendment to the Registration Statement filed in response thereto. Each of Parent and the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that none of the information related to it or any of its Affiliates, supplied by or on its behalf for inclusion or incorporation by reference in (A) the Registration Statement will, at the time the Registration Statement is filed with the SEC, at each time at which it is amended and at the time it becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, not misleading or (B) the Proxy Statement will, at the date it is first mailed to the Parent Stockholders and at the time of the Special Meeting, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.

(c)    If Parent or the Company becomes aware that any information contained in the Registration Statement shall have become false or misleading in any material respect or that the Registration Statement is required to be amended in order to comply with applicable Law, then (i) such Party shall promptly inform the other Parties and (ii) Parent, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, and shall cooperate and mutually agree upon (such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) an amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement. Parent and the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to cause the Registration Statement as so amended or supplemented, to be filed with the SEC and to be disseminated to the holders of shares of Parent Common Stock, as applicable, in each case, pursuant to applicable Law and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Parent Organizational Documents.

(d)    Each of Parent and the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly furnish to the other Party all information concerning itself, its Subsidiaries, officers, directors, managers, members and stockholders, as applicable, and such other matters, in each case, as may be reasonably necessary in connection with and for inclusion in the Proxy Statement, the Registration Statement or any other statement, filing, notice or application made by or on behalf of Parent or the Company or their respective Subsidiaries, as applicable, to the SEC or Nasdaq in connection with the Transactions (including any amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement or the Registration Statement). To the extent not prohibited by Law, Parent will advise the Company, reasonably promptly after Parent receives notice thereof, of the time when the Registration Statement has become effective or any supplement or amendment has been filed, of the issuance of any stop order or the suspension of the qualification of the Parent Common Stock for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or written threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the SEC for the amendment or supplement of the Proxy Statement, the Registration Statement or other document filed with the SEC in connection with the Transactions for additional information.

 

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(e)    Parent agrees to include provisions in the Proxy Statement and to take reasonable action related thereto, with respect to (i) approval of the Business Combination (as defined in the Parent Certificate of Incorporation), including the Merger, and the adoption and approval of this Agreement in accordance with applicable Law and exchange rules and regulations (the “Transaction Proposal”), (ii) approval of the Parent Restated Charter (the “Amendment Proposal”) and each change to the Parent Restated Charter that is required to be separately approved, (iii) to the extent required by the NASDAQ listing rules, approval of the issuance of the Merger Consideration together with the Parent Common Stock pursuant to the Subscription Agreements (the “NASDAQ Proposal”), (iv) approval and adoption of the Parent Incentive Plan and Parent ESPP (the “Parent Incentive Plan Proposal”), (v) adjournment of the Special Meeting, if necessary, to permit further solicitation of proxies because there are not sufficient votes to approve and adopt any of the foregoing proposals and (vi) approval of any other proposals reasonably agreed by Parent and the Company to be necessary or appropriate in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby (the “Additional Proposal” and together with the Transaction Proposal, the Amendment Proposal, the NASDAQ Proposal and Parent Incentive Plan Proposal, the “Proposals”). Without the prior written consent of the Company, the Proposals shall be the only matters (other than procedural matters) which Parent shall propose to be acted on by Parent’s stockholders at the Special Meeting.

7.2    Parent Special Meeting.

(a)    Parent shall, as promptly as reasonably practicable, (i) establish the record date, or duly call, give notice of, and convene and hold the Special Meeting in accordance with the DGCL, (ii) after the Registration Statement has been declared effective under the Securities Act, cause the Proxy Statement to be disseminated to Parent’s stockholders in compliance with applicable Law and (iii) after the Registration Statement has been declared effective under the Securities Act, solicit proxies from the holders of Parent Common Stock to vote in accordance with the recommendation of the Parent Board with respect to each of the Proposals.

(b)    Parent shall, through the Parent Board, recommend to its stockholders that they approve the Proposals (the “Parent Board Recommendation”) and shall include the Parent Board Recommendation in the Proxy Statement. Except as required by applicable Law solely in response to a Parent Intervening Event, the Parent Board shall not (and no committee or subgroup thereof shall) change, withdraw, withhold, qualify or modify, or publicly propose to change, withdraw, withhold, qualify or modify, the Parent Board Recommendation (a “Modification in Recommendation”); provided, that the Parent Board (and no committee or subgroup thereof) shall not be entitled to make, or agree or resolve to make, a Modification in Recommendation until (i) Parent delivers to the Company a written notice (a “Parent Intervening Event Notice”) advising the Company that the Parent Board proposes to take such action and containing, in reasonable detail, the material facts underlying the Parent Board’s determination that a Parent Intervening Event has occurred, (ii) until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the fifth Business Day immediately following the day on which Parent delivered the Parent Intervening Event Notice (such period from the time the Parent Intervening Event Notice is provided until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the fifth Business Day immediately following the day on which Parent delivered the Parent

 

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Intervening Event Notice (it being understood that any material development with respect to an Parent Intervening Event shall require a new notice but with an additional three-Business Day notice period (instead of five-Business Day) period from the date of such notice), the “Parent Intervening Event Notice Period”), Parent and its Representatives shall have negotiated in good faith with the Company and its Representatives regarding any revisions or adjustments proposed by the Company to the terms and conditions of this Agreement as would enable Parent to proceed with its recommendation of this Agreement and the Transactions and not make such Modification in Recommendation and (iii) if the Company requested negotiations in accordance with clause (ii), Parent may make a Modification in Recommendation only if the Parent Board, after considering in good faith any revisions or adjustments to the terms and conditions of this Agreement that the Company shall have, prior to the expiration of the five-Business Day period, offered in writing in a manner that would form a binding Contract if accepted by Parent (and the other applicable parties hereto), reaffirms in good faith (after consultation with its outside legal counsel) that the failure to make a Modification in Recommendation would violate applicable Law. For the avoidance of doubt, a Modification in Recommendation will not affect Parent’s obligations pursuant to this Section 7.2 (other than as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence) or elsewhere in this Agreement.

(c)    To the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law, (x) Parent’s obligations to establish a record date, or duly call, give notice of, convene and hold the Special Meeting shall not be affected by any Modification in Recommendation, and (y) Parent agrees that if the Parent Stockholder Approval shall not have been obtained at any such Parent Stockholders’ Meeting, then Parent shall promptly continue to take all such commercially reasonable actions, including the actions required by this Section 7.2, and hold such additional Special Meetings in order to obtain the Parent Stockholder Approval. Parent may only (and upon written request from the Company shall) adjourn the Special Meeting (i) to solicit additional proxies for the purpose of obtaining the Parent Stockholder Approval, (ii) for the absence of a quorum and (iii) to allow reasonable additional time for the filing or mailing of any supplemental or amended disclosure that Parent has determined in good faith after consultation with outside legal counsel is required under applicable Law and for such supplemental or amended disclosure to be disseminated and reviewed by Parent Stockholders prior to the Special Meeting; provided, that, without the consent of the Company, the Special Meeting (x) may not be adjourned to a date that is more than fifteen (15) Business Days after the date for which the Special Meeting was originally scheduled (excluding any adjournments required by applicable Law) and (y) shall not be held later than three (3) Business Days prior to the Outside Date. Parent shall keep the Company reasonably informed regarding all matters relating to the Proposals and the Special Meeting, including by promptly furnishing any voting or proxy solicitation reports received by Parent and similar updates regarding any redemptions.

7.3    Company Stockholder Approval. Upon the terms set forth in this Agreement, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to obtain promptly after the execution of this Agreement, and in any event no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the second Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement (the “Written Consent Deadline”), a written consent from the Requisite Company Stockholders, pursuant to which such Requisite Company Stockholders will approve and adopt the matters required for the Company Stockholder Approval (the “Written Consent”). The Written Consent shall be irrevocable with respect to all shares of Company Stock owned beneficially or of record by the Requisite Company Stockholders or as to

 

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which such Requisite Company Stockholders have, directly or indirectly, the right to vote or direct the voting thereof. “Requisite Company Stockholders” means the Company Stockholders holding shares sufficient to effect the Company Stockholder Approval, each of which or whom is an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D under the Securities Act. The Company Board shall recommend to the Company Stockholders the approval and adoption of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including the Merger).

7.4    Cooperation; Efforts to Consummate.

(a)    On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Company and Parent shall cooperate with each other and use (and shall cause their respective Subsidiaries and Affiliates to use) their respective reasonable best efforts to take or cause to be taken all actions, and do or cause to be done all things, reasonably necessary, proper or advisable on its part under this Agreement and applicable Law to consummate and make effective the Transactions as soon as reasonably practicable, including preparing and filing as promptly as reasonably practicable all documentation to effect all necessary notices, reports and other filings (including by filing no later than ten (10) Business Days after the date of this Agreement the notification and report form required under the HSR Act) and to obtain as promptly as reasonably practicable all consents, registrations, approvals, clearances, Permits and authorizations necessary, proper or advisable to be obtained from any third party or any Governmental Entity in order to consummate the Transactions. The Company and Parent (A) shall each request early termination of all applicable waiting periods under the HSR Act with respect to the Transactions and (B) shall not, and shall cause their Subsidiaries and Affiliates not to, extend any waiting period, review period or comparable period under the HSR Act or any other Antitrust Law or enter into any agreement with any Governmental Entity to delay or not to consummate the Transactions, except with the prior written consent of the other Party (not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, delayed, or denied). Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary in this Agreement, but subject to Parent’s obligations pursuant to Section 7.4(c), in no event shall either the Company or Parent or any of their respective Affiliates be required to pay any consideration to any third parties or give anything of value to obtain any such Person’s authorization, approval, consent or waiver to effectuate the Transactions, other than filing, recordation or similar fees. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no action taken by the Company or Parent under this Section 7.4 will constitute a breach of Section 5.1 or Section 6.1, respectively.

(b)    Parent and the Company shall each have the right to review in advance, and to the extent reasonably practicable, each will consult with the other on and consider in good faith the views of the other in connection with, all of the information relating to Parent or the Company, as applicable, and any of their respective Subsidiaries, that appears in any filing made with, or written materials submitted to, any third party or any Governmental Entity in connection with the Transactions (including the Registration Statement). Neither the Company nor Parent shall permit any of its officers or other Representatives to participate in any meeting or discussion with any Governmental Entity in respect of any filings, investigation or other inquiry relating to the Transactions unless, to the extent practicable, it consults with the other Party in advance, and to the extent permitted by such Governmental Entity, gives the other Party the opportunity to attend and participate thereat. In exercising the foregoing rights, each of the Company and Parent shall act reasonably and as promptly as reasonably practicable. Each of Parent and the Company shall be responsible for fifty percent (50%) of the payment of all filing fees pursuant to the HSR Act and any other Antitrust Laws in connection with the Transactions.

 

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(c)    For the avoidance of doubt and notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, and without limiting the foregoing, Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and Affiliates to, take any and all steps necessary that are within its control to eliminate each and every impediment under the HSR Act or any other Antitrust Law that is asserted by any Governmental Entity or any other Person so as to enable the Parties to consummate the Transactions as soon as possible, and in any event prior to the Outside Date, including, but not limited to, (i) commencing or threatening to commence, and vigorously contesting, resisting and defending against, any Proceeding, whether judicial or administrative, by or before any Governmental Entity or other Person, (ii) seeking to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any stay or Governmental Order, whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that prevents restricts, interferes with or delays the consummation of the Transactions, (iii) proposing, negotiating, committing to and effecting by consent decree, hold separate order or otherwise, the sale, divestiture, licensing or disposition of any assets or businesses of the Company or Parent or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates, (iv) taking or committing to take actions that limit the freedom of action of any of the Company or Parent or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates with respect to, or the ability to retain, control or operate, or to exert full rights of ownership in respect of, any of the businesses, product lines or assets of the Company or Parent or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates, (v) granting any financial, legal or other accommodation to any Person and (vi) proposing, negotiating, committing to and effecting any other condition, commitment or remedy of any kind; provided, however, that Parent shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and Affiliates not to, take any action described in subsections (iii), (iv), (v) or (vi) of this Section 7.4(c) that relates to, or involves, impacts, burdens or restricts, the Company or its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, or any of their respective assets, businesses or product lines, without the Company’s prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). Parent and Merger Sub shall not take any action, including agreeing to or consummating any merger, acquisition or other transaction, that would reasonably be expected to prevent, restrict or delay (A) the receipt of any consent, registration, approval, clearance, permit or authorization from any Governmental Entity or any other Person in connection with the Transactions or (B) the consummation of the Transactions.

7.5    Status; Notifications. Subject to applicable Law and as otherwise required by any Governmental Entity, the Company and Parent each shall keep the other apprised of the status of matters relating to the consummation of the Transactions, including promptly furnishing the other with copies of notices or other communications received by Parent or the Company, as applicable, or any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, from any third party or any Governmental Entity with respect to the Transactions.

7.6    Publicity. The initial press release with respect to the Transactions shall be a joint press release and thereafter the Company and Parent shall consult with each other, and provide meaningful opportunity for review and give due consideration to reasonable comment by the other Party, prior to issuing any press releases or otherwise making planned public statements with respect to the Transactions and prior to making any filings with any third party or any Governmental Entity (including any national securities exchange) with respect thereto, except (i) as may be required by applicable Law or by obligations pursuant to any listing agreement with or

 

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rules of any national securities exchange or NASDAQ or (ii) any consultation that would not be reasonably practicable as a result of requirements of applicable Law. Each of the Company and Parent may make any public statements in response to questions by the press, analysts, investors or those attending industry conferences or analyst or investor conference calls, so long as such statements are not inconsistent with previous statements made jointly by the Company and Parent.

7.7    Section 16 Matters. Prior to the Closing, each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company shall take all steps as may be required, to the extent permitted under applicable Law, to cause any dispositions of the shares of Company Stock or acquisitions of Parent Common Stock (including, in each case, securities deliverable upon exercise, vesting or settlement of any derivative securities) resulting from the Transactions by each individual who may become subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act in connection with the Transactions to be exempt under SEC Rule 16b-3(d) promulgated under the Exchange Act.

7.8    Tax Matters.

(a)    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Parent shall pay all Transfer Taxes required to be paid by the Company, Parent or any of their Subsidiaries incurred in connection with the Transactions. The Company shall file all necessary Tax Returns with respect to all such Transfer Taxes, will give Parent a meaningful opportunity for review and give due consideration to reasonable comment by Parent with respect to such Tax Returns, and if required by applicable Law, Parent will join in the execution of any such Tax Returns. The Company and Parent agree to reasonably cooperate to reduce or eliminate the amount of any such Transfer Taxes.

(b)    Parent, Merger Sub and the Company intend that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and for purposes of any applicable state or local income tax law that follows U.S. federal income tax treatment), (i) the Merger will qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code to which Parent and the Company are to be parties under Section 368(b) of the Code; and (ii) any Earn-Out Shares that are issued will be treated as an adjustment to the Aggregate Share Consideration for Tax purposes that is eligible for non-recognition treatment under the Code and Treasury Regulations in connection with the reorganization described in clause (i) (and will not be treated as “other property” within the meaning of Section 356 of the Code), and (iii) this Agreement be, and hereby is, adopted as a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.368-2(g) and 1.368-3(a) (clauses (i) and (ii) together, the “Intended Tax Treatment”).

(c)    None of the Parties shall (and each Party shall cause its Subsidiaries and Affiliates not to) take or cause to be taken, or knowingly fail to take or knowingly cause to be failed to be taken, any action that would reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger and the applicable issuance(s) of Earn-Out Shares from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment. Both prior to and following the Effective Time, each of the Parties shall, and shall cause their respective Subsidiaries and Affiliates to, use their reasonable best efforts to cause the Merger and the applicable issuance(s) of Earn-Out Shares to qualify for the Intended Tax Treatment.

(d)    The Parties shall, and shall cause their respective Affiliates to, unless otherwise required by a final determination within the meaning of Section 1313(a) of the Code,

 

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file all income Tax Returns to be filed on a basis consistent with the Intended Tax Treatment. Each of the Parties agrees to use reasonable best efforts to promptly notify all other Parties of any challenge to the Intended Tax Treatment by any Governmental Entity. The Parties will cooperate with each other and their respective counsel to document and support the Intended Tax Treatment, including by providing factual support letters.

7.9    Parent Incentive Plan. Parent shall, prior to the Effective Time, approve and adopt the Parent Incentive Plan and the Parent ESPP, in each case to be effective in connection with the Closing. The Parent Incentive Plan shall provide for an initial aggregate share reserve thereunder equal to the sum of (a) 11.00% of the number of shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding immediately following the Closing, plus (b) any shares of Parent Common Stock which are subject to Assumed Options which expire, lapse or are terminated, forfeited or cancelled following the Closing, plus (c) an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on the first January 1 following the Closing and ending on and including January 1 of the tenth calendar year thereafter, equal to the lesser of (i) 5% of the aggregate number of shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) such smaller number of shares as is determined by the administrator of the Parent Incentive Plan, and shall otherwise be in the form mutually acceptable to Parent and the Company. The Parent ESPP shall provide for an initial aggregate share reserve thereunder equal to the sum of (a) 1.5% of the number of shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding immediately following the Closing, plus (b) an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on the first January 1 following the Closing and ending on and including January 1 of the tenth calendar year thereafter, equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the aggregate number of shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) such smaller number of shares as is determined by the administrator of the Parent ESPP, and shall otherwise be in the form mutually acceptable to Parent and the Company. Subject to approval of the Parent Incentive Plan and the Parent ESPP by Parent stockholders, as soon as practicable following the Effective Time Parent shall file an effective Form S-8 Registration Statement with the SEC with respect to the shares of Parent Class A Stock issuable under the Parent Incentive Plan and the Parent ESPP and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such Form S-8 Registration Statement for so long as awards granted pursuant to the Parent Incentive Plan and/or Parent ESPP remain outstanding.

7.10    Employee Matters.

(a)    Comparability. For a period of 12 months following the Closing Date, Parent shall cause the Surviving Company to provide each Company Employee as of immediately prior to the Closing (each, a “Continuing Employee”) with (i) annual base salary or wages and target incentive compensation opportunities (excluding any equity or equity-based incentive compensation) that are no less than the annual base salary, wages and target incentive compensation opportunities (excluding any equity or equity-based incentive compensation), respectively, provided to such Continuing Employee immediately prior to the Closing Date, and (ii) employee benefits that are not less favorable in the aggregate to such Continuing Employee than those provided to such Continuing Employee immediately prior to the Closing Date.

(b)    Service Credit. From and after the Closing, Parent shall cause the Surviving Company to give or cause to be given to each Continuing Employee credit for purposes of

 

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eligibility to participate, vesting of employer 401(k) plan contributions, level of severance and vacation/paid time off (and for any other purposes as may be required under applicable Law), but not for benefit accrual purposes under any defined benefit pension plan, under each employee benefit plan, program or arrangement established or maintained by Parent under which Continuing Employees are eligible to participate on or after the Closing (“New Plan”) to the same extent and for the same purpose as such service with the applicable Group Company or any predecessor thereof was credited on or prior to the Closing under the corresponding Company Benefit Plan; provided, however, that such credit need not be provided to the extent that such credit would result in any duplication of benefits for the same period of service.

(c)    Pre-Existing Conditions/Copayment Credit. With respect to each New Plan that is a group welfare benefit plan in which any Continuing Employee or spouse or dependent thereof may be eligible to participate on or after the Closing, Parent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to (i) waive, or cause its Affiliates or insurance carrier to waive, all limitations as to preexisting conditions, actively-at-work requirements, exclusions and waiting periods, if any, with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to each Continuing Employee or spouse or dependent thereof, and any other similar restrictions that would prevent immediate or full participation by such Continuing Employee or eligible spouse or dependent thereof, under such New Plan, to the same extent satisfied or waived under a comparable Company Benefit Plan in which such Continuing Employee participated, and (ii) provide or cause its Affiliates to provide credit to each Continuing Employee or eligible spouse or dependent thereof for any co-payments, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and for any lifetime maximums paid by such Continuing Employee or eligible spouse or dependent thereof under the comparable Company Benefit Plan during the relevant plan year up to and including the Closing to the same extent and for the same purpose as credited under such comparable Company Benefit Plan as if such amounts had been paid under such New Plan.

(d)    Limitations. The Company and its Subsidiaries and Parent acknowledge and agree that all provisions contained in this Section 7.10 are included for their sole benefit, and that nothing contained herein, express or implied, (i) is intended to confer any third-party beneficiary or other rights (including any right to continued employment for any period, to any particular term or condition of employment or to continued receipt of any specific employee benefit), or (ii) shall constitute an establishment, amendment to or any other modification of any New Plan, Company Benefit Plan or other employee benefit plan, or shall limit the right of Parent or any of its Affiliates to amend, terminate or otherwise modify any New Plan, Company Benefit Plan or other employee benefit plan following the Closing Date.

ARTICLE VIII

CONDITIONS

8.1    Mutual Conditions to Obligation of Each Party. The respective obligation of each Party to consummate the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver at or prior to the Effective Time of each of the following conditions:

(a)    Stockholder Approval. (i) The Parent Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained, and (ii) the Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained.

 

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(b)    Regulatory Approvals. All waiting periods (and any extensions thereof) applicable to the consummation of the Transactions under the HSR Act shall have expired or been earlier terminated.

(c)    No Laws or Governmental Orders. No Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Law or Governmental Order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) that is in effect and restrains, enjoins, makes illegal or otherwise prohibits the consummation of the Transactions.

(d)    Registration Statement. The Registration Statement shall have become effective in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and remain in effect, and no Proceedings for that purpose shall have commenced or be threatened by the SEC.

(e)    Other Agreements. The Transaction Documents shall be in full force and effect and shall not have been rescinded by any of the parties thereto.

(f)    Net Tangible Assets. Parent shall have at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) of the Exchange Act).

(g)    Nasdaq Listing. Parent Common Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement shall be listed or have been approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to official notice of issuance thereof.

(h)    Private Placements. The Private Placements (and the funding of the Private Placement Investment Amount) shall have been consummated or will be consummated substantially concurrently with the Closing in accordance with the terms of the applicable Subscription Agreements.

8.2    Conditions to Obligation of Parent and Merger Sub. The respective obligation of Parent and Merger Sub to consummate the Merger is also subject to the satisfaction or waiver by Parent at or prior to the Effective Time of the following conditions:

(a)    Representations and Warranties.

(i)    The representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in the first sentence of Section 3.1 (Organization, Good Standing and Qualification), Section 3.3 (Corporate Authority; Approval and Fairness), Section 3.6(a) (Absence of Certain Changes), and Section 3.18 (Brokers and Finders) that are qualified by materiality, Materiality Adverse Effect or other similar qualifier shall be true and correct in all respects and that are not qualified by materiality, Material Adverse Effect or other similar qualifier shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the Closing Date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty expressly speaks as of a particular date or period of time, in which case such representation and warranty shall be so true and correct in all respects or all material respects, as applicable, as of such particular date or period of time).

(ii)    The representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in the first sentence of each of Section 3.2(a) through Section 3.2(d) (Capital

 

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Structure of the Company) shall be true and correct in all respects (except for inaccuracies that are immaterial to the Company prior to the Closing and the capitalization of Parent following the Closing) as of the Closing Date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty expressly speaks as of a particular date or period of time, in which case such representation and warranty shall be so true and correct in all respects (except for inaccuracies that are immaterial to the Company prior to the Closing and the capitalization of Parent following the Closing) as of such particular date or period of time).

(iii)    The other representations and warranties made by the Company that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE III shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty expressly speaks as of a particular date or period of time, in which case such representation and warranty shall be so true and correct as of such particular date or period of time), except for any failure of any such representation and warranty to be so true and correct (without giving effect to any materiality, Materiality Adverse Effect or other similar qualifier contained therein) that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(b)    Performance of Obligations of the Company. The Company shall have performed or complied in all material respects with each of its obligations required to be performed or complied with by it under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date; provided, that for purposes of this Section 8.2(b), a covenant of the Company shall only be deemed to have not been performed if the Company has failed to cure within fifteen (15) days after written notice of a breach thereof by Parent (or if earlier, the Outside Date).

(c)    Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, no Material Adverse Effect on the Company has occurred that is continuing.

(d)    Company Closing Certificate. Parent and Merger Sub shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of the Company by an executive officer of the Company certifying that the conditions set forth in Section 8.2(a), Section 8.2(b) and Section 8.2(c) have been satisfied (the “Company Closing Certificate”).

(e)    Transaction Documents. The Company shall have delivered a counterpart of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party to Parent.

(f)    Approval of Company Warrant Settlement. The Company shall have obtained the consent to or approval of the Company Warrant Settlement, in writing, of all holders of the Company Warrants for which such consent or approval is required, and the Company Warrant Settlement shall have been consummated.

8.3    Conditions to Obligation of the Company. The obligation of the Company to consummate the Merger is also subject to the satisfaction or waiver by the Company at or prior to the Effective Time of the following conditions:

(a)    Representations and Warranties.

(i)    The representations and warranties made by Parent and Merger Sub that are expressly set forth in the first sentence of Section 4.1 (Organization, Good Standing and

 

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Qualification), the first sentence of each of Sections 4.2(a) through 4.2(c) (Capital Structure of Parent), Section 4.3 (Corporate Authority; Approval) and Section 4.16 (Brokers and Finders) that are qualified by materiality, Materiality Adverse Effect or other similar qualifier shall be true and correct in all respects and that are not qualified by materiality, material adverse effect or other similar qualifier shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the Closing Date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty expressly speaks as of a particular date or period of time, in which case, such representation and warranty shall be so true and correct in all respects or all material respects, as applicable, as of such particular date or period of time).

(ii)    The other representations and warranties made by Parent and Merger Sub that are expressly set forth in ARTICLE IV shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date (except to the extent that any such representation and warranty expressly speaks as of a particular date or period of time, in which case such representation and warranty shall be so true and correct as of such particular date or period of time), except for any failure of any such representation and warranty to be so true and correct (without giving effect to any materiality, materiality adverse effect or other similar qualifier contained therein) that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent or prevent, materially delay or materially impair the ability of Parent or Merger Sub to consummate the Transactions.

(b)    Performance of Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub. Each of Parent and Merger Sub shall have performed or complied in all material respects with each of its obligations required to be performed or complied with by it under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date; provided, that for purposes of this Section 8.3(b), a covenant of Parent or Merger Sub shall only be deemed to have not been performed if Parent or Merger Sub, as applicable, has failed to cure within fifteen (15) days after written notice of a breach thereof by the Company (or if earlier, the Outside Date).

(c)    Parent Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, no material adverse effect on Parent has occurred that is continuing.

(d)    Parent and Merger Sub Closing Certificate. The Company shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of Parent and Merger Sub by an executive officer of Parent certifying that the conditions set forth in Section 8.3(a), Section 8.3(b) and Section 8.3(c) have been satisfied (the “Parent Closing Certificate”).

(e)    D&O Resignations. The directors and executive officers of Parent listed in Section 8.3(e) of the Parent Disclosure Letter shall have been removed from their respective positions or tendered their irrevocable resignations, in each case effective as of the Effective Time.

(f)    Closing Parent Cash. The Closing Parent Cash shall equal or exceed the Company’s Required Funds (after giving effect to any redemptions exercised by Parent Stockholders in connection with the Redemption Offer), and Parent shall have made all arrangements necessary, proper or advisable for the funds in the Parent Trust Account to be released upon Closing in accordance this Agreement.

 

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(g)    Transaction Documents. Parent shall have delivered a counterpart of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party to the Company.

ARTICLE IX

TERMINATION; SURVIVAL

9.1    Termination by Mutual Written Consent. This Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned at any time prior to the Effective Time by mutual written consent of the Company and Parent.

9.2    Termination by Either Parent or the Company. This Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned at any time prior to the Effective Time by written notice of either the Company or Parent to the other if:

(a)    The Merger shall not have been consummated by 5:00 p.m. (New York Time) on or prior to November 26, 2021 (the “Outside Date”); provided, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.2(a) shall not be available to any Party that has breached in any material respect its obligations set forth in this Agreement in any manner that shall have proximately contributed to the occurrence of the failure of a condition to the consummation of the Merger (subject to the applicable notice and cure provisions set forth in this ARTICLE IX); or

(b)    Any Law or final, non-appealable Governmental Order shall have been enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered that permanently restrains, enjoins or otherwise prohibits consummation of the Merger; provided that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.2(a) shall not be available to any Party that has breached in any material respect its obligations set forth in this Agreement in any manner that shall have proximately contributed to the enactment, issuance, promulgation, enforcement or entry of such Law or Governmental Order; provided further that the Governmental Entity issuing such Governmental Order has jurisdiction over the parties hereto with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby.

(c)    The Parent Stockholder Approval shall not have been obtained by reason of the failure to obtain the required vote upon a vote held at a Special Meeting or any adjournment.

9.3    Termination by Parent. This Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned by Parent by providing written notice to the Company if:

(a)    At any time prior to the Effective Time, there has been a breach by the Company of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement such that the conditions in Section 8.2(a) or Section 8.2(b) would not be satisfied (and such breach is not curable prior to the Outside Date, or if curable prior to the Outside Date, has not been cured within the earlier of (i) 30 days after the giving of written notice thereof by Parent to the Company or (ii) three (3) Business Days prior to the Outside Date); provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.3(a) shall not be available to Parent if it has breached in any material respect its obligations set forth in this Agreement in any manner that shall have proximately contributed to the occurrence of the failure of a condition to the consummation of the Merger (subject to the applicable notice and cure provisions set forth in this ARTICLE IX); or

 

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(b)    The Company Stockholder Approval shall not have been obtained by reason of the failure to obtain the required vote prior to the Written Consent Deadline set forth in Section 7.3.

9.4    Termination by the Company. This Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned by the Company by providing written notice to Parent if:

(a)    at any time prior to the Effective Time, there has been a breach by Parent or Merger Sub of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement such that the conditions in Section 8.3(a) or Section 8.3(b) would not be satisfied (and such breach is not curable prior to the Outside Date, or if curable prior to the Outside Date, has not been cured within the earlier of (i) 30 days after the giving of written notice thereof by the Company to Parent or (ii) three (3) Business Days prior to the Outside Date); provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.4(a) shall not be available to the Company if it has breached in any material respect its obligations set forth in this Agreement in any manner that shall have proximately contributed to the occurrence of the failure of a condition to the consummation of the Merger (subject to the applicable notice and cure provisions set forth in this ARTICLE IX); or

(b)    it provides such notice within fifteen (15) Business Days after the Parent Board shall have (or any committee or subgroup thereof shall have) made a Modification in Recommendation.

9.5    Effect of Termination. In the event of termination of this Agreement and the abandonment of the Merger pursuant to this ARTICLE IX, this Agreement and every other agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall become null and void and of no further force and effect, without any duties, obligations or liabilities on the part of any Party (or any of their Representatives or Affiliates). Notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) no such termination shall relieve any Party of any liability or damages to any other Party resulting from any fraud (with scienter) or Willful Breach of this Agreement prior to such termination; and (b) the following shall survive such termination: (i) Section 3.20 (No Outside Reliance), Section 3.23 (No Other Representations or Warranties), Section 4.20 (No Outside Reliance), Section 4.21 (No Other Representations or Warranties), Section 5.3 (No Claims Against the Parent Trust Account), this Section 9.5 (Effect of Termination and Abandonment), and ARTICLE XI; (ii) the Confidentiality Agreement; and (iii) the definitions of any related defined terms used in the provisions or agreements described in the foregoing clauses (i) through (ii).

ARTICLE X

NO SURVIVAL

After the Effective Time, no representations, warranties, covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement or in any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall survive, except for: (i) ARTICLE I, Section 3.20 (No Outside Reliance), Section 3.23 (No Other Representations or Warranties), Section 4.20 (No Outside Reliance), Section 4.21 (No Other Representations or Warranties), Section 6.3 (Indemnification; Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance), Section 7.8(a) (Tax Matters), this

 

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ARTICLE X and ARTICLE XI; (ii) the Confidentiality Agreement; (iii) those covenants and agreements that by their terms are to be performed or complied with, in whole or in part, after the Effective Time; and (iv) the definitions of any related defined terms used in the provisions or agreements described in the foregoing clauses (i) through (iii).

ARTICLE XI

MISCELLANEOUS

11.1    Amendment; Waiver.

(a)    Subject to the provisions of applicable Law and the provisions of Section 6.3 (Indemnification; Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance), at any time prior to the Effective Time, this Agreement may be amended, modified or waived if such amendment, modification or waiver is in writing and signed, in the case of an amendment or modification, by Parent, Merger Sub and the Company, or in the case of a waiver, by the Party against whom the waiver is to be effective. The conditions to each of the Parties’ respective obligations to consummate the Transactions are for the sole benefit of such Party and may be waived by such Party in whole or in part to the extent permitted by applicable Law; provided, however, that any such waiver shall only be effective if made in writing and executed by the Party against whom the waiver is to be effective.

(b)    No failure or delay by any Party in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder or under applicable Law shall operate as a waiver of such rights, and except as otherwise expressly provided herein, no single or partial exercise thereof shall preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege. The rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by Law.

11.2    Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each such counterpart being deemed to be an original instrument, and all such counterparts shall together constitute the same agreement. The exchange of copies of this Agreement and signature pages by email in .pdf or .tif format (and including, without limitation, any electronic signature complying with the U.S. ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com), or by any other electronic means intended to preserve the original graphic and pictorial appearance of a document, or by combination of such means, shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Agreement as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Agreement for all purposes. Such execution and delivery shall be considered valid, binding and effective for all purposes.

11.3    Governing Law. This Agreement, and any claims or Proceedings arising out of this Agreement or the subject matter hereof (whether at law or equity, in contract or in tort or otherwise), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof (or any other jurisdiction) to the extent that such principles would direct a matter to another jurisdiction.

11.4    Forum; Waiver of Jury Trial.

(a)    Each of the Parties agrees that: (i) it shall bring any Proceeding in connection with, arising out of or otherwise relating to this Agreement, any agreement, certificate,

 

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instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transactions exclusively in the courts of the State of Delaware in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (and only if) such court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division); provided that if subject matter jurisdiction over the Proceeding is vested exclusively in the United States federal courts, then such Proceeding shall be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Chosen Courts”); and (ii) solely in connection with such Proceedings, (A) it irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chosen Courts, (B) it waives any objection to the laying of venue in any Proceeding in the Chosen Courts, (C) it waives any objection that the Chosen Courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over any Party, (D) mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such Proceeding in the manner provided in Section 11.6 or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Law shall be valid and sufficient service thereof and (E) it shall not assert as a defense, any matter or claim waived by the foregoing clauses (A) through (D) of this Section 11.4 or that any Governmental Order issued by the Chosen Courts may not be enforced in or by the Chosen Courts.

(b)    EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY BE IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISE OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATE TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS, IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS. EACH PARTY HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND CERTIFIES (i) THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER PARTIES HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTIES WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER, (ii) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (iii) IT MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY AND (iv) IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 11.4(b).

11.5    Equitable Remedies. Each of the Parties acknowledges and agrees that the rights of each Party to consummate the Transactions are special, unique and of extraordinary character and that if for any reason any of the provisions of this Agreement are not performed or complied with in accordance with their terms or are otherwise breached, immediate and irreparable harm or damage would be caused for which money damages would not be an adequate remedy. Accordingly, each Party agrees that, in addition to any other available remedies a Party may have in equity or at law, each Party shall be entitled to equitable remedies against another Party for its breach or threatened breach of this Agreement, including to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement or to obtain an injunction restraining any such breach or threatened breach of the provisions of this Agreement in the Chosen Courts, in each case, (i) without necessity of posting a bond or other form of security and (ii) without proving the inadequacy of money

 

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damages or another any remedy at law. In the event that a Party seeks equitable remedies in any Proceeding (including to enforce the provisions of this Agreement or prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement), no Party shall raise any defense or objection, and each Party hereby waives any and all defenses and objections, to such equitable remedies on grounds that (x) money damages would be adequate or there is another adequate remedy at law or (y) the Party seeking equitable remedies must either post a bond or other form of security and prove the inadequacy of money damages or another any remedy at law.

11.6    Notices. All notices, requests, instructions, consents, claims, demands, waivers, approvals and other communications to be given or made hereunder by one or more Parties to one or more of the other Parties shall, unless otherwise specified herein, be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given or made on the date of receipt by the recipient thereof if received prior to 5:00 p.m. in the place of receipt and such day is a Business Day (or otherwise on the next succeeding Business Day) if (a) served by personal delivery or by a nationally recognized overnight courier service upon the Party or Parties for whom it is intended, (b) delivered by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or (c) sent by email. Such communications shall be sent to the respective Parties at the following street addresses or email addresses or at such other street address or email address for a Party as shall be specified for such purpose in a notice given in accordance with this Section 11.6:

If to the Company:

EFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

11120 Roselle Street, Suite A

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: Stephen T. Worland

Email: sworland@effector.com

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

Latham & Watkins LLP

12670 High Bluff Drive

San Diego, CA 92130

Attention: Matthew T. Bush

Ryan J. Maierson

Email: matt.bush@lw.com

            ryan.maierson@lw.com

If to Parent or Merger Sub:

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.

c/o Locust Walk Enterprises, LLC

200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor

Boston, MA 02116

Attention: Chris Ehrlich

Email: chris@locustwalk.com

 

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

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

One Financial Center

Boston, MA 02111

Attention: William C. Hicks

Marc D. Mantell

Email: wchicks@mintz.com

           mdmantell@mintz.com

11.7    Entire Agreement.

(a)    This Agreement (including the exhibits, schedules and annexes), the Company Disclosure Letter, the Parent Disclosure Letter, and the Transaction Documents and the Confidentiality Agreement constitute the entire agreement among the Parties and their Affiliates with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, negotiations, understandings, and representations and warranties, whether oral or written, with respect to such matters.

(b)    Without limiting Section 3.20 (No Outside Reliance), Section 3.23 (No Other Representations or Warranties), Section 4.20 (No Outside Reliance), and Section 4.21 (No Other Representations or Warranties), each Party acknowledges and agrees that, except for the representations and warranties expressly set forth in ARTICLE III and ARTICLE IV, in the Transaction Documents or in any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transaction Documents, (i) no Party has made or is making any representations, warranties or inducements, (ii) no Party has relied on or is relying on any representations, warranties, inducements, statements, materials or information (including as to the accuracy or completeness of any statements, materials or information) and (iii) each Party hereby disclaims reliance on any representations, warranties, inducements, statements, materials or information (whether oral or written, express or implied, or otherwise) or on the accuracy or completeness of any statements, materials or information, in each case of clauses (i) through (iii), relating to or in connection with the negotiation, execution or delivery of this Agreement or any Transaction Documents, the agreements, certificates, instruments or other documents delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transaction Documents, or the Transactions. Each Party hereby releases, discharges, ceases and waives any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs and Proceedings (whether in contract or in tort, in law or in equity, or granted by statute) relating to the making (or alleged making) of any representations, warranties or inducements, the disclosure or making available of any statements, materials or information (or the accuracy or completeness thereof), or the reliance on (or alleged reliance on) any representations, warranties, inducements, statements, materials or information (including the accuracy or completeness of any statements, materials or information), except for such claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs and Proceedings arising from fraud (with scienter) with respect to the representations and warranties expressly set forth in ARTICLE III and ARTICLE IV, in the Transaction Documents or in any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transaction Documents.

11.8    Expenses. Whether or not the Merger is consummated, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents and the Transactions, including all fees and expenses of its Representatives, shall be paid by the Party incurring such expense.

 

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11.9    Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties (and any of their respective successors and permitted assigns). No Party shall be permitted assign any of its rights or delegate any of its obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, by operation of Law or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the other Parties, and any attempted or purported assignment or delegation in violation of this Section 11.9 shall be null and void.

11.10    Third Party Beneficiaries. Except for the Indemnified Parties with respect to the provisions of Section 6.3 (Indemnification; Directors and Officers Insurance), the Parties hereby agree that their respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement are solely for the benefit of the other Parties on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and are not for the benefit of any other Person who is not a party to this Agreement. Other than the Parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns, this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, confer upon any Person any rights or remedies, express or implied, hereunder, including the right to rely upon the representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement. The representations and warranties in this Agreement are the product of negotiations among the Parties. Any inaccuracies in such representations and warranties are subject to waiver by the Parties in accordance with Section 11.1 without notice or liability to any other Person. In some instances, the representations and warranties in this Agreement may represent an allocation among the Parties of risks associated with particular matters regardless of the knowledge of any of the Parties. Consequently, Persons other than the Parties may not rely upon the representations and warranties in this Agreement as characterizations of actual facts or circumstances as of the date of this Agreement or as of any other date.

11.11    Non-Recourse. Any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs or Proceedings (whether in contract or in tort, in law or in equity, or granted by statute) that may be based upon, in respect of, arise under, out or by reason of, be connected with, or relate in any manner to this Agreement or the subject matter hereof (including the Transactions), any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the subject matter thereof, or any negotiation, execution, or performance of any of the foregoing, shall be brought, raised or claimed only against the Persons that are expressly identified as “Parties” in the preamble to this Agreement (the “Contracting Parties”). No Nonparty Person shall have any responsibility, obligation or liability for any claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs or Proceedings (whether in contract or in tort, in law or in equity, or granted by statute) arising under, out of, in connection with, or related in any manner to this Agreement or based on, in respect of, or by reason of this Agreement (including the Transactions) or its negotiation, execution, performance, or breach and, to the maximum extent permitted by Laws, each Contracting Party hereby irrevocably, unconditionally, completely and forever releases, discharges, ceases and waives all such claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs or Proceedings (whether in contract or in tort, in law or in equity, or granted by statute) against any such Nonparty Persons. Without limiting the foregoing, to the maximum extent permitted by Laws, (a) each Contracting Party hereby irrevocably, unconditionally, completely and forever releases, discharges, ceases and waives any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, damages, losses, expenses, costs

 

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or Proceedings (whether in contract or in tort, in law or in equity, or granted by statute) that may otherwise be available at law or in equity, or granted by statute, to avoid or disregard the entity form of a Contracting Party or otherwise impose liability of a Contracting Party on any Nonparty Person, whether granted by statute or based on theories of equity, agency, control, instrumentality, alter ego, domination, sham, single business enterprise, piercing the veil, unfairness, undercapitalization, or otherwise; and (b) each Contracting Party disclaims any reliance upon any Nonparty Person with respect to the performance of this Agreement or any representation or warranty made in, in connection with, or as an inducement to this Agreement. The “Nonparty Persons” means the Persons who are not Contracting Parties, and the term “Nonparty Persons” shall include, but not be limited to, all past, present or future stockholders, members, partners, other securityholders, controlling Persons, directors, managers, officers, employees, incorporator, Affiliates, agents, attorneys, advisors, other Representatives, lenders, capital providers, successors or permitted assigns of all Contracting Parties, all Affiliates of any Contracting Party or of all past, present or future stockholders, members, partners, other securityholders, controlling Persons, directors, managers, officers, employees, incorporator, Affiliates, agents, attorneys, advisors, other Representatives, lenders, capital providers, successors or permitted assigns of all of the foregoing.

11.12    Severability. The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed severable and the illegality, invalidity or unenforceability of any provision shall not affect the legality, validity or enforceability of the other provisions of this Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement, or the application of such provision to any Person or any circumstance, is illegal, invalid or unenforceable, (a) a suitable and equitable provision to be negotiated by the Parties, each acting reasonably and in good faith shall be substituted therefor in order to carry out, so far as may be legal, valid and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such legal, invalid or unenforceable provision, and (b) the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provision to other Persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such illegality, invalidity or unenforceability, nor shall such illegality, invalidity or unenforceability affect the legality, validity or enforceability of such provision, or the application of such provision, in any other jurisdiction.

11.13    Interpretation and Construction.

(a)    The table of contents and headings herein are for convenience of reference only, do not constitute part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or otherwise affect any of the provisions hereof.

(b)    The Preamble, and all Recital, Article, Section, Subsection, Schedule and Exhibit references used in this Agreement are to the recitals, articles, sections, subsections, schedules and exhibits to this Agreement unless otherwise specified herein.

(c)    Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, for purposes of this Agreement: (i) the terms defined in the singular have a comparable meaning when used in the plural and vice versa; (ii) words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neutral genders and vice versa; (iii) whenever the words “includes” or “including” are used, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “including without limitation”; (iv) the word “or” is not exclusive; (v) the words “hereto,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “herein,” “hereunder” and similar terms in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not any particular provision of this Agreement; and (vi) the word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a subject or other thing extends and such phrase shall not mean simply “if”.

 

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(d)    Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the term “dollars” and the symbol “$” mean United States Dollars.

(e)    References to “securities” shall mean “securities” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and the applicable rules, regulations and other Laws promulgated thereunder or interpreting or supplementing the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.

(f)    When calculating the period of time within which, or following which, any act is to be done or step taken pursuant to this Agreement, the date that is the reference day in calculating such period shall be excluded and if the last day of the period is a non-Business Day, the period in question shall end on the next Business Day or if any action must be taken hereunder on or by a day that is not a Business Day, then such action may be validly taken on or by the next day that is a Business Day. References to a number of days, shall refer to calendar days unless Business Days are specified.

(g)    All references in this Agreement to any statute or other Law include the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by a Governmental Entity, in each case, as amended, re-enacted, consolidated or replaced from time to time. In the case of any such amendment, re-enactment, consolidation or replacement, reference herein to a particular provision shall be read as referring to such amended, re-enacted, consolidated or replaced provision and shall also include, unless the context otherwise requires, all applicable guidelines, bulletins or policies made in connection therewith, solely to the extent that such guidelines, bulletins or policies may carry the force of law.

(h)    The Company Disclosure Letter and Parent Disclosure Letter may include items and information the disclosure of which is not required either in response to an express disclosure requirement contained in a provision of this Agreement or as an exception to one or more representations or warranties contained in ARTICLE III or ARTICLE IV, as applicable, or to one or more covenants contained in this Agreement. Inclusion of any items or information in the Company Disclosure Letter or Parent Disclosure Letter, as applicable, shall not be deemed to be an acknowledgement or agreement that any such item or information (or any non-disclosed item or information of comparable or greater significance) is “material” or that, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have either a Material Adverse Effect or to affect the interpretation of such term for purposes of this Agreement.

(i)    The Parties have participated jointly in negotiating and drafting this Agreement. In the event that an ambiguity or a question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.

11.14    Definitions. The terms contained in Exhibit A to this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to such term as set forth in Exhibit A.

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow.]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement and Plan of Merger has been duly executed and delivered by the Parties as of the date first written above.

COMPANY:

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.
By:  

/s/ Steve Worland

Name: Steve Worland
Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to the Agreement and Plan of Merger]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement and Plan of Merger has been duly executed and delivered by the Parties as of the date first written above.

 

PARENT:
LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

/s/ Chris Ehrlich

Name:   Chris Ehrlich
Title:   Chief Executive Officer
MERGER SUB:
LOCUST WALK MERGER SUB, INC.
By:  

/s/ Chris Ehrlich

Name:   Chris Ehrlich
Title:   President, Secretary and Treasurer

 

[Signature Page to the Agreement and Plan of Merger]


Exhibit A

CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

Acceleration Event” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(b).

Additional Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

Affiliate” or “Affiliates” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such Person as of the date on which, or at any time during the period for which, the determination of affiliation is being made. For purposes of this definition, the term “control” including the correlative meanings of the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”, as used with respect to any Person, means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by Contract or otherwise.

Affordable Care Act” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.10(l).

Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Allocation Statement” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a).

Amendment Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

Antitrust Law” means the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the Clayton Act of 1914, the HSR Act and all other United States or non-United States antitrust, competition, merger control or other Laws that are designed or intended to prohibit, restrict or regulate actions having the purpose or effect of monopolization or restraint of trade or lessening of competition through merger or acquisition.

Assumed Option” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(c)(i).

Assumed Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(c)(i).

Bankruptcy and Equity Exception” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3(a).

Business” means the research, development, testing, and manufacture of selective translation regulators, as conducted by the Company as of the date of this Agreement.

Business Combination” has the meaning ascribed to such term in the Parent Certificate of Incorporation.

Business Day” means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday or a day on which banks in the City of New York, or solely with respect to the Closing Date, the Department of State of the State of Delaware is required or authorized by Law to close.

CARES Act” means the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

 

Exhibit A-1


Cash and Cash Equivalents” shall mean the cash and cash equivalents, including checks, money orders, marketable securities, short-term instruments, negotiable instruments, funds in time and demand deposits or similar accounts, and in lock boxes, in financial institutions or elsewhere, together with all accrued but unpaid interest thereon, and all bank, brokerage or other similar accounts.

Certificate of Merger” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.3.

Certificates” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(b).

Change of Control” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(d)(i).

Chosen Courts” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.4(a).

Closing” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.2.

Closing Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.2.

Closing Parent Cash” means, without duplication, an amount equal to (a) the Cash and Cash Equivalents contained in the Parent Trust Account as of immediately prior to the Effective Time; plus (b) all other Cash and Cash Equivalents of Parent; plus (c) the cash proceeds received from the Private Placements; minus (d) the aggregate amount of cash proceeds that will be required to satisfy the redemption of any shares of Parent Common Stock pursuant to the Redemption Offer (to the extent not already paid). For the avoidance of doubt, Closing Parent Cash shall not be reduced by the amount of any deferred underwriting fees or transaction expenses of any Party.

Code” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Company” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Company Acquisition Proposal” means (a) any transaction or series of related transactions under which any Person(s), directly or indirectly, (i) acquires or otherwise purchases the Company or (ii) all or a material portion of assets or business of the Company (in the case of each of clause (i) and (ii), whether by merger, consolidation, recapitalization, purchase or issuance of equity securities, tender offer or otherwise), or (b) any equity or similar investment in the Company (excluding any issuances of Company Common Stock or Company Preferred Stock upon the exercise of Company Options or Company Warrants that are outstanding as of the date hereof), other than from one or more existing Company Stockholders that would result in a one-time cash investment in the Company of not more than $15 million (such investment, for the avoidance of doubt, shall remain subject to the covenants set forth in Section 5.1(b)). Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, none of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall constitute a Company Acquisition Proposal.

Company Benefit Plan” means any benefit or compensation plan, program, policy, practice, agreement, Contract, arrangement or other obligation, whether or not in writing and whether or not funded, in each case, which is sponsored or maintained by, or required to be contributed to, or with respect to which any potential liability is borne by the Company or any of

 

Exhibit A-2


its Subsidiaries including, but not limited to, “employee benefit plans” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA (“ERISA Plans”), employment, retirement, retention, severance, termination or change-in-control agreements, deferred compensation, equity-based, incentive, bonus, supplemental retirement, profit sharing, insurance, medical, welfare, fringe or other benefits or remuneration of any kind.

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

Company Closing Certificate” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2(d).

Company Charter” means the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated as of July 19, 2017, as amended, restated or supplemented from time to time.

Company Common Stock” means the shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Company Disclosure Letter” has the meaning set forth in ARTICLE III.

Company Dissenting Shares” means shares of Company Common Stock that are held by Dissenting Stockholders.

Company Earn-Out Holders” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(a).

Company Employee” means any current or former employee, director or independent contractor (who is a natural person) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

Company ERISA Affiliate” means all employers (whether or not incorporated) that would be treated together with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as a “single employer” within the meaning of Section 414 of the Code.

Company Fully Diluted Capital Stock” means, without duplication, a number of shares of Company Common Stock equal to (a) the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock that are issued and outstanding as of immediately prior to the Effective Time after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion and the Company Warrant Settlement; plus (b) the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock issuable (assuming cash exercise) upon exercise of all Company Options that are outstanding as of immediately prior to the Effective Time and that will be Assumed Options at the Effective Time, whether vested or unvested; minus (c) the Treasury Shares outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time.

Company Intellectual Property” means all Intellectual Property Rights that are owned or purported to be owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

Company Material Contracts” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.17(a).

Company Option” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(c)(i).

Company Preferred Stock” means, collectively, the Company Series A Preferred Stock, the Company Series B Preferred Stock, and the Company Series C Preferred Stock.

 

Exhibit A-3


Company Product” means each product candidate that is being researched, tested, developed or manufactured by or on behalf of the Company.

Company Related Party” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.22.

Company Related Party Transactions” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.22.

Company Series A Preferred Stock” means the shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Company Series B Preferred Stock” means the shares of the Company’s Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Company Series C Preferred Stock” means the shares of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Company Stock” means, collectively, the Company Common Stock and the Company Preferred Stock.

Company Stockholder” means the holder of either a share of Company Common Stock or a share of Company Preferred Stock.

Company Stockholders Agreements” means (i) that certain Third Amended and Restated Voting Agreement, dated as of July 19, 2017, by and among the Company and certain Company Stockholders party thereto and (ii) that certain Third Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement of the Company, dated as of July 19, 2017, by and among the Company and certain Company Stockholders party thereto, in each case, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

Company Stockholder Approval” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3(a).

Company Warrant Settlement” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(a)(ii).

Company Warrants” means all warrants to purchase shares of Company Common Stock set forth in Section 3.2(c) of the Company Disclosure Letter.

Company’s Required Funds” shall mean $100,000,000.

Confidentiality Agreement” means the confidentiality agreement, entered into between the Company and Parent, dated February 9, 2021

Contract” means any legally binding contract, agreement, lease, license, note, mortgage, indenture, arrangement or other obligation.

Contracting Parties” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.11.

Costs” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(a).

 

Exhibit A-4


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

COVID-19 Measures” means any quarantine, “shelter in place,” “stay at home,” workforce reduction, social distancing, shut down, closure, sequester, safety or similar Law, directive, guidelines or recommendations promulgated by any Governmental Entity, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, in each case, in connection with or in response to COVID-19, including the CARES Act and Families First Act.

D&O Insurance” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(b).

DGCL” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Dissenting Stockholders” means any Person who has perfected a demand for appraisal rights pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL.

Earn-Out Option Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(c).

Earn-Out Period” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(d)(ii).

Earn-Out Pro Rata Share” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(d)(iii).

Earn-Out Share Consideration” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(a).

Earn-Out Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(a).

Effective Time” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.3.

Encumbrance” any pledge, lien, charge, option, hypothecation, mortgage, security interest, adverse right, prior assignment, license, sublicense or any other encumbrance of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether contingent or absolute, or any agreement, option, right or privilege (whether by Law, contract or otherwise) capable of becoming any of the foregoing. The term “Encumber” shall have the correlative meaning.

Environmental Law” means any Law relating to: (a) the protection, investigation, remediation or restoration of the environment, health, safety or natural resources; (b) the handling, labeling, management, recycling, generation, use, storage, treatment, transportation, presence, disposal, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Substance; or (c) any noise, odor, or indoor air, employee exposure, wetlands, pollution, contamination or any injury or threat of injury to persons or property relating to any Hazardous Substance.

equity securities” means any share, share capital, capital stock, partnership, membership, unit, joint venture or similar interest in any Person (including any stock appreciation, phantom stock, profit participation or similar rights), and any option, warrant, right or security (including debt securities) convertible, exchangeable or exercisable therefor.

ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

 

Exhibit A-5


ERISA Plans” has the meaning set forth in the definition of “Company Benefit Plan.”

Execution Date” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Exchange Agent” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(a).

Exchange Fund” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(a).

Exchange Ratio” means the quotient of (a) the Merger Consideration, divided by (b) the number of shares of Company Fully Diluted Capital Stock.

FCPA” means the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.

FDA” means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or any successor agency thereto.

FIRPTA Certificates” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.6.

Financial Statements” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.5(a).

GAAP” means United States generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied.

Government Official” means any official, officer, employee, or representative of, or any Person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of, any Governmental Entity, and includes any official or employee of any entity directly or indirectly owned or controlled by any Governmental Entity, and any officer or employee of a public international organization, as well as any Person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any such Governmental Entity, or for or on behalf of any such public international organization.

Governmental Entity” means any United States federal, state or local, non-United States, supranational or transnational governmental (including public international organizations), quasi-governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory authority, agency, commission, body, department or instrumentality or any court, tribunal or arbitrator or other entity or subdivision thereof or other legislative, executive or judicial entity or subdivision thereof, in each case, of competent jurisdiction.

Governmental Order” means any order, writ, judgment, temporary, preliminary or permanent injunction, decree, ruling, stipulation, determination, or award entered by or with any Governmental Entity.

Hazardous Substance” means any: (a) substance that is listed, designated, classified or regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law; (b) any substance that is a petroleum product or by-product, asbestos-containing material, lead-containing paint or plumbing, polychlorinated biphenyls, mold, radioactive material or radon; and (c) other substance that poses a risk of harm or may be the subject of regulation or liability in connection with any Environmental Law (in each case, excluding any office or cleaning supplies that are safely stored and maintained).

 

Exhibit A-6


Healthcare Laws” means: (i) the FDCA and Section 402(j) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §282(j)); and (ii) all applicable federal, state, local and foreign health care fraud and abuse Laws, including, without limitation, the Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the Civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), the criminal false statements law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(a)), 18 U.S.C. Sections 286 and 287, the health care fraud criminal provisions under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.), the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7a), the exclusion law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7), and the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1320-7h) in each case including the associated rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to such statutes and all of their foreign equivalents, including the Canadian Food and Drugs Act.

HSR Act” means the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Indebtedness” means, with respect to any Person, without duplication, any obligations (whether or not contingent) consisting of (a) indebtedness for borrowed money and (b) payment obligations evidenced by any promissory note, bond, debenture, mortgage or other debt instrument or debt security, (c) amounts owing as deferred purchase price for property or services, including “earnout” payments (but excluding any trade payables arising in the ordinary course of business), (d) contingent reimbursement obligations with respect to letters of credit, bankers’ acceptance or similar facilities (in each case to the extent drawn), (e) payment obligations of a third party guaranteed by such Person or secured by (or for which the holder of such payment obligations has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any Encumbrance, other than a Permitted Encumbrance, on assets or properties of such Person, whether or not the obligations secured thereby have been assumed, (f) obligations under capitalized leases, (g) any unfunded or underfunded liabilities pursuant to any pension or nonqualified deferred compensation plan or arrangement and any earned but unpaid compensation (including salary, bonuses and paid time off) for any period prior to the Closing Date and (h) with respect to each of the foregoing, any unpaid interest and any breakage costs, prepayment or redemption penalties or premiums, or other unpaid fees or obligations (including unreimbursed expenses or indemnification obligations for which a claim has been made) (in each case, to the extent actually triggered); provided, however, that Indebtedness shall not include between two or more wholly-owned Subsidiaries of such Person or accounts payable to trade creditors that are not past due and accrued expenses arising in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice.

Indemnification Agreement” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.9.

Indemnified Parties” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(a).

Ineligible Earn-Out Option Holder” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(c).

Insurance Policies” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.16.

Intellectual Property Rights” means all rights anywhere in the world in or to: (i) trademarks, service marks, brand names, certification marks, collective marks, logos, symbols, trade dress, trade names, and other indicia of origin, all applications and registrations for the foregoing, and all goodwill associated therewith and symbolized thereby, including all renewals

 

Exhibit A-7


of the same; (ii) patents, patent applications, registrations, and invention disclosures, including divisional, revisions, supplementary protection certificates, continuations, continuations-in-part, renewals, extensions, substitutes, re-issues and re-examinations; (iii) confidential or proprietary trade secrets, inventions, discoveries, ideas, improvements, information, know-how, data and databases, including proprietary or confidential processes, schematics, business methods, formulae, drawings, specifications, prototypes, models, designs, customer lists and supplier lists; (iv) published and unpublished works of authorship, whether copyrightable or not (including Software, website and mobile content, data, databases and other compilations of information), copyrights therein and thereto, and registrations and applications thereof, or and all renewals, extensions, restorations and reversions thereof; (v) Internet domain names and URLs; and (vi) all other intellectual property rights recognized under applicable Law.

Intended Tax Treatment” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.8(b).

IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

IT Assets” means information technology devices, computers, Software, firmware, middleware, servers, networks, workstations, routers, hubs, circuits, switches, data communications lines, and all other information technology equipment, and all associated documentation.

JOBS Act” means the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012.

Knowledge” when used in this Agreement (a) with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries means the actual knowledge of Stephen Worland, Mike Byrnes, Alana McNulty and Premal Patel and (b) with respect to Parent means the actual knowledge of the executive officers of Parent, in each case after the due inquiry of their respective direct reports with operational responsibility for the matter in question.

Laws” means any federal, state, local, foreign, international or transnational law, statute, ordinance, controlling common law, rule, regulation, judgment, determination, order, writ, injunction, decree, arbitration award, treaty, authorization, license or permit of any Governmental Entity.

Leases” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.14(b).

Letter of Transmittal” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(b).

Look-Back Date” means the date that is three (3) years prior to the date of this Agreement.

Material Adverse Effect” means any effect, event, development, change, state of facts, condition, circumstance or occurrence that, individually or in the aggregate with others, is or would reasonably be expected to be materially adverse to (a) the business, assets, results of operations and condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (b) the ability of the Company to consummate the Merger in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (other than, with respect to Section 8.2(c), any Proceeding related to the Transaction Documents or the Transactions); provided, however, that in the case of clause (a) no effect, event,

 

Exhibit A-8


development, change, state of facts, condition, circumstance or occurrence constituting, resulting or arising from any of the following, alone or in combination, shall be deemed to constitute, or be taken into account in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur: (A) any change in interest rates or conditions or factors generally affecting the economy, credit, capital, securities or financial markets or any political, regulatory or business conditions in any jurisdiction; (B) any conditions or factors generally affecting the industry, markets or geographical areas in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate; (C) changes or modifications in GAAP or in any applicable Law or in the interpretation or enforcement thereof, after the date of this Agreement; (D) any failure by the Company to meet any internal or public projections or forecasts or estimates of revenues or earnings for any period (except that the underlying causes of such failure may be taken into account for purposes of determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur to the extent not excludable pursuant to clauses (A) through (F)); or (E) acts of war (whether or not declared), civil disobedience, hostilities, sabotage, terrorism, military actions or the escalation of any of the foregoing, any hurricane, flood, tornado, earthquake or other weather or natural disaster, or any pandemic (including the COVID-19 pandemic, or any COVID-19 Measures or any change in such COVID-19 Measures or interpretations following the date of this Agreement), outbreak of illness or other public health event or any other force majeure event; (F) the announcement of this Agreement, the pendency of the Transactions or the performance of this Agreement, including the impact thereof on relationships, contractual or otherwise, with suppliers, licensors, distributors, service providers and employees (provided that the exception in this clause (F) shall not apply to the representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.4 to the extent that their purpose is to address the consequences resulting from the public announcement or pendency or consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the condition set forth in Section 8.2(a) to the extent it relates to such representations and warranties); provided further that effects, events, developments, changes, state of facts, conditions, circumstances or occurrences constituting, resulting or arising from the matters described in clauses (A), (B), (C) and (E) may be taken into account in determining whether a “Material Adverse Effect” has occurred to the extent it has a materially disproportionate and adverse effect on the business, assets, results of operations and condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, relative to similarly situated companies in the industry in which the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct their respective operations.

Merger” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Merger Consideration” means a number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the quotient of (i) $340,000,000, divided by (ii) $10.00.

Merger Sub” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Modification in Recommendation” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.2(b).

Multiemployer Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.10(c).

NASDAQ” means the NASDAQ Stock Market.

NASDAQ Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

 

Exhibit A-9


Nonparty Persons” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.11.

ordinary course of business” or any similar phrase means the ordinary course of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, after taking into account any effects, adjustments or changes in connection with COVID-19 Measures.

Organizational Documents” means (i) with respect to any Person that is a corporation, its articles or certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association, as applicable, bylaws, stockholders agreements, voting rights agreements or comparable documents, (ii) with respect to any Person that is a partnership, its certificate of formation or partnership, partnership agreement, or comparable documents, (iii) with respect to any Person that is a limited liability company, its certificate of formation, limited liability company agreement, operating agreement, members agreement or comparable documents, (iv) with respect to any Person that is a trust, its declaration or agreement of trust or other constituent document or comparable documents, (v) with respect to any other Person that is an entity, its comparable constituent, organizational or securityholder documents and (vi) with respect to any of the foregoing Persons, the term “Organizational Documents” shall include any other agreements among such Person and its stockholders, partners, members, beneficiaries or securityholders, as applicable, concerning the voting or disposition of securities of or interests in such Person.

Outside Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.2(a).

Outstanding Company Expenses” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4.

Outstanding Parent Expenses” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4.

Parent” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

Parent Acquisition Proposal” means any transaction or series of related transactions under which Parent or any of its controlled Affiliates, directly or indirectly, (i) acquires or otherwise purchases any other Person(s), (ii) engages in a business combination with any other Person(s) or (iii) acquires or otherwise purchases any material portion of equity securities of any Person or all or a material portion of the assets or businesses of any other Persons(s) (in the case of each of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), whether by merger, consolidation, recapitalization, purchase or issuance of equity securities, tender offer or otherwise). Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, none of this Agreement, the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall constitute a Parent Acquisition Proposal.

Parent Benefit Plan” means any benefit or compensation plan, program, policy, practice, agreement, Contract, arrangement or other obligation, whether or not in writing and whether or not funded, in each case, which is sponsored or maintained by, or required to be contributed to, or with respect to which any potential liability is borne by Parent or any of its Subsidiaries including, but not limited to, ERISA Plans, employment, consulting, retirement, retention, severance, termination or change-in-control agreements, deferred compensation, equity-based, incentive, bonus, supplemental retirement, profit sharing, insurance, medical, welfare, fringe or other benefits or remuneration of any kind.

Parent Board” means the board of directors of Parent.

 

Exhibit A-10


Parent Board Recommendation” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.2(b).

Parent Certificate of Incorporation” means the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Parent, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on July 30, 2020.

Parent Class A Common Stock” means Parent’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Parent Class B Common Stock” means Parent’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Parent Closing Certificate” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.3(d).

Parent Common Share Price” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(d)(iv).

Parent Common Stock” means, prior to the Effective Time, Parent Class A Common Stock and Parent Class B Common Stock, and from and after the Effective Time, Parent’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Parent Disclosure Letter” has the meaning set forth in ARTICLE IV.

Parent Disclosure Reports” has the meaning set forth in ARTICLE IV.

Parent ESPP” has the meaning specified in the Recitals.

Parent Financial Statements” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(i).

Parent Incentive Plan” has the meaning specified in the Recitals.

Parent Incentive Plan Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

Parent Intervening Event” means any material change, event, circumstance, occurrence, effect, development or state of facts (a) that was not known or reasonably foreseeable to the Parent Board as of the date hereof and that becomes known to the Parent Board after the date hereof and (b) that does not relate to (x) any Parent Acquisition Proposal; (y) any change in the price or trading volume of Parent Common Stock; or (z) any change, event, circumstance, occurrence, effect, development or state of facts that is not taken into account in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect (substituting references to “the Company” for references to “Parent,” as applicable) has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur pursuant to clauses (A) through (E) and (F)(ii) of the definition thereof (other than as expressly contemplated by the final proviso to the definition of Material Adverse Effect).

Parent Intervening Event Notice” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.2(b).

Parent Intervening Event Notice Period” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.2(b).

Parent Organizational Documents” means the Parent Certificate of Incorporation and Parent’s bylaws, in each case as may be amended from time to time in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

Exhibit A-11


Parent Preferred Stock” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(a).

Parent Private Placement Warrants” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(b).

Parent Public Warrants” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(b).

Parent Reports” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.5(a).

Parent Restated Bylaws” means that certain second amended and restated bylaws of Parent, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent and the Company, which shall in include customary lock-up restrictions for a period of one year following the Closing (subject to specified early release) on those shares of Parent Common Stock issued at or in connection with Closing (i) which constitute Per Share Merger Consideration and Earn-Out Share Consideration or (ii) which are issued to directors, officers and employees of Parent upon the settlement or exercise of stock options or other equity awards outstanding as of immediately following the Closing in respect of awards of Company equity interests outstanding as of immediately prior to the Closing.

Parent Restated Charter” means that certain second amended and restated certificate of incorporation of Parent, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to Parent and the Company.

Parent Stock” means Parent Common Stock or Parent Preferred Stock.

Parent Stockholder” means a holder of shares of Parent Stock.

Parent Stockholder Approval” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.3(b).

Parent Stockholder Litigation” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.12.

Parent Trust Account” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.11.

Parent Trust Agreement” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.11.

Parent Trustee” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.2(a).

Parent Warrant Agreement” means that certain Warrant Agreement, dated as of July 30, 2020, between Parent and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent.

Parent Warrants” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(b).

Participating Company Common Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section Section 2.8(d)(v).

Party” or “Parties” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

PCAOB” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5(a).

Per Share Merger Consideration” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(b).

 

Exhibit A-12


Per Share Value” means the product of (i) the Exchange Ratio, multiplied by (ii) $10.00.

Permit” or “Permits” means any permits, licenses, certifications, approvals, registrations, consents, clearances, authorizations, franchises, variances, exemptions and orders issued or granted by a Governmental Entity.

Permitted Encumbrance” means the following Encumbrances: (a) Encumbrances for current Taxes, assessments or other governmental charges not yet delinquent, or which may be hereafter paid without penalty or that the taxpayer is contesting in good faith through appropriate proceedings for which adequate reserves have been established in accordance with GAAP; (b) mechanics’, materialmen’s, carriers’, workmen’s, warehousemen’s, repairmen’s or other like common law, statutory or consensual Encumbrances arising or incurred in the ordinary course of business and which do not materially impair the present use and operation of, or materially and adversely affect the value of, the assets to which they relate, or deposits to obtain the release of such Encumbrances; (c) with respect to leasehold interests, Encumbrances incurred, created, assumed or permitted to exist and arising by, through or under a landlord or owner of any real property subject to a Lease; (d) zoning, building, subdivision, entitlement, conservation restriction and other land use and environmental regulations, easements, covenants, rights of way or other similar requirements or restrictions, none of which (i) materially and adversely interfere with the present uses of the real property or (ii) materially and adversely affect the value of the specific parcel of real property to which they relate; (e) zoning promulgated by Governmental Entities; (f) non-exclusive licenses or sublicenses under Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company or its Subsidiaries granted to any licensee in the ordinary course of business; (g) Encumbrances identified in the Financial Statements; (h) Encumbrances arising pursuant to applicable securities Laws or Organizational Documents (other than as a result of a breach or violation thereof); and (i) other Encumbrances that do not, individually or in the aggregate, materially impair the present use and operation of, or materially and adversely affect the value of, the assets to which they relate.

Person” means any individual, corporation (including not-for-profit), general or limited partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, estate, trust, association, organization, Governmental Entity or other entity of any kind or nature.

Personal Information” means any information that (a) alone or in combination with other information held by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries can be used to identify an individual person, household, device or browser, and (b) is otherwise protected under applicable Laws relating to data privacy and security of personal information.

Preferred Stock Conversion” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(a)(i).

Private Placement Amount” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Private Placements” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Proceeding” means any cause of action, litigation, suit, hearing, arbitration or other similar proceeding of any nature, civil, criminal, regulatory, administrative or otherwise, whether in equity or at law, in contract, in tort or otherwise, by or before a Governmental Entity.

 

Exhibit A-13


Proposals” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

Proxy Statement” means the proxy statement relating to Parent’s Special Meeting.

Redeeming Stockholder” means a Parent Stockholder who demands that Parent redeem its Parent Common Stock for cash in connection with the Transactions and in accordance with the Parent Organizational Documents.

Redemption Offer” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Registered” means issued by, registered with, renewed by or the subject of a pending application before any Governmental Entity.

Registered Intellectual Property” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.15(a).

Registration Rights Agreement” means that certain mutually agreeable Registration Rights Agreement by and among (i) Parent, (ii) the Company, (iii) the Sponsor and (iv) the Holders (as defined in that certain Third Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement of the Company, dated as of July 19, 2017), to the extent such Holders receive Parent Common Stock at or in connection with Closing pursuant to ARTICLE II, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit K.

Registration Statement” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(a).

Regulatory Permits” means all Permits granted by FDA, Health Canada, or any comparable Governmental Entity to the Company, including investigational new drug applications, manufacturing approvals and authorizations and clinical trial authorizations, or their national or foreign equivalents.

Representative” means, with respect to any Person, any direct, or officer, principal, partner, manager, member (if such Person is a member-managed limited liability company or similar entity), employee, consultant, investment banker, financial advisor, or legal counsel, attorneys-in-fact, accountant or other advisor, agent or other representative of such Person, in each case, acting in their capacity as such.

Requisite Company Stockholders” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.3.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933.

Service Requirement” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(e)(i).

Software” means any and all computer programs and other software, including software implementations of algorithms, models, application programing interfaces, and methodologies, whether in source code, object code or other form, including libraries, subroutines and other components thereof.

 

Exhibit A-14


Special Meeting” means a meeting of the holders of Parent Common Stock to be held for the purpose of approving the Proposals.

Sponsor” means Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Sponsor Support Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Stock Plan” means the Company’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended).

Subscribers” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Subscription Agreements” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Subsidiary” or “Subsidiaries” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person of which at least a majority of the securities or ownership interests having by their terms ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by such Person or by one or more of its Subsidiaries.

Surviving Company Bylaws” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.4(a).

Surviving Company” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.1.

Surviving Company Certificate of Incorporation” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.4.

Tail Period” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.3(b).

Tax” or “Taxes” means all federal, state, local and foreign income, profits, franchise, net income, gross receipts, environmental, customs duty, capital stock, severances, stamp, payroll, sales, employment, unemployment, disability, use, property, withholding, excise, production, value added, occupancy and other taxes, duties or assessments of any nature whatsoever, together with all interest, penalties and additions imposed with respect to such amounts and any interest in respect of such penalties and additions.

Tax Return” means all returns and reports (including elections, declarations, disclosures, schedules, estimates and information returns) relating to Taxes, including any schedule or attachment thereto, and including any amendment thereof, required to be filed or supplied to Governmental Entity.

Transaction Documents” means, collectively, the Sponsor Support Agreement, the Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement, the Subscription Agreements, the Employment Agreements, the Registration Rights Agreement, the Indemnification Agreements, the Letter of Transmittal, and each other agreement, document, instrument and/or certificate contemplated by this Agreement executed or to be executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

Exhibit A-15


Transaction Proposal” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(c).

Transactions” means the transactions contemplated by this Agreement to occur at or immediately prior to the Closing, including the Merger.

Transfer Taxes” means all transfer, documentary, sales, use, stamp, recording, value added, registration and other such similar Taxes and all conveyance fees, recording fees and other similar charges.

Transmittal Document” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.2(b).

Treasury Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.1(b)(ii).

Triggering Event” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(d)(vi).

Willful Breach” means an intentional and willful material breach, or an intentional and willful material failure to perform, in each case, that is the consequence of an act or omission by a Party with the actual knowledge that the taking of such act or failure to take such act would cause a breach of this Agreement.

Written Consent” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.3.

Written Consent Deadline” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.3.

 

Exhibit A-16


EXHIBIT B

FORM OF SPONSOR SUPPORT AGREEMENT

May 26, 2021

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

11120 Roselle Street, Suite A

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: Steve Worland, CEO

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.

Two Commerce Square

2001 Market Street, Suite 3400

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Attention: Daniel Geffken, CFO

Re:    Support Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This letter (this “Support Agreement”) is being delivered by Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the sole holder of Parent Class B Common Stock (the “Sponsor”), to Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation ( “Parent”) and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in accordance with that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of the date hereof, by and among Parent, the Company, and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ( “Merger Sub”). The Sponsor, Parent, and the Company shall be referred to herein from time to time collectively as the “Parties”. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Merger Agreement. As used herein, the term “Section” shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to the specified Section of this Support Agreement.

The Sponsor is currently, and as of immediately prior to the Closing will be, the record owner and Beneficial Owner of an aggregate of 5,056,250 shares of Parent Common Stock (the “Sponsor Shares”), representing approximately 22.4% of the voting power of the Parent’s equity securities, which consists of (i) 545,000 placement shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, and (ii) 4,511,250 founder shares of Parent Class B Common Stock to be converted into the right to receive that number of shares of Parent Class A Common Stock by virtue of the Merger.

In order to induce the Company to enter into the Merger Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Sponsor hereby agrees with Parent as follows:

 

  1.

Voting Agreements. For so long as this Support Agreement is in effect, the Sponsor, in its capacity as a stockholder of Parent, covenants and agrees that, at any meeting of Parent’s stockholders related to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement

 

Exhibit B-1


  (the “Transactions”), whether annual or special and whether or not an adjourned or postponed meeting, and however called, and in connection with any action by written consent of Parent’s stockholders related to the Transactions (all such meetings or consents collectively referred to herein as the “Meeting”), the Sponsor shall:

 

  a.

when the Meeting is held, appear at the Meeting or otherwise cause the Sponsor Shares to be counted as present thereat for the purpose of establishing a quorum;

 

  b.

vote (or execute and return an action by written consent), or cause to be voted at the Meeting (or validly execute and return and cause such consent to be granted with respect to), all of the Sponsor Shares in favor of each of the proposals relating to the Transactions and any other matters necessary or reasonably requested by Parent for consummation of the Merger and the Transactions; and

 

  c.

vote (or execute and return an action by written consent), or cause to be voted at the Meeting (or validly execute and return and cause such consent to be granted with respect to), all of the Sponsor Shares against any action that would reasonably be expected to (x) impede, interfere with, delay, postpone or adversely affect the Merger or any of the Transactions, (y) result in a breach of any covenant, representation or warranty or other obligation or agreement of Parent or Merger Sub under the Merger Agreement, or (z) result in a breach of any covenant, representation or warranty or other obligation or agreement of the Sponsor contained in this Support Agreement.

 

  2.

Stop Transfers; Certificates. The Sponsor agrees that, except for Transfers of Sponsor Shares permitted by this Support Agreement, it shall not request that Parent register the Transfer (book entry or otherwise) of any Sponsor Shares.

 

  3.

Damages; Remedies. The Sponsor hereby agrees and acknowledges that (a) Parent and the Company would be irreparably injured in the event of a breach by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement, (b) monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy for such breach, and (c) the non-breaching party shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedy that such Party may have in law or in equity, in the event of such breach or threatened breach, without the need to post a bond or other collateral security.

 

  4.

Transfer Restrictions. The Sponsor agrees that it shall not sell, assign or otherwise Transfer any Sponsor Shares; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to any Transfer to any members or partners of the Sponsor or its Affiliates, any Affiliates of the Sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; provided, that any transferee of any such Transfer must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by this Support Agreement prior to the occurrence of such Transfer.

 

Exhibit B-2


  5.

Additional Shares. During the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the earlier to occur of (a) the Effective Time; and (b) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, in the event that, (i) any shares of Parent Common Stock, Parent Public Warrant or other equity securities of Parent are issued to the Sponsor pursuant to any stock split, stock dividend, combination or reclassification, or through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization or business combination, or by any other means, (ii) the Sponsor purchases or otherwise acquires Beneficial Ownership of any shares of Parent Common Stock, Parent Public Warrant or other equity securities of Parent, or (iii) the Sponsor acquires the right to vote or share in the voting of any Parent Common Stock or other equity securities of Parent (such Parent Common Stock, Parent Warrants or other equity securities of Parent, collectively the “New Securities”), then such New Securities acquired or purchased by the Stockholder shall be subject to the terms of Sections 1, 2 and 4 to the same extent as if they constituted Sponsor Shares as of the date hereof.

 

  6.

Entire Agreement; Amendment. This Support Agreement, the Merger Agreement and the other agreements referenced herein constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties hereto in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior understandings, agreements or representations by or among the Parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby. This Support Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified or waived (other than to correct a typographical error) as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all Parties hereto.

 

  7.

Assignment. No Party hereto may, except as set forth herein, assign either this Support Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other Parties. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee. This Support Agreement shall be binding on the Sponsor and its successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns and permitted transferees.

 

  8.

Counterparts. This Support Agreement may be executed in any number of original, electronic or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

 

  9.

Severability. This Support Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Support Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the Parties

 

Exhibit B-3


  intend that there shall be added as a part of this Support Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

 

  10.

Governing Law, Forum; Waiver of Jury Trial.

 

  a.

This Support Agreement, and all claims or causes of action based upon, arising out of, or related to this Support Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof (or any other jurisdiction) to the extent that such principles would direct a matter to another jurisdiction.

 

  b.

Each of the Parties agrees that: (i) it shall bring any Proceeding in connection with, arising out of or otherwise relating to this Support Agreement, any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Support Agreement or the Transactions exclusively in the courts of the State of Delaware in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (and only if) such court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division); provided that if subject matter jurisdiction over the Proceeding is vested exclusively in the United States federal courts, then such Proceeding shall be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Chosen Courts”); and (ii) solely in connection with such Proceedings, (A) it irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chosen Courts, (B) it waives any objection to the laying of venue in any Proceeding in the Chosen Courts, (C) it waives any objection that the Chosen Courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over any Party, (D) mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such Proceeding in the manner provided in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Law shall be valid and sufficient service thereof and (E) it shall not assert as a defense, any matter or claim waived by the foregoing clauses (A) through (D) of this Section 10 or that any Governmental Order issued by the Chosen Courts may not be enforced in or by the Chosen Courts.

 

  c.

EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY BE IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISE OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATE TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS, IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE

 

Exhibit B-4


  EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS. EACH PARTY HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND CERTIFIES (i) THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER PARTIES HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTIES WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER, (ii) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (iii) IT MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY AND (iv) IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 10(C).

 

  11.

Notice. Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Support Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent or given in accordance with the terms of Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement to the applicable Party, with respect to the Parent and the Company, at the address set forth in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement, and, with respect to Sponsor, at the address set forth on Sponsor’s signature page.

 

  12.

Termination. This Support Agreement shall automatically terminate, without any notice or other action by any Party, upon the earlier of (a) the Effective Time; and (b) the termination of the Merger Agreement prior to the Effective Time in accordance with its terms. Upon termination of this Support Agreement as provided in the immediately preceding sentence, none of the Parties shall have any further obligations or liability under, or with respect to, this Support Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary in this Support Agreement, the termination of this Support Agreement pursuant to Section 12(b) shall not affect any liability on the part of any Party for a Willful Breach of any covenant or agreement set forth in this Support Agreement prior to such termination or Fraud. For purposes of this Section 12, (x) “Willful Breach” means an intentional and willful breach, or an intentional and willful failure to perform, in each case that is the consequence of an act or omission by a Party with the knowledge that the taking of such act or failure to take such act would cause a breach of this Support Agreement and (y) “Fraud” means an act or omission by a Party consisting of a false or incorrect representation or warranty expressly set forth in this Support Agreement with

 

Exhibit B-5


  the intent that another Party rely on such representations and warranties, coupled with such other Party’s detrimental reliance on such representations and warranties under circumstances that constitute common law fraud under the Laws of the State of Delaware. For the avoidance of doubt, “Fraud” does not include any claim for equitable fraud, promissory fraud, unfair dealings fraud, or any torts based on negligence or recklessness.

 

  13.

Sponsor Representations. The Sponsor represents and warrants to Parent, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, that:

 

  a.

it has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound (including, without limitation, any non-competition or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or former employer), to enter into this Support Agreement;

 

  b.

it is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized, and the execution, delivery and performance of this Support Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby are within the Sponsor’s limited liability company powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company actions on the part of the Sponsor;

 

  c.

this Support Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Sponsor and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the other Parties to this Support Agreement, this Support Agreement constitutes a legally valid and binding obligation of the Sponsor, enforceable against the Sponsor in accordance with the terms hereof (except for the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception);

 

  d.

the execution and delivery of this Support Agreement by the Sponsor does not, and the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations hereunder will not, (i) conflict with or result in a violation of the organizational documents of the Sponsor, or (ii) require any consent or approval from any third party that has not been given or other action that has not been taken by any third party, in each case, to the extent such consent, approval or other action would prevent, enjoin or materially delay the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement;

 

  e.

the Sponsor has not entered into, and shall not enter into, any agreement that would prevent the Sponsor from performing any of its obligations hereunder;

 

  f.

there are no Proceedings pending against the Sponsor or, to the knowledge of the Sponsor, threatened against the Sponsor, before any arbitrator or any Governmental Authority, which in any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, or enjoin the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement;

 

Exhibit B-6


  g.

the Sponsor has good title to the Sponsor Shares, free and clear of any Liens, and the Sponsor has the sole power to vote or cause to be voted such Sponsor Shares; and

 

  h.

the Sponsor Shares identified in Paragraph 2 of this Support Agreement are the only voting securities of the Parent Beneficially Owned by the Sponsor as of the date hereof, and none of such Sponsor Shares are subject to any proxy, voting trust or other agreement or arrangement with respect to the voting of such Sponsor Shares that is inconsistent with the Sponsor’s obligations pursuant to this Support Agreement.

 

  14.

Adjustment for Stock Split. If, and as often as, there are any changes in the Parent Common Stock or the Sponsor Shares by way of stock split, stock dividend, combination or reclassification, or through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization or business combination, or by any other means, equitable adjustment shall be made to the provisions of this Support Agreement as may be required so that the rights, privileges, duties and obligations hereunder shall continue with respect to the Sponsor, Parent, and the Sponsor Shares as so changed.

 

  15.

No Recourse. Each Party agrees that (a) this Support Agreement may only be enforced against, and any action for breach of this Support Agreement may only be made against, the Parties and any transferee of Sponsor Shares (any such transferee, a “Sponsor Transferee”), and no claims of any nature whatsoever (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising under or relating to this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be asserted against any non-party Affiliate of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Transferee, and (b) none of the Sponsor’s non-party Affiliates (unless such Affiliate is a Sponsor Transferee) shall have any liability arising out of or relating to this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby, including with respect to any claim (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for breach of this Support Agreement or in respect of any written or oral representations made or alleged to be made in connection herewith, as expressly provided herein, or for any actual or alleged inaccuracies, misstatements or omissions with respect to any information or materials of any kind furnished in connection with this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

  16.

No Third Party Beneficiaries. This Support Agreement shall be for the sole benefit of the Parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not intended, nor shall be construed, to give any Person, other than the Parties and their respective successors

 

Exhibit B-7


  and assigns, any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever in connection with the matters governed by this Support Agreement. Nothing in this Support Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to or shall constitute the Parties, partners or participants in a joint venture.

 

  17.

Further Actions. Each of the Parties hereto agrees to execute and deliver hereafter any further document, agreement or instrument of assignment, transfer or conveyance as may be necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes hereof and as may be reasonably requested in writing by another Party hereto.

 

  18.

Definitions. As used herein, (i) “Beneficially Own” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act, (ii) “Transfer shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b), other than a Registration Statement filed pursuant to the Merger Agreement.

[Remainder of page intentionally left blank]

 

Exhibit B-8


If the above correctly reflects our understanding and agreement with respect to the foregoing matters, please so confirm by signing in the space below and returning this letter agreement to us.

Sincerely,

LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC

By: Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager

 

By:  

 

  Name: Geoffrey Meyerson
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

Notice Address of the Sponsor:

200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor

Boston, MA 02116

Attention: Geoff Meyerson

Email: gmeyerson@locustwalk.com

 

Exhibit B-9


Accepted and Agreed:

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.
By:  

 

  Name: Steve Worland
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

 

  Name: Daniel Geffken
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

 

Exhibit B-10


EXHIBIT C

FORM OF SPONSOR LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

THIS LOCK-UP AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of May 26, 2021 by and between (i) Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation, which will be known after the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (as defined below) as “eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.” (including any successor entity thereto, “Parent”), and (ii) Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”).

WHEREAS, on May 26, 2021, (i) Parent, (ii) Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub”), and (iii) eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, at the Effective Time, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving as a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”);

WHEREAS, immediately prior to the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), Sponsor is a holder of 4,511,250 shares of Parent Class B Common Stock (the “Founder Shares”), which it acquired from Parent in a private placement that occurred prior to the initial public offering of Parent public units (the “IPO”) pursuant to the final prospectus of Parent (File No. 333-251496), dated January 7, 2021, and filed with the SEC on January 11, 2021, which Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Parent Class A Common Stock at the Closing;

WHEREAS, after the closing of the IPO and in addition to such Founder Shares, Sponsor is a holder of 545,000 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock (the “Private Placement Shares”, together with the Founder Shares and any securities paid as dividends or distributions with respect to such securities or into which such securities are exchanged or converted, the “Sponsor Shares”) and Parent Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 181,667 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, which it acquired from Parent in a private placement consummated simultaneously with the completion of the IPO; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Merger Agreement and as a condition thereof, the parties desire to enter into this Agreement, effective immediately following the Closing, pursuant to which the Sponsor Shares shall become subject to limitations on disposition as set forth herein in lieu of the transfer restrictions set forth in Section 3(b) and Section 3(c) of the letter agreement, dated January 7, 2021, between Parent, the Sponsor and the directors and officers of Parent (the “Insider Letter”).

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above, which are incorporated in this Agreement as if fully set forth below, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereby agree as follows:

1.    Definitions. Capitalized terms used and not defined herein shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Merger Agreement. The terms in this Section 1 shall have the meaning ascribed to such term set forth below:

 

Exhibit C-1


(a)    “Beneficially Own” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act.

(b)    “Change of Control” means any transaction or series of transactions following the Closing the result of which is: (i) the acquisition by any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) of Persons of direct or indirect beneficial ownership of securities representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent; (ii) a merger, consolidation, business combination, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar transaction, however effected, resulting in any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) acquiring 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent or the surviving or successor entity immediately after such combination; (iii) a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; provided, however, that any securities of Parent issued in a bona fide financing transaction or series of bona fide financing transactions shall be excluded from the definition of “Change of Control”.

(c)    “Permitted Transferee” means (i) any member, officer or director of the Sponsor, or any immediate family member, partner, affiliate, member, stockholder, officer or director of a member of the Sponsor, (ii) any trust, in which all beneficiaries are Permitted Transferees under clause (i), or (iii) a charitable organization.

(d)    “Lock-Up Period” means the period beginning on the Closing Date and ending on the earlier of (x) two hundred and seventy (270) days after the Closing Date, (y) the date on which the Parent Common Share Price equals or exceeds $12.00 for any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period following the 90th day of the Closing Date, or (z) a Change of Control.

(e)    “Transfer” shall mean the (i) sale or assignment of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security or the economic value thereof, (ii) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iii) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii).

2.    Lock-Up Provisions.

(a)    Sponsor hereby agrees not to Transfer any Sponsor Shares during the Lock-Up Period. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to the Transfer of any or all of the Sponsor Shares owned by Sponsor to any Permitted Transferee; provided, however, that in such case it shall be a condition to such Transfer that the transferee (i) executes and delivers to Parent an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding the Sponsor Shares subject to the provisions of this Agreement applicable to Sponsor, and there shall be no further Transfer of such Sponsor Shares except in accordance with this Agreement; (ii) such Transfer shall not involve a

 

Exhibit C-2


disposition for value (except for Transfers to a Permitted Transferee that is an affiliate of Sponsor); (iii) any required public report or filing (including filings under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act), shall disclose the nature of such Transfer and that the Sponsor Shares remain subject to the lock-up restrictions hereunder; and (iv) there shall be no voluntary public disclosure or other announcement of such Transfer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions on Transfers set forth in this Agreement shall not apply to the filing of a registration statement registering the resale of the Sponsor Shares pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, to be entered into at the Closing, by and between the Company, Parent, the Sponsor and certain stockholders of the Company named therein (for clarity such registration statement may include Sponsor Shares); provided no sales can be effected pursuant to such registration statement during the Lock-up Period.

(b)    If any Transfer is made or attempted contrary to the provisions of this Agreement, such purported Transfer shall be null and void ab initio, and Parent shall refuse to recognize any such purported transferee of the Sponsor Shares as one of its equity holders for all purposes. In order to enforce this Section 2, Parent may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to the Sponsor Shares (and Permitted Transferees and assigns thereof) until the end of the Lock-Up Period.

(c)    If a release from the restrictions set forth in Section 9.1 of Parent Restated Bylaws is granted to any Lock-Up Holder (as defined in the Parent Restated Bylaws), the same percentage of Sponsor Shares (the “Pro-rata Release”) shall be immediately and fully released on the same terms from any remaining lock-up restrictions set forth herein; provided however, that such Pro-rata Release shall not be applied in the event of releases (a) granted from such lock-up restrictions to any individual party or parties to Transfer shares of the Parent Common Stock or other securities in an amount up to an aggregate of 2% of Parent total outstanding stock, (b) if the release or waiver is granted due to circumstances of any emergency or hardship of a Holder, as determined in Parent’s sole judgment, or (c) in connection with an underwritten public offering of Parent Common Stock, provided that the Holders holding registration rights have been given an opportunity to participate with other selling stockholders in such public offering (a “Follow-On Offering”) on a pro rata basis on pricing terms that are no less favorable than the terms of the Follow-On Offering.

(d)    For the avoidance of any doubt, Sponsor shall retain all of its rights as a stockholder of Parent during the Lock-Up Period, including the right to vote any Sponsor Shares.

3.    Sponsor Representations. The Sponsor represents and warrants to Parent, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, that:

(a)    it has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound, to enter into this Agreement;

(b)    it is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized, and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within the Sponsor’s limited liability company powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company actions on the part of the Sponsor;

 

Exhibit C-3


(c)    this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Sponsor and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by Parent, this Agreement constitutes a legally valid and binding obligation of the Sponsor, enforceable against the Sponsor in accordance with the terms hereof (except for the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception);

(d)    the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Sponsor does not, and the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations hereunder will not, (i) conflict with or result in a violation of the organizational documents of the Sponsor, or (ii) require any consent or approval from any third party that has not been given or other action that has not been taken by any third party, in each case, to the extent such consent, approval or other action would prevent, enjoin or materially delay the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Agreement;

(e)    the Sponsor has not entered into, and shall not enter into, any agreement that would prevent the Sponsor from performing any of its obligations hereunder; and

(f)    the Sponsor Shares and the Parent Private Placement Warrants are the only securities of the Parent Beneficially Owned by the Sponsor as of the date hereof.

4.    Miscellaneous.

(a)    Termination of Merger Agreement. This Agreement shall be binding upon Sponsor upon Sponsor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, but this Agreement shall only become effective upon the Closing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event that the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms prior to the Closing, this Agreement and all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall automatically terminate and be of no further force or effect.

(b)    Binding Effect; Assignment. This Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective permitted successors and assigns. This Agreement and all obligations of Sponsor are personal to Sponsor and may not be transferred or delegated by Sponsor at any time. Parent may freely assign or otherwise transfer any or all of its rights under this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any successor entity (whether by merger, consolidation, equity sale, asset sale or otherwise) without obtaining the consent or approval of Sponsor.

(c)    Third Parties. Except as expressly set forth herein with respect to the Company prior to the Closing, nothing contained in this Agreement or in any instrument or document executed by any party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall create any rights in, or be deemed to have been executed for the benefit of, any person or entity that is not a party hereto or thereto or a successor or permitted assign of such a party.

(d)    Governing Law; Jurisdiction.

I.    This Agreement, and all claims or causes of action based upon, arising out of, or related to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof (or any other jurisdiction) to the extent that such principles would direct a matter to another jurisdiction.

 

Exhibit C-4


II.    Each of the parties agrees that: (i) it shall bring any Proceeding in connection with, arising out of or otherwise relating to this Agreement, any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transactions exclusively in the courts of the State of Delaware in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (and only if) such court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division); provided that if subject matter jurisdiction over the Proceeding is vested exclusively in the United States federal courts, then such Proceeding shall be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Chosen Courts”); and (ii) solely in connection with such Proceedings, (A) it irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chosen Courts, (B) it waives any objection to the laying of venue in any Proceeding in the Chosen Courts, (C) it waives any objection that the Chosen Courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over any party, (D) mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such Proceeding in the manner provided in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Law shall be valid and sufficient service thereof and (E) it shall not assert as a defense, any matter or claim waived by the foregoing clauses (A) through (D) of this Section 4(b) or that any Governmental Order issued by the Chosen Courts may not be enforced in or by the Chosen Courts.

III.    EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY BE IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISE OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATE TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS, IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS. EACH PARTY HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND CERTIFIES (i) THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER PARTIES HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTIES WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER, (ii) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (iii) IT MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY AND (iv) IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 4(D).

(e)    Interpretation. The titles and subtitles used in this Agreement are for convenience only and are not to be considered in construing or interpreting this Agreement. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (i) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa; (ii) “including” (and with correlative

 

Exhibit C-5


meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding or succeeding such term and shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “without limitation”; (iii) the words “herein,” “hereto,” and “hereby” and other words of similar import in this Agreement shall be deemed in each case to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section or other subdivision of this Agreement; and (iv) the term “or” means “and/or”. The parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.

(f)    Notice. Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent or given in accordance with the terms of Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement to the applicable party, with respect to Parent and the Company, at the address set forth in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement, and, with respect to Sponsor, at the address set forth on Sponsor’s signature page.

(g)    Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance, and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of Parent, the Sponsor and, prior to the Closing, the Company. No failure or delay by a party in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition, or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be or construed as a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition, or provision.

(h)    Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in a jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified or deleted, as to the jurisdiction involved, only to the extent necessary to render the same valid, legal and enforceable, and the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby nor shall the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision be affected thereby in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties will substitute for any invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision a suitable and equitable provision that carries out, so far as may be valid, legal and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision.

(i)    Specific Performance. Sponsor acknowledges that its obligations under this Agreement are unique, recognizes and affirms that in the event of a breach of this Agreement by Sponsor, money damages may be inadequate and Parent may have no adequate remedy at law, and agrees that irreparable damage may occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by Sponsor in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, Parent shall be entitled to seek, at its own expense, an injunction or restraining order to prevent breaches of this Agreement by Sponsor and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof, this being in addition to any other right or remedy to which Parent may be entitled under this Agreement, at law or in equity.

 

Exhibit C-6


(j)    Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the full and entire understanding and agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and any other written or oral agreement relating to the subject matter hereof existing between the parties is expressly canceled; provided, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not affect the rights and obligations of the parties under the Merger Agreement or any Transaction Document or under the Insider Letter (other than the provisions of Section 3(b) and Section 3(c) thereof, which upon the Closing will be superseded by the provisions of this Agreement and shall terminate and have no further force or effect). Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Parent or any of the obligations of Sponsor under any other agreement between the Sponsor and Parent or any certificate or instrument executed by Sponsor in favor of Parent, and nothing in any other agreement, certificate or instrument shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Parent or any of the obligations of Sponsor under this Agreement.

(k)    Further Assurances. From time to time, at another party’s request and without further consideration (but at the requesting party’s reasonable cost and expense), each party shall execute and deliver such additional documents and take all such further action as may be reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(l)    Counterparts; Facsimile. This Agreement may also be executed and delivered by facsimile signature or by email in portable document format in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow]

 

Exhibit C-7


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

Parent:
LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

 

Name:   Daniel Geffken
Title:   Chief Financial Officer

[Additional Signature on the Following Page]

 

Exhibit C-8


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

Sponsor:

LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC

By: Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager

 

By:  

 

Name:   Geoffrey Meyerson
Title:   Chief Executive Officer
Address for Notice:
Notice Address of the Sponsor:
200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor
Boston, MA 02116
Attention: Geoff Meyerson
Email: gmeyerson@locustwalk.com
Acknowledged and Agreed:

 

Chris Ehrlich, individually

 

Daniel Geffken, individually

 

Brian Atwood, individually

 

Elizabeth Bhatt, individually

 

Caroline Loewy, individually

 

Barbara Kosacz, individually

[Signature Page to Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement]

 

Exhibit C-9


EXHIBIT D

FORM OF EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

[SECOND] [AMENDED AND RESTATED] EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is entered into by and among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“PubCo”), eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“OpCo” and, together with PubCo, the “Company”), and [ 🌑 ] (“Executive”), and shall be effective as of closing of the transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) by and among PubCo, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc. and dated May 26, 2021 (the “Effective Date”).

WHEREAS, the Company and the Executive previously entered into that certain [Amended and Restated] Employment Agreement, dated [ 🌑 ], (the “Prior Agreement”), which sets forth the terms and conditions of the Executive’s employment with the Company; and

WHEREAS, in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the parties desires to amend and restate the Prior Agreement on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises herein contained, the parties agree as follows:

1.    Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a)    Board. “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(b)    Cause. “Causemeans any of the following:

(i)    the commission of an act of fraud, embezzlement or dishonesty by Executive, or the commission of some other illegal act by Executive (other than traffic violations or other offenses or violations outside of the course of Executive’s employment), that has a demonstrable material adverse impact on the Company or any successor or affiliate thereof;

(ii)    a conviction of, or plea of “guilty” or “no contest” to, a felony by Executive;

(iii)    any unauthorized use or disclosure by Executive of confidential information or trade secrets of the Company or any successor or affiliate thereof that has, or may reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse impact on any such entity;

(iv)    Executive’s gross negligence, insubordination or material violation of any duty of loyalty to the Company or any successor or affiliate thereof, or any other demonstrable material misconduct on the part of Executive;

 

Exhibit D-1


(v)    Executive’s ongoing and repeated failure or refusal to perform or neglect of Executive’s duties as required by this Agreement or to comply with the instructions given to him or her by the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board; or

(vi)    Executive’s willful, material breach of any Company policy or any material provision of this Agreement;

provided, however, that, for the matters set forth in clauses (v) or (vi) above, “Cause” shall additionally mean Executive’s failure to cure such conduct to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board within thirty (30) days of written notice to Executive setting forth in reasonable detail the conduct resulting in such determination of “Cause” and the need for Executive to cure such matter. Prior to the determination “Cause” under this Section 1(b) has occurred, the Company shall provide the Executive an opportunity to be heard prior to the final decision to terminate the Executive’s employment hereunder for such “Cause” and make any decision that such “Cause” exists in good faith.

The foregoing definition shall not in any way preclude or restrict the right of the Company or any successor or affiliate thereof to discharge or dismiss Executive for any other acts or omissions, but such other acts or omissions shall not be deemed, for purposes of this Agreement, to constitute grounds for termination for Cause.

(c)    Change in Control. “Change in Control” shall have the meaning given to such term in the eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Incentive Award Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the transactions occurring in connection with the Merger Agreement constitute a Change in Control and, if a Change in Control constitutes a payment event with respect to any amount hereunder that provides for the deferral of compensation that is subject to Section 409A, to the extent required to avoid the imposition of additional taxes under Section 409A, the transaction or event shall only constitute a Change in Control for purposes of the payment timing of such amount if such transaction also constitutes a “change in control event,” as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5).

(d)    Code. “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and the Treasury Regulations and other interpretive guidance issued thereunder.

(e)    Good Reason. “Good Reason” means the occurrence of any of the following events or conditions without Executive’s written consent:

(i)    a material diminution in Executive’s authority, duties or responsibilities;

(ii)    a material diminution in Executive’s base compensation, unless such a reduction is imposed as part of a generalized reduction in the base salaries of senior management of the Company;

(iii)    a change to the geographic location at which Executive must perform his or her duties on a regular basis to a location that is more than fifty (50) miles from the Company’s then-current offices (excepting reasonable travel on the Company’s business); or

 

Exhibit D-2


(iv)    a material breach by the Company or any successor or affiliate of its obligations to Executive under this Agreement.

Executive must provide written notice to the Company of the occurrence of any of the foregoing events or conditions without Executive’s written consent within thirty (30) days of the occurrence of such event. The Company or any successor or affiliate shall have a period of thirty (30) days to cure such event or condition after receipt of written notice of such event from Executive. The Executive’s Separation from Service by reason of resignation from employment with the Company for Good Reason must occur within ninety (90) days following the initial existence of the act or failure to act constituting Good Reason.

(f)    Involuntary Termination. “Involuntary Termination” means (i) the Executive’s Separation from Service by reason of Executive’s discharge by the Company other than for Cause, or (ii) the Executive’s Separation from Service by reason of Executive’s resignation of employment with the Company for Good Reason. Executive’s Separation from Service by reason of Executive’s death or discharge by the Company following Executive’s disability shall not constitute an Involuntary Termination.

(g)    Separation from Service. “Separation from Service,” with respect to the Executive, means the Executive’s “separation from service,” as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h).

(h)    Stock Awards. “Stock Awards” means all stock options, restricted stock and such other awards granted pursuant to the Company’s stock option and equity incentive award plans or agreements and any shares of stock issued upon exercise thereof; provided, however, that Stock Awards shall not include any Earn-Out Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement).

2.    Services to Be Rendered.

(a)    Duties and Responsibilities. Executive shall serve as [ 🌑 ] of the Company. In the performance of such duties, Executive shall report directly to the [Board and shall be subject to the direction of the Board and to such limits upon Executive’s authority as the Board may from time to time impose]/[Chief Executive Officer]. Executive hereby consents to serve as an officer and/or director of the Company or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof without any additional salary or compensation, if so requested by the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board. Executive shall be employed by the Company on a full time basis. Executive’s primary place of work shall be the Company’s facility in San Diego, California, or such other location as may be designated by the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board from time to time. Executive shall also render services at such other places within or outside the United States as the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board may direct from time to time. Executive shall be subject to and comply with the policies and procedures generally applicable to senior executives of the Company to the extent the same are not inconsistent with any term of this Agreement. [During the term of Executive’s employment as Chief Executive Officer, the Company shall also nominate Executive for re-election as a member of the Board at the expiration of each term of office.]

(b)    Exclusive Services. Executive shall at all times faithfully, industriously and to the best of his or her ability, experience and talent perform to the satisfaction of the [Chief

 

Exhibit D-3


Executive Officer or the] Board all of the duties that may be assigned to Executive hereunder and shall devote substantially all of his or her productive time and efforts to the performance of such duties. Subject to the terms of the Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement referred to in Section 5(b), this shall not preclude Executive from [serving on up to (2) corporate boards of directors (including Executive’s continued service on the board of directors of [ 🌑 ]),] devoting time to personal and family investments or serving on community and civic boards, or participating in industry associations, provided such activities do not interfere with his or her duties to the Company, as determined in good faith by the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board. Executive agrees that he or she will not join any boards, other than community and civic boards (which do not interfere with his or her duties to the Company), without the prior approval of the [Chief Executive Officer or the] Board.

3.    Compensation and Benefits. The Company shall pay or provide, as the case may be, to Executive the compensation and other benefits and rights set forth in this Section 3.

(a)    Base Salary. As of the Effective Date, the Company shall pay to Executive a base salary of $[ 🌑 ] per year, payable in accordance with the Company’s usual payroll practices (and in any event no less frequently than monthly). Executive’s base salary shall be subject to review annually by and at the sole discretion of the Board or its designee.

(b)    Annual Bonus. Executive shall participate in any bonus plan, program or arrangement that the Board or its designee may approve for the senior executives of the Company. Commencing with the calendar year in which the Effective Date occurs, Executive’s target bonus under the Company’s annual bonus plan shall be [ 🌑 ] percent ([ 🌑 ]%) of Executive’s base salary (the “Target Bonus”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement or any applicable bonus plan, program or arrangement, but except as provided in Section 4(d)(ii) Executive shall not be entitled to receive any such bonus, nor any portion thereof, if Executive is not employed on the day such bonus is paid.

(c)    Benefits. Executive shall be entitled to participate in benefits under the Company’s benefit plans and arrangements, including, without limitation, any employee benefit plan or arrangement made available in the future by the Company to its senior executives, subject to and on a basis consistent with the terms, conditions and overall administration of such plans and arrangements. The Company shall have the right to amend or delete any such benefit plan or arrangement made available by the Company to its senior executives and not otherwise specifically provided for herein; provided, that any reduction of Executive’s benefits such that Executive’s benefits are, in the aggregate, materially less favorable to Executive than those benefits offered to Executive as of the Effective Date shall be considered a material breach of this Agreement by the Company.

(d)    Expenses. The Company shall reimburse Executive for reasonable out-of-pocket business expenses incurred in connection with the performance of his or her duties hereunder, subject to such policies as the Company may from time to time establish, and Executive furnishing the Company with evidence in the form of receipts satisfactory to the Company substantiating the claimed expenditures.

 

Exhibit D-4


(e)    Paid Time Off. Executive shall be entitled to such periods of paid time off (“PTO”) each year as provided from time to time under the Company’s PTO policy and as otherwise provided for senior executive officers.

(f)    Equity Awards. Executive shall be entitled to participate in any equity or other employee benefit plan that is generally available to senior executive officers, as distinguished from general management, of the Company. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Executive’s participation in and benefits under any such plan shall be on the terms and subject to the conditions specified in the governing document of the particular plan.

4.    End of Employment Payments, Benefits and Severance. Executive shall be entitled to receive benefits upon a termination of employment only as set forth in this Section 4:

(a)    At-Will Employment; Termination. The Company and Executive acknowledge that Executive’s employment is and shall continue to be at-will, as defined under applicable law, and that Executive’s employment with the Company may be terminated by either party at any time for any or no reason, with or without notice. If Executive’s employment terminates for any reason, Executive shall not be entitled to any payments, benefits, damages, awards or compensation other than as provided in this Agreement. Executive’s employment under this Agreement shall be terminated immediately on the death of Executive.

(b)    End of Employment Payments. Upon Executive’s termination of employment with the Company for any reason, or no reason, Executive shall not be entitled to receive any payment or other benefit, except as set forth in Sections 4(c) and 4(d) below, except that Executive shall be entitled to receive (i) Executive’s fully earned but unpaid base salary, through the date such termination is effective (the “Separation Date”) at the rate then in effect plus all accrued but unused PTO, and (ii) all other amounts or benefits to which Executive is entitled under any compensation, retirement or benefit plan of the Company at the time of the Separation Date in accordance with the terms of such plans, including, without limitation, any continuation of benefits required by COBRA or applicable law (the amounts in clauses (i) and (ii), the “Accrued Obligations”).

(c)    Severance Upon Involuntary Termination Apart from a Change in Control.    Subject to Sections 4(e) and 10(o) below and Executive’s continued compliance with Section 5, if Executive’s employment is Involuntarily Terminated prior to a Change in Control or more than twelve (12) months following a Change in Control, Executive shall be entitled to receive, in addition to those payments and benefits set forth in Section 4(b) above, but in lieu of any other severance benefits to which Executive may otherwise be entitled under any severance plan or program of the Company, the benefits provided below:

(i)    Executive shall be entitled to receive Executive’s monthly base salary as in effect immediately prior to the Separation Date for an additional [ 🌑 ] ([ 🌑 ]) months after the Separation Date in accordance with the Company’s usual payroll practices (and in any event no less frequently than monthly, although subject to the provisions of Sections 4(e) and 10(o) below), with the first installment commencing on the first payroll date that is sixty (60) days following the Separation Date (and any installment payments which would otherwise have been paid to Executive before the sixtieth (60th) day following the Separation Date will be paid together with the first installment); and

 

Exhibit D-5


(ii)    for the period beginning on the Separation Date and ending on the date which is [ 🌑 ] ([ 🌑 ]) full months following the Separation Date (or, if earlier, the date on which the applicable continuation period under COBRA expires), the Company shall arrange to provide or pay the applicable premiums for Executive and his or her eligible dependents who were covered under the Company’s health insurance plans as of the Separation Date with health (including medical and dental) insurance benefits substantially similar to those provided to Executive and his or her dependents immediately prior to the Separation Date. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, with regard to such COBRA continuation coverage, if the Company determines in its sole discretion that it cannot provide the foregoing benefit without potentially violating applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 2716 of the Public Health Service Act), the Company shall in lieu thereof provide to the Executive a taxable monthly payment in an amount equal to the monthly COBRA premium that the Executive would be required to pay to continue the Executive’s and his or her covered dependents’ group insurance coverages in effect on the Separation Date (which amount shall be based on the premiums for the first month of COBRA coverage).

(d)    Severance Upon Involuntary Termination Following a Change in Control.    Subject to Sections 4(e) and 10(o) and Executive’s continued compliance with Section 5, if Executive’s employment is Involuntarily Terminated upon or within twelve (12) months following a Change in Control, Executive shall be entitled to receive, in addition to those payments and benefits set forth in Section 4(b) above, but in lieu of any severance benefits to which Executive may otherwise be entitled under any severance plan or program of the Company, the benefits provided below:

(i)    Executive shall be entitled to receive Executive’s monthly base salary as in effect immediately prior to the Separation Date for an additional [ 🌑 ] ([ 🌑 ]) months after the Separation Date in accordance with the Company’s usual payroll practices (and in any event no less frequently than monthly, although subject to the provisions of Sections 4(e) and 10(o) below), with the first installment commencing on the first payroll date that is sixty (60) days following the Separation Date (and any installment payments which would otherwise have been paid to Executive before the sixtieth (60th) day following the Separation Date will be paid together with the first installment);

(ii)    for the period beginning on the Separation Date and ending on the date which is [ 🌑 ] ([ 🌑 ]) full months following the Separation Date (or, if earlier, the date on which the applicable continuation period under COBRA expires), the Company shall arrange to provide or pay the applicable premiums for Executive and his or her eligible dependents who were covered under the Company’s health insurance plans as of the Separation Date with health (including medical and dental) insurance benefits substantially similar to those provided to Executive and his or her dependents immediately prior to the Separation Date. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, with regard to such COBRA continuation coverage, if the Company determines in its sole discretion that it cannot provide the foregoing benefit without potentially violating applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 2716 of the Public Health Service Act), the Company shall in lieu thereof provide to the Executive a taxable monthly payment in an

 

Exhibit D-6


amount equal to the monthly COBRA premium that the Executive would be required to pay to continue the Executive’s and his or her covered dependents’ group insurance coverages in effect on the Separation Date (which amount shall be based on the premiums for the first month of COBRA coverage);

(iii)    [Executive shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to (A) the annual Target Bonus amount for the year in which Executive’s Separation from Service occurs multiplied by (B) [ 🌑 ], with such payment occurring, subject to the provisions of Sections 4(e) and 10(o) below, on the first payroll date that is sixty (60) days following the Separation Date (but no later than March 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the Separation Date occurs);] and

(iv)    the vesting and/or exercisability of all of Executive’s outstanding unvested Stock Awards shall be automatically accelerated in full on the Separation Date. The foregoing provisions are hereby deemed to be a part of each Stock Award and to supersede any less favorable provision in any agreement or plan regarding such Stock Award (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if any Stock Award is subject to more favorable vesting pursuant to any agreement or plan regarding such Stock Award, such more favorable provisions shall continue to apply and shall not be limited by this clause (iv)).

(e)    Release. As a condition to Executive’s receipt of any post-termination benefits pursuant to Sections 4(c) and 4(d) above (collectively, the “Severance Benefits”), Executive shall execute and not revoke a general release of all claims in favor of the Company (the “Release”) in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A. In the event the Release does not become effective within the fifty-five (55) day period following the Separation Date, Executive shall not be entitled to the aforesaid payments and benefits.

(f)    Exclusive Remedy. Except as otherwise expressly required by law (e.g., COBRA) or as specifically provided herein, all of Executive’s rights to salary, severance, benefits, bonuses and other amounts hereunder (if any) accruing after the Separation Date shall cease upon such date. In the event of Executive’s termination of employment with the Company, Executive’s sole remedy shall be to receive the payments and benefits described in this Section 4. In addition, Executive acknowledges and agrees that he or she is not entitled to any reimbursement by the Company for any taxes payable by Executive as a result of the payments and benefits received by Executive pursuant to this Section 4, including, without limitation, any excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code. Any payments made to Executive under this Section 4 shall be inclusive of any amounts or benefits to which Executive may be entitled pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. Sections 2101 et seq., and the Department of Labor regulations thereunder, or any similar state law.

(g)    No Mitigation. Except as otherwise provided in Sections 4(c)(ii) and 4(d)(ii) above, Executive shall not be required to mitigate the amount of any payment provided for in this Section 4 by seeking other employment or otherwise, nor shall the amount of any payment or benefit provided for in this Section 4 be reduced by any compensation earned by Executive as the result of employment by another employer or self-employment or by retirement benefits; provided, however, that loans, advances or other amounts owed by Executive to the Company may be offset by the Company against amounts payable to Executive under this Section 4.

 

Exhibit D-7


(h)    Return of the Company’s Property. In the event of Executive’s termination of employment for any reason, the Company shall have the right, at its option, to require Executive to vacate his or her offices prior to or on the Separation Date and to cease all activities on the Company’s behalf. Upon Executive’s termination of employment in any manner, as a condition to the Executive’s receipt of any severance benefits described in this Agreement, Executive shall immediately surrender to the Company all lists, books and records of, or in connection with, the Company’s business, and all other property belonging to the Company, it being distinctly understood that all such lists, books and records, and other documents, are the property of the Company. Executive shall deliver to the Company a signed statement certifying compliance with this Section 4(h) prior to the receipt of any severance benefits described in this Agreement.

5.    Certain Covenants.

(a)    No Conflicts. Except as may otherwise be approved by the Board, during the term of Executive’s employment, Executive shall not have any ownership interest (of record or beneficial) in, or have any interest as an employee, salesman, consultant, officer or director in, or otherwise aid or assist in any manner, any firm, corporation, partnership, proprietorship or other business that engages in any county, city or part thereof in the United States and/or any foreign country in a business which competes directly or indirectly (as determined by the Board) with the Company’s business in such county, city or part thereof, so long as the Company, or any successor in interest of the Company to the business and goodwill of the Company, remains engaged in such business in such county, city or part thereof or continues to solicit customers or potential customers therein; provided, however, that Executive may own, directly or indirectly, solely as an investment, securities of any entity if Executive (i) is not a controlling person of, or a member of a group which controls, such entity; or (ii) does not, directly or indirectly, own five percent (5%) or more of any class of securities of any such entity.

(b)    Confidential Information. Executive and the Company have entered into the Company’s standard employee proprietary information and inventions agreement (the “Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement”). Executive agrees to perform each and every obligation of Executive therein contained.

(c)    Solicitation of Employees. Executive shall not during the term of Executive’s employment and for twelve (12) months following any Separation of Service (regardless of whether or not Executive receives any Severance Benefits) (the “Restricted Period”), directly or indirectly, solicit or encourage to leave the employment of the Company or any of its affiliates, any employee of the Company or any of its affiliates.

(d)    Rights and Remedies Upon Breach. If Executive breaches or threatens to commit a breach of any of the provisions of this Section 5 (the “Restrictive Covenants”), the Company shall have the following rights and remedies, each of which rights and remedies shall be independent of the other and severally enforceable, and all of which rights and remedies shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights and remedies available to the Company under law or in equity:

(i)    Specific Performance. The right and remedy to have the Restrictive Covenants specifically enforced by any court having equity jurisdiction, all without the need to

 

Exhibit D-8


post a bond or any other security or to prove any amount of actual damage or that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy, it being acknowledged and agreed that any such breach or threatened breach will cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages will not provide adequate remedy to the Company; and

(ii)    Accounting and Indemnification. The right and remedy to require Executive (A) to account for and pay over to the Company all compensation, profits, monies, accruals, increments or other benefits derived or received by Executive or any associated party deriving such benefits as a result of any such breach of the Restrictive Covenants; and (B) to indemnify the Company against any other losses, damages (including special and consequential damages), costs and expenses, including actual attorneys’ fees and court costs, which may be incurred by them and which result from or arise out of any such breach or threatened breach of the Restrictive Covenants.

(e)    Severability of Covenants/Blue Pencilling. If any court determines that any of the Restrictive Covenants, or any part thereof, is invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the Restrictive Covenants shall not thereby be affected and shall be given full effect, without regard to the invalid portions. If any court determines that any of the Restrictive Covenants, or any part thereof, are unenforceable because of the duration of such provision or the area covered thereby, such court shall have the power to reduce the duration or area of such provision and, in its reduced form, such provision shall then be enforceable and shall be enforced. Executive hereby waives any and all right to attack the validity of the Restrictive Covenants on the grounds of the breadth of their geographic scope or the length of their term.

(f)    Enforceability in Jurisdictions. The Company and Executive intend to and do hereby confer jurisdiction to enforce the Restrictive Covenants upon the courts of any jurisdiction within the geographical scope of such covenants. If the courts of any one or more of such jurisdictions hold the Restrictive Covenants wholly unenforceable by reason of the breadth of such scope or otherwise, it is the intention of the Company and Executive that such determination not bar or in any way affect the right of the Company to the relief provided above in the courts of any other jurisdiction within the geographical scope of such covenants, as to breaches of such covenants in such other respective jurisdictions, such covenants as they relate to each jurisdiction being, for this purpose, severable into diverse and independent covenants.

(g)    Definitions. For purposes of this Section 5, the term “Company” means not only PubCo and OpCo, but also any company, partnership or entity which, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with PubCo or OpCo.

(h)    Defend Trade Secrets Act Notice of Immunity Rights. Executive acknowledges that the Company has provided Executive with the following notice of immunity rights in compliance with the requirements of the Defend Trade Secrets Act: (i) Executive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of Proprietary Information (as defined in the Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement) that is made in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government official or to an attorney solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law, (ii) Executive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of Proprietary Information that is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other

 

Exhibit D-9


proceeding, if such filing is made under seal and (iii) if Executive files a lawsuit for retaliation by the Company for reporting a suspected violation of law, Executive may disclose the Proprietary Information to his or her attorney and use the Proprietary Information in the court proceeding, if the Executive files any document containing the Proprietary Information under seal, and does not disclose the Proprietary Information, except pursuant to court order.

6.    Insurance; Indemnification.

(a)    Insurance. The Company shall have the right to take out life, health, accident, “key-man” or other insurance covering Executive, in the name of the Company and at the Company’s expense in any amount deemed appropriate by the Company. Executive shall assist the Company in obtaining such insurance, including, without limitation, submitting to any required examinations and providing information and data required by insurance companies.

(b)    Indemnification. Executive will be provided with indemnification against third party claims related to his or her work for the Company as required by Delaware law. The Company shall provide Executive with directors and officers liability insurance coverage at least as favorable as that which the Company may maintain from time to time for members of the Board and other executive officers.

7.    Arbitration. Any dispute, claim or controversy based on, arising out of or relating to Executive’s employment or this Agreement shall be settled by final and binding arbitration in San Diego, California, before a single neutral arbitrator in accordance with the National Rules for the Resolution of Employment Disputes (the “Rules”) of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. The Rules may be found online at www.adr.org. Arbitration may be compelled pursuant to the California Arbitration Act (Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1280 et seq.). If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator, one shall be appointed by the AAA in accordance with its Rules. Each party shall pay the fees of its own attorneys, the expenses of its witnesses and all other expenses connected with presenting its case; however, Executive and the Company agree that, to the extent permitted by law, the arbitrator may, in his or her discretion, award reasonable attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. Other costs of the arbitration, including the cost of any record or transcripts of the arbitration, AAA’s administrative fees, the fee of the arbitrator, and all other fees and costs, shall be borne by the Company. This Section 7 is intended to be the exclusive method for resolving any and all claims by the parties against each other for payment of damages under this Agreement or relating to Executive’s employment; provided, however, that Executive shall retain the right to file administrative charges with or seek relief through any government agency of competent jurisdiction, and to participate in any government investigation, including but not limited to (i) claims for workers’ compensation, state disability insurance or unemployment insurance; (ii) claims for unpaid wages or waiting time penalties brought before the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement; provided, however, that any appeal from an award or from denial of an award of wages and/or waiting time penalties shall be arbitrated pursuant to the terms of this Agreement; and (iii) claims for administrative relief from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and/or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (or any similar agency in any applicable jurisdiction other than California); provided, further, that Executive shall not be entitled to obtain any monetary relief through such agencies other than workers’ compensation benefits or unemployment insurance benefits. This Agreement

 

Exhibit D-10


shall not limit either party’s right to obtain any provisional remedy, including, without limitation, injunctive or similar relief, from any court of competent jurisdiction as may be necessary to protect their rights and interests pending the outcome of arbitration, including without limitation injunctive relief, in any court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.8 or any similar statute of an applicable jurisdiction. Seeking any such relief shall not be deemed to be a waiver of such party’s right to compel arbitration. Each party hereby expressly waives his, her or its right to a jury trial.

8.    General Relationship. Executive shall be considered an employee of the Company within the meaning of all federal, state and local laws and regulations including, but not limited to, laws and regulations governing unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, industrial accident, labor and taxes.

9.    Section 280G of the Code.

(a)    Best Pay Provision. In the event that any payment or benefit received or to be received by Executive pursuant to the terms of any plan, arrangement or agreement (including any payment or benefit received in connection with a change in ownership or control or the termination of Executive’s employment) (all such payments and benefits being hereinafter referred to as the “Total Payments”) would be subject (in whole or part) to the excise tax (the “Excise Tax”) imposed under Section 4999 of the Code, then the Total Payments shall be reduced to the extent necessary so that no portion of the Total Payments is subject to the Excise Tax but only if (i) the net amount of such Total Payments, as so reduced (after subtracting the amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such reduced Total Payments and after taking into account the phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions attributable to such reduced Total Payments) is greater than or equal to (ii) the net amount of such Total Payments without such reduction (after subtracting the net amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such Total Payments and the amount of Excise Tax to which Executive would be subject in respect of such unreduced Total Payments and after taking into account the phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions attributable to such unreduced Total Payments). Except to the extent that an alternative reduction order would result in a greater economic benefit to the Executive on an after-tax basis, the parties intend that the Total Payments shall be reduced in the following order: (w) reduction of any cash severance payments otherwise payable to Executive that are exempt from Section 409A of the Code, (x) reduction of any other cash payments or benefits otherwise payable to Executive that are exempt from Section 409A of the Code, but excluding any payment attributable to the acceleration of vesting or payment with respect to any Stock Award that is exempt from Section 409A of the Code, (y) reduction of any other payments or benefits otherwise payable to Executive on a pro-rata basis or such other manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code, but excluding any payment attributable to the acceleration of vesting and payment with respect to any Stock Award that is exempt from Section 409A of the Code, and (z) reduction of any payments attributable to the acceleration of vesting or payment with respect to any Stock Award that is exempt from Section 409A of the Code; provided, in case of clauses (x), (y) and (z), that reduction of any payments or benefits attributable to the acceleration of vesting of Company Stock Awards shall be first applied to Stock Awards with later vesting dates; provided, further, that, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such reduction shall be undertaken in a manner that complies with and does not result in the imposition of additional taxes on the Executive under Section 409A of the Code. The foregoing reductions shall be made in a manner that results in the maximum economic benefit to Executive on an after-tax basis and, to the extent economically equivalent payments or benefits are subject to reduction, in a pro rata manner.

 

Exhibit D-11


(b)    Determinations. All determinations regarding the application of this Section 9 shall be made by an independent accounting firm or consulting group with nationally recognized standing and substantial expertise and experience in performing calculations regarding the applicability of Section 280G of the Code and the Excise Tax retained by the Company prior to the date of the applicable change in ownership or control (the “280G Firm”). For purposes of determining whether and the extent to which the Total Payments will be subject to the Excise Tax, (i) no portion of the Total Payments shall be taken into account which (x) does not constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code (including by reason of Section 280G(b)(4)(A) of the Code) and, in calculating the Excise Tax, or (y) constitutes reasonable compensation for services actually rendered, within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(4)(B) of the Code, in excess of the “base amount” (as defined in Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code) allocable to such reasonable compensation, (ii) no portion of the Total Payments the receipt or enjoyment of which Executive shall have waived at such time and in such manner as not to constitute a “payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b) of the Code shall be taken into account, and (iii) the value of any non-cash benefit or any deferred payment or benefit included in the Total Payments shall be determined by the 280G Firm in accordance with the principles of Sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the Code. All determinations related to the calculations to be performed pursuant to this this “Section 280G Treatment” section shall be done by the 280G Firm. The 280G Firm will be directed to submit its determination and detailed supporting calculations to both Executive and the Company within fifteen (15) days after notification from either the Company or Executive that Executive may receive payments which may be “parachute payments.” Executive and the Company will each provide the 280G Firm access to and copies of any books, records, and documents as may be reasonably requested by the 280G Firm, and otherwise cooperate with the 280G Firm in connection with the preparation and issuance of the determinations and calculations contemplated by this Agreement. The fees and expenses of the 280G Firm for its services in connection with the determinations and calculations contemplated by this Agreement will be borne solely by the Company.

10.    Miscellaneous.

(a)    Modification; Prior Claims. This Agreement and the Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement set forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, supersedes all existing agreements between them concerning such subject matter, including, without limitation, the Prior Agreement. This Agreement may be amended or modified only with the written consent of Executive and an authorized representative of the Company. No oral waiver, amendment or modification will be effective under any circumstances whatsoever.

(b)    Assignment; Assumption by Successor. The rights of the Company under this Agreement may, without the consent of Executive, be assigned by the Company, in its sole and unfettered discretion, to any person, firm, corporation or other business entity which at any time, whether by purchase, merger or otherwise, directly or indirectly, acquires all or substantially all of the assets or business of the Company. The Company will require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business or

 

Exhibit D-12


assets of the Company expressly to assume and to agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform it if no such succession had taken place; provided, however, that no such assumption shall relieve the Company of its obligations hereunder. As used in this Agreement, the “Company” shall mean the Company as hereinbefore defined and any successor to its business and/or assets as aforesaid which assumes and agrees to perform this Agreement by operation of law or otherwise.

(c)    Survival. The covenants, agreements, representations and warranties contained in or made in Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 of this Agreement shall survive any Executive’s termination of employment.

(d)    Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, any rights enforceable by any person not a party to this Agreement.

(e)    Waiver. The failure of either party hereto at any time to enforce performance by the other party of any provision of this Agreement shall in no way affect such party’s rights thereafter to enforce the same, nor shall the waiver by either party of any breach of any provision hereof be deemed to be a waiver by such party of any other breach of the same or any other provision hereof.

(f)    Section Headings. The headings of the several sections in this Agreement are inserted solely for the convenience of the parties and are not a part of and are not intended to govern, limit or aid in the construction of any term or provision hereof.

(g)    Notices. Any notice required or permitted by this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be delivered as follows with notice deemed given as indicated: (i) by personal delivery when delivered personally; (ii) by overnight courier upon written verification of receipt; (iii) by email, telecopy or facsimile transmission upon acknowledgment of receipt of electronic transmission; or (iv) by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, upon verification of receipt. Notice shall be sent to Executive at the address listed on the Company’s personnel records and to the Company at its principal place of business, or such other address as either party may specify in writing.

(h)    Severability. All Sections, clauses and covenants contained in this Agreement are severable, and in the event any of them shall be held to be invalid by any court, this Agreement shall be interpreted as if such invalid Sections, clauses or covenants were not contained herein.

(i)    Governing Law and Venue. This Agreement is to be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California applicable to contracts made and to be performed wholly within such State, and without regard to the conflicts of laws principles thereof. Except as provided in Sections 5 and 7, any suit brought hereon shall be brought in the state or federal courts sitting in San Diego, California, the parties hereto hereby waiving any claim or defense that such forum is not convenient or proper. Each party hereby agrees that any such court shall have in personam jurisdiction over it and consents to service of process in any manner authorized by California law.

 

Exhibit D-13


(j)    Non-transferability of Interest. None of the rights of Executive to receive any form of compensation payable pursuant to this Agreement shall be assignable or transferable except through a testamentary disposition or by the laws of descent and distribution upon the death of Executive. Any attempted assignment, transfer, conveyance, or other disposition (other than as aforesaid) of any interest in the rights of Executive to receive any form of compensation to be made by the Company pursuant to this Agreement shall be void.

(k)    Gender. Where the context so requires, the use of the masculine gender shall include the feminine and/or neuter genders and the singular shall include the plural, and vice versa, and the word “person” shall include any corporation, firm, partnership or other form of association.

(l)    Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement.

(m)    Construction. The language in all parts of this Agreement shall in all cases be construed simply, according to its fair meaning, and not strictly for or against any of the parties hereto. Without limitation, there shall be no presumption against any party on the ground that such party was responsible for drafting this Agreement or any part thereof.

(n)    Withholding and other Deductions. All compensation payable to Executive hereunder shall be subject to such deductions as the Company is from time to time required to make pursuant to law, governmental regulation or order.

(o)    Code Section 409A.

(i)    This Agreement is not intended to provide for any deferral of compensation subject to Section 409A of the Code, and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, amounts payable to Executive pursuant to Sections 4(c)(i), 4(c)(ii), 4(d)(i), 4(d)(ii) and 4(d)(iii) shall be made in reliance upon Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(9) (with respect to separation pay plans) or Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) (with respect to short-term deferrals). To the extent applicable, this Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with Code Section 409A and Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretive guidance issued thereunder. For purposes of Section 409A of the Code, the right to a series of installment payments under this Agreement shall be treated as a right to a series of separate payments. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to Executive’s “termination of employment” shall mean Executive’s Separation from Service.

(ii)    If the Executive is a “specified employee” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code), as determined by the Company in accordance with Section 409A of the Code, on the Separation Date, to the extent that the payments or benefits under this Agreement are subject to Section 409A of the Code and the delayed payment or distribution of all or any portion of such amounts to which Executive is entitled under this Agreement is required in order to avoid a prohibited distribution under Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, then such portion deferred pursuant to this Section 9(o)(ii) shall be paid or distributed to Executive in a lump sum on the earlier of (A) the date that is six (6)-months following Executive’s Separation from Service, (B)

 

Exhibit D-14


the date of Executive’s death or (C) the earliest date as is permitted under Section 409A of the Code. Any remaining payments due under the Agreement shall be paid as otherwise provided herein.

(iii)    If Executive and the Company determine that any payments or benefits payable under this Agreement intended to comply with Sections 409A(a)(2), (3) and (4) of the Code do not comply with Section 409A of the Code, Executive and the Company agree to amend this Agreement, or take such other actions as Executive and the Company deem reasonably necessary or appropriate, to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder (and any applicable transition relief) while preserving the economic agreement of the parties. To the extent that any provision in this Agreement is ambiguous as to its compliance with Section 409A of the Code, the provision shall be read in such a manner that no payments payable under this Agreement shall be subject to an “additional tax” as defined in Section 409A(a)(1)(B) of the Code.

Any reimbursement of expenses or in-kind benefits payable under this Agreement shall be made in accordance with Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(1)(iv) and shall be paid on or before the last day of Executive’s taxable year following the taxable year in which Executive incurred the expenses. The amount of expenses reimbursed or in-kind benefits payable in one year shall not affect the amount eligible for reimbursement or in-kind benefits payable in any other taxable year of Executive’s, and Executive’s right to reimbursement for such amounts shall not be subject to liquidation or exchange for any other benefit.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

Exhibit D-15


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first set forth above.

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.
By:  

 

Name:  

 

Title:  

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS OPERATIONS, INC.
By:  

 

Name:  

 

Title:  

 

EXECUTIVE

 

[ ● ]     

 

Exhibit D-16


EXHIBIT A

GENERAL RELEASE OF CLAIMS

[The language in this Release may change based on legal developments and evolving best practices; this form is provided as an example of what will be included in the final Release document.]

This General Release of Claims (“Release”) is entered into as of this              day of                 ,         , between [ ● ] (“Executive”), eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“PubCo”) and eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“OpCo” and, together with PubCo, the “Company”) (collectively referred to herein as the “Parties”).

WHEREAS, Executive and the Company are parties to that certain [Second][Amended and Restated] Employment Agreement effective as of [ ● ] (the “Agreement”);

WHEREAS, the Parties agree that were it not for execution and enforceability of this Release, Executive would not be entitled to receive the Severance Benefits (as defined below) set forth in the Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Parties now wish to fully and finally to resolve all matters between them.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of, and subject to, the severance benefits payable to Executive pursuant to the Agreement, the adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged by Executive, and which Executive acknowledges that he or she would not otherwise be entitled to receive, Executive and the Company hereby agree as follows:

1.    General Release of Claims by Executive.

(a)    Executive, on behalf of himself or herself and his or her executors, heirs, administrators, representatives and assigns, hereby agrees to release and forever discharge the Company and all predecessors, successors and their respective parent corporations, affiliates, related, and/or subsidiary entities, and all of their past and present investors, directors, stockholders, officers, general or limited partners, employees, attorneys, agents and representatives, and the employee benefit plans in which Executive is or has been a participant by virtue of his or her employment with or service to the Company (collectively, the “Company Releasees”), from any and all claims, debts, demands, accounts, judgments, rights, causes of action, equitable relief, damages, costs, charges, complaints, obligations, promises, agreements, controversies, suits, expenses, compensation, responsibility and liability of every kind and character whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees and costs), whether in law or equity, known or unknown, asserted or unasserted, suspected or unsuspected (collectively, “Claims”), which Executive has or may have had against such entities based on any events or circumstances arising or occurring on or prior to the date hereof or on or prior to the date hereof, arising directly or indirectly out of, relating to, or in any other way involving in any manner whatsoever Executive’s employment by or service to the Company or the termination thereof, including any and all claims arising under federal, state, or local laws relating to employment, including without limitation

 

Exhibit D-17


claims of wrongful discharge, breach of express or implied contract, fraud, misrepresentation, defamation, or liability in tort, and claims of any kind that may be brought in any court or administrative agency including, without limitation, claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 2000, et seq.; the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.; the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991; 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, et seq.; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. Section 621, et seq. (the “ADEA”); the Equal Pay Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. Section 206(d); regulations of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, 41 C.F.R. Section 60, et seq.; the Family and Medical Leave Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.; the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.; and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Government Code Section 12940, et seq.

Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing, Executive does not release the following claims:

(i)    Claims for unemployment compensation or any state disability insurance benefits pursuant to the terms of applicable state law;

(ii)    Claims for workers’ compensation insurance benefits under the terms of any worker’s compensation insurance policy or fund of the Company;

(iii)    Claims pursuant to the terms and conditions of the federal law known as COBRA;

(iv)    Claims for indemnity under the bylaws of the Company, as provided for by California law or under any applicable insurance policy with respect to Executive’s liability as an employee, director or officer of the Company;

(v)    Claims for Executive’s right to bring to the attention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or any other federal, state or local government agency claims of discrimination, or from participating in an investigation or proceeding conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any other federal, state or local government agency; provided, however, that Executive does release his or her right to secure any damages for alleged discriminatory treatment;

(vi)    Claims based on any right Executive may have to enforce the Company’s executory obligations under the Agreement;

(vii)    Claims Executive may have to vested or earned compensation and benefits; and

(viii)    Executive’s right to communicate or cooperate with any governmental agency.

 

Exhibit D-18


(b)    EXECUTIVE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE OR SHE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF AND IS FAMILIAR WITH THE PROVISIONS OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE SECTION 1542, WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS:

“A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.”

BEING AWARE OF SAID CODE SECTION, EXECUTIVE HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHTS HE OR SHE MAY HAVE THEREUNDER, AS WELL AS UNDER ANY OTHER STATUTES OR COMMON LAW PRINCIPLES OF SIMILAR EFFECT.

(c)    Executive acknowledges that this Release was presented to him or her on the date indicated above and that Executive is entitled to have [twenty-one (21)][forty-five (45)] days’ time in which to consider it. Executive further acknowledges that the Company has advised him or her that he or she is waiving his or her rights under the ADEA, and that Executive should consult with an attorney of his or her choice before signing this Release, and Executive has had sufficient time to consider the terms of this Release. Executive represents and acknowledges that if Executive executes this Release before [twenty-one (21)][forty-five (45)] days have elapsed, Executive does so knowingly, voluntarily, and upon the advice and with the approval of Executive’s legal counsel (if any), and that Executive voluntarily waives any remaining consideration period.

(d)    Executive understands that after executing this Release, Executive has the right to revoke it within seven (7) days after his or her execution of it. Executive understands that this Release will not become effective and enforceable unless the seven (7) day revocation period passes and Executive does not revoke the Release in writing. Executive understands that this Release may not be revoked after the seven (7) day revocation period has passed. Executive also understands that any revocation of this Release must be made in writing and delivered to the Company at its principal place of business within the seven (7) day period.

(e)    Executive understands that this Release shall become effective, irrevocable, and binding upon Executive on the eighth (8th) day after his or her execution of it, so long as Executive has not revoked it within the time period and in the manner specified in clause (d) above.

(f)    Executive further understands that Executive will not be given any severance benefits under the Agreement unless this Release is effective on or before the date that is fifty-five (55) days following the date of Executive’s termination of employment.

2.    Defend Trade Secrets Act Notice of Immunity Rights. Executive acknowledges that the Company has provided Executive with the following notice of immunity rights in compliance with the requirements of the Defend Trade Secrets Act: (i) Executive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of Proprietary Information (as defined in the Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement (as defined in the Agreement)) that is made in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government

 

Exhibit D-19


official or to an attorney solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law, (ii) Executive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of Proprietary Information that is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal and (iii) if Executive files a lawsuit for retaliation by the Company for reporting a suspected violation of law, Executive may disclose the Proprietary Information to his or her attorney and use the Proprietary Information in the court proceeding, if the Executive files any document containing the Proprietary Information under seal, and does not disclose the Proprietary Information, except pursuant to court order.

3.    No Assignment. Executive represents and warrants to the Company Releasees that there has been no assignment or other transfer of any interest in any Claim that Executive may have against the Company Releasees. Executive agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company Releasees from any liability, claims, demands, damages, costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees incurred as a result of any such assignment or transfer from Executive.

4.    Severability. In the event any provision of this Release is found to be unenforceable by an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be deemed modified to the extent necessary to allow enforceability of the provision as so limited, it being intended that the Parties shall receive the benefit contemplated herein to the fullest extent permitted by law. If a deemed modification is not satisfactory in the judgment of such arbitrator or court, the unenforceable provision shall be deemed deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.

5.    Interpretation; Construction. The headings set forth in this Release are for convenience only and shall not be used in interpreting this Agreement. This Release has been drafted by legal counsel representing the Company, but Executive has participated in the negotiation of its terms. Furthermore, Executive acknowledges that Executive has had an opportunity to review and revise the Release and have it reviewed by legal counsel, if desired, 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 this Release. Either party’s failure to enforce any provision of this Release shall not in any way be construed as a waiver of any such provision, or prevent that party thereafter from enforcing each and every other provision of this Release.

6.    Governing Law and Venue. This Release will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and the State of California applicable to contracts made and to be performed wholly within such State, and without regard to the conflicts of laws principles thereof. Any suit brought hereon shall be brought in the state or federal courts sitting in San Diego County, California, the Parties hereby waiving any claim or defense that such forum is not convenient or proper. Each party hereby agrees that any such court shall have in personan jurisdiction over it and consents to service of process in any manner authorized by California law.

7.    Entire Agreement. This Release and the Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the Parties in respect of the subject matter contained herein and therein and supersede all prior or simultaneous representations, discussions, negotiations and agreements, whether written or oral.

 

Exhibit D-20


This Release may be amended or modified only with the written consent of Executive and an authorized representative of the Company. No oral waiver, amendment or modification will be effective under any circumstances whatsoever.

8.    Counterparts. This Release may be executed in multiple counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

Exhibit D-21


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, and intending to be legally bound, the Parties have executed the foregoing Release as of the date first written above.

 

EXECUTIVE                                                                   EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.

 

                                               By:  

 

Print Name:  

 

Print Name: [ ● ]                                               Title:  

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS OPERATIONS, INC.
By:  

 

Print Name:  

 

Title:  

 

 

Exhibit D-22


EXHIBIT E

FORM OF PARENT RESTATED BYLAWS

Amended and Restated Bylaws of

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

(a Delaware corporation)


Table of Contents

 

          Page  

Article I - Corporate Offices

     1  

1.1

  

Registered Office

     1  

1.2

  

Other Offices

     1  

Article II - Meetings of Stockholders

     1  

2.1

  

Place of Meetings

     1  

2.2

  

Annual Meeting

     1  

2.3

  

Special Meeting

     1  

2.4

  

Notice of Business to be Brought before a Meeting.

     1  

2.5

  

Notice of Nominations for Election to the Board.

     5  

2.6

  

Notice of Stockholders’ Meetings

     9  

2.7

  

Quorum

     9  

2.8

  

Adjourned Meeting; Notice

     10  

2.9

  

Conduct of Business

     10  

2.10

  

Voting

     11  

2.11

  

Record Date for Stockholder Meetings and Other Purposes

     11  

2.12

  

Proxies

     11  

2.13

  

List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote

     12  

2.14

  

Inspectors of Election

     12  

2.15

  

Delivery to the Corporation.

     13  

Article III - Directors

     13  

3.1

  

Powers

     13  

3.2

  

Number of Directors

     13  

3.3

  

Election, Qualification and Term of Office of Directors

     14  

3.4

  

Resignation and Vacancies

     14  

3.5

  

Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone

     14  

3.6

  

Regular Meetings

     14  

3.7

  

Special Meetings; Notice

     14  

3.8

  

Quorum

     15  

3.9

  

Board Action without a Meeting

     15  

3.10

  

Fees and Compensation of Directors

     15  

Article IV - Committees

     16  

4.1

  

Committees of Directors

     16  

4.2

  

Committee Minutes

     16  

4.3

  

Meetings and Actions of Committees

     16  

4.4

  

Subcommittees.

     17  

Article V - Officers

     17  

5.1

  

Officers

     17  


5.2

  

Appointment of Officers

     17  

5.3

  

Subordinate Officers

     17  

5.4

  

Removal and Resignation of Officers

     17  

5.5

  

Vacancies in Offices

     17  

5.6

  

Representation of Shares of Other Corporations

     17  

5.7

  

Authority and Duties of Officers

     17  

5.8

  

Compensation.

     18  

Article VI - Records

     18  

Article VII - General Matters

     18  

7.1

  

Execution of Corporate Contracts and Instruments

     18  

7.2

  

Stock Certificates

     18  

7.3

  

Special Designation of Certificates.

     19  

7.4

  

Lost Certificates

     19  

7.5

  

Shares Without Certificates

     19  

7.6

  

Construction; Definitions

     19  

7.7

  

Dividends

     19  

7.8

  

Fiscal Year

     20  

7.9

  

Seal

     20  

7.10

  

Transfer of Stock

     20  

7.11

  

Stock Transfer Agreements

     20  

7.12

  

Registered Stockholders

     20  

7.13

  

Waiver of Notice

     20  

Article VIII - Notice

     21  

8.1

  

Delivery of Notice; Notice by Electronic Transmission

     21  

Article IX - Lock-Up

     22  

9.1

  

Lock-Up

     22  

Article X - Indemnification

     24  

10.1

  

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     24  

10.2

  

Indemnification of Others

     24  

10.3

  

Prepayment of Expenses

     24  

10.4

  

Determination; Claim

     25  

10.5

  

Non-Exclusivity of Rights

     25  

10.6

  

Insurance

     25  

10.7

  

Other Indemnification

     25  

10.8

  

Continuation of Indemnification

     25  

10.9

  

Amendment or Repeal; Interpretation

     25  

Article XI - Amendments

     26  

Article XII - Definitions

     26  


Amended and Restated Bylaws of

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

Article I - Corporate Offices

1.1    Registered Office. The address of the registered office of eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Corporation”) in the State of Delaware, and the name of its registered agent at such address, shall be as set forth in the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation, as the same may be amended and/or restated from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”).

1.2    Other Offices. The Corporation may have additional offices at any place or places, within or outside the State of Delaware, as the Corporation’s board of directors (the “Board”) may from time to time establish or as the business of the Corporation may require.

Article II - Meetings of Stockholders

2.1    Place of Meetings. Meetings of stockholders shall be held at any place, within or outside the State of Delaware, designated by the Board. The Board may, in its sole discretion, determine that a meeting of stockholders shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication as authorized by Section 211(a) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”). In the absence of any such designation or determination, stockholders’ meetings shall be held at the Corporation’s principal executive office.

2.2    Annual Meeting. The Board shall designate the date and time of the annual meeting. At the annual meeting, directors shall be elected and other proper business properly brought before the meeting in accordance with Section 2.4 may be transacted. The Board may postpone, reschedule or cancel any previously scheduled annual meeting of stockholders.

2.3    Special Meeting. Special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by such persons and only in such manner as set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation.

No business may be transacted at any special meeting of stockholders other than the business specified in the notice of such meeting. The Board may postpone, reschedule or cancel any previously scheduled special meeting of stockholders.

2.4    Notice of Business to be Brought before a Meeting.

(a)    At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting, business must be (i) specified in a notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board, (ii) if not specified in a notice of meeting, otherwise brought before the meeting by the Board or the Chairperson of the Board or (iii) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder present in person who (A) (1) was a record owner of shares of the Corporation both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 2.4 and at the time of the meeting, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting and (3) has complied with this Section 2.4 in all applicable

 

Exhibit E-1


respects or (B) properly made such proposal in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (as so amended and inclusive of such rules and regulations, the “Exchange Act”). The foregoing clause (iii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to propose business to be brought before an annual meeting of the stockholders. The only matters that may be brought before a special meeting are the matters specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling the meeting pursuant to Section 2.3, and stockholders shall not be permitted to propose business to be brought before a special meeting of the stockholders. For purposes of this Section 2.4, “present in person” shall mean that the stockholder proposing that the business be brought before the annual meeting of the Corporation, or a qualified representative of such proposing stockholder, appear at such annual meeting in person, or by remote communication, if applicable. A “qualified representative” of such proposing stockholder shall be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or any other person authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders. Stockholders seeking to nominate persons for election to the Board must comply with Section 2.5, and this Section 2.4 shall not be applicable to nominations except as expressly provided in Section 2.5.

(b)    Without qualification, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice (as defined below) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation and (ii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.4. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the one-year anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not earlier than the close of business on the one hundred and twentieth (120th) day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made by the Corporation; provided, further, that if the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than sixty (60) days after such anniversary date, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made by the Corporation (such notice within such time periods, “Timely Notice”). In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of Timely Notice as described above.

(c)    To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2.4, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary of the Corporation shall set forth:

(i)    As to each Proposing Person (as defined below), (A) the name and address of such Proposing Person (including, if applicable, the name and address that appear on the Corporation’s books and records); and (B) the class or series and number of

 

Exhibit E-2


shares of the Corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned of record or beneficially owned (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by such Proposing Person, except that such Proposing Person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of any class or series of the Corporation as to which such Proposing Person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) are referred to as “Stockholder Information”);

(ii)    As to each Proposing Person, (A) the full notional amount of any securities that, directly or indirectly, underlie any “derivative security” (as such term is defined in Rule 16a-1(c) under the Exchange Act) that constitutes a “call equivalent position” (as such term is defined in Rule 16a-1(b) under the Exchange Act) (“Synthetic Equity Position”) and that is, directly or indirectly, held or maintained by such Proposing Person with respect to any shares of any class or series of shares of the Corporation; provided that, for the purposes of the definition of “Synthetic Equity Position,” the term “derivative security” shall also include any security or instrument that would not otherwise constitute a “derivative security” as a result of any feature that would make any conversion, exercise or similar right or privilege of such security or instrument becoming determinable only at some future date or upon the happening of a future occurrence, in which case the determination of the amount of securities into which such security or instrument would be convertible or exercisable shall be made assuming that such security or instrument is immediately convertible or exercisable at the time of such determination; and, provided, further, that any Proposing Person satisfying the requirements of Rule 13d-1(b)(1) under the Exchange Act (other than a Proposing Person that so satisfies Rule 13d-1(b)(1) under the Exchange Act solely by reason of Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E)) shall not be deemed to hold or maintain the notional amount of any securities that underlie a Synthetic Equity Position held by such Proposing Person as a hedge with respect to a bona fide derivatives trade or position of such Proposing Person arising in the ordinary course of such Proposing Person’s business as a derivatives dealer, (B) any rights to dividends on the shares of any class or series of shares of the Corporation owned beneficially by such Proposing Person that are separated or separable from the underlying shares of the Corporation, (C) any material pending or threatened legal proceeding in which such Proposing Person is a party or material participant involving the Corporation or any of its officers or directors, or any affiliate of the Corporation, (D) any other material relationship between such Proposing Person, on the one hand, and the Corporation or any affiliate of the Corporation, on the other hand, (E) any direct or indirect material interest in any material contract or agreement of such Proposing Person with the Corporation or any affiliate of the Corporation (including, in any such case, any employment agreement, collective bargaining agreement or consulting agreement), (F) a representation that such Proposing Person intends or is part of a group that intends to deliver a proxy statement or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or otherwise solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such proposal and (G) any other information relating to such Proposing Person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies or consents by such Proposing Person in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) through (G) are referred to as “Disclosable Interests”); provided, however, that Disclosable Interests shall not

 

Exhibit E-3


include any such disclosures with respect to the ordinary course business activities of any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee who is a Proposing Person solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by these bylaws on behalf of a beneficial owner; and

(iii)    As to each item of business that the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting, (A) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting and any material interest in such business of each Proposing Person, (B) the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and in the event that such business includes a proposal to amend the bylaws, the language of the proposed amendment), (C) a reasonably detailed description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings (x) between or among any of the Proposing Persons or (y) between or among any Proposing Person and any other person or entity (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder; and (D) any other information relating to such item of business that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act; provided, however, that the disclosures required by this Section 2.4(c)(iii) shall not include any disclosures with respect to any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee who is a Proposing Person solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by these bylaws on behalf of a beneficial owner.

For purposes of this Section 2.4, the term “Proposing Personshall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the business proposed to be brought before the annual meeting is made, and (iii) any participant (as defined in paragraphs (a)(ii)-(vi) of Instruction 3 to Item 4 of Schedule 14A) with such stockholder in such solicitation.

(d)    A Proposing Person shall update and supplement its notice to the Corporation of its intent to propose business at an annual meeting, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.4 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, extend any applicable deadlines

 

Exhibit E-4


hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding matters, business or resolutions proposed to be brought before a meeting of the stockholders.

(e)    Notwithstanding anything in these bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at an annual meeting that is not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with this Section 2.4. The presiding officer of the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that the business was not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with this Section 2.4, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare to the meeting and any such business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted.

(f)    This Section 2.4 is expressly intended to apply to any business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders other than any proposal made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act and included in the Corporation’s proxy statement. In addition to the requirements of this Section 2.4 with respect to any business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting, each Proposing Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such business. Nothing in this Section 2.4 shall be deemed to affect the rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act.

(g)    For purposes of these bylaws, “public disclosure” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by a national news service or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

2.5    Notice of Nominations for Election to the Board.

(a)    Nominations of any person for election to the Board at an annual meeting or at a special meeting (but only if the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling such special meeting) may be made at such meeting only (i) by or at the direction of the Board, including by any committee or persons authorized to do so by the Board or these bylaws, or (ii) by a stockholder present in person (A) who was a record owner of shares of the Corporation both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 2.5 and at the time of the meeting, (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (C) has complied with this Section 2.5 as to such notice and nomination. For purposes of this Section 2.5, “present in person” shall mean that the stockholder proposing that the business be brought before the meeting of the Corporation, or a qualified representative of such stockholder, appear at such meeting in person, or by remote communication, if applicable. A “qualified representative” of such proposing stockholder shall be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or any other person authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders. The foregoing clause (iii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at an annual meeting or special meeting.

 

Exhibit E-5


(b)    (i) For a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at an annual meeting, the stockholder must (1) provide Timely Notice (as defined in Section 2.4) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation, (2) provide the information, agreements and questionnaires with respect to such stockholder and its candidate for nomination as required to be set forth by this Section 2.5 and (3) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.5.

(ii)    If the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling a special meeting, then for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at a special meeting, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, (ii) provide the information with respect to such stockholder and its candidate for nomination as required by this Section 2.5 and (iii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.5. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for nominations to be made at a special meeting must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such special meeting and not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such special meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure (as defined in Section 2.4) of the date of such special meeting was first made.

(iii)    In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.

(iv)    In no event may a Nominating Person provide Timely Notice with respect to a greater number of director candidates than are subject to election by stockholders at the applicable meeting. If the Corporation shall, subsequent to such notice, increase the number of directors subject to election at the meeting, such notice as to any additional nominees shall be due on the later of (i) the conclusion of the time period for Timely Notice, (ii) the date set forth in Section 2.5(b)(ii) or (iii) the tenth day following the date of public disclosure (as defined in Section 2.4) of such increase.

(c)    To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2.5, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary of the Corporation shall set forth:

(i)    As to each Nominating Person (as defined below), the Stockholder Information (as defined in Section 2.4(c)(i), except that for purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2.4(c)(i));

(ii)    As to each Nominating Person, any Disclosable Interests (as defined in Section 2.4(c)(ii), except that for purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2.4(c)(ii) and the disclosure with respect to the business to be brought before the meeting in Section 2.4(c)(ii) shall be made with respect to the election of directors at the meeting); and

 

Exhibit E-6


(iii)    As to each candidate whom a Nominating Person proposes to nominate for election as a director, (A) all information with respect to such candidate for nomination that would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice pursuant to this Section 2.5 if such candidate for nomination were a Nominating Person, (B) all information relating to such candidate for nomination that is required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14(a) under the Exchange Act (including such candidate’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected), (C) a description of any direct or indirect material interest in any material contract or agreement between or among any Nominating Person, on the one hand, and each candidate for nomination or his or her respective associates or any other participants in such solicitation, on the other hand, including, without limitation, all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 under Regulation S-K if such Nominating Person were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the candidate for nomination were a director or executive officer of such registrant and (D) a completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement as provided in Section 2.5(f).

For purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting is made, and (iii) any other participant in such solicitation.

(d)    A stockholder providing notice of any nomination proposed to be made at a meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.5 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any nomination or to submit any new nomination.

 

Exhibit E-7


(e)    In addition to the requirements of this Section 2.5 with respect to any nomination proposed to be made at a meeting, each Nominating Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such nominations.

(f)    To be eligible to be a candidate for election as a director of the Corporation at an annual or special meeting, a candidate must be nominated in the manner prescribed in Section 2.5 and the candidate for nomination, whether nominated by the Board or by a stockholder of record, must have previously delivered (in accordance with the time period prescribed for delivery in a notice to such candidate given by or on behalf of the Board), to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, (i) a completed written questionnaire (in a form provided by the Corporation) with respect to the background, qualifications, stock ownership and independence of such proposed nominee and (ii) a written representation and agreement (in form provided by the Corporation) that such candidate for nomination (A) is not and, if elected as a director during his or her term of office, will not become a party to (1) any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given and will not give any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such proposed nominee, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question (a “Voting Commitment”) or (2) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such proposed nominee’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such proposed nominee’s fiduciary duties under applicable law, (B) is not, and will not become a party to, any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation or reimbursement for service as a director that has not been disclosed to the Corporation and (C) if elected as a director of the Corporation, will comply with all applicable corporate governance, conflict of interest, confidentiality, stock ownership and trading and other policies and guidelines of the Corporation applicable to directors and in effect during such person’s term in office as a director (and, if requested by any candidate for nomination, the Secretary of the Corporation shall provide to such candidate for nomination all such policies and guidelines then in effect).

(g)    The Board may also require any proposed candidate for nomination as a Director to furnish such other information as may reasonably be requested by the Board in writing prior to the meeting of stockholders at which such candidate’s nomination is to be acted upon in order for the Board to determine the eligibility of such candidate for nomination to be an independent director of the Corporation in accordance with the Corporation’s corporate governance guidelines.

(h)    A candidate for nomination as a director shall further update and supplement the materials delivered pursuant to this Section 2.5, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided pursuant to this Section 2.5 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation (or any other office specified by the Corporation in any public announcement) not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not

 

Exhibit E-8


practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any materials delivered pursuant to this Section 2.5 by a candidate for director, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding nominees, matters, business or resolutions proposed to amend or update any nomination or to submit any new nomination.

(i)    No candidate shall be eligible for nomination as a director of the Corporation unless such candidate for nomination and the Nominating Person seeking to place such candidate’s name in nomination has complied with this Section 2.5. The presiding officer at the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that a nomination was not properly made in accordance with Section 2.5, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare such determination to the meeting, the defective nomination shall be disregarded and any ballots cast for the candidate in question (but in the case of any form of ballot listing other qualified nominees, only the votes cast for the nominee in question) shall be void and of no force or effect.

(j)    Notwithstanding anything in these bylaws to the contrary, no candidate for nomination shall be eligible to be seated as a director of the Corporation unless nominated and elected in accordance with Section 2.5.

2.6    Notice of Stockholders’ Meetings. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the notice of any meeting of stockholders shall be sent or otherwise given in accordance with Section 8.1 not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting. The notice shall specify the place, if any, date and time of the meeting, the means of remote communication, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called.

2.7    Quorum. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the holders of a majority in voting power of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person, or by remote communication, if applicable, or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the stockholders. A quorum, once established at a meeting, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum. If, however, a quorum is not present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, then either (i) the person presiding over the meeting or (ii) a majority in voting power of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person, or by remote communication, if applicable, or represented by proxy, shall have power to recess the meeting or adjourn the meeting from time to time in the manner provided in Section 2.8 until a quorum is present or represented. At any recessed or adjourned meeting at which a quorum is present or represented, any business may be transacted that might have been transacted at the meeting as originally noticed.

 

Exhibit E-9


2.8    Adjourned Meeting; Notice. When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, unless these bylaws otherwise require, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time, place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At any adjourned meeting, the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the Board shall fix as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date so fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting.

2.9    Conduct of Business. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the person presiding over the meeting. The Board may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. At every meeting of the stockholders, the Chairperson of the Board, or in his or her absence or inability to act, the Chief Executive Officer, or in his or her absence or inability to act, the officer or director whom the Board shall appoint, shall act as chairperson of, and preside at the meeting. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board, the person presiding over any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to convene and (for any or no reason) to recess and/or adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures (which need not be in writing) and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such presiding person, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the person presiding over the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present (including, without limitation, rules and procedures for removal of disruptive persons from the meeting); (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the person presiding over the meeting shall determine; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. The presiding person at any meeting of stockholders, in addition to making any other determinations that may be appropriate to the conduct of the meeting (including, without limitation, determinations with respect to the administration and/or interpretation of any of the rules, regulations or procedures of the meeting, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the person presiding over the meeting), shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a matter of business was not properly brought before the meeting and if such presiding person should so determine, such presiding person shall so declare to the meeting and any such matter or business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted or considered. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board or the person presiding over the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.

 

Exhibit E-10


2.10    Voting. Except as may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws or the DGCL, each stockholder shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.

Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, at all duly called or convened meetings of stockholders at which a quorum is present, for the election of directors, a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect a director. Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws, the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, or applicable law or pursuant to any regulation applicable to the Corporation or its securities, each other matter presented to the stockholders at a duly called or convened meeting at which a quorum is present shall be decided by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the votes cast (excluding abstentions and broker non-votes) on such matter.

2.11    Record Date for Stockholder Meetings and Other Purposes. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, and which record date shall, unless otherwise required by law, not be more than sixty (60) days nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next day preceding the day on which notice is first given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting; and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance herewith at the adjourned meeting.

In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of capital stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution relating thereto.

2.12    Proxies. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy authorized by an instrument in writing or by a transmission permitted by law filed in accordance with the procedure established for the meeting, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. The revocability of a proxy that states

 

Exhibit E-11


on its face that it is irrevocable shall be governed by the provisions of Section 212 of the DGCL. A proxy may be in the form of an electronic transmission which sets forth or is submitted with information from which it can be determined that the transmission was authorized by the stockholder.

2.13    List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote. The Corporation shall prepare, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (provided, however, that if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than ten (10) days before the date of the meeting, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth (10th) day before the meeting date), arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. The Corporation shall not be required to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the Corporation’s principal executive office. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then the list shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting. Such list shall presumptively determine the identity of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and the number of shares held by each of them. Except as otherwise provided by law, the stock ledger shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 2.13 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.

2.14    Inspectors of Election. Before any meeting of stockholders, the Corporation shall appoint an inspector or inspectors of election to act at the meeting or its adjournment and make a written report thereof. The Corporation may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If any person appointed as inspector or any alternate fails to appear or fails or refuses to act, then the person presiding over the meeting shall appoint a person to fill that vacancy.

Such inspectors shall:

(i)    determine the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each, the number of shares represented at the meeting and the validity of any proxies and ballots;

(ii)    count all votes or ballots;

(iii)    count and tabulate all votes;

 

Exhibit E-12


(iv)    determine and retain for a reasonable period a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspector(s); and

(v)    certify its or their determination of the number of shares represented at the meeting and its or their count of all votes and ballots.

Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of inspector, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspection with strict impartiality and according to the best of such inspector’s ability. Any report or certificate made by the inspectors of election is prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. The inspectors of election may appoint such persons to assist them in performing their duties as they determine.

2.15    Delivery to the Corporation. Whenever this Article II requires one or more persons (including a record or beneficial owner of stock) to deliver a document or information to the Corporation or any officer, employee or agent thereof (including any notice, request, questionnaire, revocation, representation or other document or agreement), such document or information shall be in writing exclusively (and not in an electronic transmission) and shall be delivered exclusively by hand (including, without limitation, overnight courier service) or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, and the Corporation shall not be required to accept delivery of any document not in such written form or so delivered. For the avoidance of doubt, the Corporation expressly opts out of Section 116 of the DGCL with respect to the delivery of information and documents to the Corporation required by this Article II.

2.16    Stockholder Action by Written Consent Without a Meeting. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at an annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, and may not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of any series of preferred stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided by the applicable certificate of designation relating to such series of preferred stock of the Corporation, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding shares of the relevant series of preferred stock of the Corporation having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL.

Article III - Directors

3.1    Powers. Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation or the DGCL, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board.

3.2    Number of Directors. Subject to the Certificate of Incorporation, the total number of directors constituting the Board shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board. No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director before that director’s term of office expires.

 

Exhibit E-13


3.3    Election, Qualification and Term of Office of Directors. Except as provided in Section 3.4, and subject to the Certificate of Incorporation, each director, including a director elected to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship, shall hold office until the expiration of the term of the class, if any, for which elected and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified or until such director’s earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. Directors need not be stockholders. The Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws may prescribe qualifications for directors.

3.4    Resignation and Vacancies. Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the Corporation. The resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein or upon the happening of an event specified therein, and if no time or event is specified, at the time of its receipt. When one or more directors so resigns and the resignation is effective at a future date or upon the happening of an event to occur on a future date, a majority of the directors then in office, including those who have so resigned, shall have power to fill such vacancy or vacancies, the vote thereon to take effect when such resignation or resignations shall become effective, and each director so chosen shall hold office as provided in Section 3.3.

Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, vacancies resulting from the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of any director, and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Any director elected in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of the director for which the vacancy was created or occurred and until such director’s successor shall have been elected and qualified.

3.5    Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone. The Board may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or outside the State of Delaware.

Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, members of the Board, or any committee designated by the Board, may participate in a meeting of the Board, or any committee, by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting pursuant to this bylaw shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

3.6    Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board may be held within or outside the State of Delaware and at such time and at such place as which has been designated by the Board and publicized among all directors, either orally or in writing, by telephone, including a voice-messaging system or other system designed to record and communicate messages, facsimile, telegraph or telex, or by electronic mail or other means of electronic transmission. No further notice shall be required for regular meetings of the Board.

3.7    Special Meetings; Notice. Special meetings of the Board for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the Chairperson of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or the Secretary of the Corporation or a majority of the total number of directors constituting the Board.

Notice of the time and place of special meetings shall be:

(i)    delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone;

 

Exhibit E-14


(ii)    sent by United States first-class mail, postage prepaid;

(iii)    sent by facsimile or electronic mail; or

(iv)    sent by other means of electronic transmission,

directed to each director at that director’s address, telephone number, facsimile number or electronic mail address, or other address for electronic transmission, as the case may be, as shown on the Corporation’s records.

If the notice is (i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone, (ii) sent by facsimile or electronic mail, or (iii) sent by other means of electronic transmission, it shall be delivered or sent at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of the holding of the meeting. If the notice is sent by U.S. mail, it shall be deposited in the U.S. mail at least four (4) days before the time of the holding of the meeting. The notice need not specify the place of the meeting (if the meeting is to be held at the Corporation’s principal executive office) nor the purpose of the meeting.

3.8    Quorum. At all meetings of the Board, unless otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, a majority of the total number of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the Board, then the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present.

3.9    Board Action without a Meeting. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission. After an action is taken, the consent or consents relating thereto shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board, or the committee thereof, in the same paper or electronic form as the minutes are maintained. Such action by written consent or consent by electronic transmission shall have the same force and effect as a unanimous vote of the Board.

3.10    Fees and Compensation of Directors. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the Board shall have the authority to fix the compensation, including fees and reimbursement of expenses, of directors for services to the Corporation in any capacity.

3.11    Removal of Directors. Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock of the Corporation to elect directors, the Board or any individual director may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds (66 and 2/3%) of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of voting stock of the Corporation entitled to vote at an election of directors.

 

Exhibit E-15


Article IV - Committees

4.1    Committees of Directors. The Board may designate one (1) or more committees, each committee to consist of one (1) or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board may designate one (1) or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board to act at the meeting in the place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board or in these bylaws, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers that may require it; but no such committee shall have the power or authority to (i) approve or adopt, or recommend to the stockholders, any action or matter expressly required by the DGCL to be submitted to stockholders for approval, or (ii) adopt, amend or repeal any bylaw of the Corporation.

4.2    Committee Minutes. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board when required.

4.3    Meetings and Actions of Committees. Meetings and actions of committees shall be governed by, and held and taken in accordance with, the provisions of:

(i) Section 3.5 (Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone);

(ii) Section 3.6 (Regular Meetings);

(iii) Section 3.7 (Special Meetings; Notice);

(iv) Section 3.9 (Board Action Without a Meeting); and

(v) Section 7.13 (Waiver of Notice),

with such changes in the context of those bylaws as are necessary to substitute the committee and its members for the Board and its members; provided, however, that:

(i)    the time of regular meetings of committees may be determined either by resolution of the Board or by resolution of the committee;

(ii)    special meetings of committees may also be called by resolution of the Board or the chairperson of the applicable committee; and

(iii)    the Board may adopt rules for the governance of any committee to override the provisions that would otherwise apply to the committee pursuant to this Section 4.3, provided that such rules do not violate the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law.

 

Exhibit E-16


4.4    Subcommittees. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws or the resolutions of the Board designating the committee, a committee may create one (1) or more subcommittees, each subcommittee to consist of one (1) or more members of the committee, and delegate to a subcommittee any or all of the powers and authority of the committee.

Article V - Officers

5.1    Officers. The officers of the Corporation shall include a Chief Executive Officer, a President and a Secretary. The Corporation may also have, at the discretion of the Board, a Chairperson of the Board, a Vice Chairperson of the Board, a Chief Financial Officer, a Treasurer, one (1) or more Vice Presidents, one (1) or more Assistant Vice Presidents, one (1) or more Assistant Treasurers, one (1) or more Assistant Secretaries, and any such other officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. No officer need be a stockholder or director of the Corporation.

5.2    Appointment of Officers. The Board shall appoint the officers of the Corporation, except such officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.3.

5.3    Subordinate Officers. The Board may appoint, or empower the Chief Executive Officer or, in the absence of a Chief Executive Officer, the President, to appoint, such other officers and agents as the business of the Corporation may require. Each of such officers and agents shall hold office for such period, have such authority, and perform such duties as are provided in these bylaws or as the Board may from time to time determine.

5.4    Removal and Resignation of Officers. Subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment any officer may be removed, either with or without cause, by the Board or, except in the case of an officer chosen by the Board, by any officer upon whom such power of removal may be conferred by the Board.

Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Corporation. Any resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of that notice or at any later time specified in that notice. Unless otherwise specified in the notice of resignation, the acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. Any resignation is without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the Corporation under any contract to which the officer is a party.

5.5    Vacancies in Offices. Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation shall be filled by the Board or as provided in Section 5.2.

5.6    Representation of Shares of Other Corporations. The Chairperson of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, or the President of this Corporation, or any other person authorized by the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the President, is authorized to vote, represent and exercise on behalf of this Corporation all rights incident to any and all shares or voting securities of any other corporation or other person standing in the name of this Corporation. The authority granted herein may be exercised either by such person directly or by any other person authorized to do so by proxy or power of attorney duly executed by such person having the authority.

5.7    Authority and Duties of Officers. All officers of the Corporation shall respectively have such authority and perform such duties in the management of the business of the Corporation as may be provided herein or designated from time to time by the Board and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the Board.

 

Exhibit E-17


5.8    Compensation. The compensation of the officers of the Corporation for their services as such shall be fixed from time to time by or at the direction of the Board. An officer of the Corporation shall not be prevented from receiving compensation by reason of the fact that he or she is also a director of the Corporation.

Article VI - Records

A stock ledger consisting of one or more records in which the names of all of the Corporation’s stockholders of record, the address and number of shares registered in the name of each such stockholder, and all issuances and transfers of stock of the corporation are recorded in accordance with Section 224 of the DGCL shall be administered by or on behalf of the Corporation. Any records administered by or on behalf of the Corporation in the regular course of its business, including its stock ledger, books of account, and minute books, may be kept on, or by means of, or be in the form of, any information storage device, or method, or one or more electronic networks or databases (including one or more distributed electronic networks or databases), provided that the records so kept can be converted into clearly legible paper form within a reasonable time and, with respect to the stock ledger, that the records so kept (i) can be used to prepare the list of stockholders specified in Sections 219 and 220 of the DGCL, (ii) record the information specified in Sections 156, 159, 217(a) and 218 of the DGCL, and (iii) record transfers of stock as governed by Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of Delaware.

Article VII - General Matters

7.1    Execution of Corporate Contracts and Instruments. The Board, except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, may authorize any officer or officers, or agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation; such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

7.2    Stock Certificates. The shares of the Corporation shall be represented by certificates or shall be uncertificated. Certificates for the shares of stock, if any, shall be in such form as is consistent with the Certificate of Incorporation and applicable law. Every holder of stock represented by a certificate shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by, any two officers authorized to sign stock certificates representing the number of shares registered in certificate form. The Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, Vice President, the Treasurer, any Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Corporation shall be specifically authorized to sign stock certificates. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate has ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.

 

Exhibit E-18


The Corporation may issue the whole or any part of its shares as partly paid and subject to call for the remainder of the consideration to be paid therefor. Upon the face or back of each stock certificate issued to represent any such partly paid shares, or upon the books and records of the Corporation in the case of uncertificated partly paid shares, the total amount of the consideration to be paid therefor and the amount paid thereon shall be stated. Upon the declaration of any dividend on fully paid shares, the Corporation shall declare a dividend upon partly paid shares of the same class, but only upon the basis of the percentage of the consideration actually paid thereon.

7.3    Special Designation of Certificates. If the Corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, then the powers, the designations, the preferences and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights shall be set forth in full or summarized on the face or on the back of the certificate that the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock (or, in the case of uncertificated shares, set forth in a notice provided pursuant to Section 151 of the DGCL); provided, however, that except as otherwise provided in Section 202 of the DGCL, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, there may be set forth on the face of back of the certificate that the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock (or, in the case of any uncertificated shares, included in the aforementioned notice) a statement that the Corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, the designations, the preferences and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.

7.4    Lost Certificates. Except as provided in this Section 7.4, no new certificates for shares shall be issued to replace a previously issued certificate unless the latter is surrendered to the Corporation and cancelled at the same time. The Corporation may issue a new certificate of stock or uncertificated shares in the place of any certificate theretofore issued by it, alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the Corporation may require the owner of the lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify it against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.

7.5    Shares Without Certificates. The Corporation may adopt a system of issuance, recordation and transfer of its shares of stock by electronic or other means not involving the issuance of certificates, provided the use of such system by the Corporation is permitted in accordance with applicable law.

7.6    Construction; Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of construction and definitions in the DGCL shall govern the construction of these bylaws. Without limiting the generality of this provision, the singular number includes the plural and the plural number includes the singular.

7.7    Dividends. The Board, subject to any restrictions contained in either (i) the DGCL or (ii) the Certificate of Incorporation, may declare and pay dividends upon the shares of its capital stock. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property or in shares of the Corporation’s capital stock.

 

Exhibit E-19


The Board may set apart out of any of the funds of the Corporation available for dividends a reserve or reserves for any proper purpose and may abolish any such reserve. Such purposes shall include but not be limited to equalizing dividends, repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, and meeting contingencies.

7.8    Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board and may be changed by the Board.

7.9    Seal. The Corporation may adopt a corporate seal, which shall be adopted and which may be altered by the Board. The Corporation may use the corporate seal by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced.

7.10    Transfer of Stock. Shares of the stock of the Corporation shall be transferable in the manner prescribed by law and in these bylaws. Shares of stock of the Corporation shall be transferred on the books of the Corporation only by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, upon surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates representing such shares endorsed by the appropriate person or persons (or by delivery of duly executed instructions with respect to uncertificated shares), with such evidence of the authenticity of such endorsement or execution, transfer, authorization and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps. No transfer of stock shall be valid as against the Corporation for any purpose until it shall have been entered in the stock records of the Corporation by an entry showing the names of the persons from and to whom it was transferred.

7.11    Stock Transfer Agreements. The Corporation shall have power to enter into and perform any agreement with any number of stockholders of any one or more classes or series of stock of the Corporation to restrict the transfer of shares of stock of the Corporation of any one or more classes owned by such stockholders in any manner not prohibited by the DGCL.

7.12    Registered Stockholders. The Corporation:

(i)    shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner of shares to receive dividends and to vote as such owner; and

(ii)    shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of another person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by the laws of the State of Delaware.

7.13    Waiver of Notice. Whenever notice is required to be given under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, a written waiver, signed by the person entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person entitled to notice, whether before or after the time of the event for which notice is to be given, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the stockholders need be specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic transmission unless so required by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws.

 

Exhibit E-20


Article VIII - Notice

8.1    Delivery of Notice; Notice by Electronic Transmission. Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provisions of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these bylaws may be given in writing directed to the stockholder’s mailing address (or by electronic transmission directed to the stockholder’s electronic mail address, as applicable) as it appears on the records of the Corporation and shall be given (1) if mailed, when the notice is deposited in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, (2) if delivered by courier service, the earlier of when the notice is received or left at such stockholder’s address or (3) if given by electronic mail, when directed to such stockholder’s electronic mail address unless the stockholder has notified the Corporation in writing or by electronic transmission of an objection to receiving notice by electronic mail. A notice by electronic mail must include a prominent legend that the communication is an important notice regarding the Corporation.

Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws shall be effective if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder to whom the notice is given. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice or electronic transmission to the Corporation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, the Corporation may give a notice by electronic mail in accordance with the first paragraph of this section without obtaining the consent required by this paragraph.

Any notice given pursuant to the preceding paragraph shall be deemed given:

(i)    if by facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice;

(ii)    if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (A) such posting and (B) the giving of such separate notice; and

(iii)    if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a notice may not be given by an electronic transmission from and after the time that (1) the Corporation is unable to deliver by such electronic transmission two (2) consecutive notices given by the Corporation and (2) such inability becomes known to the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or to the transfer agent, or other person responsible for the giving of notice; provided, however, that the inadvertent failure to discover such inability shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.

 

Exhibit E-21


An affidavit of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or of the transfer agent or other agent of the Corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

Article IX - Lock-Up

9.1    Lock-Up. Subject to this Section 9.1, the holders (the “Lock-up Holders”) of common stock of the Corporation issued (a) as consideration pursuant to the merger (the “Merger”) of Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with and into eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operating, Inc., a Delaware corporation and formerly known as eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (“Opco”) or (b) to directors, officers and employees of the Corporation upon the settlement or exercise of stock options or other equity awards in each case outstanding as of immediately following the closing of the Merger in respect of awards of Opco outstanding immediately prior to the closing of the Merger (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, the Parent Warrants (as defined in the Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into by and among the Corporation, Opco and Merger Sub, dated as of May 26, 2021, as amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”)) (such shares, the “Opco Equity Award Shares”), may not Transfer any Lock-up Shares until the first day following the expiration of the Lock-up Period (the “Lock-up”), provided, that the foregoing restriction shall not apply to (w) the filing of a registration statement registering the resale of the Shares pursuant to Section 2.1.1 of that certain Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of                                 , 2021 by and between the Company and certain Lock-up Holders named therein (for clarity such registration statement may include Shares held by any Lock-up Holders); provided no sales can be effected pursuant to such registration statement during the Lock-up Period; (x) the exercise by any Lock-up Holder of any option to purchase shares of common stock of the Corporation pursuant to any equity compensation plan of the Corporation to the extent that such option would expire during the Lock-Up Period, (y) the sale of shares of common stock of the Corporation underlying any such option or the forfeiture of such shares of common stock to the Corporation, to the extent necessary to satisfy any exercise price and/or tax obligations arising in connection with the exercise of such option; provided, further, that the net shares of common stock of the Corporation underlying any such options (i.e., following the application of subclauses (x) or (y) or any Corporation net settlement effectuated to satisfy any exercise price and/or tax obligations arising in connection with the exercise of such option) shall continue to be subject to the Lock-up; or (z) the sale of shares of common stock of the Corporation to pay withholding taxes due upon the issuance of Earn-Out Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement), if applicable.

Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in the paragraph above, the Lock-up Holders or their respective permitted transferees may Transfer the Lock-up Shares during the Lock-up Period (A) in the case of an individual, (i) to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person or entity, or to a charitable organization, (ii) to a trust for the direct or indirect benefit of such individual or a member of such individual’s immediate family, (iii) an entity wholly owned by such individual or a member of such individual’s immediate family, (iv) by will or virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such individual, or (v) pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (B) in the case of an entity, (i) as a distribution to limited partners, members, stockholders or other equity holders of such entity or (ii) to an affiliate of such entity controlled or managed by such entity or under common control with such entity; or (C) in connection with a liquidation, merger,

 

Exhibit E-22


amalgamation, stock exchange, reorganization, tender offer approved by the Board or a duly authorized committee thereof or other similar transactions which results in all of the Corporation’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (A) and (B), (1) permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with the Corporation agreeing to be bound by the terms of this Section 9.1, (2) any Transfer pursuant to clauses (A) or (B)(i) shall not involve a disposition for value; (3) the Lock-up Shares shall remain subject to the Lock-up; (3) any required public report or filing (including filings under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act), shall disclose the nature of such Transfer and that the Lock-up Shares remain subject to the Lock-up; and (4) there shall be no voluntary public disclosure or other announcement of such Transfer.

Notwithstanding the other provisions set forth in this Section 9.1, the Board may, in its sole discretion, determine to waive, amend, or repeal the Lock-up obligations set forth herein; provided, that, any such waiver, amendment or repeal shall require, in addition to any other vote of the members of the Board required to take such action pursuant to these bylaws or applicable law, the affirmative vote of at least one of the directors that has been designated by Parent (as defined by the Merger Agreement).

In the event that a release is granted to any Lock-Up Holder relating to the lock-up restrictions set forth above, the same percentage of Lock-Up Shares held by all Lock-Up Holders (the “Pro-rata Release”) shall be immediately and fully released on the same terms from any remaining lock-up restrictions set forth herein; provided however, that such Pro-rata Release shall not be applied in the event of releases (a) granted from such lockup restrictions to any individual party or parties to sell or otherwise transfer or dispose of shares of the Company’s Common Stock or other securities in an amount up to an aggregate of 2% of the Company’s total outstanding stock, (b) if the release or waiver is granted due to circumstances of any emergency or hardship of a Lock-up Holder, as determined in the Company’s sole judgment, or (c) in connection with an underwritten public offering of Common Stock, provided that the Lock-Up Holders holding registration rights have been given an opportunity to participate with other selling stockholders in such public offering (a “Follow-On Offering”) on a pro rata basis on pricing terms that are no less favorable than the terms of the Follow-On Offering.

For purposes of this Section 9.1:

(i)    the term “Lock-up Period” means the period beginning on the closing date of the Merger and ending on the date on which the earlier of the following occurs (a) the 270-day anniversary of the closing date of the Merger and (b) the closing price of the Corporation’s common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after the closing date of the Merger;

(ii)    the term “Lock-up Shares” means the shares of common stock held by the Lock-up Holders immediately following the closing of the Merger (other than shares of common stock acquired in the public market or pursuant to a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to a subscription agreement where the issuance of common stock occurs on or after the closing of the Merger) and the Opco Equity Award Shares; provided, that, for clarity, shares of common stock issued in connection with the PIPE Investment (as defined in the Agreement and Plan of Merger, entered into by and among the Corporation, Opco and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., dated as of May 26, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”)) shall not constitute Lock-up Shares; and

 

Exhibit E-23


(iii)    the term “Transfer” shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security or the economic value thereof, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b).

Article X - Indemnification

10.1    Indemnification of Directors and Officers. The Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any director or officer of the Corporation who was or is made or is threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”) by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while serving as a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership (a “covered person”), joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, except as otherwise provided in Section 10.4, the Corporation shall be required to indemnify a person in connection with a Proceeding initiated by such person only if the Proceeding was authorized in the specific case by the Board.

10.2    Indemnification of Others. The Corporation shall also have the power to indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any employee or agent of the Corporation who was or is made or is threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding.

10.3    Prepayment of Expenses. The Corporation shall to the fullest extent not prohibited by applicable law pay the expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees) incurred by any director or officer of the Corporation, and may also pay the expenses incurred by any employee or agent of the Corporation, in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that such payment of expenses in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding shall be made only upon receipt of an undertaking by the person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article X or otherwise.

 

Exhibit E-24


10.4    Determination; Claim. If a claim for indemnification (following the final disposition of such Proceeding) under this Article X is not paid in full within sixty (60) days, or a claim for advancement of expenses under this Article X is not paid in full within thirty (30) days, after a written claim therefor has been received by the Corporation the claimant may thereafter (but not before) file suit to recover the unpaid amount of such claim and, if successful in whole or in part, shall be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such claim to the fullest extent permitted by law. In any such action the Corporation shall have the burden of proving that the claimant was not entitled to the requested indemnification or payment of expenses under applicable law.

10.5    Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on any person by this Article X shall not be exclusive of any other rights which such person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

10.6    Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust enterprise or non-profit entity against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability under the provisions of the DGCL.

10.7    Other Indemnification. The Corporation’s obligation, if any, to indemnify or advance expenses to any person who was or is serving at its request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity shall be reduced by any amount such person actually collects as indemnification or advancement of expenses from such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit enterprise.

10.8    Continuation of Indemnification. The rights to indemnification and to prepayment of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article X shall continue notwithstanding that the person has ceased to be a director or officer of the Corporation and shall inure to the benefit of the estate, heirs, executors, administrators, legatees and distributees of such person.

10.9    Amendment or Repeal; Interpretation. The provisions of this Article X shall constitute a contract between the Corporation, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, each individual who serves or has served as a director or officer of the Corporation (whether before or after the adoption of these bylaws), in consideration of such person’s performance of such services, and pursuant to this Article X the Corporation intends to be legally bound to each such current or former director or officer of the Corporation. With respect to current and former directors and officers of the Corporation, the rights conferred under this Article X are present contractual rights and such rights are fully vested, and shall be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon

 

Exhibit E-25


adoption of theses bylaws. With respect to any directors or officers of the Corporation who commence service following adoption of these bylaws, the rights conferred under this provision shall be present contractual rights and such rights shall fully vest, and be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon such director or officer commencing service as a director or officer of the Corporation. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article X shall not adversely affect any right or protection (i) hereunder of any person in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification or (ii) under any agreement providing for indemnification or advancement of expenses to an officer or director of the Corporation in effect prior to the time of such repeal or modification.

Any reference to an officer of the Corporation in this Article X shall be deemed to refer exclusively to the Chief Executive Officer, the President and the Secretary of the Corporation, or other officer of the Corporation appointed by (x) the Board pursuant to Article V or (y) an officer to whom the Board has delegated the power to appoint officers pursuant to Article V, and any reference to an officer of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise shall be deemed to refer exclusively to an officer appointed by the board of directors (or equivalent governing body) of such other entity pursuant to the certificate of incorporation and bylaws (or equivalent organizational documents) of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise. The fact that any person who is or was an employee of the Corporation or an employee of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise has been given or has used the title of “Vice President” or any other title that could be construed to suggest or imply that such person is or may be an officer of the Corporation or of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise shall not result in such person being constituted as, or being deemed to be, an officer of the Corporation or of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise for purposes of this Article X.

Article XI - Amendments

The Board is expressly empowered to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation. The stockholders also shall have power to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation; provided, however, that such action by stockholders shall require, in addition to any other vote required by the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of voting stock of the Corporation with the power to vote generally in an election of directors, voting together as a single class. Notwithstanding other provisions set forth in Section 9.1, the Board may, in its sole discretion, determine to waive, amend, or repeal the Lockup obligations set forth in Section 9.1.

Article XII- Definitions

As used in these bylaws, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

An “electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, including the use of, or participation in, one or more electronic

 

Exhibit E-26


networks or databases (including one or more distributed electronic networks or databases), that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process.

An “electronic mail” means an electronic transmission directed to a unique electronic mail address (which electronic mail shall be deemed to include any files attached thereto and any information hyperlinked to a website if such electronic mail includes the contact information of an officer or agent of the Corporation who is available to assist with accessing such files and information).

An “electronic mail address” means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, consisting of a unique user name or mailbox (commonly referred to as the “local part” of the address) and a reference to an internet domain (commonly referred to as the “domain part” of the address), whether or not displayed, to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered.

The term “person” means any individual, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation, trust, business trust, joint stock company, joint venture, unincorporated association, cooperative or association or any other legal entity or organization of whatever nature, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.

 

Exhibit E-27


eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

Certificate of Amendment and Restatement of Bylaws

 

 

The undersigned hereby certifies that he is the duly elected, qualified, and acting Secretary of eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), and that the foregoing bylaws were approved on                     , 2021, effective as of                     , 2021, by the Corporation’s board of directors.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has hereunto set his hand this                      day of                     , 2021.

 

 

[Name]

[Full Title of Secretary]

 

Exhibit E-28


EXHIBIT F

FORM OF PARENT RESTATED CHARTER

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (the “Corporation”), a corporation organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), does hereby certify as follows:

1.    The name of the Corporation is Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. The Corporation was incorporated under the name Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. by the filing of its original Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on October 2, 2020 (the “Original Certificate”).

2.    An Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which amended and restated the Original Certificate in its entirety, was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on January 8, 2021 (as amended from time to time, the “Existing Certificate”).

2.    This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate”), which amends and restates the Existing Certificate in its entirety, has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the DGCL and has been adopted by the stockholders of the Corporation at a meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation in accordance with the provisions of Section 211 of the DGCL.

4.    The text of the Existing Certificate is hereby amended and restated by this Amended and Restated Certificate to read in its entirety as set forth in EXHIBIT A attached hereto.

5.    This Amended and Restated Certificate shall become effective on the date of filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate to be signed by a duly authorized officer of the Corporation, on                     , 2021.

 

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:   Chief Executive Officer

 

Exhibit F-1


EXHIBIT A

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of the corporation is eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Corporation”).

ARTICLE II

REGISTERED OFFICE AND AGENT

The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is [Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801, and the name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.]

ARTICLE III

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) as it now exists or may hereafter be amended and supplemented.

ARTICLE IV

CAPITAL STOCK

The Corporation is authorized to issue two classes of stock to be designated, respectively, “Common Stock” and “Preferred Stock.” The total number of shares of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 1,100,000,000. The total number of shares of Common Stock that the Corporation is authorized to issue is 1,000,000,000, having a par value of $0.0001 per share, and the total number of shares of Preferred Stock that the Corporation is authorized to issue is 100,000,000, having a par value of $0.0001 per share.

Upon the filing and effectiveness of this Amended and Restated Certificate with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Effective Time”), each share of Class A Common Stock issued and outstanding or held in treasury immediately prior to the Effective Time (“Old Common Stock”) and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, shall be reclassified as and converted into one share of Common Stock, with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Any stock certificate or book entry representing shares of Old Common Stock shall thereafter represent a number of whole shares of Common Stock into which such shares of Old Common Stock shall have been reclassified.

The designations and the powers, privileges and rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof in respect of each class of capital stock of the Corporation are as follows:

 

  A.

COMMON STOCK.

1.    General. The voting, dividend, liquidation, and other rights and powers of the Common Stock are subject to and qualified by the rights, powers and preferences of any series of Preferred Stock as may be designated by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) and outstanding from time to time.

 

Exhibit F-2


2.    Voting. Except as otherwise provided herein or expressly required by law, each holder of Common Stock, as such, shall be entitled to vote on each matter submitted to a vote of stockholders and shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the record date for determining stockholders entitled to vote on such matter. Except as otherwise required by law, holders of Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation (as defined below)) that relates solely to the rights, powers, preferences (or the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof) or other terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation) or pursuant to the DGCL.

Subject to the rights of any holders of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL.

3.    Dividends. Subject to applicable law and the rights and preferences of any holders of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock, the holders of Common Stock, as such, shall be entitled to the payment of dividends on the Common Stock when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors in accordance with applicable law.

4.    Liquidation. Subject to the rights and preferences of any holders of any shares of any outstanding series of Preferred Stock, in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, whether voluntary or involuntary, the funds and assets of the Corporation that may be legally distributed to the Corporation’s stockholders shall be distributed among the holders of the then outstanding Common Stock pro rata in accordance with the number of shares of Common Stock held by each such holder.

 

  B.

PREFERRED STOCK

Shares of Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series, each of such series to have such terms as stated or expressed herein and in the resolution or resolutions providing for the creation and issuance of such series adopted by the Board of Directors as hereinafter provided.

Authority is hereby expressly granted to the Board of Directors from time to time to issue the Preferred Stock in one or more series, and in connection with the creation of any such series, by adopting a resolution or resolutions providing for the issuance of the shares thereof and by filing a certificate of designation relating thereto in accordance with the DGCL (a “Certificate of Designation”), to determine and fix the number of shares of such series and such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and such designations, preferences and relative participating, optional or other special rights, and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including without limitation thereof, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and

 

Exhibit F-3


liquidation preferences, and to increase or decrease (but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding) the number of shares of any series as shall be stated and expressed in such resolutions, all to the fullest extent now or hereafter permitted by the DGCL. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the resolution or resolutions providing for the creation and issuance of any series of Preferred Stock may provide that such series shall be superior or rank equally or be junior to any other series of Preferred Stock to the extent permitted by law and this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation). Except as otherwise required by law, holders of any series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled only to such voting rights, if any, as shall expressly be granted thereto by this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation).

The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL.

ARTICLE V

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

For the management of the business and for the conduct of the affairs of the Corporation it is further provided that:

A.    Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock to elect directors, the directors of the Corporation shall be classified with respect to the time for which they severally hold office into three classes, designated as Class I, Class II and Class III. The initial Class I directors shall serve for a term expiring at the first annual meeting of the stockholders following the date of this Amended and Restated Certificate; the initial Class II directors shall serve for a term expiring at the second annual meeting of the stockholders following the date of this Amended and Restated Certificate; and the initial Class III directors shall serve for a term expiring at the third annual meeting of the stockholders following the date of this Amended and Restated Certificate. At each annual meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation beginning with the first annual meeting of the stockholders following the date of this Amended and Restated Certificate, subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock to elect directors, the successors of the class of directors whose term expires at that meeting shall be elected to hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders held in the third year following the year of their election. Each director shall hold office until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. No decrease in the number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director. The Board of Directors is authorized to assign members of the Board of Directors already in office to Class I, Class II and Class III.

B.    Except as otherwise expressly provided by the DGCL or this Amended and Restated Certificate, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. The number of directors which shall constitute the whole Board of Directors shall be fixed exclusively by one or more resolutions adopted from time to time by the Board of Directors.

 

Exhibit F-4


C.    Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock to elect directors, the Board of Directors or any individual director may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds (66 and 2/3%) of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock of the Corporation entitled to vote at an election of directors.

D.    Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock to elect directors, except as otherwise provided by law, any vacancies on the Board of Directors resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, retirement, removal or other causes and any newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors shall be filled exclusively by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even though less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (other than any directors elected by the separate vote of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock), and shall not be filled by the stockholders. Any director appointed in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office until the expiration of the term of the class to which such director shall have been appointed or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, or removal.

E.    Whenever the holders of any one or more series of Preferred Stock issued by the Corporation shall have the right, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more such other series, to elect directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, the election, term of office, removal and other features of such directorships shall be governed by the terms of this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article V, the number of directors that may be elected by the holders of any such series of Preferred Stock shall be in addition to the number fixed pursuant to paragraph B of this Article V, and the total number of directors constituting the whole Board of Directors shall be automatically adjusted accordingly. Except as otherwise provided in the Certificate of Designation(s) in respect of one or more series of Preferred Stock, whenever the holders of any series of Preferred Stock having such right to elect additional directors are divested of such right pursuant to the provisions of such Certificate of Designation(s), the terms of office of all such additional directors elected by the holders of such series of Preferred Stock, or elected to fill any vacancies resulting from the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of such additional directors, shall forthwith terminate (in which case each such director thereupon shall cease to be qualified as, and shall cease to be, a director) and the total authorized number of directors of the Corporation shall automatically be reduced accordingly.

F.    In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to adopt, amend or repeal the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Corporation (as amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Bylaws”). In addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of stock of the Corporation required by applicable law or by this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any Certificate of Designation in respect of one or more series of Preferred Stock) or the Bylaws of the Corporation, the adoption, amendment or repeal of the Bylaws of the Corporation by the stockholders of the Corporation shall require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds (66 and 2/3%) of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in an election of directors.

 

Exhibit F-5


G.    The directors of the Corporation need not be elected by written ballot unless the Bylaws so provide.

ARTICLE VI

STOCKHOLDERS

A.    Any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation, and shall not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided by the applicable Certificate of Designation relating to such series of Preferred Stock, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding shares of the relevant series of Preferred Stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL.

B.    Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more series of Preferred Stock, special meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation may be called, for any purpose or purposes, at any time only by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer or the President, and shall not be called by any other person or persons.

C.    Advance notice of stockholder nominations for the election of directors and of other business proposed to be brought by stockholders before any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be given in the manner provided in the Bylaws of the Corporation.

ARTICLE VII

LIABILITY

No director of the Corporation shall have any personal liability to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL as the same exists or hereafter may be amended. Any amendment, repeal or modification of this Article VII, or the adoption of any provision of the Amended and Restated Certificate inconsistent with this Article VII, shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such amendment, repeal, modification or adoption. If the DGCL is amended after approval by the stockholders of this Article VII to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as so amended.

 

Exhibit F-6


ARTICLE VIII

INDEMNIFICATION

The Corporation shall have the power to provide rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses to its current and former officers, directors, employees and agents and to any person who is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise.

ARTICLE IX

AMENDMENTS

A.    Notwithstanding anything contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate to the contrary, in addition to any vote required by applicable law, the following provisions in this Amended and Restated Certificate may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded, in whole or in part, or any provision inconsistent therewith or herewith may be adopted, only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds (66 and 2/3%) of the total voting power of all the then outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class: Part B of Article IV, Article V, Article VI, Article VII, Article VIII, this Article IX and Article X.

B.    If any provision or provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Amended and Restated Certificate containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in any way be affected or impaired thereby and (ii) to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate (including, without limitation, each such portion of any paragraph of this Amended and Restated Certificate containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to permit the Corporation to protect its directors, officers, employees and agents from personal liability in respect of their good faith service to or for the benefit of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law.

ARTICLE X

FORUM SELECTION

Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (a) the Court of Chancery (the “Chancery Court”) of the State of Delaware (or, in the event that the Chancery Court does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware) shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action, suit or proceeding (“Proceeding”) brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any Proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or stockholder of the Corporation to the Corporation or to the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any Proceeding arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, this Amended and Restated Certificate or the Bylaws (in each case, as may be amended from time to time) or (iv) any Proceeding asserting a claim against the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine;

 

Exhibit F-7


and (b) subject to the preceding provisions of this Article X, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope of clause (a) of the immediately preceding sentence is filed in a court other than the courts in the State of Delaware (a “Foreign Action”), such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the provisions of clause (a) of the immediately preceding sentence and (y) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such stockholder. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope of clause (b) of this Article X is filed in a court other than the federal district courts of the United States of America (a “Foreign Securities Act Action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of the federal district courts of the United States of America in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce clause (b) (a “Securities Act Enforcement Action”), and (ii) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such Securities Act Enforcement Action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the Foreign Securities Act Action as agent for such stockholder.

For the avoidance of doubt, clause (b) of this Article X is intended to benefit and may be enforced by the Corporation, its officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to any Proceeding, and any other professional or entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any security of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this Article X. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this Article X shall not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction.

If any provision or provisions of this Article X shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever, (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Article X (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Article X containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and (ii) the application of such provision to other persons or entities and circumstances shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

 

Exhibit F-8


EXHIBIT G

FORM OF PARENT INCENTIVE PLAN

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, Inc.

2021 INCENTIVE AWARD PLAN

ARTICLE I.

PURPOSE

The Plan’s purpose is to enhance the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate persons who make (or are expected to make) important contributions to the Company by providing these individuals with equity ownership opportunities and/or equity-linked compensatory opportunities. Capitalized terms used in the Plan are defined in Article XI.

ARTICLE II.

ELIGIBILITY

Service Providers are eligible to be granted Awards under the Plan, subject to the limitations described herein.

ARTICLE III.

ADMINISTRATION AND DELEGATION

3.1    Administration. The Plan is administered by the Administrator. The Administrator has authority to determine which Service Providers receive Awards, grant Awards and set Award terms and conditions, subject to the conditions and limitations in the Plan. The Administrator also has the authority to take all actions and make all determinations under the Plan, to interpret the Plan and Award Agreements and to adopt, amend and repeal Plan administrative rules, guidelines and practices as it deems advisable. The Administrator may correct defects and ambiguities, supply omissions and reconcile inconsistencies in the Plan or any Award Agreement as it deems necessary or appropriate to administer the Plan and any Awards. The Administrator’s determinations under the Plan are in its sole discretion and will be final and binding on all persons having or claiming any interest in the Plan or any Award.

3.2    Appointment of Committees. To the extent Applicable Laws permit, the Board or the Administrator may delegate any or all of its powers under the Plan to one or more Committees or committees of officers of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. The Board or the Administrator, as applicable, may rescind any such delegation, abolish any such committee or Committee and/or re-vest in itself any previously delegated authority at any time.

 

Exhibit G-1


ARTICLE IV.

STOCK AVAILABLE FOR AWARDS

4.1    Number of Shares. Subject to adjustment under Article VIII and the terms of this Article IV, Awards may be made under the Plan covering up to the Overall Share Limit. As of the Effective Date, the Company will cease granting awards under the Prior Plan; however, the Prior Plan Awards will remain subject to the terms of the Prior Plan. Shares issued under the Plan may consist of authorized but unissued Shares, Shares purchased on the open market or treasury Shares.

4.2    Share Recycling. If all or any part of an Award or a Prior Plan Award expires, lapses or is terminated, exchanged for or settled in cash, surrendered, repurchased, canceled without having been fully exercised or forfeited, in any case, in a manner that results in the Company acquiring Shares covered by the Award or Prior Plan Award at a price not greater than the price (as adjusted to reflect any Equity Restructuring) paid by the Participant for such Shares or not issuing any Shares covered by the Award or Prior Plan Award, the unused Shares covered by the Award or Prior Plan Award will, as applicable, become or again be available for Award grants under the Plan. Further, Shares delivered (either by actual delivery or attestation) to the Company by a Participant to satisfy the applicable exercise or purchase price of an Award or Prior Plan Award and/or to satisfy any applicable tax withholding obligation with respect to an Award or Prior Plan Award (including Shares retained by the Company from the Award or Prior Plan Award being exercised or purchased and/or creating the tax obligation) will, as applicable, become or again be available for Award grants under the Plan. The payment of Dividend Equivalents in cash in conjunction with any outstanding Awards shall not count against the Overall Share Limit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the following Shares shall not be added to the Shares authorized for grant under Section 4.1 and shall not be available for future grants of Awards: (a) Shares subject to a Stock Appreciation Right that are not issued in connection with the stock settlement of the Stock Appreciation Right on exercise thereof; and (b) Shares purchased on the open market with the cash proceeds from the exercise of Options.

4.3    Incentive Stock Option Limitations. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no more than [ 🌑 ] Shares may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options.1

4.4    Substitute Awards. In connection with an entity’s merger or consolidation with the Company or the Company’s acquisition of an entity’s property or stock, the Administrator may grant Awards in substitution for any options or other stock or stock-based awards granted before such merger or consolidation by such entity or its affiliate. Substitute Awards may be granted on such terms as the Administrator deems appropriate, notwithstanding limitations on Awards in the Plan. Substitute Awards will not count against the Overall Share Limit (nor shall Shares subject to a Substitute Award be added to the Shares available for Awards under the Plan as provided above), except that Shares acquired by exercise of substitute Incentive Stock Options will count against the maximum number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options under the Plan. Additionally, in the event that a company acquired by the Company

 

1 

To represent a number of Shares intended to approximate 125% multiplied by estimated initial share reserve plus evergreen increases.

 

Exhibit G-2


or any Subsidiary or with which the Company or any Subsidiary combines has shares available under a pre-existing plan approved by stockholders and not adopted in contemplation of such acquisition or combination, the shares available for grant pursuant to the terms of such pre-existing plan (as adjusted, to the extent appropriate, using the exchange ratio or other adjustment or valuation ratio or formula used in such acquisition or combination to determine the consideration payable to the holders of common stock of the entities party to such acquisition or combination) may be used for Awards under the Plan and shall not reduce the Shares authorized for grant under the Plan (and Shares subject to such Awards shall not be added to the Shares available for Awards under the Plan as provided above); provided that Awards using such available shares shall not be made after the date awards or grants could have been made under the terms of the pre-existing plan, absent the acquisition or combination, and shall only be made to individuals who were not Employees, Consultants or Directors prior to such acquisition or combination.

4.5    Non-Employee Director Compensation. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Plan, the Administrator may establish compensation for non-employee Directors from time to time, subject to the limitations in the Plan. The Administrator will from time to time determine the terms, conditions and amounts of all such non-employee Director compensation in its discretion and pursuant to the exercise of its business judgment, taking into account such factors, circumstances and considerations as it shall deem relevant from time to time, provided that the sum of any cash compensation, or other compensation, and the value (determined as of the grant date in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or any successor thereto) of Awards granted to a non-employee Director as compensation for services as a non-employee Director during any fiscal year of the Company may not exceed $750,000 (increased to $1,00,000 in the calendar year of a non-employee Director’s initial service as a non-employee director or any calendar year during which a non-employee Director serves as chairman of the Board or lead independent Director, which limits shall not apply to the compensation for any non-employee Director of the Company who serves in any capacity in addition to that of a non-employee Director for which he or she receives additional compensation or any compensation paid to any non-employee Director prior to the calendar year following the calendar year in which the Effective Date occurs). The Administrator may make exceptions to this limit for individual non-employee Directors in extraordinary circumstances, as the Administrator may determine in its discretion, provided that the non-employee Director receiving such additional compensation may not participate in the decision to award such compensation or in other contemporaneous compensation decisions involving non-employee Directors.

ARTICLE V.

STOCK OPTIONS AND STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS

5.1    General. The Administrator may grant Options or Stock Appreciation Rights to Service Providers subject to the limitations in the Plan, including any limitations in the Plan that apply to Incentive Stock Options. A Stock Appreciation Right will entitle the Participant (or other person entitled to exercise the Stock Appreciation Right) to receive from the Company upon exercise of the exercisable portion of the Stock Appreciation Right an amount determined by multiplying the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of one Share on the date of exercise over the exercise price per Share of the Stock Appreciation Right by the number of Shares with respect to which the Stock Appreciation Right is exercised, subject to any limitations of the Plan or that the Administrator may impose and payable in cash, Shares valued at Fair Market Value or a combination of the two as the Administrator may determine or provide in the Award Agreement.

 

Exhibit G-3


5.2    Exercise Price. The Administrator will establish each Option’s and Stock Appreciation Right’s exercise price and specify the exercise price in the Award Agreement. The exercise price will not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value on the grant date of the Option (subject to Section 5.6) or Stock Appreciation Right. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of an Option or a Stock Appreciation Right that is a Substitute Award, the exercise price per share of the Shares subject to such Option or Stock Appreciation Right, as applicable, may be less than the Fair Market Value per share on the date of grant; provided that the exercise price of any Substitute Award shall be determined in accordance with the applicable requirements of Sections 424 and 409A of the Code.

5.3    Duration. Each Option or Stock Appreciation Right will be exercisable at such times and as specified in the Award Agreement, provided that, subject to Section 5.6, the term of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right will not exceed ten years. Notwithstanding the foregoing and unless determined otherwise by the Company, to the extent permitted under Applicable Laws, if the Participant, prior to the end of the term of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right, violates the non-competition, non-solicitation, confidentiality or other similar restrictive covenant provisions of any employment contract, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the right of the Participant and the Participant’s transferees to exercise any Option or Stock Appreciation Right issued to the Participant shall terminate immediately upon such violation, unless the Company otherwise determines.

5.4    Exercise. Options and Stock Appreciation Rights may be exercised by delivering to the Company a written notice of exercise, in a form the Administrator approves (which may be electronic), signed by the person authorized to exercise the Option or Stock Appreciation Right, together with, as applicable, payment in full (i) as specified in Section 5.5 for the number of Shares for which the Award is exercised and (ii) as specified in Section 9.5 for any applicable taxes. Unless the Administrator otherwise determines, an Option or Stock Appreciation Right may not be exercised for a fraction of a Share.

5.5    Payment Upon Exercise. Subject to Section 10.8, any Company insider trading policy (including blackout periods) and Applicable Laws, the exercise price of an Option must be paid by:

(a)    cash, wire transfer of immediately available funds or by check payable to the order of the Company, provided that the Company may limit the use of one of the foregoing payment forms if one or more of the payment forms below is permitted;

(b)    if there is a public market for Shares at the time of exercise, unless the Company otherwise determines, (A) delivery (including electronically or telephonically to the extent permitted by the Company) of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company sufficient funds to pay the exercise price, or (B) the Participant’s delivery to the Company of a copy of irrevocable and unconditional instructions to a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company cash or a check sufficient to pay the exercise price; provided that such amount is paid to the Company at such time as may be required by the Administrator;

 

Exhibit G-4


(c)    to the extent permitted by the Administrator, delivery (either by actual delivery or attestation) of Shares owned by the Participant valued at their fair market value;

(d)    to the extent permitted by the Administrator, surrendering Shares then issuable upon the Option’s exercise valued at their fair market value on the exercise date;

(e)    to the extent permitted by the Administrator, delivery of a promissory note or any other property that the Administrator determines is good and valuable consideration; or

(f)    to the extent permitted by the Company, any combination of the above payment forms approved by the Administrator.

5.6    Additional Terms of Incentive Stock Options. The Administrator may grant Incentive Stock Options only to employees of the Company, any of its present or future parent or subsidiary corporations, as defined in Sections 424(e) or (f) of the Code, respectively, and any other entities the employees of which are eligible to receive Incentive Stock Options under the Code. If an Incentive Stock Option is granted to a Greater Than 10% Stockholder, the exercise price will not be less than 110% of the Fair Market Value on the Option’s grant date, and the term of the Option will not exceed five years. All Incentive Stock Options will be subject to and construed consistently with Section 422 of the Code. By accepting an Incentive Stock Option, the Participant agrees to give prompt notice to the Company of dispositions or other transfers (other than in connection with a Change in Control) of Shares acquired under the Option made within (i) two years from the grant date of the Option or (ii) one year after the transfer of such Shares to the Participant, specifying the date of the disposition or other transfer and the amount the Participant realized, in cash, other property, assumption of indebtedness or other consideration, in such disposition or other transfer. Neither the Company nor the Administrator will be liable to a Participant, or any other party, if an Incentive Stock Option fails or ceases to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under Section 422 of the Code. Any Incentive Stock Option or portion thereof that fails to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under Section 422 of the Code for any reason, including becoming exercisable with respect to Shares having a fair market value exceeding the $100,000 limitation under Treasury Regulation Section 1.422-4, will be a Non-Qualified Stock Option. The foregoing terms shall be incorporated into any Award Agreement evidencing an Option intended to be an Incentive Stock Option to the extent necessary to cause such Award to so qualify.

ARTICLE VI.

RESTRICTED STOCK; RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS

6.1    General. The Administrator may grant Restricted Stock, or the right to purchase Restricted Stock, to any Service Provider, subject to the Company’s right to repurchase all or part of such Shares at their issue price or other stated or formula price from the Participant (or to require forfeiture of such Shares) if conditions the Administrator specifies in the Award Agreement are not satisfied before the end of the applicable restriction period or periods that the Administrator establishes for such Award. In addition, the Administrator may grant to Service Providers Restricted Stock Units, which may be subject to vesting and forfeiture conditions during the applicable restriction period or periods, as set forth in an Award Agreement.

 

Exhibit G-5


6.2    Restricted Stock.

(a)    Dividends. Participants holding Shares of Restricted Stock will be entitled to all ordinary cash dividends paid with respect to such Shares, unless the Administrator provides otherwise in the Award Agreement. In addition, unless the Administrator provides otherwise, if any dividends or distributions are paid in Shares, or consist of a dividend or distribution to holders of Common Stock of property other than an ordinary cash dividend, the Shares or other property will be subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the Shares of Restricted Stock with respect to which they were paid. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, with respect to any award of Restricted Stock, dividends which are paid to holders of Common Stock prior to vesting shall only be paid out to a Participant holding such Restricted Stock to the extent that the vesting conditions are subsequently satisfied. All such dividend payments will be made no later than March 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the right to the dividend payment becomes nonforfeitable.

(b)    Stock Certificates. The Company may require that the Participant deposit in escrow with the Company (or its designee) any stock certificates issued in respect of Shares of Restricted Stock, together with a stock power endorsed in blank.

6.3    Restricted Stock Units.

(a)    Settlement. The Administrator may provide that settlement of Restricted Stock Units will occur upon or as soon as reasonably practicable after the Restricted Stock Units vest or will instead be deferred, on a mandatory basis or at the Participant’s election, in a manner intended to comply with Section 409A.

(b)    Stockholder Rights. A Participant will have no rights of a stockholder with respect to Shares subject to any Restricted Stock Unit unless and until the Shares are delivered in settlement of the Restricted Stock Unit.

ARTICLE VII.

OTHER STOCK OR CASH BASED AWARDS; DIVIDEND EQUIVALENTS

7.1    Other Stock or Cash Based Awards. Other Stock or Cash Based Awards may be granted to Participants, including Awards entitling Participants to receive Shares to be delivered in the future and including annual or other periodic or long-term cash bonus awards (whether based on specified Performance Criteria or otherwise), in each case subject to any conditions and limitations in the Plan. Such Other Stock or Cash Based Awards will also be available as a payment form in the settlement of other Awards, as standalone payments and as payment in lieu of compensation to which a Participant is otherwise entitled. Other Stock or Cash Based Awards may be paid in Shares, cash or other property, as the Administrator determines.

7.2    Dividend Equivalents. A grant of Restricted Stock Units or Other Stock or Cash Based Award may provide a Participant with the right to receive Dividend Equivalents, and no

 

Exhibit G-6


Dividend Equivalents shall be payable with respect to Options or Stock Appreciation Rights. Dividend Equivalents may be paid currently or credited to an account for the Participant, settled in cash or Shares and subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the Award with to which the Dividend Equivalents are paid and subject to other terms and conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, Dividend Equivalents with respect to an Award shall only be paid out to a Participant to the extent that the vesting conditions are subsequently satisfied. All such Dividend Equivalent payments will be made no later than March 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the right to the Dividend Equivalent payment becomes nonforfeitable, unless determined otherwise by the Administrator or unless deferred in a manner intended to comply with Section 409A.

ARTICLE VIII.

ADJUSTMENTS FOR CHANGES IN COMMON STOCK

AND CERTAIN OTHER EVENTS

8.1    Equity Restructuring. In connection with any Equity Restructuring, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article VIII, the Administrator will equitably adjust each outstanding Award as it deems appropriate to reflect the Equity Restructuring, which may include adjusting the number and type of securities subject to each outstanding Award and/or the Award’s exercise price or grant price (if applicable), granting new Awards to Participants, and making a cash payment to Participants. The adjustments provided under this Section 8.1 will be nondiscretionary and final and binding on the affected Participant and the Company; provided that the Administrator will determine whether an adjustment is equitable.

8.2    Corporate Transactions. In the event of any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Common Stock, other securities, or other property), reorganization, merger, consolidation, combination, amalgamation, repurchase, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution, or sale, transfer, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or sale or exchange of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, Change in Control, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase Common Stock or other securities of the Company, other similar corporate transaction or event, other unusual or nonrecurring transaction or event affecting the Company or its financial statements or any change in any Applicable Laws or accounting principles, the Administrator, on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate, either by the terms of the Award or by action taken prior to the occurrence of such transaction or event (except that action to give effect to a change in Applicable Law or accounting principles may be made within a reasonable period of time after such change), is hereby authorized to take any one or more of the following actions whenever the Administrator determines that such action is appropriate in order to (x) prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended by the Company to be made available under the Plan or with respect to any Award granted or issued under the Plan, (y) to facilitate such transaction or event or (z) give effect to such changes in Applicable Laws or accounting principles:

(a)    To provide for the cancellation of any such Award in exchange for either an amount of cash or other property with a value equal to the amount that could have been obtained upon the exercise or settlement of the vested portion of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights under the vested portion of such Award, as applicable; provided that, if the

 

Exhibit G-7


amount that could have been obtained upon the exercise or settlement of the vested portion of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights, in any case, is equal to or less than zero, then the Award may be terminated without payment; provided, further, that Awards held by members of the Board will be settled in Shares on or immediately prior to the applicable event if the Administrator takes action under this clause (a);

(b)    To provide that such Award shall vest and, to the extent applicable, be exercisable as to all Shares covered thereby, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or the provisions of such Award;

(c)    To provide that such Award be assumed by the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, or shall be substituted for by awards covering the stock of the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and/or applicable exercise or purchase price, in all cases, as determined by the Administrator;

(d)    To make adjustments in the number and type of Shares (or other securities or property) subject to outstanding Awards and/or with respect to which Awards may be granted under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Article IV on the maximum number and kind of shares which may be issued) and/or in the terms and conditions of (including the grant or exercise price or applicable performance goals), and the criteria included in, outstanding Awards;

(e)    To replace such Award with other rights or property selected by the Administrator; and/or

(f)    To provide that the Award will terminate and cannot vest, be exercised or become payable after the applicable event.

8.3    Effect of Non-Assumption in a Change in Control. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8.2, if a Change in Control occurs and a Participant’s Awards are not continued, converted, assumed, or replaced with a substantially similar award by (a) the Company, or (b) a successor entity or its parent or subsidiary (an “Assumption”), and provided that the Participant has not had a Termination of Service, then, immediately prior to the Change in Control, such Awards shall become fully vested, exercisable and/or payable, as applicable, and all forfeiture, repurchase and other restrictions on such Awards shall lapse, in which case, such Awards shall be canceled upon the consummation of the Change in Control in exchange for the right to receive the Change in Control consideration payable to other holders of Common Stock (i) which may be on such terms and conditions as apply generally to holders of Common Stock under the Change in Control documents (including, without limitation, any escrow, earn-out or other deferred consideration provisions) or such other terms and conditions as the Administrator may provide, and (ii) determined by reference to the number of Shares subject to such Awards and net of any applicable exercise price; provided that to the extent that any Awards constitute “nonqualified deferred compensation” that may not be paid upon the Change in Control under Section 409A without the imposition of taxes thereon under Section 409A, the timing of such payments shall be governed by the applicable Award Agreement (subject to any deferred consideration provisions applicable under the Change in Control documents); and provided, further, that if the amount to

 

Exhibit G-8


which a Participant would be entitled upon the settlement or exercise of such Award at the time of the Change in Control is equal to or less than zero, then such Award may be terminated without payment. An Award will be considered replaced with a comparable award if the Award is exchanged for an amount of cash or other property with a value equal to the amount that could have been obtained upon the settlement of such Award in such Change in Control (as determined by the Administrator), even if such cash or other property payable with respect to the unvested portion of such Award remains subject to similar vesting provisions following such Change in Control. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrator will have full and final authority to determine whether an Assumption of an Award has occurred in connection with a Change in Control.

8.4    Administrative Stand Still. In the event of any pending stock dividend, stock split, combination or exchange of shares, merger, consolidation or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to stockholders, or any other extraordinary transaction or change affecting the Shares or the Share price, including any Equity Restructuring or any securities offering or other similar transaction, for administrative convenience, the Administrator may refuse to permit the exercise of any Award for up to 60 days before or after such transaction.

8.5    General. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or the Administrator’s action under the Plan, no Participant will have any rights due to any subdivision or consolidation of Shares of any class, dividend payment, increase or decrease in the number of Shares of any class or dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or other corporation. Except as expressly provided with respect to an Equity Restructuring under Section 8.1 or the Administrator’s action under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of Shares of any class, or securities convertible into Shares of any class, will affect, and no adjustment will be made regarding, the number of Shares subject to an Award or the Award’s grant or exercise price. The existence of the Plan, any Award Agreements and the Awards granted hereunder will not affect or restrict in any way the Company’s right or power to make or authorize (i) any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the Company’s capital structure or its business, (ii) any merger, consolidation dissolution or liquidation of the Company or sale of Company assets or (iii) any sale or issuance of securities, including securities with rights superior to those of the Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares. The Administrator may treat Participants and Awards (or portions thereof) differently under this Article VIII.

ARTICLE IX.

GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS

9.1    Transferability. Except as the Administrator may determine or provide in an Award Agreement or otherwise for Awards other than Incentive Stock Options, Awards may not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered, either voluntarily or by operation of law, except for certain Designated Beneficiary designations, by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or, subject to the Administrator’s consent, pursuant to a domestic relations order, and, during the life of the Participant, will be exercisable only by the Participant. Any permitted transfer of an Award hereunder shall be without consideration, except as required by Applicable Law. References to a Participant, to the extent relevant in the context, will include references to a Participant’s authorized transferee that the Administrator specifically approves.

 

Exhibit G-9


9.2    Documentation. Each Award will be evidenced in an Award Agreement, which may be written or electronic, as the Administrator determines. Each Award may contain terms and conditions in addition to those set forth in the Plan.

9.3    Discretion. Except as the Plan otherwise provides, each Award may be made alone or in addition or in relation to any other Award. The terms of each Award to a Participant need not be identical, and the Administrator need not treat Participants or Awards (or portions thereof) uniformly.

9.4    Termination of Status. The Administrator will determine how the disability, death, retirement, an authorized leave of absence or any other change or purported change in a Participant’s Service Provider status affects an Award and the extent to which, and the period during which, the Participant, the Participant’s legal representative, conservator, guardian or Designated Beneficiary may exercise rights under the Award, if applicable.

9.5    Withholding. Each Participant must pay the Company, or make provision satisfactory to the Administrator for payment of, any taxes required by Applicable Law to be withheld in connection with such Participant’s Awards by the date of the event creating the tax liability. The Company may deduct an amount sufficient to satisfy such tax obligations based on the applicable statutory withholding rates (or such other rate as may be determined by the Company after considering any accounting consequences or costs) from any payment of any kind otherwise due to a Participant. In the absence of a contrary determination by the Company (or, with respect to withholding pursuant to clause (ii) below with respect to Awards held by individuals subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, a contrary determination by the Administrator), all tax withholding obligations will be calculated based on the minimum applicable statutory withholding rates. Subject to Section 10.8 and any Company insider trading policy (including blackout periods), Participants may satisfy such tax obligations (i) in cash, by wire transfer of immediately available funds, by check made payable to the order of the Company, provided that the Company may limit the use of the foregoing payment forms if one or more of the payment forms below is permitted, (ii) to the extent permitted by the Administrator, in whole or in part by delivery of Shares, including Shares delivered by attestation and Shares retained from the Award creating the tax obligation, valued at their fair market value on the date of delivery, (iii) if there is a public market for Shares at the time the tax obligations are satisfied, unless the Company otherwise determines, (A) delivery (including electronically or telephonically to the extent permitted by the Company) of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company sufficient funds to satisfy the tax obligations, or (B) delivery by the Participant to the Company of a copy of irrevocable and unconditional instructions to a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company cash or a check sufficient to satisfy the tax withholding; provided that such amount is paid to the Company at such time as may be required by the Administrator, or (iv) to the extent permitted by the Company, any combination of the foregoing payment forms approved by the Administrator. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be so delivered or retained pursuant to clause (ii) of the immediately preceding sentence shall be limited to the number of Shares which have a fair market value on the date of delivery or retention no greater than the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the maximum individual statutory tax rate in the applicable jurisdiction at the time of such withholding (or such other rate as may be required to avoid the liability classification of the applicable award under generally accepted

 

Exhibit G-10


accounting principles in the United States of America); provided, however, to the extent such Shares were acquired by Participant from the Company as compensation, the Shares must have been held for the minimum period required by applicable accounting rules to avoid a charge to the Company’s earnings for financial reporting purposes; provided, further, that, any such Shares delivered or retained shall be rounded up to the nearest whole Share to the extent rounding up to the nearest whole Share does not result in the liability classification of the applicable Award under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. If any tax withholding obligation will be satisfied under clause (ii) above by the Company’s retention of Shares from the Award creating the tax obligation and there is a public market for Shares at the time the tax obligation is satisfied, the Company may elect to instruct any brokerage firm determined acceptable to the Company for such purpose to sell on the applicable Participant’s behalf some or all of the Shares retained and to remit the proceeds of the sale to the Company or its designee, and each Participant’s acceptance of an Award under the Plan will constitute the Participant’s authorization to the Company and instruction and authorization to such brokerage firm to complete the transactions described in this sentence.

9.6    Amendment of Award; Repricing. The Administrator may amend, modify or terminate any outstanding Award, including by substituting another Award of the same or a different type, changing the exercise or settlement date, and converting an Incentive Stock Option to a Non-Qualified Stock Option. The Participant’s consent to such action will be required unless (i) the action, taking into account any related action, does not materially and adversely affect the Participant’s rights under the Award, or (ii) the change is permitted under Article VIII or pursuant to Section 10.6. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Administrator may, without the approval of the stockholders of the Company, reduce the exercise price per share of outstanding Options or Stock Appreciation Rights or cancel outstanding Options or Stock Appreciation Rights that have an exercise price in excess of Fair Market Value in exchange for cash, other Awards or Options or Stock Appreciation Rights with an exercise price per share that is less than the exercise price per share of the original Options or Stock Appreciation Rights.

9.7    Conditions on Delivery of Stock. The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Shares under the Plan or remove restrictions from Shares previously delivered under the Plan until (i) all Award conditions have been met or removed to the Company’s satisfaction, (ii) as determined by the Company, all other legal matters regarding the issuance and delivery of such Shares have been satisfied, including any applicable securities laws and stock exchange or stock market rules and regulations, and (iii) the Participant has executed and delivered to the Company such representations or agreements as the Administrator deems necessary or appropriate to satisfy any Applicable Laws. The Company’s inability to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which the Administrator determines is necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any securities, will relieve the Company of any liability for failing to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority has not been obtained.

9.8    Acceleration. The Administrator may at any time provide that any Award will become immediately vested and fully or partially exercisable, free of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise fully or partially realizable.

 

Exhibit G-11


9.9    Cash Settlement. Without limiting the generality of any other provision of the Plan, the Administrator may provide, in an Award Agreement or subsequent to the grant of an Award, in its discretion, that any Award may be settled in cash, Shares or a combination thereof.

9.10    Broker-Assisted Sales. In the event of a broker-assisted sale of Shares in connection with the payment of amounts owed by a Participant under or with respect to the Plan or Awards, including amounts to be paid under the final sentence of Section 9.5 above: (a) any Shares to be sold through the broker-assisted sale will be sold on the day the payment first becomes due, or as soon thereafter as practicable; (b) such Shares may be sold as part of a block trade with other Participants in the Plan in which all Participants receive an average price; (c) the applicable Participant will be responsible for all broker’s fees and other costs of sale, and by accepting an Award, each Participant agrees to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any losses, costs, damages, or expenses relating to any such sale; (d) to the extent the Company or its designee receives proceeds of such sale that exceed the amount owed, the Company will pay such excess in cash to the applicable Participant as soon as reasonably practicable; (e) the Company and its designees are under no obligation to arrange for such sale at any particular price; and (f) in the event the proceeds of such sale are insufficient to satisfy the Participant’s applicable obligation, the Participant may be required to pay immediately upon demand to the Company or its designee an amount in cash sufficient to satisfy any remaining portion of the Participant’s obligation.

ARTICLE X.

MISCELLANEOUS

10.1    No Right to Employment or Other Status. No person will have any claim or right to be granted an Award, and the grant of an Award will not be construed as giving a Participant the right to continued employment or any other relationship with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. The Company and its Subsidiaries expressly reserves the right at any time to dismiss or otherwise terminate its relationship with a Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan or any Award, except as expressly provided in an Award Agreement or in the Plan.

10.2    No Rights as Stockholder; Certificates. Subject to the Award Agreement, no Participant or Designated Beneficiary will have any rights as a stockholder with respect to any Shares to be distributed under an Award until becoming the record holder of such Shares. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, unless the Administrator otherwise determines or Applicable Laws require, the Company will not be required to deliver to any Participant certificates evidencing Shares issued in connection with any Award and instead such Shares may be recorded in the books of the Company (or, as applicable, its transfer agent or stock plan administrator). The Company may place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan that the Administrator deems necessary or appropriate to comply with Applicable Laws.

10.3    Effective Date and Term of Plan. The Plan will become effective upon the consummation of the Merger (the “Effective Date”) and will remain in effect until terminated by the Administrator pursuant to Section 10.4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, an Incentive Stock Option may not be granted under the Plan after 10 years from the earlier of (i) the date the Board adopted the Plan or (ii) the date the Company’s stockholders approved the Plan, but Awards previously granted may extend beyond that date in accordance with the Plan. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if the Plan is not approved by the Company’s stockholders within 12 months of the Board’s initial adoption of the Plan, the Plan will not become effective and no Awards will be granted under the Plan.

 

Exhibit G-12


10.4    Amendment and Termination of Plan. The Administrator may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan at any time; provided that no amendment, other than an increase to the Overall Share Limit, may materially and adversely affect any Award outstanding at the time of such amendment without the affected Participant’s consent. No Awards may be granted under the Plan during any suspension period or after the Plan’s termination. Awards outstanding at the time of any Plan suspension or termination will continue to be governed by the Plan and the Award Agreement, as in effect before such suspension or termination. The Board will obtain stockholder approval of any Plan amendment to the extent necessary to comply with Applicable Laws.

10.5    Provisions for Foreign Participants. The Administrator may modify Awards granted to Participants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States or establish subplans or procedures under the Plan to address differences in laws, rules, regulations or customs of such foreign jurisdictions with respect to tax, securities, currency, employee benefit or other matters.

10.6    Section 409A.

(a)    General. The Company intends that all Awards be structured to comply with, or be exempt from, Section 409A, such that no adverse tax consequences, interest, or penalties under Section 409A apply. Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or any Award Agreement to the contrary, the Administrator may, without a Participant’s consent, amend this Plan or Awards, adopt policies and procedures, or take any other actions (including amendments, policies, procedures and retroactive actions) as are necessary or appropriate to preserve the intended tax treatment of Awards, including any such actions intended to (A) exempt this Plan or any Award from Section 409A, or (B) comply with Section 409A, including regulations, guidance, compliance programs and other interpretative authority that may be issued after an Award’s grant date. The Company makes no representations or warranties as to an Award’s tax treatment under Section 409A or otherwise. The Company will have no obligation under this Section 10.6 or otherwise to avoid the taxes, penalties or interest under Section 409A with respect to any Award and will have no liability to any Participant or any other person if any Award, compensation or other benefits under the Plan are determined to constitute noncompliant “nonqualified deferred compensation” subject to taxes, penalties or interest under Section 409A.

(b)    Separation from Service. If an Award constitutes “nonqualified deferred compensation” under Section 409A, any payment or settlement of such Award upon a termination of a Participant’s Service Provider relationship will, to the extent necessary to avoid taxes under Section 409A, be made only upon the Participant’s “separation from service” (within the meaning of Section 409A), whether such “separation from service” occurs upon or after the termination of the Participant’s Service Provider relationship. For purposes of this Plan or any Award Agreement relating to any such payments or benefits, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms means a “separation from service.”

(c)    Payments to Specified Employees. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in the Plan or any Award Agreement, any payment(s) of “nonqualified deferred compensation”

 

Exhibit G-13


required to be made under an Award to a “specified employee” (as defined under Section 409A and as the Administrator determines) due to his or her “separation from service” will, to the extent necessary to avoid taxes under Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, be delayed for the six-month period immediately following such “separation from service” (or, if earlier, until the specified employee’s death) and will instead be paid (as set forth in the Award Agreement) on the day immediately following such six-month period or as soon as administratively practicable thereafter (without interest). Any payments of “nonqualified deferred compensation” under such Award payable more than six months following the Participant’s “separation from service” will be paid at the time or times the payments are otherwise scheduled to be made. Furthermore, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Plan or any Award Agreement, any payment of “nonqualified deferred compensation” under the Plan that may be made in installments shall be treated as a right to receive a series of separate and distinct payments.

10.7    Limitations on Liability. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Plan, no individual acting as a director, officer, other employee or agent of the Company or any Subsidiary will be liable to any Participant, former Participant, spouse, beneficiary, or any other person for any claim, loss, liability, or expense incurred in connection with the Plan or any Award, and such individual will not be personally liable with respect to the Plan because of any contract or other instrument executed in his or her capacity as an Administrator, director, officer, other employee or agent of the Company or any Subsidiary. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each director, officer, other employee and agent of the Company or any Subsidiary that has been or will be granted or delegated any duty or power relating to the Plan’s administration or interpretation, against any cost or expense (including attorneys’ fees) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim with the Administrator’s approval) arising from any act or omission concerning this Plan unless arising from such person’s own fraud or bad faith.

10.8    Lock-Up Period. The Company may, at the request of any underwriter representative or otherwise, in connection with registering the offering of any Company securities under the Securities Act, prohibit Participants from, directly or indirectly, selling or otherwise transferring any Shares or other Company securities during a period of up to 180 days following the effective date of a Company registration statement filed under the Securities Act, or such longer period as determined by the underwriter.

10.9    Data Privacy. As a condition for receiving any Award, each Participant explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of personal data as described in this section by and among the Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates exclusively for implementing, administering and managing the Participant’s participation in the Plan. The Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates may hold certain personal information about a Participant, including the Participant’s name, address and telephone number; birthdate; social security, insurance number or other identification number; salary; nationality; job title(s); any Shares held in the Company or its Subsidiaries and affiliates; and Award details, to implement, manage and administer the Plan and Awards (the “Data”). The Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates may transfer the Data amongst themselves as necessary to implement, administer and manage a Participant’s participation in the Plan, and the Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates may transfer the Data to third parties assisting the Company with Plan implementation, administration and management. These recipients may be located in the Participant’s country, or elsewhere, and the Participant’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections than

 

Exhibit G-14


the recipients’ country. By accepting an Award, each Participant authorizes such recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, to implement, administer and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan, including any required Data transfer to a broker or other third party with whom the Company or the Participant may elect to deposit any Shares. The Data related to a Participant will be held only as long as necessary to implement, administer, and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan. A Participant may, at any time, view the Data that the Company holds regarding such Participant, request additional information about the storage and processing of the Data regarding such Participant, recommend any necessary corrections to the Data regarding the Participant or refuse or withdraw the consents in this Section 10.9 in writing, without cost, by contacting the local human resources representative. If the Participant refuses or withdraws the consents in this Section 10.9, the Company may cancel Participant’s ability to participate in the Plan and, in the Administrator’s discretion, the Participant may forfeit any outstanding Awards. For more information on the consequences of refusing or withdrawing consent, Participants may contact their local human resources representative.

10.10    Severability. If any portion of the Plan or any action taken under it is held illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity will not affect the remaining parts of the Plan, and the Plan will be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provisions had been excluded, and the illegal or invalid action will be null and void.

10.11    Governing Documents. If any contradiction occurs between the Plan and any Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company (or any Subsidiary) that the Administrator has approved, the Plan will govern, unless it is expressly specified in such Award Agreement or other written document that a specific provision of the Plan will not apply.

10.12    Governing Law. The Plan and all Awards will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, disregarding any state’s choice-of-law principles requiring the application of a jurisdiction’s laws other than the State of Delaware.

10.13    Claw-back Provisions. All Awards (including, without limitation, any proceeds, gains or other economic benefit actually or constructively received by Participant upon any receipt or exercise of any Award or upon the receipt or resale of any Shares underlying the Award) shall be subject to the provisions of any claw-back policy implemented by the Company, including, without limitation, any claw-back policy adopted to comply with Applicable Laws (including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder) as and to the extent set forth in such claw-back policy or the Award Agreement.

10.14    Titles and Headings. The titles and headings in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, if any conflict, the Plan’s text, rather than such titles or headings, will control.

10.15    Conformity to Securities Laws. Participant acknowledges that the Plan is intended to conform to the extent necessary with Applicable Laws. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Plan and all Awards will be administered only in conformance with Applicable Laws.

 

Exhibit G-15


To the extent Applicable Laws permit, the Plan and all Award Agreements will be deemed amended as necessary to conform to Applicable Laws.

10.16    Relationship to Other Benefits. No payment under the Plan will be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare or other benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary except as expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.

ARTICLE XI.

DEFINITIONS

As used in the Plan, the following words and phrases will have the following meanings:

11.1    “Administrator” means the Board or a Committee to the extent that the Board’s powers or authority under the Plan have been delegated to such Committee.

11.2    “Applicable Laws” means the requirements relating to the administration of equity incentive plans under U.S. federal and state securities, tax and other applicable laws, rules and regulations, the applicable rules of any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable laws and rules of any foreign country or other jurisdiction where Awards are granted.

11.3    “Award” means, individually or collectively, a grant under the Plan of Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Dividend Equivalents, or Other Stock or Cash Based Awards.

11.4    “Award Agreement” means a written agreement evidencing an Award, which may be electronic, that contains such terms and conditions as the Administrator determines, consistent with and subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

11.5    “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

11.6    “Cause” means (i) if a Participant is a party to a written employment, severance or consulting agreement with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or an Award Agreement in which the term “cause” is defined (a “Relevant Agreement”), “Cause” as defined in the Relevant Agreement, and (ii) if no Relevant Agreement exists, (A) the Administrator’s determination that the Participant failed to substantially perform the Participant’s duties (other than a failure resulting from the Participant’s Disability); (B) the Administrator’s determination that the Participant failed to carry out, or comply with any lawful and reasonable directive of the Board or the Participant’s immediate supervisor; (C) the Participant’s unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any material breach of a written agreement between the Participant and the Company; (D) the occurrence of any act or omission by the Participant that could reasonably be expected to result in (or has resulted in) the Participant’s conviction, plea of no contest, plea of nolo contendere, or imposition of un-adjudicated probation for any felony or indictable offense or crime involving moral turpitude; (E) the Participant’s unlawful use (including being under the influence) or possession of illegal drugs on the premises of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or while performing the Participant’s duties and responsibilities for the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; or (F) the Participant’s commission of an act of fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, misconduct, or breach of fiduciary duty against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

 

Exhibit G-16


11.7    “Change in Control” means and includes each of the following:

(a)    A transaction or series of transactions (other than an offering of Common Stock to the general public through a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or a transaction or series of transactions that meets the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (c) below) whereby any “person” or related “group” of “persons” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) (other than the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, an employee benefit plan maintained by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or a “person” that, prior to such transaction, directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company) directly or indirectly acquires beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of securities of the Company possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after such acquisition; or

(b)    During any period of two consecutive years, individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board together with any new Director(s) (other than a Director designated by a person who shall have entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in subsections (a) or (c)) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the Directors then still in office who either were Directors at the beginning of the two-year period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof; or

(c)    The consummation by the Company (whether directly involving the Company or indirectly involving the Company through one or more intermediaries) of (x) a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or business combination or (y) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets in any single transaction or series of related transactions or (z) the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity, in each case other than a transaction:

(i)    which results in the Company’s voting securities outstanding immediately before the transaction continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the Company or the person that, as a result of the transaction, controls, directly or indirectly, the Company or owns, directly or indirectly, all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or otherwise succeeds to the business of the Company (the Company or such person, the “Successor Entity”)) directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity’s outstanding voting securities immediately after the transaction, and

(ii)    after which no person or group beneficially owns voting securities representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity; provided, however, that no person or group shall be treated for purposes of this clause (ii) as beneficially owning 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity solely as a result of the voting power held in the Company prior to the consummation of the transaction.

 

Exhibit G-17


Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the transactions occurring in connection with the Merger Agreement constitute a Change in Control and, if a Change in Control constitutes a payment event with respect to any Award (or portion of any Award) that provides for the deferral of compensation that is subject to Section 409A, to the extent required to avoid the imposition of additional taxes under Section 409A, the transaction or event described in subsection (a), (b) or (c) with respect to such Award (or portion thereof) shall only constitute a Change in Control for purposes of the payment timing of such Award if such transaction also constitutes a “change in control event,” as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5).

The Administrator shall have full and final authority, which shall be exercised in its discretion, to determine conclusively whether a Change in Control has occurred pursuant to the above definition, the date of the occurrence of such Change in Control and any incidental matters relating thereto; provided that any exercise of authority in conjunction with a determination of whether a Change in Control is a “change in control event” as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5) shall be consistent with such regulation.

11.8    “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations issued thereunder.

11.9    “Committee” means one or more committees or subcommittees of the Board, which may include one or more Company directors or executive officers, to the extent Applicable Laws permit. To the extent required to comply with the provisions of Rule 16b-3, it is intended that each member of the Committee will be, at the time the Committee takes any action with respect to an Award that is subject to Rule 16b-3, a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3; however, a Committee member’s failure to qualify as a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 will not invalidate any Award granted by the Committee that is otherwise validly granted under the Plan.

11.10    “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

11.11    “Company” means eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor.

11.12    “Consultant” means any person, including any consultant or advisor, that is not an Employee and that engaged by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to render services to such entity, in each case that can be granted an Award that is eligible to be registered on a Form S-8 Registration Statement.

11.13    “Designated Beneficiary” means the beneficiary or beneficiaries the Participant designates, in a manner the Administrator determines, to receive amounts due or exercise the Participant’s rights if the Participant dies or becomes incapacitated. Without a Participant’s effective designation, “Designated Beneficiary” will mean the Participant’s estate.

11.14    “Director” means a Board member.

11.15    “Disability” means a permanent and total disability under Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, as amended.

 

Exhibit G-18


11.16    “Dividend Equivalents” means a right granted to a Participant under the Plan to receive the equivalent value (in cash or Shares) of dividends paid on Shares.

11.17    “Employee” means any employee of the Company or its Subsidiaries.

11.18    “Equity Restructuring” means a non-reciprocal transaction between the Company and its stockholders, such as a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off or recapitalization through a large, nonrecurring cash dividend that affects the number or kind of Shares (or other securities of the Company) or the share price of Common Stock (or other securities of the Company) and causes a change in the per share value of the Common Stock underlying outstanding Awards.

11.19    “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

11.20    “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of a Share of Common Stock determined as follows: (a) if the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange, its Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such Common Stock as quoted on such exchange for such date, or if no sale occurred on such date, the last day preceding such date during which a sale occurred, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or another source the Administrator deems reliable; (b) if the Common Stock is not traded on a stock exchange but is quoted on a national market or other quotation system, the closing sales price on such date, or if no sales occurred on such date, then on the last date preceding such date during which a sale occurred, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or another source the Administrator deems reliable; or (c) in the absence of an established market for the Common Stock, the Administrator may determine the Fair Market Value in its discretion.

11.21    “Greater Than 10% Stockholder” means an individual then owning (within the meaning of Section 424(d) of the Code) more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or its parent or subsidiary corporation, as defined in Section 424(e) and (f) of the Code, respectively.

11.22    “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option intended to qualify as an “incentive stock option” as defined in Section 422 of the Code.

11.23    “Merger” means the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

11.24    “Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among the Company, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., dated May 26, 2021.

11.25    “Non-Qualified Stock Option” means an Option, or portion thereof, not intended or not qualifying as an Incentive Stock Option.

11.26    “Option” means an option to purchase Shares, which will either be an Incentive Stock Option or a Non-Qualified Stock Option.

11.27    “Other Stock or Cash Based Awards” means cash awards, awards of Shares, and other awards valued wholly or partially by referring to, or are otherwise based on, Shares or other property awarded to a Participant under Article VII.

 

Exhibit G-19


11.28    “Overall Share Limit” means the sum of (a) 11% of the Shares outstanding immediately following the consummation of the Merger,2 (b) any Shares which, as of the Effective Date, are subject to Prior Plan Awards and which, on or following the Effective Date, become available for issuance under the Plan pursuant to Article IV, and (c) an annual increase on the first day of each calendar year beginning on and including January 1, 2022 and ending on and including January 1, 2031 equal to the lesser of (i) a number equal to 5% of the outstanding Shares on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) such smaller number of Shares as is determined by the Board.

11.29    “Participant” means a Service Provider who has been granted an Award.

11.30    “Performance Criteria” mean the criteria (and adjustments) that the Administrator may select for an Award to establish performance goals for a performance period, which may include the following: net earnings or losses (either before or after one or more of interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and non-cash equity-based compensation expense); gross or net sales or revenue or sales or revenue growth; net income (either before or after taxes) or adjusted net income; profits (including but not limited to gross profits, net profits, profit growth, net operation profit or economic profit), profit return ratios or operating margin; budget or operating earnings (either before or after taxes or before or after allocation of corporate overhead and bonus); cash flow (including operating cash flow and free cash flow or cash flow return on capital); return on assets; return on capital or invested capital; cost of capital; return on stockholders’ equity; total stockholder return; return on sales; costs, reductions in costs and cost control measures; expenses; working capital; earnings or loss per share; adjusted earnings or loss per share; price per share or dividends per share (or appreciation in or maintenance of such price or dividends); regulatory achievements or compliance; implementation, completion or attainment of objectives relating to research, development, regulatory, commercial, or strategic milestones or developments; market share; economic value or economic value added models; division, group or corporate financial goals; customer satisfaction/growth; customer service; employee satisfaction; recruitment and maintenance of personnel; human capital management (including diversity and inclusion); supervision of litigation and other legal matters; strategic partnerships and transactions; financial ratios (including those measuring liquidity, activity, profitability or leverage); debt levels or reductions; sales-related goals; financing and other capital raising transactions; cash on hand; acquisition activity; investment sourcing activity; and marketing initiatives, any of which may be measured in absolute terms or as compared to any incremental increase or decrease. Such performance goals also may be based solely by reference to the Company’s performance or the performance of a Subsidiary, division, business segment or business unit of the Company or a Subsidiary, or based upon performance relative to performance of other companies or upon comparisons of any of the indicators of performance relative to performance of other companies.

11.31    “Plan” means this 2021 Incentive Award Plan.

11.32    “Prior Plan” means the eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended.

 

 

2 

NTD: Alternatively, a fixed number of shares may be specified, if determinable.

 

Exhibit G-20


11.33    “Prior Plan Award” means an award outstanding under the Prior Plan as of the Effective Date, including, without limitation, any awards that are assumed under the Merger Agreement.

11.34    “Restricted Stock” means Shares awarded to a Participant under Article VI subject to certain vesting conditions and other restrictions.

11.35    “Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded, unsecured right to receive, on the applicable settlement date, one Share or an amount in cash or other consideration determined by the Administrator to be of equal value as of such settlement date awarded to a Participant under Article VI subject to certain vesting conditions and other restrictions.

11.36    “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

11.37    “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Code and all regulations, guidance, compliance programs and other interpretative authority thereunder.

11.38     “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

11.39    “Service Provider” means an Employee, Consultant or Director.

11.40    “Shares” means shares of Common Stock.

11.41    “Stock Appreciation Right” means a stock appreciation right granted under Article V.

11.42    “Subsidiary” means any entity (other than the Company), whether domestic or foreign, in an unbroken chain of entities beginning with the Company if each of the entities other than the last entity in the unbroken chain beneficially owns, at the time of the determination, securities or interests representing at least 50% of the total combined voting power of all classes of securities or interests in one of the other entities in such chain.

11.43    “Substitute Awards” means Awards granted or Shares issued by the Company in assumption of, or in substitution or exchange for, awards previously granted, or the right or obligation to make future awards, in each case by a company acquired by the Company or any Subsidiary or with which the Company or any Subsidiary combines.

11.44    “Termination of Service” means the date the Participant ceases to be a Service Provider.

* * * * *

 

Exhibit G-21


Exhibit H

Form of Parent ESPP

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.

2021 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

ARTICLE I.

PURPOSE

The purposes of this eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (as it may be amended or restated from time to time, the “Plan”) are to assist Eligible Employees of eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and its Designated Subsidiaries in acquiring a stock ownership interest in the Company pursuant to a plan which is intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423(b) of the Code, and to help Eligible Employees provide for their future security and to encourage them to remain in the employment of the Company and its Designated Subsidiaries.

ARTICLE II.

DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION

Wherever the following terms are used in the Plan they shall have the meanings specified below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The singular pronoun shall include the plural where the context so indicates. Masculine, feminine and neuter pronouns are used interchangeably and each comprehends the others.

2.1    “Administrator” shall mean the entity that conducts the general administration of the Plan as provided in Article XI. The term “Administrator” shall refer to the Committee unless the Board has assumed the authority for administration of the Plan as provided in Article XI.

2.2    “Applicable Law” shall mean the requirements relating to the administration of equity incentive plans under U.S. federal and state securities, tax and other applicable laws, rules and regulations, the applicable rules of any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable laws and rules of any foreign country or other jurisdiction where rights under this Plan are granted.

2.3    “Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

2.4    “Change in Control” shall mean and include each of the following:

(a)    A transaction or series of transactions (other than an offering of Shares to the general public through a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or a transaction or series of transactions that meets the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (c) below) whereby any “person” or related “group” of “persons” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) (other than the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, an employee benefit plan maintained by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or a “person” that, prior to such transaction, directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company) directly or indirectly acquires beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of securities of the Company possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after such acquisition; or

 

Exhibit H-1


(b)    During any period of two consecutive years, individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board together with any new director(s) (other than a director designated by a person who shall have entered into an agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in subsections (a) or (c)) whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the two-year period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof; or

(c)    The consummation by the Company (whether directly involving the Company or indirectly involving the Company through one or more intermediaries) of (x) a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or business combination or (y) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets in any single transaction or series of related transactions or (z) the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity, in each case other than a transaction:

(i)    which results in the Company’s voting securities outstanding immediately before the transaction continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the Company or the person that, as a result of the transaction, controls, directly or indirectly, the Company or owns, directly or indirectly, all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or otherwise succeeds to the business of the Company (the Company or such person, the “Successor Entity”)) directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity’s outstanding voting securities immediately after the transaction, and

(ii)    after which no person or group beneficially owns voting securities representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity; provided, however, that no person or group shall be treated for purposes of this clause (ii) as beneficially owning 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity solely as a result of the voting power held in the Company prior to the consummation of the transaction.

2.5    The Administrator shall have full and final authority, which shall be exercised in its sole discretion, to determine conclusively whether a Change of Control has occurred pursuant to the above definition, the date of such Change of Control and any incidental matters relating thereto. “Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and the regulations issued thereunder.

2.6    “Common Stock” shall mean the common stock of the Company and such other securities of the Company that may be substituted therefor pursuant to Article VIII.

2.7    “Company” shall mean eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor.

 

Exhibit H-2


2.8    “Compensation” of an Eligible Employee shall mean, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, the gross base cash compensation received by such Eligible Employee as compensation for services to the Company or any Designated Subsidiary, including prior week adjustment and overtime payments, but excluding commissions, vacation pay and holiday pay, jury duty pay, funeral leave pay, military leave pay, one-time bonuses (e.g., retention or sign on bonuses), incentive compensation, education or tuition reimbursements, travel expenses, business and moving reimbursements, income received in connection with any stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other compensatory equity awards, fringe benefits, other special payments and all contributions made by the Company or any Designated Subsidiary for the Employee’s benefit under any employee benefit plan now or hereafter established.

2.9    “Designated Subsidiary” shall mean any Subsidiary designated by the Administrator in accordance with Section 11.3(b).

2.10     “Eligible Employee” shall mean an Employee who does not, immediately after any rights under this Plan are granted, own (directly or through attribution) stock possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of Common Stock and other stock of the Company, a Parent or a Subsidiary (as determined under Section 423(b)(3) of the Code). For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the rules of Section 424(d) of the Code with regard to the attribution of stock ownership shall apply in determining the stock ownership of an individual, and stock that an Employee may purchase under outstanding options shall be treated as stock owned by the Employee; provided, however, that the Administrator may provide in an Offering Document that an Employee shall not be eligible to participate in an Offering Period if: (a) such Employee is a highly compensated employee within the meaning of Section 423(b)(4)(D) of the Code, (b) such Employee has not met a service requirement designated by the Administrator pursuant to Section 423(b)(4)(A) of the Code (which service requirement may not exceed two years), (c) such Employee’s customary employment is for 20 hours or less per week, (d) such Employee’s customary employment is for less than five months in any calendar year and/or (e) such Employee is a citizen or resident of a foreign jurisdiction and the grant of a right to purchase Common Stock under the Plan to such Employee would be prohibited under the laws of such foreign jurisdiction or the grant of a right to purchase Common Stock under the Plan to such Employee in compliance with the laws of such foreign jurisdiction would cause the Plan to violate the requirements of Section 423 of the Code, as determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion; provided, further, that any exclusion in clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) shall be applied in an identical manner under each Offering Period to all Employees, in accordance with Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(e).

2.11    “Employee” shall mean any officer or other employee (as defined in accordance with Section 3401(c) of the Code) of the Company or any Designated Subsidiary. “Employee” shall not include any director of the Company or a Designated Subsidiary who does not render services to the Company or a Designated Subsidiary as an employee within the meaning of Section 3401(c) of the Code. For purposes of the Plan, the employment relationship shall be treated as continuing intact while the individual is on sick leave or other leave of absence approved by the Company or Designated Subsidiary and meeting the requirements of Treasury Regulation Section 1.421-1(h)(2). Where the period of leave exceeds three months and the individual’s right to reemployment is not guaranteed either by statute or by contract, the employment relationship shall be deemed to have terminated on the first day immediately following such three-month period.

 

Exhibit H-3


2.12    “Enrollment Date” shall mean the first Trading Day of each Offering Period, unless otherwise specified in the Offering Document.

2.13    “Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

2.14    “Fair Market Value” shall mean, as of any date, the value of a Share of Common Stock determined as follows: (a) if the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange, its Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such Common Stock as quoted on such exchange for such date, or if no sale occurred on such date, the last day preceding such date during which a sale occurred, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or another source the Administrator deems reliable; (b) if the Common Stock is not traded on a stock exchange but is quoted on a national market or other quotation system, the closing sales price on such date, or if no sales occurred on such date, then on the last date preceding such date during which a sale occurred, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or another source the Administrator deems reliable; or (c) without an established market for the Common Stock, the Administrator will determine the Fair Market Value in its discretion.

2.15    “Merger” means the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

2.16    “Merger Agreement” means that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among the Company, Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., dated May 26, 2021.

2.17    “Offering Document” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.1.

2.18    “Offering Period” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.1.

2.19    “Parent” shall mean any corporation, other than the Company, in an unbroken chain of corporations ending with the Company if, at the time of the determination, each of the corporations other than the Company owns stock possessing 50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other corporations in such chain.

2.20    “Participant” shall mean any Eligible Employee who has executed a subscription agreement and been granted rights to purchase Shares pursuant to the Plan.

2.21    “Plan” shall mean this eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as it may be amended from time to time.

2.22    “Purchase Date” shall mean the last Trading Day of each Purchase Period.

2.23    “Purchase Period” shall refer to one or more periods within an Offering Period, as designated in the applicable Offering Document; provided, however, that, in the event no Purchase Period is designated by the Administrator in the applicable Offering Document, the Purchase Period for each Offering Period covered by such Offering Document shall be the same as the applicable Offering Period.

 

Exhibit H-4


2.24    “Purchase Price” shall mean the purchase price designated by the Administrator in the applicable Offering Document (which purchase price shall not be less than 85% of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Enrollment Date or on the Purchase Date, whichever is lower); provided, however, that, in the event no purchase price is designated by the Administrator in the applicable Offering Document, the purchase price for the Offering Periods covered by such Offering Document shall be 85% of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Enrollment Date or on the Purchase Date, whichever is lower; provided, further, that the Purchase Price may be adjusted by the Administrator pursuant to Article VIII and shall not be less than the par value of a Share.

2.25    “Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

2.26    “Share” shall mean a share of Common Stock.

2.27    “Subsidiary” shall mean any corporation, other than the Company, in an unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the Company if, at the time of the determination, each of the corporations other than the last corporation in an unbroken chain owns stock possessing 50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other corporations in such chain; provided, however, that a limited liability company or partnership may be treated as a Subsidiary to the extent either (a) such entity is treated as a disregarded entity under Treasury Regulation Section 301.7701-3(a) by reason of the Company or any other Subsidiary that is a corporation being the sole owner of such entity, or (b) such entity elects to be classified as a corporation under Treasury Regulation Section 301.7701-3(a) and such entity would otherwise qualify as a Subsidiary.

2.28    “Trading Day” shall mean a day on which national stock exchanges in the United States are open for trading.

ARTICLE III.

SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN

3.1    Number of Shares. Subject to Article VIII, the aggregate number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to rights granted under the Plan shall be 1.5% of the outstanding Shares immediately following the consummation of the Merger.1 In addition to the foregoing, subject to Article VIII, on the first day of each calendar year beginning on and including January 1, 2022 and ending on and including January 1, 2031, the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan shall be increased by that number of Shares equal to the lesser of (a) 1% of the number of outstanding Shares on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (b) such smaller number of Shares as determined by the Board. If any right granted under the Plan shall for any reason terminate without having been exercised, the Shares not purchased under such right shall again become available for issuance under the Plan. Notwithstanding anything in this

 

 

1 

Alternatively, a fixed number of Shares may be specified, if determinable.

 

Exhibit H-5


Section 3.1 to the contrary, the number of Shares that may be issued or transferred pursuant to the rights granted under the Plan shall not exceed an aggregate of [ 🌑 ]2 Shares, subject to Article VIII.

3.2    Stock Distributed. Any Common Stock distributed pursuant to the Plan may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Common Stock, treasury stock or Common Stock purchased on the open market.

ARTICLE IV.

OFFERING PERIODS; OFFERING DOCUMENTS; PURCHASE DATES

4.1    Offering Periods. The Administrator may from time to time grant or provide for the grant of rights to purchase Shares under the Plan to Eligible Employees during one or more periods (each, an “Offering Period”) selected by the Administrator. The terms and conditions applicable to each Offering Period shall be set forth in an “Offering Document” adopted by the Administrator, which Offering Document shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall deem appropriate. The Administrator shall establish in each Offering Document one or more Purchase Periods during such Offering Period during which rights granted under the Plan shall be exercised and purchases of Shares carried out during such Offering Period in accordance with such Offering Document and the Plan. The provisions of separate Offering Periods under the Plan need not be identical.

4.2    Offering Documents. Each Offering Document with respect to an Offering Period shall specify (through incorporation of the provisions of this Plan by reference or otherwise):

(a)    the length of the Offering Period, which period shall not exceed 27 months;

(b)    the length of the Purchase Period(s) within the Offering Period;

(c)    in connection with each Offering Period that contains only one Purchase Period the maximum number of Shares that may be purchased by any Eligible Employee during such Offering Period, which, in the absence of a contrary designation by the Administrator, shall be [ 🌑 ] Shares;

(d)    in connection with each Offering Period that contains more than one Purchase Period, the maximum aggregate number of Shares which may be purchased by any Eligible Employee during each Purchase Period, which, in the absence of a contrary designation by the Administrator, shall be [ 🌑 ] Shares; and

(e)    such other provisions as the Administrator determines are appropriate, subject to the Plan.

 

 

2 

NTD: To represent a number of Shares intended to approximate 125% multiplied by 11.5% of the outstanding Shares as of the closing.

 

Exhibit H-6


ARTICLE V.

ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

5.1    Eligibility. Any Eligible Employee who shall be employed by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary on a given Enrollment Date for an Offering Period shall be eligible to participate in the Plan during such Offering Period, subject to the requirements of this Article V and the limitations imposed by Section 423(b) of the Code.

5.2    Enrollment in Plan.

(a)    Except as otherwise set forth herein or in an Offering Document or determined by the Administrator, an Eligible Employee may become a Participant in the Plan for an Offering Period by delivering a subscription agreement to the Company by such time prior to the Enrollment Date for such Offering Period (or such other date specified in the Offering Document) designated by the Administrator and in such form as the Company provides.

(b)    Each subscription agreement shall designate a whole percentage of such Eligible Employee’s Compensation to be withheld by the Company or the Designated Subsidiary employing such Eligible Employee on each payday during the Offering Period as payroll deductions under the Plan. The designated percentage may not be less than 1% and may not be more than the maximum percentage specified by the Administrator in the applicable Offering Document (which percentage shall be 15% in the absence of any such designation). The payroll deductions made for each Participant shall be credited to an account for such Participant under the Plan and shall be deposited with the general funds of the Company.

(c)    A Participant may increase or decrease the percentage of Compensation designated in his or her subscription agreement, subject to the limits of this Section 5.2, or may suspend his or her payroll deductions, at any time during an Offering Period; provided, however, that the Administrator may limit the number of changes a Participant may make to his or her payroll deduction elections during each Offering Period in the applicable Offering Document (and in the absence of any specific designation by the Administrator, a Participant shall be allowed one decrease and one suspension (but no increases) to his or her payroll deduction elections during each Offering Period with respect to such Offering Period). Any such change or suspension of payroll deductions shall be effective with the first full payroll period following ten business days after the Company’s receipt of the new subscription agreement (or such shorter or longer period as may be specified by the Administrator in the applicable Offering Document). In the event a Participant suspends his or her payroll deductions, such Participant’s cumulative payroll deductions prior to the suspension shall remain in his or her account and shall be applied to the purchase of Shares on the next occurring Purchase Date and shall not be paid to such Participant unless he or she withdraws from participation in the Plan pursuant to Article VII.

(d)    Except as otherwise set forth in Section 5.8 or in an Offering Document or determined by the Administrator, a Participant may participate in the Plan only by means of payroll deduction and may not make contributions by lump sum payment for any Offering Period.

5.3    Payroll Deductions. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Offering Document or Section 5.8, payroll deductions for a Participant shall commence on the first payroll

 

Exhibit H-7


following the Enrollment Date and shall end on the last payroll in the Offering Period to which the Participant’s authorization is applicable, unless sooner terminated by the Participant as provided in Article VII or suspended by the Participant or the Administrator as provided in Section 5.2 and Section 5.6, respectively.

5.4    Effect of Enrollment. A Participant’s completion of a subscription agreement will enroll such Participant in the Plan for each subsequent Offering Period on the terms contained therein until the Participant either submits a new subscription agreement, withdraws from participation under the Plan as provided in Article VII or otherwise becomes ineligible to participate in the Plan.

5.5    Limitation on Purchase of Common Stock. An Eligible Employee may be granted rights under the Plan only if such rights, together with any other rights granted to such Eligible Employee under “employee stock purchase plans” of the Company, any Parent or any Subsidiary, as specified by Section 423(b)(8) of the Code, do not permit such employee’s rights to purchase stock of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary to accrue at a rate that exceeds $25,000 of the fair market value of such stock (determined as of the first day of the Offering Period during which such rights are granted) for each calendar year in which such rights are outstanding at any time. This limitation shall be applied in accordance with Section 423(b)(8) of the Code.

5.6    Suspension of Payroll Deductions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply with Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 5.5 or the other limitations set forth in this Plan, a Participant’s payroll deductions may be suspended by the Administrator at any time during an Offering Period. The balance of the amount credited to the account of each Participant that has not been applied to the purchase of Shares by reason of Section 423(b)(8) of the Code, Section 5.5 or the other limitations set forth in this Plan shall be paid to such Participant in one lump sum in cash as soon as reasonably practicable after the Purchase Date.

5.7    Foreign Employees. In order to facilitate participation in the Plan, the Administrator may provide for such special terms applicable to Participants who are citizens or residents of a foreign jurisdiction, or who are employed by a Designated Subsidiary outside of the United States, as the Administrator may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy or custom. Such special terms may not be more favorable than the terms of rights granted under the Plan to Eligible Employees who are residents of the United States. Moreover, the Administrator may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements or alternative versions of, this Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of this Plan as in effect for any other purpose. No such special terms, supplements, amendments or restatements shall include any provisions that are inconsistent with the terms of this Plan as then in effect unless this Plan could have been amended to eliminate such inconsistency without further approval by the stockholders of the Company.

5.8    Leave of Absence. During leaves of absence approved by the Company meeting the requirements of Treasury Regulation Section 1.421-1(h)(2) under the Code, a Participant may continue participation in the Plan by making cash payments to the Company on his or her normal payday equal to his or her authorized payroll deduction.

 

Exhibit H-8


ARTICLE VI.

GRANT AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS

6.1    Grant of Rights. On the Enrollment Date of each Offering Period, each Eligible Employee participating in such Offering Period shall be granted a right to purchase the maximum number of Shares specified under Section 4.2, subject to the limits in Section 5.5, and shall have the right to buy, on each Purchase Date during such Offering Period (at the applicable Purchase Price), such number of whole Shares as is determined by dividing (a) such Participant’s payroll deductions accumulated prior to such Purchase Date and retained in the Participant’s account as of the Purchase Date, by (b) the applicable Purchase Price (rounded down to the nearest Share). The right shall expire on the earlier of: (x) the last Purchase Date of such Offering Period, (y) last day of such Offering Period and (z) the date on which such Participant withdraws in accordance with Section 7.1 or Section 7.3.

6.2    Exercise of Rights. On each Purchase Date, each Participant’s accumulated payroll deductions and any other additional payments specifically provided for in the applicable Offering Document will be applied to the purchase of whole Shares, up to the maximum number of Shares permitted pursuant to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Offering Document, at the Purchase Price. No fractional Shares shall be issued upon the exercise of rights granted under the Plan, unless the Offering Document specifically provides otherwise. Any cash in lieu of fractional Shares remaining after the purchase of whole Shares upon exercise of a purchase right credited to a Participant’s account and returned to the Participant in one lump sum payment in a subsequent payroll check as soon as practicable after the Exercise Date, unless the Administrator provides that such amounts should be rolled over to the next occurring Offering Period in the applicable Offering Document. Shares issued pursuant to the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Administrator may determine and may be issued in certificated form or issued pursuant to book-entry procedures.

6.3    Pro Rata Allocation of Shares. If the Administrator determines that, on a given Purchase Date, the number of Shares with respect to which rights are to be exercised may exceed (a) the number of Shares that were available for issuance under the Plan on the Enrollment Date of the applicable Offering Period, or (b) the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan on such Purchase Date, the Administrator may in its sole discretion provide that the Company shall make a pro rata allocation of the Shares available for purchase on such Enrollment Date or Purchase Date, as applicable, in as uniform a manner as shall be practicable and as it shall determine in its sole discretion to be equitable among all Participants for whom rights to purchase Shares are to be exercised pursuant to this Article VI on such Purchase Date, and shall either (i) continue all Offering Periods then in effect, or (ii) terminate any or all Offering Periods then in effect pursuant to Article IX. The Company may make pro rata allocation of the Shares available on the Enrollment Date of any applicable Offering Period pursuant to the preceding sentence, notwithstanding any authorization of additional Shares for issuance under the Plan by the Company’s stockholders subsequent to such Enrollment Date. The balance of the amount credited to the account of each Participant that has not been applied to the purchase of Shares shall be paid to such Participant, without interest, in one lump sum in cash as soon as reasonably practicable after the Purchase Date.

 

Exhibit H-9


6.4    Withholding. At the time a Participant’s rights under the Plan are exercised, in whole or in part, or at the time some or all of the Shares issued under the Plan is disposed of, the Participant must make adequate provision for the Company’s federal, state, or other tax withholding obligations, if any, that arise upon the exercise of the right or the disposition of the Shares. At any time, the Company may, but shall not be obligated to, withhold from the Participant’s compensation the amount necessary for the Company to meet applicable withholding obligations, including any withholding required to make available to the Company any tax deductions or benefits attributable to sale or early disposition of Shares by the Participant.

6.5    Conditions to Issuance of Common Stock. The Company shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificate or certificates for, or make any book entries evidencing, Shares purchased upon the exercise of rights under the Plan prior to fulfillment of all of the following conditions:

(a)    The admission of such Shares to listing on all stock exchanges, if any, on which the Common Stock is then listed;

(b)    The completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any state or federal law or under the rulings or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, that the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable;

(c)    The obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any state or federal governmental agency that the Administrator shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable;

(d)    The payment to the Company of all amounts that it is required to withhold under federal, state or local law upon exercise of the rights, if any; and

(e)    The lapse of such reasonable period of time following the exercise of the rights as the Administrator may from time to time establish for reasons of administrative convenience.

ARTICLE VII.

WITHDRAWAL; CESSATION OF ELIGIBILITY

7.1    Withdrawal. A Participant may withdraw all but not less than all of the payroll deductions credited to his or her account and not yet used to exercise his or her rights under the Plan at any time by giving written notice to the Company in a form acceptable to the Company no later than two weeks prior to the end of the Offering Period or, if earlier, the end of the Purchase Period (or such shorter or longer period as may be specified by the Administrator in the Offering Document). All of the Participant’s payroll deductions credited to his or her account during the Offering Period not yet used to exercise his or her rights under the Plan shall be paid to such Participant as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt of notice of withdrawal and such Participant’s rights for the Offering Period shall be automatically terminated, and no further payroll deductions for the purchase of Shares shall be made for such Offering Period. If a Participant withdraws from an Offering Period, payroll deductions shall not resume at the beginning of the next Offering Period unless the Participant is an Eligible Employee and timely delivers to the Company a new subscription agreement.

 

Exhibit H-10


7.2    Future Participation. A Participant’s withdrawal from an Offering Period shall not have any effect upon his or her eligibility to participate in any similar plan that may hereafter be adopted by the Company or a Designated Subsidiary or in subsequent Offering Periods that commence after the termination of the Offering Period from which the Participant withdraws.

7.3    Cessation of Eligibility. Upon a Participant’s ceasing to be an Eligible Employee for any reason, he or she shall be deemed to have elected to withdraw from the Plan pursuant to this Article VII and the payroll deductions credited to such Participant’s account during the Offering Period shall be paid to such Participant or, in the case of his or her death, to the person or persons entitled thereto under Section 12.4, as soon as reasonably practicable, and such Participant’s rights for the Offering Period shall be automatically terminated.

ARTICLE VIII.

ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN STOCK

8.1    Changes in Capitalization. Subject to Section 8.3, in the event that the Administrator determines that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Common Stock, other securities, or other property), Change in Control, reorganization, merger, amalgamation, consolidation, combination, repurchase, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution, or sale, transfer, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or sale or exchange of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or other similar corporate transaction or event, as determined by the Administrator, affects the Common Stock such that an adjustment is determined by the Administrator to be appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended by the Company to be made available under the Plan or with respect to any outstanding purchase rights under the Plan, the Administrator shall make equitable adjustments, if any, to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of Shares (or other securities or property) that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1 and the limitations established in each Offering Document pursuant to Section 4.2 on the maximum number of Shares that may be purchased); (b) the class(es) and number of Shares and price per Share subject to outstanding rights; and (c) the Purchase Price with respect to any outstanding rights.

8.2    Other Adjustments. Subject to Section 8.3, in the event of any transaction or event described in Section 8.1 or any unusual or nonrecurring transactions or events affecting the Company, any affiliate of the Company, or the financial statements of the Company or any affiliate (including without limitation any Change in Control), or of changes in Applicable Law or accounting principles, the Administrator, in its discretion, and on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate, is hereby authorized to take any one or more of the following actions whenever the Administrator determines that such action is appropriate in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan or with respect to any right under the Plan, to facilitate such transactions or events or to give effect to such changes in laws, regulations or principles:

 

Exhibit H-11


(a)    To provide for either (i) termination of any outstanding right in exchange for an amount of cash, if any, equal to the amount that would have been obtained upon the exercise of such right had such right been currently exercisable or (ii) the replacement of such outstanding right with other rights or property selected by the Administrator in its sole discretion;

(b)    To provide that the outstanding rights under the Plan shall be assumed by the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, or shall be substituted for by similar rights covering the stock of the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and prices;

(c)    To make adjustments in the number and type of Shares (or other securities or property) subject to outstanding rights under the Plan and/or in the terms and conditions of outstanding rights and rights that may be granted in the future;

(d)    To provide that Participants’ accumulated payroll deductions may be used to purchase Common Stock prior to the next occurring Purchase Date on such date as the Administrator determines in its sole discretion and the Participants’ rights under the ongoing Offering Period(s) shall be terminated; and

(e)    To provide that all outstanding rights shall terminate without being exercised.

8.3    No Adjustment Under Certain Circumstances. No adjustment or action described in this Article VIII or in any other provision of the Plan shall be authorized to the extent that such adjustment or action would cause the Plan to fail to satisfy the requirements of Section 423 of the Code.

8.4    No Other Rights. Except as expressly provided in the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of shares of stock of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of shares of stock of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Administrator under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of shares of stock of any class, or securities convertible into shares of stock of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of Shares subject to outstanding rights under the Plan or the Purchase Price with respect to any outstanding rights.

ARTICLE IX.

AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION AND TERMINATION

9.1    Amendment, Modification and Termination. The Administrator may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan at any time and from time to time; provided, however, that approval of the Company’s stockholders shall be required to amend the Plan to: (a) increase the aggregate number, or change the type, of shares that may be sold pursuant to rights under the Plan under Section 3.1 (other than an adjustment as provided by Article VIII); (b) change the Plan in any manner that would be considered the adoption of a new plan within the meaning of Treasury regulation Section 1.423-2(c)(4); or (c) change the Plan in any manner that would cause the Plan to no longer be an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423(b) of the Code.

 

Exhibit H-12


9.2    Certain Changes to Plan. Without stockholder consent and without regard to whether any Participant rights may be considered to have been adversely affected, to the extent permitted by Section 423 of the Code, the Administrator shall be entitled to change or terminate the Offering Periods, limit the frequency and/or number of changes in the amount withheld from Compensation during an Offering Period, establish the exchange ratio applicable to amounts withheld in a currency other than U.S. dollars, permit payroll withholding in excess of the amount designated by a Participant in order to adjust for delays or mistakes in the Company’s processing of payroll withholding elections, establish reasonable waiting and adjustment periods and/or accounting and crediting procedures to ensure that amounts applied toward the purchase of Common Stock for each Participant properly correspond with amounts withheld from the Participant’s Compensation, and establish such other limitations or procedures as the Administrator determines in its sole discretion to be advisable that are consistent with the Plan.

9.3    Actions In the Event of Unfavorable Financial Accounting Consequences. In the event the Administrator determines that the ongoing operation of the Plan may result in unfavorable financial accounting consequences, the Administrator may, in its discretion and, to the extent necessary or desirable, modify or amend the Plan to reduce or eliminate such accounting consequence including, but not limited to:

(a)    altering the Purchase Price for any Offering Period including an Offering Period underway at the time of the change in Purchase Price;

(b)    shortening any Offering Period so that the Offering Period ends on a new Purchase Date, including an Offering Period underway at the time of the Administrator action; and

(c)    allocating Shares.

Such modifications or amendments shall not require stockholder approval or the consent of any Participant.

9.4    Payments Upon Termination of Plan. Upon termination of the Plan, the balance in each Participant’s Plan account shall be refunded as soon as practicable after such termination, without any interest thereon.

ARTICLE X.

TERM OF PLAN

The Plan shall be effective upon the consummation of the Merger. The effectiveness of the Plan shall be subject to approval of the Plan by the stockholders of the Company within 12 months following the date the Plan is first approved by the Board. No right may be granted under the Plan prior to such stockholder approval. The Plan shall be in effect until terminated under Section 9.1 hereof. No rights may be granted under the Plan during any period of suspension of the Plan or after termination of the Plan.

 

Exhibit H-13


ARTICLE XI.

ADMINISTRATION

11.1    Administrator. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, the Administrator of the Plan shall be the Compensation Committee of the Board (or another committee or a subcommittee of the Board to which the Board delegates administration of the Plan) (such committee, the “Committee”). The Board may at any time vest in the Board any authority or duties for administration of the Plan.

11.2    Action by the Administrator. Unless otherwise established by the Board or in any charter of the Administrator, a majority of the Administrator shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present and, subject to Applicable Law and the Bylaws of the Company, acts approved in writing by a majority of the Administrator in lieu of a meeting, shall be deemed the acts of the Administrator. Each member of the Administrator is entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to that member by any officer or other employee of the Company or any Designated Subsidiary, the Company’s independent certified public accountants, or any executive compensation consultant or other professional retained by the Company to assist in the administration of the Plan.

11.3    Authority of Administrator. The Administrator shall have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:

(a)    To determine when and how rights to purchase Shares shall be granted and the provisions of each offering of such rights (which need not be identical).

(b)    To designate from time to time which Subsidiaries of the Company shall be Designated Subsidiaries, which designation may be made without the approval of the stockholders of the Company.

(c)    To construe and interpret the Plan and rights granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for its administration. The Administrator, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan, in a manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan fully effective.

(d)    To amend, suspend or terminate the Plan as provided in Article IX.

(e)    Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Administrator deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and its Subsidiaries and to carry out the intent that the Plan be treated as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of the Code.

11.4    Decisions Binding. The Administrator’s interpretation of the Plan, any rights granted pursuant to the Plan, any subscription agreement and all decisions and determinations by the Administrator with respect to the Plan are final, binding, and conclusive on all parties.

 

Exhibit H-14


ARTICLE XII.

MISCELLANEOUS

12.1    Restriction upon Assignment. A right granted under the Plan shall not be transferable other than by will or the Applicable Laws of descent and distribution, and is exercisable during the Participant’s lifetime only by the Participant. Except as provided in Section 12.4 hereof, a right under the Plan may not be exercised to any extent except by the Participant. The Company shall not recognize and shall be under no duty to recognize any assignment or alienation of the Participant’s interest in the Plan, the Participant’s rights under the Plan or any rights thereunder.

12.2    Rights as a Stockholder. With respect to Shares subject to a right granted under the Plan, a Participant shall not be deemed to be a stockholder of the Company, and the Participant shall not have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder, until such Shares have been issued to the Participant or his or her nominee following exercise of the Participant’s rights under the Plan. No adjustments shall be made for dividends (ordinary or extraordinary, whether in cash securities, or other property) or distribution or other rights for which the record date occurs prior to the date of such issuance, except as otherwise expressly provided herein or as determined by the Administrator.

12.3    Interest. No interest shall accrue on the payroll deductions or contributions of a Participant under the Plan.

12.4    Designation of Beneficiary.

(a)    A Participant may, in the manner determined by the Administrator, file a written designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any Shares and/or cash, if any, from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of such Participant’s death subsequent to a Purchase Date on which the Participant’s rights are exercised but prior to delivery to such Participant of such Shares and cash. In addition, a Participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of such Participant’s death prior to exercise of the Participant’s rights under the Plan. If the Participant is married and resides in a community property state, a designation of a person other than the Participant’s spouse as his or her beneficiary shall not be effective without the prior written consent of the Participant’s spouse.

(b)    Such designation of beneficiary may be changed by the Participant at any time by written notice to the Company. In the event of the death of a Participant and in the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan who is living at the time of such Participant’s death, the Company shall deliver such Shares and/or cash to the executor or administrator of the estate of the Participant, or if no such executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company, in its discretion, may deliver such Shares and/or cash to the spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the Participant, or if no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company, then to such other person as the Company may designate.

 

Exhibit H-15


12.5    Notices. All notices or other communications by a Participant to the Company under or in connection with the Plan shall be deemed to have been duly given when received in the form specified by the Company at the location, or by the person, designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

12.6    Equal Rights and Privileges. Subject to Section 5.7, all Eligible Employees will have equal rights and privileges under this Plan so that this Plan qualifies as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of the Code. Subject to Section 5.7, any provision of this Plan that is inconsistent with Section 423 of the Code will, without further act or amendment by the Company, the Board or the Administrator, be reformed to comply with the equal rights and privileges requirement of Section 423 of the Code.

12.7    Use of Funds. All payroll deductions received or held by the Company under the Plan may be used by the Company for any corporate purpose, and the Company shall not be obligated to segregate such payroll deductions.

12.8    Reports. Statements of account shall be given to Participants at least annually, which statements shall set forth the amounts of payroll deductions, the Purchase Price, the number of Shares purchased and the remaining cash balance, if any.

12.9    No Employment Rights. Nothing in the Plan shall be construed to give any person (including any Eligible Employee or Participant) the right to employment or service with (or to remain in the employ of) the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary thereof or affect the right of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary thereof to terminate the employment of any person (including any Eligible Employee or Participant) at any time, with or without cause.

12.10    Notice of Disposition of Shares. Each Participant shall give prompt notice to the Company of any disposition or other transfer of any Shares purchased upon exercise of a right under the Plan if such disposition or transfer is made: (a) within two years from the Enrollment Date of the Offering Period in which the Shares were purchased or (b) within one year after the Purchase Date on which such Shares were purchased. Such notice shall specify the date of such disposition or other transfer and the amount realized, in cash, other property, assumption of indebtedness or other consideration, by the Participant in such disposition or other transfer.

12.11    Governing Law. The Plan and any agreements hereunder shall be administered, interpreted and enforced under the internal laws of the State of Delaware without regard to conflicts of laws thereof or of any other jurisdiction.

12.12    Electronic Forms. To the extent permitted by Applicable Law and in the discretion of the Administrator, an Eligible Employee may submit any form or notice as set forth herein by means of an electronic form approved by the Administrator. Before the commencement of an Offering Period, the Administrator shall prescribe the time limits within which any such electronic form shall be submitted to the Administrator with respect to such Offering Period in order to be a valid election.

*        *        *         *        *

 

Exhibit H-16


EXHIBIT I

FORM OF SURVIVING COMPANY CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

CERTIFICATE OF MERGER

MERGING

LOCUST WALK MERGER SUB, INC.,

a Delaware corporation,

WITH AND

INTO

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.,

a Delaware corporation

 

 

Pursuant to Title 8, Section 251(c) of

the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware

 

 

Pursuant to Section 251(c) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), the undersigned, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), hereby certifies to the following information relating to the merger of Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub”), with and into the Company (the “Merger”).

FIRST: The name and state of incorporation of the constituent corporations to the merger herein certified (the “Merger”) are:

1.    Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation; and

2.    eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

SECOND: For each constituent corporation, the date when its initial certificate of incorporation was filed with the Department of State of the State of Delaware is:

1.    Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc. filed its initial certificate of incorporation on May 25, 2021.

2.    eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. filed its initial certificate of incorporation on May 1, 2012.

THIRD: An agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”) has been approved, adopted, certified, executed and acknowledged by the constituent corporations in accordance with

 

Exhibit I-1


the provisions of subsection (c) of Section 251 of the DGCL and their respective stockholders have given their written consent thereto in accordance with Section 228 of the DGCL.

FOURTH: The name of the surviving corporation of the Merger is eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Surviving Corporation”).

FIFTH: The executed Merger Agreement is on file at the principal place of business of the Surviving Corporation located at 11120 Roselle Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92121.

SIXTH: A copy of the Merger Agreement will be furnished by the Surviving Corporation, on request and without cost, to any stockholder of any constituent corporation.

SEVENTH: Upon the effectiveness of the Merger, the Certificate of Incorporation of the Surviving Corporation filed on May 1, 2012 and amended and restated on July 19, 2017, further amended on August 31, 2018, and further amended on April 24, 2019, shall be amended and restated in its entirety to read as set forth on Exhibit A.

EIGHTH: The Merger is to become effective upon due filing and acceptance of this Certificate of Merger with the Delaware Secretary of State.

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

 

Exhibit I-2


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. has caused this Certificate of Merger to be signed by                     , its authorized officer, on this [    ] day of             , 2021 and does hereby affirm, under penalties of perjury, that the statements contained herein have been examined by him and are true and correct.

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.

a Delaware corporation

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

Exhibit I-3


EXHIBIT A

SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS OPERATIONS, INC.

FIRST: The name of the corporation is eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc. (the “Corporation”).

SECOND: The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.

THIRD: The nature of the business or purposes to be conducted or promoted by the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (“DGCL”) or any successor statute.

FOURTH: The total number of shares of all classes of stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 100 shares, all of which are Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

FIFTH: In furtherance of and not in limitation of powers conferred by statute, it is further provided:

1.    The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors.

2.    Election of directors need not be by written ballot unless the bylaws of the Corporation shall so provide.

3.    The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to adopt, amend, alter or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation.

SIXTH: Except to the extent that the DGCL prohibits the elimination or limitation of liability of directors for breaches of fiduciary duty, no director of the Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, notwithstanding any provision of law imposing such liability. No amendment to or repeal of this provision shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any director of the Corporation for or with respect to any acts or omissions of such director occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.

SEVENTH: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Corporation is authorized to provide indemnification of (and advancement of expenses to) directors, officers and agents of the Corporation (and any other persons to which applicable law permits the Corporation to provide indemnification) through bylaw provisions, agreements with such agents or other persons, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise in excess of the indemnification and advancement otherwise permitted by such applicable law. Any repeal or

 

Exhibit I-4


modification of this provision shall not adversely affect any right or protection hereunder of any person in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.

EIGHTH: Subject to such limitations as may be from time to time imposed by other provisions of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, by the bylaws of the Corporation, by the DGCL or other applicable law, or by any contract or agreement to which the Corporation is or may become a party, the Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by statute and this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this express reservation.

 

Exhibit I-5


EXHIBIT J

FORM OF SURVIVING COMPANY BYLAWS

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS

OF

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS OPERATIONS, INC.

Adopted and Effective as of [ ● ], 2021

 

Exhibit I-1


ARTICLE I

OFFICES

Section 1.1. Principal Office. The principal office of eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc. (the “Corporation”) shall be in San Diego, California.

Section 1.2. Registered Office. The registered office of the Corporation required to be maintained in the State of Delaware by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, may be, but need not be, identical with the Corporation’s principal office, and the address of the registered office may be changed from time to time by the board of directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”).

SECTION 1.3. OTHER OFFICES. THE CORPORATION MAY ALSO HAVE OFFICES AT SUCH OTHER PLACES, BOTH WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE STATE OF DELAWARE, AS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAY FROM TIME TO TIME DETERMINE OR AS THE BUSINESS OF THE CORPORATION MAY REQUIRE.

ARTICLE II

CAPITAL STOCK

Section 2.1. Certificates Representing Shares. The shares of stock of the Corporation may be uncertificated or represented by certificates of stock. Certificates of stock, if any, shall be signed in the name of the Corporation (a) by the Chairperson of the Board, if any, the President or a Vice President and (b) by the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer, or the Corporate Secretary or an Assistant Corporate Secretary, of the Corporation, certifying the number of shares of stock in the Corporation owned by the holder named in the certificate. Any or all of the signatures of such officers on the certificate may be facsimiles. In case any officer who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer at the date of its issuance.

Section 2.2. Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Certificates. The Board of Directors may direct a new certificate to be issued in place of any certificate theretofore issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the receipt of an affidavit of the fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed. When authorizing such issuance of a new certificate, the Board of Directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such person’s legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify it against any claim that may be made against the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate.

Section 2.3. Transfers of Stock. Stock of the Corporation shall be transferable in the manner prescribed by law and in these Bylaws. Transfers of stock shall be made on the books of the Corporation only by the person named in the certificate or by such person’s attorney lawfully constituted in writing and upon the surrender of the certificate therefor, which shall be canceled before a new certificate shall be issued.

 

Exhibit J-2


Section 2.4. Beneficial Owners. The Corporation shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner of shares to receive dividends, and to vote as such owner, and to hold liable for calls and assessments a person registered on its books as the owner of shares, and shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by law.

Section 2.5. Dividends. Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), if any, may be declared by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting, and may be paid in cash, in property or in shares of capital stock of the Corporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the Board of Directors from time to time, in its absolute discretion, deems proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or for any proper purpose, and the Board of Directors may modify or abolish any such reserve.

ARTICLE III

STOCKHOLDERS

Section 3.1. Place of Meetings. Meetings of the stockholders for the election of directors or for any other purpose shall be held at such time and place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors and stated in the notice of the meeting or in a duly executed waiver of notice thereof.

Section 3.2. Annual Meetings. The annual meetings of the stockholders shall be held on such date and at such time as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors and stated in the notice of the meeting, at which meetings the stockholders shall elect by a plurality vote a Board of Directors and transact such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting.

Section 3.3. Special Meetings. Unless otherwise prescribed by law or by the Certificate of Incorporation, special meetings of the stockholders, for any purpose or purposes, may be called at any time by the Board of Directors, the Chairperson of the Board, if any, the President, a Vice President, or the Corporate Secretary of the Corporation and shall be called by any such officer at the request in writing of a majority of the Board of Directors or at the request in writing of stockholders owning a majority of the capital stock of the Corporation issued and outstanding and entitled to vote. Such request shall state the purpose or purposes of the proposed meeting.

Section 3.4. Notice of Meetings. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given which shall state the place, date and hour of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the written notice of any meeting shall be given not less than ten nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting.

 

Exhibit J-3


Section 3.5. Record Date. The Board of Directors may fix a date, not less than ten nor more than 60 days preceding the date of any meeting of the stockholders, as a record date for determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, or to vote at, such meeting. The Board of Directors shall not close the books of the Corporation against transfers of shares during the whole or any part of such period.

Section 3.6. Quorum. Except as otherwise provided by law, by the Certificate of Incorporation, or by these Bylaws, the presence in person or by proxy of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereat, shall be necessary and sufficient to constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders for the transaction of business. In the absence of a quorum, the stockholders so present may, by majority vote, adjourn the meeting from time to time in the manner provided in Section 3.9 until a quorum shall attend. Shares of its own stock belonging to the Corporation or to another corporation, if a majority of the shares entitled to vote in the election of directors of such other corporation is held, directly or indirectly, by the Corporation, shall neither be entitled to vote nor be counted for quorum purposes; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not limit the right of the Corporation or any such other corporation to vote stock, including but not limited to its own stock, held by it in a fiduciary capacity.

Section 3.7. Organization. Meetings of stockholders shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Board, if any, or in such person’s absence by the President or a Vice President, or in the absence of the foregoing persons by a chairperson designated by the Board of Directors, or in the absence of such designation by a chairperson, chosen at the meeting. The Corporate Secretary shall keep the records of the meeting, but in such person’s absence the chairperson of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.

Section 3.8. Voting; Proxies. Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, each stockholder entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by such stockholder which has voting power upon the matter in question. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A duly executed proxy shall be irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and if, and only as long as, it is coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power. A stockholder may revoke any proxy which is not irrevocable by attending the meeting and voting in person or by filing an instrument in writing revoking the proxy or another duly executed proxy bearing a later date with the Corporate Secretary of the Corporation. Voting at meetings of stockholders need not be by written ballot and need not be conducted by inspectors of election unless so determined by the holders of shares of stock having a majority of the votes which could be cast by the holders of all outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon which are present in person or by proxy at such meeting. At all meetings of stockholders for the election of directors, a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect. All other elections and questions shall, unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, be decided by the vote of the holders of shares of stock having a majority of the votes which could be cast by the holders of all shares of stock entitled to vote thereon which are present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting.

 

Exhibit J-4


Section 3.9. Adjournments. Any meetings of stockholders, annual or special, may adjourn from time to time to reconvene at the same or some other place, and notice need not be given of any such adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 30 days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

Section 3.10. List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote. The officer of the Corporation who has charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation shall prepare and make, at least ten days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, arranged in alphabetical order and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least ten days prior to the meeting, (a) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (b) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder of the Corporation who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of electronic communication, then such list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting.

Section 3.11. Stock Ledger. The stock ledger of the Corporation shall be the only evidence as to which stockholders are entitled (a) to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders, or (b) to examine either the stock ledger, the list required by Section 3.10 of this Article III or the books of the Corporation.

Section 3.12. Action by Consent of Stockholders in Lieu of Meeting. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing.

ARTICLE IV

DIRECTORS

Section 4.1. Number and Tenure. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by the Board of Directors. The number of directors constituting the whole Board of Directors shall be fixed by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members at any time constituting the Board of Directors, and such number may be increased or decreased from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors or by the stockholders at the annual meeting or any

 

Exhibit J-5


special meeting of stockholders. Except as provided in Section 4.2 of this Article, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at any meeting of the stockholders, and each director so elected shall hold office for the full term to which such person shall have been elected and until such person’s successor is duly elected and qualified, or until such person’s earlier death, resignation or removal. Any director may resign at any time upon notice to the Corporation. A director need not be a stockholder of the Corporation or a resident of the State of Delaware.

Section 4.2. Removal and Vacancies. Any director or the entire Board of Directors may be removed, with or without cause, and another person or persons may be elected to serve for the remainder of his or her or their term, by the holders of a majority of the shares of the Corporation entitled to vote in the election of directors. Any newly created directorship or any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors for any cause may be filled by an affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors then in office, though less than a quorum, or by a plurality of votes cast at a meeting of stockholders, and each director so elected shall hold office for the remainder of the full term in which the new directorship was created or the vacancy occurred and until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal.

Section 4.3. Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such places within or without the State of Delaware and at such times as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine, and if so determined, notices thereof need not be given.

Section 4.4. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at any time, whenever called by the Chairperson of the Board, if any, the President, a Vice President or a majority of directors then in office, at such place or places within or without the State of Delaware as may be stated in the notice of the meeting. Notice of the time and place of a special meeting must be given by the person or persons calling such meeting at least 24 hours before the special meeting.

Section 4.5. Quorum; Vote Required for Action. Except as may be otherwise specifically provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, at all meetings of the Board of Directors a majority of the whole Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting of the Board of Directors at which there is a quorum shall be the act of the Board of Directors. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board of Directors, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.

Section 4.6. Organization. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Board, if any, or in such person’s absence by the President or a Vice President, or in their absences by a chairperson chosen at the meeting. The Corporate Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in such person’s absence the chairperson of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.

Section 4.7. Actions of the Board by Consent in Lieu of Meeting. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may be taken without

 

Exhibit J-6


a meeting, if all the members of the Board of Directors or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, or by electronic transmission and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Directors or such committee.

Section 4.8. Board Conference Telephone Meetings. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, members of the Board of Directors, or members of any committee designated by the Board of Directors, may participate in and hold a meeting of such Board of Directors or committee by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can speak to and hear each other, and attendance at a meeting pursuant to this Section 4.8 shall constitute presence in person at such meeting, except where a person attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting (and so expresses such objection at the beginning of the meeting) to the transaction of any business on the ground that the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

Section 4.9. Committees. The Board of Directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the whole Board of Directors, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of the committee, and in the absence of a designation by the Board of Directors of an alternate member to replace the absent or disqualified member, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not he or she or they constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in place of any absent or disqualified member. Any committee, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board of Directors establishing such committee, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation (if any) to be affixed to all papers which may require it. Each committee shall keep regular minutes and report to the Board of Directors when required.

The designation of any such committee and the delegation thereto of authority shall not operate to relieve the Board of Directors, or any member thereof, of any responsibility imposed upon it or such director by law, nor shall such committee function where action of the Board of Directors is required under applicable law. The Board of Directors shall have the power at any time to change the membership of any such committee and to fill vacancies in it. A majority of the members of any such committee shall constitute a quorum. Each such committee may elect a chairperson and appoint such subcommittees and assistants as it may deem necessary. Except as otherwise provided by the Board of Directors, meetings of any committee shall be conducted in the same manner as the Board of Directors conducts its business pursuant to this Article IV as the same shall from time to time be amended. Any member of any such committee elected or appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Corporation will be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed. Election or appointment of a member of a committee shall not of itself create contract rights.

 

Exhibit J-7


Section 4.10. Compensation and Reimbursement of Expenses. The directors shall receive such compensation for their services as shall be determined by the Board of Directors and may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors. No such reimbursement shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor. Members of special or standing committees may be allowed like reimbursement for attending committee meetings.

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS

Section 5.1. General. The officers of the Corporation shall consist of a President and/or a Vice President, a Corporate Secretary and such other officers and agents as the Board of Directors may from time to time elect or appoint. Such officers may include, without limitation, a Chairperson of the Board, a President, one or more Vice Presidents (whose seniority and titles may be specified by the Board of Directors), a Treasurer, one or more Assistant Treasurers, and one or more Assistant Secretaries. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and shall qualify or until such person’s death or until such person shall resign or shall have been removed in the manner hereinafter provided. Any number of offices may be held by the same person, unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. The officers of the Corporation need not be stockholders of the Corporation nor, except in the case of the Chairperson of the Board, if any, need such officers be directors of the Corporation. Any officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation. Any officer elected, or agent appointed, by the Board may be removed, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors whenever, in such majority’s judgment, the best interests of the Corporation would be served thereby. No officer shall have any contractual rights against the Corporation for compensation by virtue of such election beyond the date of the election of such person’s successor, such person’s death, such person’s resignation or such person’s removal, whichever event shall first occur, except as otherwise provided in an employment contract or under an employee deferred compensation plan. Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation by death, resignation, removal or otherwise may be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting.

Section 5.2. President. The President shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, in general, supervise and control all of the business and affairs of the Corporation. The President shall perform all duties and have all powers incident to the office of President and perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

Section 5.3. Vice Presidents. Any Vice President, in the order of seniority, unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President. They shall also perform the usual and customary duties and have the powers that pertain to such office and generally assist the President by executing contracts and agreements and exercising such other powers and performing such other duties as are delegated to them by the President or as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

 

Exhibit J-8


Section 5.4. Corporate Secretary. The Corporate Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept, in one or more books provided for that purpose, the minutes of all meetings of the Board of Directors, the committees of the Board of Directors and the stockholders. The Corporate Secretary shall see that all notices are duly given in accordance with these Bylaws and as required by applicable law; shall be custodian of the records and the seal of the Corporation (if any) and affix and attest the seal (if any) to all documents to be executed on behalf of the Corporation under its seal; and shall see that the books, reports, statements, certificates and other documents and records required by applicable law to be kept and filed are properly kept and filed; and in general, shall perform all duties and have all powers incident to the office of Corporate Secretary and perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may be delegated by the President or as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

Section 5.5 Treasurer. The Treasurer shall keep or cause to be kept the books of account of the Corporation and shall render statements of the financial affairs of the Corporation in such form and as often as required by these Bylaws, the Board of Directors or the President. The Treasurer, subject to the order of the Board of Directors, shall have the custody of all funds and securities of the Corporation. The Treasurer shall perform the usual and customary duties and have the powers that pertain to such office and exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as are delegated to such person by the President or as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

Section 5.6. Powers and Duties. The officers of the Corporation shall have such powers and duties as generally pertain to their offices, except as modified herein or by the Board of Directors, as well as such powers and duties as from time to time may be conferred by the Board of Directors.

Section 5.7. Voting Securities Owned by the Corporation. Powers of attorney, proxies, waivers of notice of meeting, consents and other instruments relating to securities owned by the Corporation may be executed in the name and on behalf of the Corporation by the Chairperson of the Board, if any, the President or any Vice President and any such officer may, in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, take all such action as any such officer may deem advisable to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of security holders of any corporation in which the Corporation may own securities and at any such meeting shall possess and may exercise any and all rights and powers incident to the ownership of such securities and which, as the owner thereof, the Corporation might have exercised and possessed if present. The Board of Directors may, by resolution, from time to time, confer like powers upon any other person or persons.

ARTICLE VI

INDEMNIFICATION

Section 6.1. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

(a) Directors and officers of the Corporation shall be indemnified as of right to the fullest extent not prohibited by law in connection with any actual or threatened action, suit or proceeding, civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other (whether brought by or in the right of the Corporation or otherwise) arising out of their service to the Corporation or to another enterprise at the request of the Corporation.

 

Exhibit J-9


(b) The Corporation may indemnify employees or agents of the Corporation who are not directors, officers or employees of the Corporation with such scope and effect as determined by the Corporation to the extent not prohibited by law.

(c) As soon as practicable after receipt by any person entitled to indemnification hereunder of actual knowledge of any action, suit or proceeding, such indemnified person shall notify the Corporation thereof if a claim for indemnification in respect thereof may be or is being made by such indemnified person against the Corporation under this Article. With respect to any such action, suit or proceeding, the Corporation will be entitled to participate therein at its own expense and may assume the defense thereof. After the Corporation notifies the indemnified person of its election to so assume the defense, the Corporation will not be liable to the indemnified person under this Article for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified person in connection with the defense. The Corporation shall not be obligated to indemnify an indemnified person under this Article for any amounts paid in settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent.

(d) The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance to protect itself and any director, officer, agent or employee against any liability asserted against and incurred by him or her in respect of such service, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability by law or under the provisions of this Article. The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to persons who have ceased to be directors, officers, agents, and employees and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of persons entitled to indemnity hereunder.

(e) Indemnification under this Article shall include the right to be paid expenses incurred in advance of the final disposition of any action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification is provided, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the indemnified person to repay such amount if it ultimately shall be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation; provided, however, that the indemnified person shall reimburse the Corporation for any amounts paid by the Corporation as indemnification of expenses to the extent the indemnified person receives payment for the same expenses from any insurance carrier or from another party. The indemnification rights granted herein are not intended to be exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled and the Corporation may enter into contractual agreements with any director, officer, agent or employee to provide such individual with indemnification rights as set forth in such agreement or agreements, which rights shall be in addition to the rights set forth in this Article.

(f) The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to actions, suits or proceedings commenced after the adoption hereof, whether arising from acts or omissions occurring before or after the adoption hereof.

ARTICLE VII

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 7.1. Disbursements. All checks or demands for money and notes of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers or such other person or persons as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.

 

Exhibit J-10


Section 7.2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 7.3. Corporate Seal. The Corporation may adopt a corporate seal, which may be adopted or altered by the Board. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or otherwise reproduced.

Section 7.4 Notice and Waiver of Notice. Whenever notice is required to be given to any director or stockholder under the provisions of applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, such notice shall be in writing and delivered either (i) personally, (ii) by registered or certified mail, or (iii) by telegram, telecopy, or similar facsimile means (delivered during the recipient’s regular business hours). Such notice shall be sent to such director or stockholder at the address or telecopy number as it appears on the records of the Corporation, unless prior to the sending of such notice such person has designated, in a written request to the Corporate Secretary of the Corporation, another address or telecopy number to which notices are to be sent. Notices shall be deemed given when received, if sent by telegram, telex, telecopy or similar facsimile means (confirmation of such receipt by confirmed facsimile transmission being deemed receipt of communications sent by telex, telecopy or other facsimile means); and when delivered and receipted for (or upon the date of attempted delivery where delivery is refused), if hand-delivered, sent by express courier or delivery service, or sent by certified or registered mail. Whenever notice is required to be given under any provision of law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, a waiver thereof in writing, by telegraph, cable or other form of recorded communication, signed by the person or persons entitled to said notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business on the ground that the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the stockholders, directors, or members of a committee of directors need be specified in any written waiver of notice unless so required by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws.

Section 7.5 Examination of Books and Records. The Board of Directors shall determine from time to time whether, and if allowed, when and under what conditions and regulations the accounts and books of the Corporation (except such as may by statute be specifically opened to inspection) or any of them shall be open to inspection by the stockholders, and the stockholders’ rights in this respect are and shall be restricted and limited accordingly.

Section 7.6. Amendments. These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed, in whole or in part, or new Bylaws may be adopted, by the stockholders or by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that notice of such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption of new Bylaws be contained in the notice of such meeting of stockholders or Board of Directors, as the case may be. All such alterations, amendments, repeals or adoptions must be approved by either the holders of a majority of the outstanding capital stock entitled to vote thereon or by a majority of the Board of Directors then in office.

 

Exhibit J-11


EXHIBIT K

FORM OF REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Exhibit K

AMENDED AND RESTATED REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of May 26, 2021, is made and entered into by and among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) (formerly known as Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation), Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), certain equityholders of eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“eFFECTOR”), set forth on Schedule A (such equityholders, the “eFFECTOR Holders”), and certain equityholders of the Company set forth on Schedule B (such equityholders, including the Sponsor, the “Sponsor Holders” and, collectively with the eFFECTOR Holders, and any person or entity who hereafter becomes a party to this Agreement pursuant to Section 6.2 or Section 6.9 of this Agreement, the “Holders” and each, a “Holder”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Company and the Sponsor are party to that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of January 7, 2021 (the “Original RRA”);

WHEREAS, the Company has entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 26, 2021, (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, eFFECTOR and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., Inc., a Delaware corporation;

WHEREAS, on the date hereof, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the eFFECTOR Holders received shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”);

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, the Sponsor beneficially holds (i) 5,056,250 shares of Common Stock which consists of (a) 4,511,250 shares of Common Stock issued upon the automatic conversion of the Company’s Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share in connection with the Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement) (the “Founder Shares”); and (b) 545,000 share of Common Stock issued pursuant to that certain unit subscription agreement, dated January 7, 2021, between the Sponsor and the Company, pursuant to which the Sponsor purchased 545,000 units of the Company (the “Placement Units”), each Placement Unit consisting of one share of Common Stock (the “Placement Shares”) and one third of one warrant to purchase one share of Common Stock (the “Placement Warrants”) in a private placement transaction; and (ii) the Placement Warrants exercisable for 181,667 shares of Common Stock (the “Placement Warrant Shares”);

 

Exhibit K-1


WHEREAS, on the date hereof, certain eFFECTOR Holders purchased an aggregate of 4,000,003 shares of Common Stock (the “PIPE Shares”) in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act (as defined below) pursuant to a subscription agreement, dated as of May 26, 2021, entered into by and between the Company and each of the stockholders party thereto (each, a “PIPE Subscription Agreement”);

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Original RRA, the provisions, covenants and conditions set forth therein may be amended or modified upon the written consent of the Company and the Holders (as defined in the Original RRA) of at least a majority-in-interest of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Original RRA) at the time in question, and the Sponsor and the Sponsor Holders are Holders in the aggregate of at least a majority-in-interest of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Original RRA) as of the date hereof; and

WHEREAS, the Company, the Sponsor and the Sponsor Holders desire to amend and restate the Original RRA in its entirety and enter into this Agreement, pursuant to which the Company shall grant the Holders certain registration rights with respect to certain securities of the Company, as set forth in this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the representations, covenants and agreements contained herein, and certain other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

1.1    Definitions. The terms defined in this Article I shall, for all purposes of this Agreement, have the respective meanings set forth below:

Adverse Disclosure” shall mean any public disclosure of material non-public information, which disclosure, in the good faith judgment of the Board or the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer or principal financial officer of the Company (i) would be required to be made in any Registration Statement or Prospectus in order for the applicable Registration Statement or Prospectus not to contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements contained therein (in the case of any Prospectus and any preliminary Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, (ii) would not be required to be made at such time if the Registration Statement were not being filed, declared effective or used, as the case may be, and (iii) the Company has a bona fide business purpose for not making such information public.

Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

Block Trade” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.4.1.

 

Exhibit K-2


Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Bylaws” shall mean the bylaws of the Company in effect immediately following the Closing.

Closing” shall have the meaning given in the Merger Agreement.

Closing Date” shall have the meaning given in the Merger Agreement.

Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Common Stock” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto. For the sake of clarity, the Common Stock had been designated as “Class A Common Stock” prior to the Closing.

Company” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto and includes the Company’s successors by recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, reorganization or similar transaction.

Demanding eFFECTOR Holder” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Demanding Sponsor Holders” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Demanding Holder” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Earn-Out Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.

eFFECTOR” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto.

eFFECTOR Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto.

Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as it may be amended from time to time.

Form S-1” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.1.

Form S-3” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.1.

Holder Information” shall have the meaning given in Section 4.1.2.

Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto, for so long as such person or entity holds any Registrable Securities.

Joinder” shall have the meaning given in Section 6.9.

majority-in-interest” shall mean, as applicable, the Holders of a majority-in-interest of the then outstanding number of Registrable Securities held by the applicable Holders.

Maximum Number of Securities” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.5.

 

Exhibit K-3


Merger Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Minimum Takedown Threshold” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Misstatement” shall mean an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact required to be stated in a Registration Statement or Prospectus, or necessary to make the statements in a Registration Statement or Prospectus (in the case of the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.

Original RRA” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Permitted Transferees” shall mean (a) with respect to the Sponsor Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, the “Permitted Transferees” as defined in the Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement; (b) with respect to the eFFECTOR Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, the “Permitted Transferees” as defined in the Bylaws; and (c) with respect to all other Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, any person or entity to whom such Holder of Registrable Securities is permitted to transfer such Registrable Securities, subject to and in accordance with any applicable agreement between such Holder and/or their respective Permitted Transferees and the Company and any transferee thereafter.

Piggy-back Registration” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.2.1.

PIPE Shares” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus included in any Registration Statement, as supplemented by any and all prospectus supplements and as amended by any and all post-effective amendments and including all material incorporated by reference in such prospectus.

Registrable Security” shall mean (a) any outstanding shares of Common Stock or any other equity security (including warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock and shares of Common Stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of any other equity security) of the Company held by a Holder immediately following the Closing (including the Founder Shares, the Placement Shares, the Placement Warrants, the Placement Warrant Shares and any securities distributable pursuant to the Merger Agreement, including the Earn-Out Shares) other than PIPE Shares; and (b) any other equity security of the Company issued or issuable with respect to any securities referenced in clause (a) above by way of a stock dividend or stock split or in connection with a combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, reorganization or similar transaction; provided, however, that, as to any particular Registrable Security, such securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities upon the earliest to occur of: (A) a Registration Statement with respect to the sale of such securities shall have become effective under the Securities Act and such securities shall have been sold, transferred, disposed of or exchanged in accordance with such Registration Statement by the applicable Holder; (B)(i) such securities shall have been otherwise transferred, (ii) new certificates for such securities not bearing (or book entry positions not subject to) a legend restricting further transfer shall have been delivered by the Company and (iii) subsequent public distribution of such securities shall not require registration under the Securities

 

Exhibit K-4


Act; (C) such securities shall have ceased to be outstanding; (D) such securities may be sold without registration pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission) (but with no volume, current public information or other requirements, restrictions or limitations); or (E) such securities have been sold to, or through, a broker, dealer or underwriter in a public distribution or other public securities transaction.

Registration” shall mean a registration, including any related Shelf Takedown, effected by preparing and filing a registration statement, Prospectus or similar document in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and such registration statement becoming effective.

Registration Expenses” shall mean the documented, out-of-pocket expenses of a Registration, including, without limitation, the following:

(A)    all registration and filing fees (including fees with respect to filings required to be made with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) and any national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is then listed;

(B)    fees and expenses of compliance with securities or blue sky laws (including reasonable fees and disbursements of outside counsel for the Underwriters in connection with blue sky qualifications of Registrable Securities);

(C)    printing, messenger, telephone and delivery expenses;

(D)    reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company;

(E)    reasonable fees and disbursements of all independent registered public accountants of the Company incurred specifically in connection with such Registration; and

(F)    in an Underwritten Offering or other offering involving an Underwriter, reasonable fees and expenses of one (1) legal counsel selected by the majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders, not to exceed $75,000 without the consent of the Company, not to be unreasonably withheld.

Registration Statement” shall mean any registration statement that covers the Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, including the Prospectus included in such registration statement, amendments (including post-effective amendments) and supplements to such registration statement, and all exhibits to and all materials incorporated by reference in such registration statement.

Requesting Holders” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.5.

Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

Shelf” shall mean the Form S-1, the Form S-3 or any Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement, as the case may be.

 

Exhibit K-5


Shelf Registration” shall mean a registration of securities pursuant to a registration statement filed with the Commission in accordance with and pursuant to Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule then in effect).

Shelf Takedown” shall mean an Underwritten Shelf Takedown or any proposed transfer or sale using a Registration Statement, including a Piggy-back Registration.

Sponsor shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

Sponsor Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement” shall mean the sponsor lock-up agreement by and among the Company, the Company’s officers and directors and the Sponsor, dated May 26, 2021.

Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.2.

Triggering Event” shall have the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.

Underwriter” shall mean a securities dealer who purchases any Registrable Securities as principal or as broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to a Registration and not as part of such dealer’s market-making activities.

Underwritten Offering” shall mean a Registration in which securities of the Company are sold to an Underwriter in a firm commitment underwriting for distribution to the public.

Underwritten Shelf Takedown” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Withdrawal Notice” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.6.

ARTICLE II

REGISTRATIONS AND OFFERINGS

2.1    Shelf Registration.

2.1.1    Filing. The Company agrees that it will file with the Commission (at the Company’s sole cost and expense) a Registration Statement for a Shelf Registration on Form S-1 (the “Form S-1”) or a Registration Statement for a Shelf Registration on a delayed or continuous basis no later than twenty (20) business days after the Closing Date, and the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the Registration Statement declared effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, but no later than the earlier of (i) sixty (60) calendar days after the filing thereof (or, in the event the Commission reviews and has written comments to the Registration Statement, the ninetieth (90th) calendar day following the filing thereof) and (ii) the third (3rd) business day after the date the Company is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the Commission that the Registration Statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be

 

Exhibit K-6


subject to further review ((i) and (ii) collectively, the “Effectiveness Deadline”); provided, that if such day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or other day that the Commission is closed for business, the Effectiveness Deadline shall be extended to the next Business Day on which the Commission is open for business. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide a draft of the Registration Statement to the undersigned for review at least two (2) business days in advance of filing the Registration Statement; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall the Company be required to delay or postpone the filing of such Registration Statement as a result of or in connection with a Holder’s review. Such Shelf shall provide for the resale of the Registrable Securities included therein pursuant to any method or combination of methods legally available to, and requested by, any Holder named therein, including but not limited to, distributions by a Holder to members or limited partners of such Holder, and such members or limited partners shall receive such Registrable Securities free of any restrictive legends. The Company shall maintain a Shelf in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall prepare and file with the Commission such amendments, including post-effective amendments, and supplements as may be necessary to keep a Shelf continuously effective, available for use to permit the Holders named therein to sell their Registrable Securities included therein and in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any Registrable Securities. In the event the Company files a Form S-1, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to convert the Form S-1 (and any Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement) to a Form S-3 as soon as practicable after the Company is eligible to use Form S-3. The Company’s obligation under this Section 2.1.1, shall, for the avoidance of doubt, be subject to Section 3.4.

2.1.2    Subsequent Shelf Registration. If any Shelf ceases to be effective or if the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes a Misstatement for any reason at any time while Registrable Securities are still outstanding, the Company shall, subject to Section 3.4, use its commercially reasonable efforts to as promptly as is reasonably practicable cause such Shelf to again become effective under the Securities Act (including using its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the prompt withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of such Shelf) and correct any such Misstatement, and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to as promptly as is reasonably practicable amend such Shelf in a manner reasonably expected to result in the withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of such Shelf or file an additional registration statement as a Shelf Registration (a “Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement”) registering the resale of all Registrable Securities (determined as of two (2) business days prior to such filing), and pursuant to any method or combination of methods legally available to, and requested by, any Holder named therein. If a Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement is filed, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) cause such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement to become effective under the Securities Act as promptly as is reasonably practicable after the filing thereof and (ii) keep such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective, available for use to permit the Holders named therein to sell their Registrable Securities included therein and in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any Registrable Securities. Any such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be on Form S-3 to the extent that the Company is eligible to use such form. Otherwise, such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be on another appropriate form. The Company’s obligation under this Section 2.1.2, shall, for the avoidance of doubt, be subject to Section 3.4.

2.1.3    Additional Registrable Securities. Subject to Section 3.4, in the event that any Holder holds Registrable Securities that are not registered for resale on a delayed or continuous basis, the Company, upon written request of a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder shall promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the resale of such Registrable Securities to be covered by either, at the Company’s option, any then available Shelf (including by means of a post-effective amendment) or by filing a Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement and cause the same to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and such Shelf or Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be subject to the terms hereof.

 

Exhibit K-7


2.1.4    Requests for Underwritten Shelf Takedowns. Subject to Section 3.4, at any time and from time to time when an effective Shelf is on file with the Commission, (a) a Sponsor Holder (the “Demanding Sponsor Holder”) or (b) an eFFECTOR Holder (the “Demanding eFFECTOR Holder”) (any Demanding Sponsor Holder or Demanding eFFECTOR Holder being in such case, a “Demanding Holder”) may request to sell all or any portion of its Registrable Securities in an Underwritten Offering or other coordinated offering that is registered pursuant to the Shelf (each, an “Underwritten Shelf Takedown”); provided that the Company shall only be obligated to effect an Underwritten Shelf Takedown if such offering shall include Registrable Securities proposed to be sold by the Demanding Holder, either individually or together with other Demanding Holders, with a total offering price reasonably expected to exceed, in the aggregate, $50 million (the “Minimum Takedown Threshold”). All requests for Underwritten Shelf Takedowns shall be made by giving written notice to the Company, which shall specify the approximate number of Registrable Securities proposed to be sold in the Underwritten Shelf Takedown. Subject to Section 2.4.4, the Company shall have the right to select the Underwriters for such offering (which shall consist of one or more reputable nationally recognized investment banks), subject to the initial Demanding Holder’s prior approval (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). The Demanding Sponsor Holders and the Demanding eFFECTOR Holder may each demand not more than one (1) Underwritten Shelf Takedowns pursuant to this Section 2.1.4 in any twelve (12) month period. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company may effect any Underwritten Offering pursuant to any then effective Registration Statement, including a Form S-3, that is then available for such offering, subject to the provisions of Section 2.2.

2.1.5    Reduction of Underwritten Offering. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Shelf Takedown, in good faith, advises the Company, the Demanding Holders and the Holders requesting piggy-back rights pursuant to this Agreement with respect to such Underwritten Shelf Takedown (the “Requesting Holders”) (if any) in writing that the dollar amount or number of Registrable Securities that the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) desire to sell, taken together with all other shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell for its own account and all other shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, that have been requested to be sold in such Underwritten Offering pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights held by any other stockholders who desire to sell, exceeds the maximum dollar amount or maximum number of equity securities that can be sold in the Underwritten Offering without adversely affecting the proposed offering price, the timing, the distribution method, or the probability of success of such offering (such maximum dollar amount or maximum number of such securities, as applicable, the “Maximum Number of Securities”), then the Company shall include in such Underwritten Offering, before including any shares of Common Stock or other equity securities proposed to be sold by Company or by other holders of Common Stock or other equity securities, the Registrable Securities of the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) (pro rata based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Demanding Holder and Requesting Holder (if any) has requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Demanding Holders and Requesting Holders have requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown) that can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities.

 

Exhibit K-8


2.1.6    Withdrawal. Prior to the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used for marketing such Underwritten Shelf Takedown, a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating an Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall have the right to withdraw from such Underwritten Shelf Takedown for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification (a “Withdrawal Notice”) to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of their intention to withdraw from such Underwritten Shelf Takedown; provided that a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder may elect to have the Company continue an Underwritten Shelf Takedown if the Minimum Takedown Threshold would still be satisfied by the Registrable Securities proposed to be sold in the Underwritten Shelf Takedown by the Sponsor Holders, the eFFECTOR Holders or any of their respective Permitted Transferees, as applicable. If withdrawn, a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall constitute a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown by the withdrawing Demanding Holder for purposes of Section 2.1.4, unless either (i) such Demanding Holder has not previously withdrawn any Underwritten Shelf Takedown or (ii) such Demanding Holder reimburses the Company for all Registration Expenses with respect to such Underwritten Shelf Takedown (or, if there is more than one Demanding Holder, a pro rata portion of such Registration Expenses based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Demanding Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown); provided that, if a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder elects to continue an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to the proviso in the immediately preceding sentence, such Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall instead count as an Underwritten Shelf Takedown demanded by such Sponsor Holder or such eFFECTOR Holder, as applicable, for purposes of Section 2.1.4. Following the receipt of any Withdrawal Notice, the Company shall promptly forward such Withdrawal Notice to any other Holders that had elected to participate in such Shelf Takedown. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with a Shelf Takedown prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.1.6, other than if a Demanding Holder elects to pay such Registration Expenses pursuant to clause (ii) of the second sentence of this Section 2.1.6.

2.2    Piggy-back Registration.

2.2.1    Piggy-back Rights. Subject to Section 2.4.3, if the Company or any Holder proposes to conduct a registered offering of, or if the Company proposes to file a Registration Statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Registration of, equity securities, or securities or other obligations exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into equity securities, for its own account or for the account of stockholders of the Company (or by the Company and by the stockholders of the Company including, without limitation, an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to Section 2.1), other than a Registration Statement (or any registered offering with respect thereto) (i) filed in connection with any employee stock option or other benefit plan, (ii) for a rights offering or an exchange offer or offering of securities solely to the Company’s existing stockholders, (iii) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (or similar form that relates to a transaction subject to Rule 145 under the Securities Act or any successor rule thereto), (iv) for an offering of debt that is convertible into equity securities of the Company, (v) for a dividend reinvestment plan or (vi) a Block Trade, then the Company shall give written notice of such proposed offering to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities as soon as practicable but not less than ten (10) days before the anticipated filing date of such Registration Statement or, in the case of an Underwritten Offering pursuant to a Shelf Registration, the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used for marketing such offering, which notice shall (A) describe the amount and type of securities to be included in such offering, the intended method(s) of distribution, and the name of the

 

Exhibit K-9


proposed managing Underwriter or Underwriters, if any, in such offering, and (B) offer to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities the opportunity to include in such registered offering such number of Registrable Securities as such Holders may request in writing within five (5) days after receipt of such written notice (such registered offering, a “Piggy-back Registration”). Subject to Section 2.2.2, the Company shall, in good faith, cause such Registrable Securities to be included in such Piggy-back Registration and, if applicable, shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the managing Underwriter or Underwriters of such Piggy-back Registration to permit the Registrable Securities requested by the Holders pursuant to this Section 2.2.1 to be included therein on the same terms and conditions as any similar securities of the Company included in such registered offering and to permit the sale or other disposition of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method(s) of distribution thereof. The inclusion of any Holder’s Registrable Securities in a Piggy-back Registration shall be subject to such Holder agreement to enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the Underwriter(s) selected for such Underwritten Offering by the Company. The Company may postpone or withdraw the filing or the effectiveness of a Piggy-back Registration at any time in its sole discretion.

2.2.2    Reduction of Piggy-back Registration. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Offering that is to be a Piggy-back Registration, in good faith, advises the Company and the Holders of Registrable Securities participating in the Piggy-back Registration in writing that the dollar amount or number of shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, taken together with (i) the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been demanded pursuant to separate written contractual arrangements with persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, (ii) the Registrable Securities as to which registration has been requested pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof, and (iii) the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, exceeds the Maximum Number of Securities, then:

(a)    if the Registration or registered offering is undertaken for the Company’s account, the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering (A) first, the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.2.1, pro rata, based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Offering and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Holders have requested to be included in such Underwritten Offering, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities;

 

Exhibit K-10


(b)    if the Registration or registered offering is pursuant to a demand by persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, then the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering (A) first, the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, of such requesting persons or entities, other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.2.1, pro rata, based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Offering and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Holders have requested to be included in such Underwritten Offering, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (D) fourth, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A), (B) and (C), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and

(c)    if the Registration or registered offering and Underwritten Shelf Takedown is pursuant to a request by Holder(s) of Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, then the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering securities in the priority set forth in Section 2.1.5.

2.2.3    Piggy-back Registration Withdrawal. Any Holder of Registrable Securities (other than a Demanding Holder, whose right to withdraw from an Underwritten Shelf Takedown, and related obligations, shall be governed by Section 2.1.6) shall have the right to withdraw from a Piggy-back Registration for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of his, her or its intention to withdraw from such Piggy-back Registration prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement filed with the Commission with respect to such Piggy-back Registration or, in the case of a Piggy-back Registration pursuant to a Shelf Registration, the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement with respect to such Piggy-back Registration used for marketing such transaction. The Company (whether on its own good faith determination or as the result of a request for withdrawal by persons or entities pursuant to separate written contractual obligations) may withdraw a Registration Statement filed with the Commission in connection with a Piggy-back Registration (which, in no circumstance, shall include a Shelf) at any time prior to the effectiveness of such Registration Statement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement (other than Section 2.1.6), the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with the Piggy-back Registration prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.2.3.

2.2.4    Unlimited Piggy-back Registration Rights. For purposes of clarity, subject to Section 2.1.6, any Piggy-back Registration effected pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof shall not be counted as a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown under Section 2.1.4 hereof.

 

Exhibit K-11


2.3    Block Trades.

2.3.1    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article II, but subject to Section 3.4, at any time and from time to time when an effective Shelf is on file with the Commission, if a Demanding Holder wishes to engage in an underwritten or other coordinated registered offering not involving a “roadshow,” an offer commonly known as a “block trade” (a “Block Trade”), with a total offering price reasonably expected to exceed, in the aggregate, either (x) $25 million or (y) all remaining Registrable Securities held by the Demanding Holder, then such Demanding Holder only needs to notify the Company of the Block Trade at least five (5) business days prior to the day such offering is to commence and the Company shall as expeditiously as possible use its commercially reasonable efforts to facilitate such Block Trade; provided that the Demanding Holders representing a majority of the Registrable Securities wishing to engage in the Block Trade shall use commercially reasonable efforts to work with the Company and any Underwriters (including by disclosing the maximum number of Registrable Securities proposed to be the subject of such Block Trade) prior to making such request in order to facilitate preparation of the registration statement, prospectus and other offering documentation related to the Block Trade.

2.3.2    Prior to the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used in connection with a Block Trade, a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating such Block Trade shall have the right to submit a Withdrawal Notice to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of their intention to withdraw from such Block Trade. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with a Block Trade prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.4.2.

2.3.3    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Section 2.2 shall not apply to a Block Trade initiated by a Demanding Holder pursuant to this Agreement.

2.3.4    The Demanding Holder in a Block Trade shall have the right to select the Underwriters for such Block Trade (which shall consist of one or more reputable nationally recognized investment banks).

2.3.5    A Holder in the aggregate may demand no more than two (2) Block Trades pursuant to this Section 2.4 in any twelve (12) month period. For the avoidance of doubt, any Block Trade effected pursuant to this Section 2.4 shall not be counted as a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to Section 2.1.4 hereof.

ARTICLE III

COMPANY PROCEDURES

3.1    General Procedures. In connection with any Shelf and/or Shelf Takedown, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect such Registration to permit the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended plan of distribution thereof, and pursuant thereto the Company shall:

3.1.1    prepare and file with the Commission a Registration Statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective and remain effective until all Registrable Securities have ceased to be Registrable Securities;

 

Exhibit K-12


3.1.2    prepare and file with the Commission such amendments and post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, and such supplements to the Prospectus, as may be requested by a Holder or any Underwriter of Registrable Securities or as may be required by the rules, regulations or instructions applicable to the registration form used by the Company or by the Securities Act or rules and regulations thereunder to keep the Registration Statement effective until the earlier of (a) one year following the effective date of the Registration Statement or (b) until all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement are sold in accordance with the intended plan of distribution set forth in such Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus and either (i) any underwriter overallotment option has terminated by its terms or (ii) the underwriters have advised the Company that they will not exercise such option or any remaining portion thereof;

3.1.3    prior to filing a Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, furnish without charge to the Underwriters, if any, and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration, and such Holders’ legal counsel, copies of such Registration Statement as proposed to be filed, each amendment and supplement to such Registration Statement (in each case including all exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein), the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement (including each preliminary Prospectus), and such other documents as the Underwriters and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration or the legal counsel for any such Holders may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by such Holders;

3.1.4    prior to any public offering of Registrable Securities, use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) register or qualify the Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement under such securities or “blue sky” laws of such jurisdictions in the United States as any Holder of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement (in light of their intended plan of distribution) may reasonably request (or provide evidence satisfactory to such Holders that the Registrable Securities are exempt from such registration or qualification) and (ii) take such action necessary to cause such Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental authorities as may be necessary by virtue of the business and operations of the Company and do any and all other acts and things that may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities in such jurisdictions; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to qualify generally to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify or take any action to which it would be subject to general service of process or taxation in any such jurisdiction where it is not then otherwise so subject;

3.1.5    use commercially reasonable efforts to cause all such Registrable Securities to be listed on each national securities exchange on which similar securities issued by the Company are then listed;

 

Exhibit K-13


3.1.6    provide a transfer agent or warrant agent, as applicable, and registrar for all such Registrable Securities no later than the effective date of such Registration Statement;

3.1.7    advise each seller of such Registrable Securities, promptly after it shall receive notice or obtain knowledge thereof, of the issuance of any stop order by the Commission suspending the effectiveness of such Registration Statement or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose and promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such stop order should be issued;

3.1.8    at least five (5) days prior to the filing of any Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to such Registration Statement or Prospectus (or such shorter period of time as may be (a) necessary in order to comply with the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, as applicable or (b) advisable in order to reduce the number of days that sales are suspended pursuant to Section 3.4), furnish a copy thereof to each seller of such Registrable Securities or its counsel (excluding any exhibits thereto and any filing made under the Exchange Act that is to be incorporated by reference therein);

3.1.9    notify the Holders at any time when a Prospectus relating to such Registration Statement is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the happening of any event as a result of which the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes a Misstatement, and then to correct such Misstatement as set forth in Section 3.4 hereof;

3.1.10    in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, permit a representative of the Holders, the Underwriters or other financial institutions facilitating such Underwritten Offering, Block Trade or other sale pursuant to such Registration, if any, and any attorney, consultant or accountant retained by such Holders or Underwriter to participate, at each such person’s or entity’s own expense, in the preparation of the Registration Statement, and cause the Company’s officers, directors and employees to supply all information reasonably requested by any such representative, Underwriter, financial institution, attorney, consultant or accountant in connection with the Registration; provided, however, that such representatives, Underwriters or financial institutions agree to confidentiality arrangements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company, prior to the release or disclosure of any such information; and provided further, that the Company will not include the name of any Holder or any information regarding any Holder not participating in such sale pursuant to such Registration unless required by the Commission or any applicable law, rules or regulations.

3.1.11    obtain a “cold comfort” letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration (subject to such broker, placement agent or sales agent providing such certification or representation reasonably requested by the Company’s independent registered public accountings and the Company’s counsel) in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by “cold comfort” letters as the managing Underwriter may reasonably request, and reasonably satisfactory to a majority-in-interest of the participating Holders;

 

Exhibit K-14


3.1.12    in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, on the date the Registrable Securities are delivered for sale pursuant to such Registration, obtain an opinion, dated such date, of counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such Registration, addressed to the participating Holders, the broker, placement agents or sales agent, if any, and the Underwriters, if any, covering such legal matters with respect to the Registration in respect of which such opinion is being given as the participating Holders, broker, placement agent, sales agent, or Underwriter may reasonably request and as are customarily included in such opinions and negative assurance letters;

3.1.13    in the event of any Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, enter into and perform its obligations under an underwriting or other purchase or sales agreement, in usual and customary form, with the managing Underwriter or the broker, placement agent or sales agent of such offering or sale;

3.1.14    otherwise use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Commission, and to make available to its security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement covering the period of at least twelve (12) months beginning with the first day of the Company’s first full calendar quarter after the effective date of the Registration Statement which satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 thereunder, and which requirement will be deemed satisfied if the Company timely files complete and accurate information on Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K under the Exchange Act and otherwise complies with Rule 158 under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission);

3.1.15    with respect to an Underwritten Offering pursuant to Section 2.1.4, use its commercially reasonable efforts to make available senior executives of the Company to participate in customary “road show” presentations that may be reasonably requested by the Underwriter in such Underwritten Offering; and

3.1.16    otherwise, in good faith, cooperate reasonably with, and take such customary actions as may reasonably be requested by the participating Holders, consistent with the terms of this Agreement, in connection with such Registration.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to provide any documents or information to an Underwriter or other sales agent or placement agent if such Underwriter or other sales agent or placement agent has not then been named with respect to the applicable Underwritten Offering or other offering involving a registration and an Underwriter.

3.2    Registration Expenses. The Registration Expenses of all Registrations shall be borne by the Company. It is acknowledged by the Holders that the Holders shall bear all incremental selling expenses relating to the sale of Registrable Securities, such as Underwriters’ commissions and discounts, brokerage fees, Underwriter marketing costs and, other than as set forth in the definition of “Registration Expenses,” all reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel representing the Holders.

 

Exhibit K-15


3.3    Requirements for Participation in Registration Statement in Offerings. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any Holder does not provide the Company with its requested Holder Information, the Company may exclude such Holder’s Registrable Securities from the applicable Registration Statement or Prospectus if the Company determines, based on the advice of counsel, that such information is necessary to effect the registration and such Holder continues thereafter to withhold such information. No person may participate in any Underwritten Offering or other offering involving a Registration and an Underwriter for equity securities of the Company pursuant to a Registration initiated by the Company hereunder unless such person (i) agrees to sell such person’s securities on the basis provided in any arrangements approved by the Company and (ii) completes and executes all customary questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, lock-up agreements, underwriting or other agreements and other customary documents as may be reasonably required under the terms of such arrangements. The exclusion of a Holder’s Registrable Securities as a result of this Section 3.3 shall not affect the registration of the other Registrable Securities to be included in such Registration.

3.4    Suspension of Sales; Adverse Disclosure; Restrictions on Registration Rights.

3.4.1    Upon receipt of written notice from the Company that a Registration Statement or Prospectus contains a Misstatement, or in the opinion of counsel for the Company it is necessary to supplement or amend such Prospectus to comply with law, each of the Holders shall forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities until it has received copies of a supplemented or amended Prospectus correcting the Misstatement or including the information counsel for the Company believes to be necessary to comply with law (it being understood that the Company hereby covenants to prepare and file such supplement or amendment as soon as practicable after the time of such notice), or until it is advised in writing by the Company that the use of the Prospectus may be resumed.

3.4.2    Subject to Section 3.4.4, if the filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Registration Statement in respect of any Registration at any time would (a) require the Company to make an Adverse Disclosure, (b) require the inclusion in such Registration Statement of financial statements that are unavailable to the Company for reasons beyond the Company’s control, or (c) in the good faith judgment of the majority of the Board such Registration, be seriously detrimental to the Company and the majority of the Board concludes as a result that it is essential to defer such filing, initial effectiveness or continued use at such time, the Company may, upon giving prompt written notice of such action to the Holders, delay the filing or initial effectiveness of, or suspend use of, such Registration Statement for the shortest period of time, but in no event more than thirty (30) days, determined in good faith by the Company to be necessary for such purpose. In the event the Company exercises its rights under this Section 3.4.2, the Holders agree to suspend, immediately upon their receipt of the notice referred to above, their use of the Prospectus relating to any Registration in connection with any sale or offer to sell Registrable Securities until such Holder receives written notice from the Company that such sales or offers of Registrable Securities may be resumed, and in each case maintain the confidentiality of such notice and its contents.

3.4.3    Subject to Section 3.4.4, (a) during the period starting with the date sixty (60) days prior to the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of the filing of, and ending on a date one hundred and twenty (120) days after the effective date of, a Company-initiated Registration and provided that the Company continues to actively employ, in good faith, all

 

Exhibit K-16


reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the applicable Shelf Registration Statement, or (b) if, pursuant to Section 2.1.4, Holders have requested an Underwritten Shelf Takedown and the Company and Holders are unable to obtain the commitment of underwriters to firmly underwrite such offering, the Company may, upon giving prompt written notice of such action to the Holders, delay any other registered offering pursuant to Section 2.1.4 or 2.4.

3.4.4    The right to delay or suspend any filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Registration Statement pursuant to Section 3.4.2 or a registered offering pursuant to Section 3.4.3 shall be exercised by the Company, in the aggregate, on not more than two occasions or for more than sixty (60) consecutive calendar days or more than two (2) times in any three hundred sixty (360) day period.

3.4.5    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Company shall not provide any Holder with any material, nonpublic information regarding the Company other than to the extent that providing notice to such Holder hereunder constitutes material, nonpublic information regarding the Company.

3.5    Reporting Obligations. As long as any Holder shall own Registrable Securities, the Company, at all times while it shall be a reporting company under the Exchange Act, covenants to use commercially reasonable efforts to file timely (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 Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and to promptly furnish the Holders with true and complete copies of all such filings; provided that any documents publicly filed or furnished with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System shall be deemed to have been furnished or delivered to the Holders pursuant to this Section 3.5. The Company further covenants that it shall take such further action as any Holder may reasonably request, all to the extent required from time to time to enable such Holder to sell the shares of Common Stock held by such Holder without registration under the Securities Act within the limitation of the exemptions provided by Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission). Upon the request of any Holder, the Company shall deliver to such Holder a written certification of a duly authorized officer as to whether it has complied with such requirements.

ARTICLE IV

INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION

4.1    Indemnification.

4.1.1    The Company agrees to indemnify, to the extent permitted by law, each Holder of Registrable Securities, its officers, directors and agents and each person or entity who controls such Holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act), against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and out-of-pocket expenses (including, reasonable outside attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as the same are caused by or contained

 

Exhibit K-17


in any information so furnished in writing to the Company by such Holder expressly for use therein. The Company shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers and directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to the indemnification of the Holder.

4.1.2    In connection with any Registration Statement in which a Holder of Registrable Securities is participating, such Holder shall furnish (or cause to be furnished) to the Company in writing such information and affidavits as the Company reasonably requests for use in connection with any such Registration Statement or Prospectus (the “Holder Information”) and, to the extent permitted by law, shall indemnify the Company, its directors, officers and agents and each person who controls the Company (within the meaning of the Securities Act) against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and out-of-pocket expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable outside attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only to the extent that such untrue statement or omission is contained in (or not contained in, in the case of an omission) any information or affidavit so furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Holder expressly for use therein; provided, however, that the obligation to indemnify shall be several, not joint and several, among such Holders of Registrable Securities, and the liability of each such Holder of Registrable Securities shall be in proportion to and limited to the net proceeds received by such Holder from the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement. The Holders of Registrable Securities shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers, directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to indemnification of the Company..

4.1.3    Any person entitled to indemnification herein shall (i) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which it seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall not impair any person’s right to indemnification hereunder to the extent such failure has not materially prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (ii) unless in such indemnified party’s reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist with respect to such claim, permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent (but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). An indemnifying party who is not entitled to, or elects not to, assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (plus local counsel) for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of any indemnified party a conflict of interest may exist between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim. No indemnifying party shall, without the consent of the indemnified party, consent to the entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which cannot be settled in all respects by the payment of money (and such money is so paid by the indemnifying party pursuant to the terms of such settlement) or which settlement includes a statement or admission of fault and culpability on the part of such indemnified party or which settlement does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such indemnified party of a release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation.

 

Exhibit K-18


4.1.4    The indemnification provided for under this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party or any officer, director or controlling person of such indemnified party and shall survive the transfer of securities. The Company and each Holder of Registrable Securities participating in an offering also agrees to make such provisions as are reasonably requested by any indemnified party for contribution to such party in the event the Company’s or such Holder’s indemnification is unavailable for any reason.

4.1.5    If the indemnification provided under Section 4.1 from the indemnifying party is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and    expenses referred to herein, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying the indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities and    expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, was made by (or not made by, in the case of an omission), or relates to information supplied by (or not supplied by in the case of an omission), such indemnifying party or indemnified party, and the indemnifying party’s and indemnified party’s relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action; provided, however, that the liability of any Holder under this Section 4.1.5 (when combined with any indemnification liability under Section 4.1.2) shall be limited to the amount of the net proceeds received by such Holder in such offering giving rise to such liability. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses or other liabilities referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 4.1.1, 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 above, any legal or other fees, charges or out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. The parties hereto agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 4.1.5 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation, which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 4.1.5. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution pursuant to this Section 4.1.5 from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

ARTICLE V

MISCELLANEOUS

5.1    Notices. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be in writing and given by (i) deposit in the United States mail, addressed to the party to be notified, postage prepaid and registered or certified with return receipt requested, (ii) delivery in person or by courier service providing evidence of delivery, or (iii) transmission by hand delivery, electronic mail or facsimile. Each notice or communication that is mailed, delivered, or transmitted in the manner

 

Exhibit K-19


described above shall be deemed sufficiently given, served, sent, and received, in the case of mailed notices, on the third business day following the date on which it is mailed and, in the case of notices delivered by courier service, hand delivery, electronic mail or facsimile, at such time as it is delivered to the addressee (with the delivery receipt of the indented recipient or the affidavit of messenger) or at such time as delivery is refused by the addressee upon presentation. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be addressed, to the Company at:

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

11120 Roselle Street, Suite A

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: [ 🌑 ]

Email: [ 🌑 ]

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

Latham & Watkins LLP

12670 High Bluff Drive

San Diego, CA 92130

Attention: Matthew T. Bush

Ryan J. Maierson

Email: matt.bush@lw.com

  ryan.maierson@lw.com

and to the Holders, at such Holder’s address referenced in Schedule A or Schedule B.

Any party may change its address for notice at any time and from time to time by written notice to the other parties hereto, and such change of address shall become effective thirty (30) days after delivery of such notice as provided in this Section 6.1.

5.2    Assignment; No Third Party Beneficiaries.

5.2.1    This Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of the Company hereunder may not be assigned or delegated by the Company in whole or in part.

5.2.2    Subject to Section 5.2.4 and Section 5.2.5, this Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of a Holder hereunder may be assigned in whole or in part to such Holder’s Permitted Transferees; provided, that, with respect to the eFFECTOR Holders and the Sponsor Holders, the rights hereunder that are personal to such Holders may not be assigned or delegated in whole or in part, except that (x) each of the eFFECTOR Holders shall be permitted to transfer its rights hereunder as the eFFECTOR Holders to one or more affiliates or any direct or indirect partners, members or equity holders of such eFFECTOR Holder (it being understood that no such transfer shall reduce any rights of such eFFECTOR Holder or such transferees) and (y) each of the Sponsor Holders shall be permitted to transfer its rights hereunder as the Sponsor Holders to one or more affiliates or any direct or indirect partners, members or equity holders of such Sponsor Holder (it being understood that no such transfer shall reduce any rights of the Sponsor or such transferees).

 

Exhibit K-20


5.2.3    This Agreement and the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of each of the Holders, the permitted assigns and its successors and the permitted assigns of the Holders, which shall include Permitted Transferees.

5.2.4    This Agreement shall not confer any rights or benefits on any persons or entities that are not parties hereto, other than as expressly set forth in this Agreement and Section 5.2 hereto.

5.2.5    No assignment by any party hereto of such party’s rights, duties and obligations hereunder shall be binding upon or obligate the Company unless and until the Company shall have received (i) written notice of such assignment as provided in Section 5.1 hereof and (ii) the written agreement of the assignee, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to be bound by the terms and provisions of this Agreement (which may be accomplished by an addendum or certificate of joinder to this Agreement). Any transfer or assignment made other than as provided in this Section 5.2 shall be null and void.

5.3    Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts (including facsimile or PDF counterparts), each of which shall be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute the same instrument, but only one of which need be produced.

5.4    Governing Law; Venue. THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE CONFLICT OF LAW PROVISIONS OF SUCH 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 or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the city of New York, and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.

5.5    Amendments and Modifications. Upon the written consent of the Company and the Holders of at least a majority in interest then outstanding of the Registrable Securities, compliance with any of the provisions, covenants and conditions set forth in this Agreement may be waived, or any of such provisions, covenants or conditions may be amended or modified; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, any amendment hereto or waiver hereof that adversely affects one Holder, solely in its capacity as a holder of the shares of capital stock of the Company, in a manner that is materially different from the other Holders (in such capacity) shall require the consent of the Holder so affected. No course of dealing between any Holder or the Company and any other party hereto or any failure or delay on the part of a Holder or the Company in exercising any rights or remedies under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver of any rights or remedies of any Holder or the Company. No single or partial exercise of any rights or remedies under this Agreement by a party shall operate as a waiver or preclude the exercise of any other rights or remedies hereunder or thereunder by such party.

5.6    Other Registration Rights. Other than pursuant to the terms of the PIPE Subscription Agreement, the Company represents and warrants that no person, other than a Holder of Registrable Securities, has any right to require the Company to register any securities of the Company for sale or to include such securities of the Company in any Registration Statement filed

 

Exhibit K-21


by the Company for the sale of securities for its own account or for the account of any other person. Further, the Company and each of the Holders agree that this Agreement supersedes any other registration rights agreement or agreement with similar terms and conditions among the parties hereto and in the event of a conflict between any such agreement or agreements and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail.

5.7    Termination. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the third anniversary of the date of this Agreement or (b) the date as of which (i) all of the Registrable Securities have either been sold pursuant to a Registration Statement or cease to be Registrable Securities (but in no event prior to the applicable period referred to in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act and Rule 174 thereunder (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission)) or (ii) the Holders of all Registrable Securities are permitted to sell the Registrable Securities under Rule 144 (or any similar provision) under the Securities Act without limitation on the amount of securities sold or the manner of sale or current public information requirement. The provisions of Section 3.5 and Article IV shall survive any termination.

5.8    Holder Information. Each Holder agrees, if requested in writing, to represent to the Company the total number of Registrable Securities held by such Holder to the extent necessary for the Company to make determinations hereunder.

5.9    Joinder. Each person or entity who becomes a Holder pursuant to Section 5.2 hereof must execute a joinder to this Agreement in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto (a “Joinder”).

5.10    Severability. It is the desire and intent of the parties that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought. Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.

5.11    Entire Agreement; Restatement. This Agreement constitutes the full and entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to such subject matter. Upon the Closing, the Original RRA shall no longer be of any force or effect.

[SIGNATURE PAGES FOLLOW]

 

Exhibit K-22


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written above.

 

COMPANY:
EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.
a Delaware corporation
By:  

 

Name:
Title:
HOLDERS:

LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC

a Delaware limited liability company

By: Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager
By:  

 

Name: Geoffrey Meyerson
Title: Senior Managing Director

[Entity eFFECTOR Holders]

a[·]

By:  

 

Name:
Title:
[Individual eFFECTOR Holders]
🌑 ]  

 

Exhibit K-23


Schedule A

eFFECTOR Holders

 

Exhibit K-24


Schedule B

Sponsor Holders

 

Exhibit K-25


Exhibit A

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT JOINDER

The undersigned is executing and delivering this joinder (this “Joinder”) pursuant to the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of [·], 2021 (as the same may hereafter be amended, the “Registration Rights Agreement”), among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the other persons or entities named as parties therein. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Registration Rights Agreement.

By executing and delivering this Joinder to the Company, and upon acceptance hereof by the Company upon the execution of a counterpart hereof, the undersigned hereby agrees to become a party to, to be bound by, and to comply with the Registration Rights Agreement as a Holder of Registrable Securities in the same manner as if the undersigned were an original signatory to the Registration Rights Agreement, and the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock shall be included as Registrable Securities under the Registration Rights Agreement to the extent provided therein.

Accordingly, the undersigned has executed and delivered this Joinder as of the __________ day of __________, 20__.

 

 

Signature of Stockholder

 

Print Name of Stockholder

Its:

Address:  

 

 

 

Agreed and Accepted as of

____________, 20__

 

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

By:

   

Name:

 

Its:

 

 

Exhibit K-26

EX-10.1

Exhibit 10.1

Date: May 26, 2021

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

11120 Roselle Street, Suite A

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: Steve Worland, CEO

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.

Two Commerce Square

2001 Market Street, Suite 3400

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Attention: Daniel Geffken, CFO

Re: Support Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This letter (this “Support Agreement”) is being delivered by Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the sole holder of Parent Class B Common Stock (the “Sponsor”), to Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation ( “Parent”) and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in accordance with that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of the date hereof, by and among Parent, the Company, and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ( “Merger Sub”). The Sponsor, Parent, and the Company shall be referred to herein from time to time collectively as the “Parties”. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in the Merger Agreement. As used herein, the term “Section” shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to the specified Section of this Support Agreement.

The Sponsor is currently, and as of immediately prior to the Closing will be, the record owner and Beneficial Owner of an aggregate of 5,056,250 shares of Parent Common Stock (the “Sponsor Shares”), representing approximately 22.4% of the voting power of the Parent’s equity securities, which consists of (i) 545,000 placement shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, and (ii) 4,511,250 founder shares of Parent Class B Common Stock to be converted into the right to receive that number of shares of Parent Class A Common Stock by virtue of the Merger.

In order to induce the Company to enter into the Merger Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Sponsor hereby agrees with Parent as follows:

 

1.

Voting Agreements. For so long as this Support Agreement is in effect, the Sponsor, in its capacity as a stockholder of Parent, covenants and agrees that, at any meeting of Parent’s stockholders related to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Transactions”), whether annual or special and whether or not an adjourned or postponed meeting, and however called, and in connection with any action by written consent of Parent’s stockholders related to the Transactions (all such meetings or consents collectively referred to herein as the “Meeting”), the Sponsor shall:

 

  a.

when the Meeting is held, appear at the Meeting or otherwise cause the Sponsor Shares to be counted as present thereat for the purpose of establishing a quorum;

 

  b.

vote (or execute and return an action by written consent), or cause to be voted at the Meeting (or validly execute and return and cause such consent to be granted with respect to), all of the Sponsor Shares in favor of each of the proposals relating to the Transactions and any other matters necessary or reasonably requested by Parent for consummation of the Merger and the Transactions; and

 

  c.

vote (or execute and return an action by written consent), or cause to be voted at the Meeting (or validly execute and return and cause such consent to be granted with respect to), all of the Sponsor Shares against any action that would reasonably be expected to (x) impede, interfere with, delay, postpone or adversely affect the Merger or any of the Transactions, (y) result in a breach of any


  covenant, representation or warranty or other obligation or agreement of Parent or Merger Sub under the Merger Agreement, or (z) result in a breach of any covenant, representation or warranty or other obligation or agreement of the Sponsor contained in this Support Agreement.

 

2.

Stop Transfers; Certificates. The Sponsor agrees that, except for Transfers of Sponsor Shares permitted by this Support Agreement, it shall not request that Parent register the Transfer (book entry or otherwise) of any Sponsor Shares.

 

3.

Damages; Remedies. The Sponsor hereby agrees and acknowledges that (a) Parent and the Company would be irreparably injured in the event of a breach by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement, (b) monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy for such breach, and (c) the non-breaching party shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedy that such Party may have in law or in equity, in the event of such breach or threatened breach, without the need to post a bond or other collateral security.

 

4.

Transfer Restrictions. The Sponsor agrees that it shall not sell, assign or otherwise Transfer any Sponsor Shares; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to any Transfer to any members or partners of the Sponsor or its Affiliates, any Affiliates of the Sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; provided, that any transferee of any such Transfer must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by this Support Agreement prior to the occurrence of such Transfer.

 

5.

Additional Shares. During the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the earlier to occur of (a) the Effective Time; and (b) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, in the event that, (i) any shares of Parent Common Stock, Parent Public Warrant or other equity securities of Parent are issued to the Sponsor pursuant to any stock split, stock dividend, combination or reclassification, or through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization or business combination, or by any other means, (ii) the Sponsor purchases or otherwise acquires Beneficial Ownership of any shares of Parent Common Stock, Parent Public Warrant or other equity securities of Parent, or (iii) the Sponsor acquires the right to vote or share in the voting of any Parent Common Stock or other equity securities of Parent (such Parent Common Stock, Parent Warrants or other equity securities of Parent, collectively the “New Securities”), then such New Securities acquired or purchased by the Stockholder shall be subject to the terms of Sections 1, 2 and 4 to the same extent as if they constituted Sponsor Shares as of the date hereof.

 

6.

Entire Agreement; Amendment. This Support Agreement, the Merger Agreement and the other agreements referenced herein constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties hereto in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior understandings, agreements or representations by or among the Parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby. This Support Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified or waived (other than to correct a typographical error) as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all Parties hereto.

 

7.

Assignment. No Party hereto may, except as set forth herein, assign either this Support Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other Parties. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee. This Support Agreement shall be binding on the Sponsor and its successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns and permitted transferees.

 

8.

Counterparts. This Support Agreement may be executed in any number of original, electronic or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

 

9.

Severability. This Support Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Support Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the Parties intend that there shall be added as a part of this Support Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

 

2


10.

Governing Law, Forum; Waiver of Jury Trial.

 

  a.

This Support Agreement, and all claims or causes of action based upon, arising out of, or related to this Support Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof (or any other jurisdiction) to the extent that such principles would direct a matter to another jurisdiction.

 

  b.

Each of the Parties agrees that: (i) it shall bring any Proceeding in connection with, arising out of or otherwise relating to this Support Agreement, any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Support Agreement or the Transactions exclusively in the courts of the State of Delaware in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (and only if) such court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division); provided that if subject matter jurisdiction over the Proceeding is vested exclusively in the United States federal courts, then such Proceeding shall be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Chosen Courts”); and (ii) solely in connection with such Proceedings, (A) it irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chosen Courts, (B) it waives any objection to the laying of venue in any Proceeding in the Chosen Courts, (C) it waives any objection that the Chosen Courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over any Party, (D) mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such Proceeding in the manner provided in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Law shall be valid and sufficient service thereof and (E) it shall not assert as a defense, any matter or claim waived by the foregoing clauses (A) through (D) of this Section 10 or that any Governmental Order issued by the Chosen Courts may not be enforced in or by the Chosen Courts.

 

  c.

EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY BE IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISE OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATE TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS, IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS. EACH PARTY HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND CERTIFIES (i) THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER PARTIES HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTIES WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER, (ii) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (iii) IT MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY AND (iv) IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 10(C).

 

11.

Notice. Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Support Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent or given in accordance with the terms of Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement to the applicable Party, with respect to the Parent and the Company, at the address set forth in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement, and, with respect to Sponsor, at the address set forth on Sponsor’s signature page.

 

3


12.

Termination. This Support Agreement shall automatically terminate, without any notice or other action by any Party, upon the earlier of (a) the Effective Time; and (b) the termination of the Merger Agreement prior to the Effective Time in accordance with its terms. Upon termination of this Support Agreement as provided in the immediately preceding sentence, none of the Parties shall have any further obligations or liability under, or with respect to, this Support Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary in this Support Agreement, the termination of this Support Agreement pursuant to Section 12(b) shall not affect any liability on the part of any Party for a Willful Breach of any covenant or agreement set forth in this Support Agreement prior to such termination or Fraud. For purposes of this Section 12, (x) “Willful Breach” means an intentional and willful breach, or an intentional and willful failure to perform, in each case that is the consequence of an act or omission by a Party with the knowledge that the taking of such act or failure to take such act would cause a breach of this Support Agreement and (y) “Fraud” means an act or omission by a Party consisting of a false or incorrect representation or warranty expressly set forth in this Support Agreement with the intent that another Party rely on such representations and warranties, coupled with such other Party’s detrimental reliance on such representations and warranties under circumstances that constitute common law fraud under the Laws of the State of Delaware. For the avoidance of doubt, “Fraud” does not include any claim for equitable fraud, promissory fraud, unfair dealings fraud, or any torts based on negligence or recklessness.

 

13.

Sponsor Representations: The Sponsor represents and warrants to Parent, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, that:

 

  a.

it has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound (including, without limitation, any non-competition or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or former employer), to enter into this Support Agreement;

 

  b.

it is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized, and the execution, delivery and performance of this Support Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby are within the Sponsor’s limited liability company powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company actions on the part of the Sponsor;

 

  c.

this Support Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Sponsor and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the other Parties to this Support Agreement, this Support Agreement constitutes a legally valid and binding obligation of the Sponsor, enforceable against the Sponsor in accordance with the terms hereof (except for the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception);

 

  d.

the execution and delivery of this Support Agreement by the Sponsor does not, and the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations hereunder will not, (i) conflict with or result in a violation of the organizational documents of the Sponsor, or (ii) require any consent or approval from any third party that has not been given or other action that has not been taken by any third party, in each case, to the extent such consent, approval or other action would prevent, enjoin or materially delay the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement;

 

  e.

the Sponsor has not entered into, and shall not enter into, any agreement that would prevent the Sponsor from performing any of its obligations hereunder;

 

  f.

there are no Proceedings pending against the Sponsor or, to the knowledge of the Sponsor, threatened against the Sponsor, before any arbitrator or any Governmental Authority, which in any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, or enjoin the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Support Agreement;

 

  g.

the Sponsor has good title to the Sponsor Shares, free and clear of any Liens, and the Sponsor has the sole power to vote or cause to be voted such Sponsor Shares; and

 

  h.

the Sponsor Shares identified in Paragraph 2 of this Support Agreement are the only voting securities of the Parent Beneficially Owned by the Sponsor as of the date hereof, and none of such Sponsor

 

4


  Shares are subject to any proxy, voting trust or other agreement or arrangement with respect to the voting of such Sponsor Shares that is inconsistent with the Sponsor’s obligations pursuant to this Support Agreement.

 

14.

Adjustment for Stock Split. If, and as often as, there are any changes in the Parent Common Stock or the Sponsor Shares by way of stock split, stock dividend, combination or reclassification, or through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization or business combination, or by any other means, equitable adjustment shall be made to the provisions of this Support Agreement as may be required so that the rights, privileges, duties and obligations hereunder shall continue with respect to the Sponsor, Parent, and the Sponsor Shares as so changed.

 

15.

No Recourse. Each Party agrees that (a) this Support Agreement may only be enforced against, and any action for breach of this Support Agreement may only be made against, the Parties and any transferee of Sponsor Shares (any such transferee, a “Sponsor Transferee”), and no claims of any nature whatsoever (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising under or relating to this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be asserted against any non-party Affiliate of the Sponsor or any Sponsor Transferee, and (b) none of the Sponsor’s non-party Affiliates (unless such Affiliate is a Sponsor Transferee) shall have any liability arising out of or relating to this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby, including with respect to any claim (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for breach of this Support Agreement or in respect of any written or oral representations made or alleged to be made in connection herewith, as expressly provided herein, or for any actual or alleged inaccuracies, misstatements or omissions with respect to any information or materials of any kind furnished in connection with this Support Agreement, the negotiation hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

16.

No Third Party Beneficiaries. This Support Agreement shall be for the sole benefit of the Parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not intended, nor shall be construed, to give any Person, other than the Parties and their respective successors and assigns, any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever in connection with the matters governed by this Support Agreement. Nothing in this Support Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to or shall constitute the Parties, partners or participants in a joint venture.

 

17.

Further Actions. Each of the Parties hereto agrees to execute and deliver hereafter any further document, agreement or instrument of assignment, transfer or conveyance as may be necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes hereof and as may be reasonably requested in writing by another Party hereto.

 

18.

Definitions. As used herein, (i) “Beneficially Own” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act, (ii) “Transfer shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b), other than a Registration Statement filed pursuant to the Merger Agreement.

[remainder of page intentionally left blank]

 

5


If the above correctly reflects our understanding and agreement with respect to the foregoing matters, please so confirm by signing in the space below and returning this letter agreement to us.

Sincerely,

 

LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC
By: Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager
By:  

/s/ Geoffrey Meyerson

  Name:   Geoffrey Meyerson
  Title:   Chief Executive Officer

Notice Address of the Sponsor:

200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor

Boston, MA 02116

Attention: Geoff Meyerson

Email: gmeyerson@locustwalk.com

 

Signature Page to

Sponsor Support Agreement


Accepted and Agreed:

 

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.
By:  

/s/ Steve Worland

  Name:   Steve Worland
  Title:   Chief Executive Officer
LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

/s/ Daniel Geffken

  Name:   Daniel Geffken
  Title:   Chief Financial Officer

 

Signature Page to

Sponsor Support Agreement

EX-10.2

Exhibit 10.2

FORM OF SPONSOR LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

THIS LOCK-UP AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of May 26, 2021 by and between (i) Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation, which will be known after the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (as defined below) as “eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.” (including any successor entity thereto, “Parent”), and (ii) Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”).

WHEREAS, on May 26, 2021, (i) Parent, (ii) Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub”), and (iii) eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (as amended from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, at the Effective Time, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company surviving as a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”);

WHEREAS, immediately prior to the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), Sponsor is a holder of 4,511,250 shares of Parent Class B Common Stock (the “Founder Shares”), which it acquired from Parent in a private placement that occurred prior to the initial public offering of Parent public units (the “IPO”) pursuant to the final prospectus of Parent (File No. 333-251496), dated January 7, 2021, and filed with the SEC on January 11, 2021, which Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Parent Class A Common Stock at the Closing;

WHEREAS, after the closing of the IPO and in addition to such Founder Shares, Sponsor is a holder of 545,000 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock (the “Private Placement Shares”, together with the Founder Shares and any securities paid as dividends or distributions with respect to such securities or into which such securities are exchanged or converted, the “Sponsor Shares”) and Parent Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 181,667 shares of Parent Class A Common Stock, which it acquired from Parent in a private placement consummated simultaneously with the completion of the IPO; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Merger Agreement and as a condition thereof, the parties desire to enter into this Agreement, effective immediately following the Closing, pursuant to which the Sponsor Shares shall become subject to limitations on disposition as set forth herein in lieu of the transfer restrictions set forth in Section 3(b) and Section 3(c) of the letter agreement, dated January 7, 2021, between Parent, the Sponsor and the directors and officers of Parent (the “Insider Letter”).

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above, which are incorporated in this Agreement as if fully set forth below, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereby agree as follows:

1. Definitions. Capitalized terms used and not defined herein shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Merger Agreement. The terms in this Section 1 shall have the meaning ascribed to such term set forth below:

(a) “Beneficially Own” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act.

(b) “Change of Control” means any transaction or series of transactions following the Closing the result of which is: (i) the acquisition by any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) of Persons of direct or indirect beneficial ownership of securities representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent; (ii) a merger, consolidation, business combination, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar transaction, however effected, resulting in any Person or group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act) acquiring 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of Parent or the surviving or successor entity immediately after such combination; (iii) a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; provided, however, that any securities of Parent issued in a bona fide financing transaction or series of bona fide financing transactions shall be excluded from the definition of “Change of Control”.


(c) “Permitted Transferee” means (i) any member, officer or director of the Sponsor, or any immediate family member, partner, affiliate, member, stockholder, officer or director of a member of the Sponsor, (ii) any trust, in which all beneficiaries are Permitted Transferees under clause (i), or (iii) a charitable organization.

(d) “Lock-Up Period” means the period beginning on the Closing Date and ending on the earlier of (x) two hundred and seventy (270) days after the Closing Date, (y) the date on which the Parent Common Share Price equals or exceeds $12.00 for any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period following the 90th day of the Closing Date, or (z) a Change of Control.

(e) “Transfer” shall mean the (i) sale or assignment of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security or the economic value thereof, (ii) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iii) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii).

2. Lock-Up Provisions.

(a) Sponsor hereby agrees not to Transfer any Sponsor Shares during the Lock-Up Period. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to the Transfer of any or all of the Sponsor Shares owned by Sponsor to any Permitted Transferee; provided, however, that in such case it shall be a condition to such Transfer that the transferee (i) executes and delivers to Parent an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding the Sponsor Shares subject to the provisions of this Agreement applicable to Sponsor, and there shall be no further Transfer of such Sponsor Shares except in accordance with this Agreement; (ii) such Transfer shall not involve a disposition for value (except for Transfers to a Permitted Transferee that is an affiliate of Sponsor); (iii) any required public report or filing (including filings under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act), shall disclose the nature of such Transfer and that the Sponsor Shares remain subject to the lock-up restrictions hereunder; and (iv) there shall be no voluntary public disclosure or other announcement of such Transfer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions on Transfers set forth in this Agreement shall not apply to the filing of a registration statement registering the resale of the Sponsor Shares pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, to be entered into at the Closing, by and between the Company, Parent the Sponsor and certain stockholders of the Company named therein (for clarity such registration statement may include Sponsor Shares); provided no sales can be effected pursuant to such registration statement during the Lock-up Period.

(b) If any Transfer is made or attempted contrary to the provisions of this Agreement, such purported Transfer shall be null and void ab initio, and Parent shall refuse to recognize any such purported transferee of the Sponsor Shares as one of its equity holders for all purposes. In order to enforce this Section 2, Parent may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to the Sponsor Shares (and Permitted Transferees and assigns thereof) until the end of the Lock-Up Period.

(c) If a release from the restrictions set forth in Section 9.1 of Parent Restated Bylaws is granted to any Lock-Up Holder (as defined in the Parent Restated Bylaws), the same percentage of Sponsor Shares (the “Pro-rata Release”) shall be immediately and fully released on the same terms from any remaining lock-up restrictions set forth herein; provided however, that such Pro-rata Release shall not be applied in the event of releases (a) granted from such lock-up restrictions to any individual party or parties to Transfer shares of the Parent Common Stock or other securities in an amount up to an aggregate of 2% of Parent total outstanding stock, (b) if the release or waiver is granted due to circumstances of any emergency or hardship of a Holder, as determined in Parent’s sole judgment, or (c) in connection with an underwritten public offering of Parent Common Stock, provided that the Holders holding registration rights have been given an opportunity to participate with other selling stockholders in such public offering (a “Follow-On Offering”) on a pro rata basis on pricing terms that are no less favorable than the terms of the Follow-On Offering.

(d) For the avoidance of any doubt, Sponsor shall retain all of its rights as a stockholder of Parent during the Lock-Up Period, including the right to vote any Sponsor Shares.


3. Sponsor Representations. The Sponsor represents and warrants to Parent, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, that:

(a) it has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound, to enter into this Agreement;

(b) it is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized, and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement are within the Sponsor’s limited liability company powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company actions on the part of the Sponsor;

(c) this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Sponsor and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by Parent, this Agreement constitutes a legally valid and binding obligation of the Sponsor, enforceable against the Sponsor in accordance with the terms hereof (except for the Bankruptcy and Equity Exception);

(d) the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Sponsor does not, and the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations hereunder will not, (i) conflict with or result in a violation of the organizational documents of the Sponsor, or (ii) require any consent or approval from any third party that has not been given or other action that has not been taken by any third party, in each case, to the extent such consent, approval or other action would prevent, enjoin or materially delay the performance by the Sponsor of its obligations under this Agreement;

(e) the Sponsor has not entered into, and shall not enter into, any agreement that would prevent the Sponsor from performing any of its obligations hereunder; and

(f) the Sponsor Shares and the Parent Private Placement Warrants are the only securities of the Parent Beneficially Owned by the Sponsor as of the date hereof.

4. Miscellaneous.

(a) Termination of Merger Agreement. This Agreement shall be binding upon Sponsor upon Sponsor’s execution and delivery of this Agreement, but this Agreement shall only become effective upon the Closing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event that the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms prior to the Closing, this Agreement and all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall automatically terminate and be of no further force or effect.

(b) Binding Effect; Assignment. This Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective permitted successors and assigns. This Agreement and all obligations of Sponsor are personal to Sponsor and may not be transferred or delegated by Sponsor at any time. Parent may freely assign or otherwise transfer any or all of its rights under this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any successor entity (whether by merger, consolidation, equity sale, asset sale or otherwise) without obtaining the consent or approval of Sponsor.

(c) Third Parties. Except as expressly set forth herein with respect to the Company prior to the Closing, nothing contained in this Agreement or in any instrument or document executed by any party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall create any rights in, or be deemed to have been executed for the benefit of, any person or entity that is not a party hereto or thereto or a successor or permitted assign of such a party.

(d) Governing Law; Jurisdiction.

I.    This Agreement, and all claims or causes of action based upon, arising out of, or related to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the State of Delaware without regard to the conflict of law principles thereof (or any other jurisdiction) to the extent that such principles would direct a matter to another jurisdiction.


II.    Each of the parties agrees that: (i) it shall bring any Proceeding in connection with, arising out of or otherwise relating to this Agreement, any agreement, certificate, instrument or other document delivered pursuant to this Agreement or the Transactions exclusively in the courts of the State of Delaware in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (and only if) such court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware (Complex Commercial Division); provided that if subject matter jurisdiction over the Proceeding is vested exclusively in the United States federal courts, then such Proceeding shall be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “Chosen Courts”); and (ii) solely in connection with such Proceedings, (A) it irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Chosen Courts, (B) it waives any objection to the laying of venue in any Proceeding in the Chosen Courts, (C) it waives any objection that the Chosen Courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over any party, (D) mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such Proceeding in the manner provided in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Law shall be valid and sufficient service thereof and (E) it shall not assert as a defense, any matter or claim waived by the foregoing clauses (A) through (D) of this Section 4(b) or that any Governmental Order issued by the Chosen Courts may not be enforced in or by the Chosen Courts.

III.    EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY BE IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISE OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATE TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS, IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY INSTRUMENT OR OTHER DOCUMENT DELIVERED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS. EACH PARTY HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND CERTIFIES (i) THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OTHER PARTIES HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTIES WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER, (ii) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (iii) IT MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY AND (iv) IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS, BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION 4(D).

(e) Interpretation. The titles and subtitles used in this Agreement are for convenience only and are not to be considered in construing or interpreting this Agreement. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (i) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns, pronouns and verbs shall include the plural and vice versa; (ii) “including” (and with correlative meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding or succeeding such term and shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “without limitation”; (iii) the words “herein,” “hereto,” and “hereby” and other words of similar import in this Agreement shall be deemed in each case to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section or other subdivision of this Agreement; and (iv) the term “or” means “and/or”. The parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.

(f) Notice. Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent or given in accordance with the terms of Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement to the applicable party, with respect to Parent and the Company, at the address set forth in Section 11.6 of the Merger Agreement, and, with respect to Sponsor, at the address set forth on Sponsor’s signature page.

(g) Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance, and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of Parent, the Sponsor and, prior to the Closing, the Company. No failure or delay by a party in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition, or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be or construed as a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition, or provision.


(h) Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in a jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified or deleted, as to the jurisdiction involved, only to the extent necessary to render the same valid, legal and enforceable, and the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby nor shall the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision be affected thereby in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties will substitute for any invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision a suitable and equitable provision that carries out, so far as may be valid, legal and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision.

(i) Specific Performance. Sponsor acknowledges that its obligations under this Agreement are unique, recognizes and affirms that in the event of a breach of this Agreement by Sponsor, money damages may be inadequate and Parent may have no adequate remedy at law, and agrees that irreparable damage may occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by Sponsor in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, Parent shall be entitled to seek, at its own expense, an injunction or restraining order to prevent breaches of this Agreement by Sponsor and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof, this being in addition to any other right or remedy to which Parent may be entitled under this Agreement, at law or in equity.

(j) Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the full and entire understanding and agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and any other written or oral agreement relating to the subject matter hereof existing between the parties is expressly canceled; provided, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not affect the rights and obligations of the parties under the Merger Agreement or any Transaction Document or under the Insider Letter (other than the provisions of Section 3(b) and Section 3(c) thereof, which upon the Closing will be superseded by the provisions of this Agreement and shall terminate and have no further force or effect). Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Parent or any of the obligations of Sponsor under any other agreement between the Sponsor and Parent or any certificate or instrument executed by Sponsor in favor of Parent, and nothing in any other agreement, certificate or instrument shall limit any of the rights or remedies of Parent or any of the obligations of Sponsor under this Agreement.

(k) Further Assurances. From time to time, at another party’s request and without further consideration (but at the requesting party’s reasonable cost and expense), each party shall execute and deliver such additional documents and take all such further action as may be reasonably necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(l) Counterparts; Facsimile. This Agreement may also be executed and delivered by facsimile signature or by email in portable document format in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Pages Follow]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

Parent:

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.

By:  

/s/ Daniel Geffken

Name:   Daniel Geffken
Title:   Chief Financial Officer

{Additional Signature on the Following Page}

{Signature Page to Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement}


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Lock-Up Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

Sponsor:
LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC
By:   Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager

By:

 

/s/ Geoffrey Meyerson

Name:

 

Geoffrey Meyerson

Title:

 

Chief Executive Officer

Address for Notice:

Notice Address of the Sponsor:

200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor

Boston, MA 02116

Attention: Geoff Meyerson

Email: gmeyerson@locustwalk.com

Acknowledged and Agreed:

 

/s/ Chris Ehrlich

Chris Ehrlich, individually

/s/ Daniel Geffken

Daniel Geffken, individually

/s/ Brian Atwood

Brian Atwood, individually

/s/ Elizabeth Bhatt

Elizabeth Bhatt, individually

/s/ Caroline Loewy

Caroline Loewy, individually

/s/ Barbara Kosacz

Barbara Kosacz, individually

{Signature Page to Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement}

EX-10.3

Exhibit 10.3

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

This SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT (this “Subscription Agreement”) is entered into on May 26, 2021, by and among Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) and the undersigned subscriber (“Subscriber”).

WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of this Subscription Agreement, the Company and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“eFFECTOR”), are, together with the other parties thereto, entering into a definitive agreement and plan of merger (as amended, modified, supplemented or waived from time to time, the “Merger Agreement” and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement to be completed on and prior to the closing date thereof, the “Transactions”), pursuant to which, among other things, in the manner, and on the terms and subject to the conditions and exclusions set forth therein, effective as of the closing of the Transactions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company will merge with and into eFFECTOR, with eFFECTOR continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company;

WHEREAS, in connection with the Transactions, Subscriber desires to subscribe for and purchase from the Company, immediately prior to the consummation of the Transactions, that number of the Company’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Common Shares”), set forth on the signature page hereto (the “Subscribed Shares”) for a purchase price of $10.00 per share (the “Per Share Price” and the aggregate of such Per Share Price for all Subscribed Shares being referred to herein as the “Purchase Price”), and the Company desires to issue and sell to Subscriber the Subscribed Shares in consideration of the payment of the Purchase Price by or on behalf of Subscriber to the Company; and

WHEREAS, on or about the date of this Subscription Agreement, the Company is entering into other subscription agreements (the “Other Subscription Agreements” and together with this Subscription Agreement, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain other “qualified institutional buyers” (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)) or institutional “accredited investors” (as described in Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) under the Securities Act) under the Securities Act) (the “Other Subscribers” and together with Subscriber, the “Subscribers”) in a form substantially similar to this Subscription Agreement, pursuant to which such Other Subscribers have agreed to purchase additional Class A Common Shares on the closing date of the Transactions.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual representations, warranties and covenants, and subject to the conditions, herein contained, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

Section 1.    Subscription. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, at the Closing (as defined below), Subscriber hereby agrees to subscribe for and purchase, and the Company hereby agrees to issue and sell to Subscriber, upon the payment of the Purchase Price, the Subscribed Shares (such subscription and issuance, the “Subscription”).


Section 2.    Closing.

(a)    The consummation of the Subscription contemplated hereby (the “Closing”) shall occur on the closing date of the Transactions (the “Closing Date”), immediately prior to or substantially concurrently with the consummation of the Transactions.

(b)    At least five (5) Business Days before the anticipated Closing Date, the Company shall deliver written notice to Subscriber (the “Closing Notice”) specifying (i) the anticipated Closing Date and (ii) the wire instructions for delivery of the Purchase Price to the Company. No later than two (2) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, Subscriber shall deliver the Purchase Price for the Subscribed Shares by wire transfer of United States dollars in immediately available funds to the account specified by the Company in the Closing Notice, such funds to be held by the Company in escrow until the Closing, and deliver to the Company such information as is reasonably requested in the Closing Notice in order for the Company to issue the Subscribed Shares to Subscriber, including, without limitation, the legal name of the person in whose name the Subscribed Shares are to be issued and a duly completed and executed Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 or appropriate Form W-8. Upon satisfaction (or, if applicable, waiver) of the conditions set forth in this Section 2, the Company shall deliver to Subscriber (i) at the Closing, the Subscribed Shares in book entry form, free and clear of any liens or other restrictions (other than those arising under this Subscription Agreement or applicable securities laws), in the name of Subscriber (or its nominee or custodian, as applicable, in accordance with its delivery instructions), and (ii) a copy of the records of the Company’s transfer agent showing the Subscriber (or such nominee or custodian, as applicable) as the owner of the Subscribed Shares on and as of the Closing Date. In the event that the consummation of the Transactions does not occur within five (5) Business Days after the anticipated Closing Date specified in the Closing Notice (the “Closing Outside Date”), unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Company and the Subscriber, the Company shall promptly (but in no event later than two (2) Business Days after the Closing Outside Date) return the funds so delivered by Subscriber to the Company by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account specified by Subscriber, and any book entries shall be deemed cancelled. Notwithstanding such return or cancellation, (x) a failure to close on the anticipated Closing Date shall not, by itself, be deemed to be a failure of any of the conditions to Closing set forth in this Section 2 to be satisfied or waived on or prior to the Closing Date, and (y) unless and until this Subscription Agreement is terminated in accordance with Section 6 herein, Subscriber shall remain obligated (A) to redeliver funds to the Company in escrow following the Company’s delivery to Subscriber of a new Closing Notice and (B) to consummate the Closing upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth in this Section 2. For the purposes of this Subscription Agreement, “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or any other day on which commercial banks are required or authorized to close in the State of New York.

(c)    The Closing shall be subject to the satisfaction, or valid waiver by each of the parties hereto, of the conditions that, on the Closing Date:

 

  (i)

no suspension of the qualification of the Subscribed Shares for offering or sale or trading in any U.S. jurisdiction, or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes, shall have occurred and be continuing, and the Company shall have filed with the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”)

 

2


  an application or supplemental listing application for the listing of the Subscribed Shares, and Nasdaq shall not have raised any objection with respect thereto;

 

  (ii)

all conditions precedent to the closing of the Transactions set forth in the Merger Agreement, including all necessary approvals of the Company’s shareholders and regulatory approvals, if any, shall have been satisfied (as determined by the parties to the Merger Agreement) or waived by the applicable party or parties to the Merger Agreement (other than those conditions which, by their nature, are to be satisfied at the closing of the Transactions pursuant to the Merger Agreement or by the Closing itself, but subject to their satisfaction or valid waiver at the closing of the Transactions), and the closing of the Transactions shall occur substantially concurrently with or immediately following the Closing; and

 

  (iii)

no court of competent jurisdiction shall have issued, enforced or entered any judgment or order which is then in effect and has the effect of making the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby illegal or otherwise restraining or prohibiting consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.

(d)    In addition to the conditions set forth in Section 2(c), the obligation of the Company to consummate the Closing shall be subject to the satisfaction or valid waiver by the Company of the additional conditions that, on the Closing Date:

 

  (i)

all representations and warranties of Subscriber contained in this Subscription Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects (other than representations and warranties that are qualified as to materiality or Subscriber Material Adverse Effect (as defined below), which representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all respects) at and as of the Closing Date (unless they specifically speak as of an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all respects (other than representations and warranties that are qualified as to Subscriber Material Adverse Effect, which representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such date), other than, in each case, failures to be true and correct that would not result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Subscriber Material Adverse Effect; and

 

  (ii)

Subscriber shall not be in material breach of any covenant, agreement or condition required by this Subscription Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by it at or prior to the Closing.

(e)    In addition to the conditions set forth in Section 2(c), the obligation of Subscriber to consummate the Closing shall be subject to the satisfaction or valid waiver by Subscriber of the additional conditions that, on the Closing Date:

 

  (i)

all representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Subscription Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects

 

3


  (other than representations and warranties that are qualified as to materiality or Company Material Adverse Effect (as defined below), which representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all respects) at and as of the Closing Date (unless they specifically speak as of an earlier date, in which case they shall be true and correct in all respects (other than representations and warranties that are qualified as to Company Material Adverse Effect, which representations and warranties shall be true and correct in all respects) as of such date), other than, in each case, failures to be true and correct that would not result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Company Material Adverse Effect; and

 

  (ii)

the Company shall not be in material breach of any covenant, agreement or condition required by this Subscription Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by it at or prior to the Closing.

(f)    Prior to or at the Closing, Subscriber shall deliver all such other information as is reasonably requested by the Company in order for the Company to issue the Subscribed Shares to Subscriber.

Section 3.    Company Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to Subscriber and the Placement Agents, as of the date hereof and the Closing Date, that:

(a)    The Company (i) is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, (ii) has the requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties, to carry on its business as it is now being conducted and to enter into, deliver and perform its obligations under this Subscription Agreement, and (iii) is duly licensed or qualified to conduct its business and, if applicable, is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction (other than its jurisdiction of incorporation) in which the conduct of its business or the ownership of its properties or assets requires such license or qualification, except, with respect to the foregoing clause (iii), where the failure to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Subscription Agreement, a “Company Material Adverse Effect” means an event, change, development, occurrence, condition or effect which, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby or in the Merger Agreement, including the issuance and sale of the Subscribed Shares and the consummation of the Transactions.

(b)    The Subscribed Shares are duly authorized and, when issued and delivered to Subscriber against full payment therefor in accordance with the terms of this Subscription Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and will not have been issued in violation of any preemptive rights created under the Company’s organizational documents (as adopted on or prior to the Closing Date), by contract, or the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation.

(c)    This Subscription Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the same by Subscriber, this Subscription Agreement constitutes the valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors generally and by the availability of equitable remedies.

 

4


(d)    The execution and delivery of this Subscription Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Subscribed Shares and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of this Subscription Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any of the property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of (i) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease, license or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject that would reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect or materially affect the validity of the Subscribed Shares or the legal authority of the Company to comply in all material respects with the terms of this Subscription Agreement; (ii) the organizational documents of the Company; or (iii) assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of Subscriber set forth in Section 4 of this Subscription Agreement, any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties that would reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect or materially affect the validity of the Subscribed Shares or the legal authority of the Company to comply in all material respects with the terms of this Subscription Agreement.

(e)    Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of Subscriber set forth in Section 4 of this Subscription Agreement, 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, self-regulatory organization (including Nasdaq) or other person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Subscription Agreement (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Subscribed Shares), other than (i) notice filings required by applicable state securities laws, (ii), the filing of the Registration Statement pursuant to Section 5 below, (iii) those required by Nasdaq, including with respect to obtaining stockholder approval, (iv) those required to consummate the Transactions as provided under the Merger Agreement, (v) the filing of notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, if applicable, and (vi) the failure of which to obtain would not be reasonably likely to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(f)    Assuming the accuracy of Subscriber’s representations and warranties set forth in Section 4 of this Subscription Agreement, no registration under the Securities Act, is required for the offer and sale of the Subscribed Shares by the Company to Subscriber, and the Subscribed Shares are not being offered in a manner involving a public offering under, or in a distribution in violation of, the Securities Act or any state securities laws.

(g)    Neither the Company nor any person acting on its behalf has engaged or will engage in any form of general solicitation or general advertising (within the meaning of Regulation D) in connection with any offer or sale of the Subscribed Shares.

(h)    The Company has not entered into any agreement or arrangement entitling any agent, broker, investment banker, financial advisor or other person to any broker’s or finder’s fee

 

5


or any other commission or similar fee in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Subscription Agreement for which the Subscriber could become liable. Except for each of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, as co-lead placement agent, and Locust Walk Securities, as placement agent (collectively, the “Placement Agents”), no broker or finder is entitled to any brokerage or finder’s fee or commission solely in connection with the sale of the Subscribed Shares to Subscriber.

(i)    As of their respective dates, all reports required to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the Commission”) (such reports, the “SEC Reports”) complied in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, 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. Except as a result of accounting changes required by the SPAC Warrant Statement (defined below), 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 SEC with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company 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, year-end audit adjustments. Other than the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021 (the “Q1 Report”), the Company has timely filed each periodic report that the Company was required to file with the SEC since inception. On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (the “SPAC Warrant Statement”). In light of the SPAC Warrant Statement, the Company evaluated the warrants it issued in its initial public offering (the “IPO Warrants”) and concluded that it should have classified the IPO Warrants as derivative liabilities rather than as components of equity in its previous SEC filings and has concluded that the failure to characterize the IPO warrants as derivative liabilities constitutes a material weakness. The Company failed to file the Q1 Report prior to the filing deadline due to the challenges inherent in evaluating the impact of the SPAC Warrant Statement on the Company’s financial statements. A copy of each SEC Report is available to the Subscriber via the SEC’s EDGAR system. There are no outstanding or unresolved comments in comment letters received by the Company from the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC with respect to any of the SEC Reports.

(j)    As of the date hereof, the issued and outstanding Class A Common Shares of the Company are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and are listed for trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LWAC” (it being understood that the trading symbol will be changed in connection with the Transaction). Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, as of the date hereof, there is no suit, action, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company by Nasdaq or the SEC, respectively, to prohibit or terminate the listing of the Company’s shares on Nasdaq or to deregister the shares under the Exchange Act. The Company has taken no action that is designed to terminate the registration of the shares under the Exchange Act. The Company may receive a deficiency notice from Nasdaq if the Company does not file the Q1 Report before Nasdaq sends such a notice.

 

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(k)    Except for such matters as have not had and would not be reasonably likely to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, as of the date of this Subscription Agreement, there is no (i) legal action, suit, claim or other legal proceeding pending with any court or arbitral body of competent jurisdiction, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company or (ii) any outstanding judgment, decree, injunction, ruling or order of any governmental entity or arbitrator outstanding against the Company.

(l)    The Company (i) is in compliance with all applicable laws, except where such noncompliance would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect and (ii) has not received any written communication from a governmental entity alleging that the Company is not in compliance with or is in default or violation of any applicable law, except where such noncompliance, default or violation would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(m)    As of the date hereof and as of immediately prior to the Transactions, the authorized capital stock of the Company is 111,000,000 shares, consisting of (a) 100,000,000 Class A Common Shares, (b) 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Existing Class B Shares”), and (c) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Preferred Shares”). As of the date hereof: (i) no Preferred Shares are issued and outstanding; (ii) 18,045,000 Class A Common Shares are issued and outstanding; (iii) 4,511,250 shares of Existing Class B Shares are issued and outstanding; (iv) 181,667 warrants to purchase 181,667 Class A Common Shares (the “Private Placement Warrants”) are outstanding and (v) 5,833,333 warrants to purchase 5,833,333 Class A Common Shares (the “Public Warrants”) are outstanding. All (A) issued and outstanding Class A Common Shares and Existing Class B Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and are non-assessable and are not subject to preemptive rights and (B) outstanding Private Placement Warrants and Public Warrants have been duly authorized and constitutes the valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors generally and by the availability of equitable remedies. Except as set forth above and pursuant to the Other Subscription Agreements and the Merger Agreement, there are no outstanding options, warrants or other rights to subscribe for, purchase or acquire from the Company any Class A Common Shares or shares of Class B common stock, or any other equity interests in the Company, or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for such equity interests.

(n)    The Company is not, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Subscribed Shares will not be, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

(o)    Other than the Other Subscription Agreements, the Merger Agreement and any other agreement expressly contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the Company has not entered into any side letter or similar agreement with any Other Investor in connection with such investor’s investment in the Class A Common Shares, and no Other Subscription Agreement includes terms and conditions that are materially more favorable to any such Other Investor than Investor hereunder, and such Other Subscription Agreements reflect the same Per Share Price. The Other Subscription Agreements have not been amended in any material respect following the date of this Subscription Agreement.

 

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Section 4.    Subscriber Representations and Warranties. Subscriber represents and warrants to the Company and the Placement Agents, as of the date hereof and the Closing Date, that:

(a)    Subscriber (i) is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or formation, and (ii) has the requisite power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Subscription Agreement.

(b)    This Subscription Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Subscriber, and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the same by the Company, this Subscription Agreement constitutes the valid and legally binding obligation of Subscriber, enforceable against Subscriber in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors generally and by the availability of equitable remedies.

(c)    The execution and delivery of this Subscription Agreement, the purchase of the Subscribed Shares and the compliance by Subscriber with all of the provisions of this Subscription Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any of the property or assets of Subscriber pursuant to the terms of (i) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease, license or other agreement or instrument to which Subscriber is a party or by which Subscriber is bound or to which any of the property or assets of Subscriber is subject; (ii) the organizational documents of Subscriber; or (iii) any statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over Subscriber or any of its properties that, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii), would reasonably be expected to have a Subscriber Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Subscription Agreement, a “Subscriber Material Adverse Effect” means an event, change, development, occurrence, condition or effect with respect to Subscriber that would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Subscriber’s ability to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, including the purchase of the Subscribed Shares.

(d)    Subscriber (i) is a “qualified institutional buyer” (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act) or an institutional “accredited investor” (within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) under the Securities Act), in each case, satisfying the applicable requirements set forth on Annex A, (ii) is acquiring the Subscribed Shares only for his, her or its own account and not for the account of others, or if the undersigned is subscribing for the Subscribed Shares as a fiduciary or agent for one or more investor accounts, the Subscriber has full investment discretion with respect to each such account, and the full power and authority to make the acknowledgements, representations and agreements herein on behalf of each owner of each such account, and (iii) is not acquiring the Subscribed Shares with a view to, or for offer or sale in connection with, any distribution thereof in violation of the Securities Act (and shall provide the requested information on Annex A). Subscriber is not an entity formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the Subscribed Shares, unless such newly formed entity is an entity in which all of the investors are

 

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institutional accredited investors, and is an “institutional account” as defined by FINRA Rule 4512(c). Subscriber understands and acknowledges that the purchase and sale of the Subscribed Shares hereunder meets (i) the exemption from filing under FINRA Rule 5123(b)(1)(A) and (ii) the institutional customer exemption under FINRA Rule 2111(b).

(e)    Subscriber understands that the Subscribed Shares are being offered in a transaction not involving any public offering within the meaning of the Securities Act and that the Subscribed Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act. Subscriber understands that the Subscribed Shares may not be offered, resold, transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of by Subscriber absent an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, except (i) to the Company or a subsidiary thereof, or (ii) pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, and, in each of cases (i) and (ii), in accordance with any applicable securities laws of the applicable states and other jurisdictions of the United States, and as a result of these transfer restrictions, Subscriber may not be able to readily resell the Subscribed Shares and may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Subscribed Shares for an indefinite period of time. Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that the Subscribed Shares will not be eligible for offer, resale, transfer, pledge or disposition pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (“Rule 144”) until at least one year from the filing of “Form 10 information” with the Commission after the Closing Date. Subscriber understands that it has been advised to consult legal counsel prior to making any offer, resale, pledge or transfer of any of the Subscribed Shares.

(f)    Subscriber understands and agrees that Subscriber is purchasing the Subscribed Shares directly from the Company. Subscriber further acknowledges that there have not been, and Subscriber hereby agrees that it is not relying on, any representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made to Subscriber by the Company, eFFECTOR, the Placement Agents, any of their respective affiliates or any control persons, officers, directors, employees, partners, agents or representatives, any other party to the Transactions or any other person or entity, expressly or by implication, other than those representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company expressly set forth in this Subscription Agreement. Subscriber acknowledges that certain information provided to Subscriber was based on forward-looking statements, and such forward-looking statements were prepared based on assumptions and estimates that are inherently uncertain and are subject to a wide variety of significant business, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the projections. Subscriber understands and acknowledges that Credit Suisse is also acting as an equity capital markets and financial advisor to eFFECTOR in relation to the Transactions. Subscriber also understands that Locust Walk Partners, LLC (“Locust Walk Partners”), a Delaware limited liability company, (i) is affiliated with certain members of the Company’s management team, (ii) is the manager of Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company that is the sponsor of the Company and (iii) assisted the Company in its identification of merger targets, including eFFECTOR. Subscriber understands and acknowledges that Credit Suisse’s role as equity capital markets and financial advisor to eFFECTOR and Locust Walk Partners’ affiliation with certain members of management of the Company, management of the Company’s sponsor and role in assisting the Company source eFFECTOR as a target may give rise to potential conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof. No disclosure or offering document has been prepared by the Placement Agents or any of their respective affiliates in connection with the offer and sale of the Subscribed Shares. In connection with the issuance and sale of the Subscribed Shares, none

 

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of the Placement Agents or any of their respective affiliates have acted as a financial advisor or fiduciary to any Subscriber. No recommendation or investment advice has been provided nor has any other action been solicited from the Subscriber by the Placement Agents with respect to the offer and issuance of the Subscribed Shares. None of the Placement Agents or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives or controlling persons has made any independent investigation with respect to the Company, the Subscribed Shares or the completeness, adequacy or accuracy of any information provided to the Subscriber. Subscriber agrees that neither the Placement Agents, nor the Company, nor eFFECTOR, nor any of their respective affiliates or any of their or their respective affiliates’ control persons, officers, directors or employees, shall be liable to the Subscriber pursuant to this Subscription Agreement for any action heretofore or hereafter taken or omitted to be taken by any of them in connection with the purchase of the Subscribed Shares. On behalf of itself and its affiliates, the Subscriber (i) releases the Placement Agents in respect of any losses, claims, damages, obligations, penalties, judgments, awards, liabilities, costs, expenses or disbursements related to this Subscription Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby and (ii) consents to and agrees to waive any claims it or they may have based on any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise or result from (i) Credit Suisse acting as equity capital markets and financial advisor to eFFECTOR or (ii) Locust Walk Partners’ affiliation with certain members of management of the Company, management of the Company’s sponsor and role in assisting the Company source eFFECTOR as a target.

(g)    In making its decision to purchase the Subscribed Shares, Subscriber has relied solely upon independent investigation made by Subscriber. Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that Subscriber has received such information as Subscriber deems necessary in order to make an investment decision with respect to the Subscribed Shares, including with respect to the Company, eFFECTOR, their respective subsidiaries and the Transactions. Subscriber represents and agrees that Subscriber and Subscriber’s professional advisor(s), if any, have had the full opportunity to ask such questions, receive such answers and obtain such information as Subscriber and such undersigned’s professional advisor(s), if any, have deemed necessary to make an investment decision with respect to the Subscribed Shares. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Subscriber acknowledges that it has reviewed the Company’s filings with the Commission and any disclosure documents provided by or on behalf of the Company in connection with this Subscription. Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that none of the Placement Agents, or any affiliate of the Placement Agents, has provided Subscriber with any information or advice with respect to the Subscribed Shares nor is such information or advice necessary or desired. None of the Placement Agents or any of their respective affiliates have made or makes any representation as to the Company or the quality or value of the Subscribed Shares. Subscriber further acknowledges that the Placement Agents and their respective affiliates currently may have, and later may come into possession of, information regarding the Company or eFFECTOR that is not known to Subscriber and that may be material to its decision to subscribe to purchase the Subscribed Shares (“Excluded Information”), and (ii) the Subscriber has determined to subscribe to purchase the Subscribed Shares notwithstanding its lack of knowledge of the Excluded Information.

(h)    Subscriber became aware of this offering of the Subscribed Shares solely by means of direct contact between Subscriber and the Company or their respective representatives or affiliates, or by means of contact from one or more of the Placement Agents and the Subscribed Shares were offered to Subscriber solely by direct contact between Subscriber and the Company

 

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or their respective representatives or affiliates. Subscriber did not become aware of this offering of the Subscribed Shares, nor were the Subscribed Shares offered to Subscriber, by any other means. Subscriber acknowledges that the Company represents and warrants that the Subscribed Shares (i) were not offered by any form of general solicitation or general advertising and (ii) are not being offered in a manner involving a public offering under, or in a distribution in violation of, the Securities Act, or any state securities laws.

(i)    Subscriber acknowledges that it is aware that there are substantial risks incident to the purchase and ownership of the Subscribed Shares. Subscriber has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of an investment in the Subscribed Shares, and Subscriber has had an opportunity to seek, and has sought, such accounting, legal, business and tax advice as Subscriber has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision. None of the Company, eFFECTOR or any their respective affiliates have offered the Subscriber any tax advice relating to Subscriber’s investment in the Subscribed Shares or made any representations, warranties or guarantees regarding the tax consequences of Subscriber’s investment in the Subscribed Shares.

(j)    Subscriber has analyzed and considered the risks of an investment in the Subscribed Shares and determined that the Subscribed Shares are a suitable investment for Subscriber and that Subscriber is able at this time and in the foreseeable future to bear the economic risk of a total loss of Subscriber’s investment in the Company. Subscriber acknowledges specifically that a possibility of total loss exists.

(k)    Subscriber understands and agrees that no federal or state agency has passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Subscribed Shares or made any findings or determination as to the fairness of this investment.

(l)    Subscriber is not, and is not owned or controlled by or acting on behalf of (in connection with the Transactions), a Sanctioned Person. Subscriber is not a non-U.S. shell bank or providing banking services to a non-U.S. shell bank. Subscriber represents that if it is a financial institution subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Section 5311 et seq.), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and its implementing regulations (collectively, the “BSA/PATRIOT Act”), that Subscriber maintains policies and procedures reasonably designed to comply with applicable obligations under the BSA/PATRIOT Act. Subscriber also represents that it maintains, to the extent required, either directly or through the use of a third-party administrator, policies and procedures reasonably designed for the screening of any investors against Sanctions-related lists of blocked or restricted persons and to ensure that the funds held by Subscriber and used to purchase the Subscribed Shares are derived from lawful activities. For purposes of this Subscription Agreement, “Sanctioned Person” means at any time any person or entity: (a) listed on any Sanctions-related list of designated or blocked or restricted persons; (b) that is a national of, the government of, or any agency or instrumentality of the government of, or resident in, or organized under the laws of, a country or territory that is the target of comprehensive Sanctions from time to time (as of the date of this Subscription Agreement, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea region); or (c) owned or controlled by or acting on behalf of any of the foregoing. “Sanctions” means those trade, economic and financial sanctions laws, regulations, embargoes, and restrictive measures (in each case having the force of law) administered, enacted or enforced from time to time by (a) the United States (including without limitation the U.S. Department of

 

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the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Commerce), (b) the European Union and enforced by its member states, (c) the United Nations, (d) Her Majesty’s Treasury and (e) the Cayman Islands.

(m)    Subscriber is not currently (and at all times through Closing will refrain from being or becoming) a member of a “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or Section 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act or any successor provision) acting for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of equity securities of the Company (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act).

(n)    If Subscriber is an employee benefit plan that is subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), a plan, an individual retirement account or other arrangement that is subject to section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) or an employee benefit plan that is a governmental plan (as defined in section 3(32) of ERISA), a church plan (as defined in section 3(33) of ERISA), a non-U.S. plan (as described in section 4(b)(4) of ERISA) or other plan that is not subject to the foregoing but may be subject to provisions under any other federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of ERISA or the Code, or an entity whose underlying assets are considered to include “plan assets” of any such plan, account or arrangement (each, a “Plan”) subject to the fiduciary or prohibited Transactions provisions of ERISA or section 4975 of the Code, Subscriber represents and warrants that (i) it has not relied on the Company, eFFECTOR or any of their respective affiliates (the “Transactions Parties”) as the Plan’s fiduciary or for advice, with respect to its decision to acquire and hold the Subscribed Shares, and none of the Transactions Parties shall at any time be relied upon as the Plan’s fiduciary with respect to any decision to acquire, continue to hold or transfer the Subscribed Shares and (ii) none of the acquisition, holding and/or transfer or disposition of the Subscribed Shares will result in a non-exempt prohibited Transactions under ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code or any similar law or regulation.

(o)    If Subscriber will purchase 20% or more of the Company’s securities, as of the date hereof and as of the date of Closing, Subscriber represents that no disqualifying event described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i)-(viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”) is applicable to Subscriber or any of its Rule 506(d) Related Parties (as defined below), except, if applicable, for a Disqualification Event as to which Rule 506(d)(2)(ii) or (iii) or (d)(3) is applicable. Subscriber hereby agrees that it shall notify the Company and the Placement Agents promptly in writing in the event a Disqualification Event becomes applicable to Subscriber or any of its Rule 506(d) Related Parties at or prior to the Closing, except, if applicable, for a Disqualification Event as to which Rule 506(d)(2)(ii) or (iii) or (d)(3) is applicable. For purposes of this Section 4(o), “Rule 506(d) Related Party” shall mean a person or entity that is a beneficial owner of Subscriber’s securities for purposes of Rule 506(d) under the Securities Act.

(p)    Subscriber will have sufficient funds to pay the Purchase Price pursuant to Section 2.

(q)    No broker or finder is entitled to any brokerage or finder’s fee or commission payable by Subscriber solely in connection with the sale of the Subscribed Shares to Subscriber based on any arrangement entered into by or on behalf of Subscriber.

 

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Section 5.    Registration of Subscribed Shares.

(a)    The Company agrees that the Company will file with the Commission (at the Company’s sole cost and expense) a registration statement registering the resale of the Subscribed Shares (the “Registration Statement”) no later than twenty (20) business days after the Closing Date, and the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the Registration Statement declared effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, but no later than the earlier of (i) sixty (60) calendar days after the filing thereof (or, in the event the Commission reviews and has written comments to the Registration Statement, the ninetieth (90th) calendar day following the filing thereof) and (ii) the tenth (10th) business day after the date the Company is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the Commission that the Registration Statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be subject to further review ((i) and (ii) collectively, the “Effectiveness Deadline”); provided, that if such day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or other day that the Commission is closed for business, the Effectiveness Deadline shall be extended to the next Business Day on which the Commission is open for business. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide a draft of the Registration Statement to the undersigned for review at least two (2) Business Days in advance of filing the Registration Statement; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall the Company be required to delay or postpone the filing of such Registration Statement as a result of or in connection with Subscriber’s review. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Subscriber, Subscriber shall not be identified as a statutory underwriter in the Registration Statement unless requested by the Commission or another regulatory agency; provided, that if the Commission or another regulatory agency requests that a Subscriber be identified as a statutory underwriter in the Registration Statement, Subscriber will have the opportunity to withdraw from the Registration Statement upon its prompt written request to the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Commission prevents the Company from including any or all of the shares proposed to be registered under the Registration Statement due to limitations on the use of Rule 415 of the Securities Act for the resale of the Subscribed Shares by the applicable stockholders or otherwise, such Registration Statement shall register for resale such number of Subscribed Shares which is equal to the maximum number of Subscribed Shares as is permitted by the Commission. In such event, the number of Subscribed Shares to be registered for each selling stockholder named in the Registration Statement shall be reduced pro rata among all such selling stockholders. The Company agrees that, except for such times as the Company is permitted hereunder to suspend the use of the prospectus forming part of a Registration Statement, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such Registration Statement to remain effective with respect to Subscriber until the earlier of (i) three (3) years from the issuance of the Subscribed Shares, (ii) the date on which all of the Subscribed Shares shall have been sold, or (iii) on the first date on which the undersigned can sell all of its Subscribed Shares (or shares received in exchange therefor) under Rule 144 without limitation as to the manner of sale or the amount of such securities that may be sold and without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144(c)(1) (or Rule 144(i)(2), if applicable). If requested by Subscriber, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) cause the removal of the restrictive legends from any Subscribed Shares being sold under the Registration Statement or pursuant to Rule 144 at the time of sale of such Subscribed Shares and (ii) cause its legal counsel to deliver an opinion, if necessary, to the transfer agent in connection with the instruction under subclause (i) to the effect that the removal of such restrictive legends in such circumstances may be effected under the Securities Act, in each case upon the receipt of customary representations and other documentation, if any,

 

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from the Holder as reasonably requested by the Company, its counsel or the transfer agent, establishing that restrictive legends are no longer required. From and after such time as the benefits of Rule 144 or any other similar rule or regulation of the Commission that may allow Subscriber to sell securities of the Company to the public without registration are available to holders of the Company’s common stock and until the third (3rd) anniversary of the Closing Date, the Company shall, at its expense, make and keep public information available, as those terms are understood and defined in Rule 144; use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission in a timely manner all reports and other documents required of the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act so long as the Company remains subject to such requirements and the filing of such reports and other documents is required for the applicable provisions of Rule 144 to enable Subscriber to sell the Subscribed Shares under Rule 144 for so long as the Subscriber holds any Subscribed Shares; and furnish to Subscriber, promptly upon Subscriber’s reasonable request, (i) a written statement by the Company, if true, that it has complied with the reporting requirements of Rule 144, the Securities Act, and the Exchange Act, (ii) a copy of the most recent annual or quarterly report of the Company and such other reports and documents so filed by the Company, and (iii) such other information as may be reasonably requested to permit Subscriber to sell such securities pursuant to Rule 144 without registration. “Subscribed Shares” shall be deemed to include, as of any date of determination, any equity security issued or issuable with respect to the Subscribed Shares by way of share split, dividend, distribution, recapitalization, merger, exchange, replacement or similar event; provided, however, that the rights under this Section 5 shall terminate with respect to such securities at the earliest of (A) three (3) years from the issuance of the Subscribed Shares, (B) the date all Subscribed Shares held by a Holder may be sold by such Holder without volume or manner of sale limitations pursuant to Rule 144 and without the requirement for the Company to be in compliance with the current public information required under Rule 144(c)(1) (or Rule 144(i)(2), if applicable), (C) the date on which such securities have actually been sold by a Holder, or (D) when such securities shall have ceased to be outstanding. “Holder” shall mean Subscriber or any affiliate of Subscriber to which the rights under this Section 5 shall have been assigned. The Company’s obligations to include the Subscribed Shares in the Registration Statement are contingent upon Subscriber furnishing in writing to the Company such information regarding Subscriber, the securities of the Company held by Subscriber and the intended method of disposition of the Subscribed Shares as shall be reasonably requested by the Company to effect the registration of the Subscribed Shares, and Subscriber shall execute such documents in connection with such registration as the Company may reasonably request that are customary of a selling stockholder in similar situations, including providing that the Company shall be entitled to postpone and suspend the effectiveness or use of the Registration Statement as permitted hereunder; provided, however, that Subscriber shall not in connection with the foregoing be required to execute any lock-up or similar agreement or otherwise be subject to any contractual restriction on the ability to transfer the Subscribed Shares. In the case of the registration effected by the Company pursuant to this Subscription Agreement, the Company shall, upon reasonable request, inform Subscriber as to the status of such registration. Subscriber shall not be entitled to use the Registration Statement for an underwritten offering of Subscribed Shares. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Company may delay or postpone filing of such Registration Statement, and from time to time require Subscriber not to sell under the Registration Statement or suspend the use or effectiveness of any such Registration Statement if it determines that in order for the registration statement to not contain a material misstatement or omission, an amendment thereto would be needed, or if such filing or use could materially affect a bona fide

 

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business or financing transaction of the Company or would require premature disclosure of information that could materially adversely affect the Company, or if the Commission issues any stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement or indicates the intention to initiate any proceedings for such purpose (each such circumstance, a “Suspension Event”); provided, that, (w) the Company shall not so delay filing or so suspend the use of the Registration Statement for a period of more than sixty (60) consecutive days or more than two (2) times in any three hundred sixty (360) day period and (x) the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make such registration statement available for the sale by the undersigned of such securities as soon as practicable thereafter.

(b)    Upon receipt of any written notice from the Company (which notice shall not contain any material nonpublic information regarding the Company) of the occurrence of any Suspension Event during the period that the Registration Statement is effective or if as a result of a Suspension Event the Registration Statement or related prospectus contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made (in the case of the prospectus) not misleading, the undersigned agrees that (i) it will immediately discontinue offers and sales of the Subscribed Shares under the Registration Statement (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, sales conducted pursuant to Rule 144) until the undersigned receives copies of a supplemental or amended prospectus (which the Company agrees to promptly prepare) that corrects the misstatement(s) or omission(s) referred to above and receives notice that any post-effective amendment has become effective or unless otherwise notified by the Company that it may resume such offers and sales, and (ii) it will maintain the confidentiality of any information included in such written notice delivered by the Company unless otherwise required by law, subpoena or regulatory request or requirement. If so directed by the Company, the undersigned will deliver to the Company, or in the undersigned’s sole discretion destroy, all copies of the prospectus covering the Subscribed Shares in the undersigned’s possession; provided, however, that this obligation to deliver or destroy all copies of the prospectus covering the Subscribed Shares shall not apply (w) to the extent the undersigned is required to retain a copy of such prospectus (A) in order to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, self-regulatory or professional requirements or (B) in accordance with a bona fide pre-existing document retention policy or (x) to copies stored electronically on archival servers as a result of automatic data back-up.

(c)    The Company shall advise Subscriber within five (5) business days:

 

  (i)

when a Registration Statement or any amendment thereto has been filed with the Commission and when such Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has become effective;

 

  (ii)

of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to any Registration Statement or the prospectus included therein or for additional information;

 

  (iii)

of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for such purpose;

 

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  (iv)

of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Subscribed Shares included therein for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and

 

  (v)

subject to the provisions in this Subscription Agreement, of the occurrence of any event that requires the making of any changes in any Registration Statement or prospectus so that, as of such date, the statements therein are not misleading and do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of a prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, without the prior written approval of the Subscriber, the Company shall not, when so advising Subscriber of such events, provide Subscriber with any material, nonpublic information regarding the Company other than to the extent that providing notice to Subscriber of the occurrence of the events listed in (i) through (v) above constitutes material, nonpublic information regarding the Issuer.

Section 6.    Termination. This Subscription Agreement shall terminate and be void and of no further force and effect, and all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall terminate without any further liability on the part of any party in respect thereof, upon the earliest to occur of (a) such date and time as the Merger Agreement is validly terminated in accordance with its terms without being consummated, (b) upon the mutual written agreement of all parties hereto and eFFECTOR to terminate this Subscription Agreement or (c) by written notice from Subscriber given any time on or after the Outside Date (as defined in the Merger Agreement) if the Closing has not occurred by such Outside Date and the terminating party’s breach was not the primary reason the Closing failed to occur by such date, (the termination events described in clauses (a)–(c) above, collectively, the “Termination Events”); provided, that nothing herein will relieve any party from liability for any willful breach hereof prior to the time of termination or common law intentional fraud in the making of any representation or warranty hereunder, and each party will be entitled to any remedies at law or in equity to recover losses, liabilities or damages arising from such breach or fraud. The Company shall notify Subscriber of the termination of the Merger Agreement promptly after the termination thereof. Upon the occurrence of any Termination Event, except as set forth in the proviso to the first sentence of this Section 6, this Subscription Agreement shall be void and of no further effect and any portion of the Purchase Price paid by the Subscriber to the Company in connection herewith shall promptly (and in any event within one business day) following the Termination Event be returned to the Subscriber.

Section 7.    Trust Account Waiver. Subscriber hereby acknowledges that the Company has established a trust account (the “Trust Account”) containing the proceeds of its initial public offering (the “IPO”) and from certain private placements occurring simultaneously with the IPO (including interest accrued from time to time thereon) for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders and the underwriters of the IPO. For and in consideration of the Company entering into this Subscription Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Subscriber hereby (a) agrees that it does not now and shall not at any time hereafter have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any assets held in the Trust Account or distributions therefrom, and shall not make any claim against

 

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the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom), arising out of this Subscription Agreement regardless of whether such claim arises based on contract, tort, equity or any other theory of legal liability (any and all such claims are collectively referred to hereafter as the “Released Claims”), (b) irrevocably waives any Released Claims that it may have against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) now or in the future as a result of, or arising out of, this Subscription Agreement and (c) will not seek recourse against the Trust Account with respect to any Released Claims; provided, however, that nothing in this Section 7 shall (x) serve to limit or prohibit Subscriber’s right to pursue a claim against the Company for legal relief against assets held outside the Trust Account (so long as such claim would not affect the Company’s ability to fulfill its obligation to effectuate any redemption right with respect to any securities of the Company), for specific performance or other equitable relief, (y) serve to limit or prohibit any claims that the Subscriber may have in the future against the Company’s assets or funds that are not held in the Trust Account (including any funds that have been released from the Trust Account and any assets that have been purchased or acquired with any such funds) (so long as such claim would not affect Company’s ability to fulfill its obligation to effectuate any redemption right with respect to any securities of the Company) and (z) be deemed to limit any Subscriber’s right to distributions from the Trust Account in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation in respect of Class A Common Shares of the Company acquired by any means other than pursuant to this Subscription Agreement. Subscriber agrees and acknowledges that such irrevocable waiver is material to this Subscription Agreement and specifically relied upon by the Company and its affiliates to induce the Company to enter into this Subscription Agreement, and Subscriber further intends and understands such waiver to be valid, binding and enforceable against Subscriber and each of its affiliates under applicable law. To the extent Subscriber or any of its affiliates commences any action or proceeding based upon, in connection with, relating to or arising out of any matter relating to the Company or its representatives or affiliates, which proceeding seeks, in whole or in part, monetary relief against the Company or its representatives or affiliates, Subscriber hereby acknowledges and agrees that Subscriber’s and its affiliates’ sole remedy shall be against funds held outside of the Trust Account and that such claim shall not permit Subscriber or its affiliates (or any person claiming on any of their behalves or in lieu of any of them) to have any claim against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) or any amounts contained therein.

Section 8.    Indemnity.

(a)    Subject to Section 7 above, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, to the extent permitted by law, Subscriber, its directors, and officers, employees, and agents, and each person who controls Subscriber (within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act) and each affiliate of Subscriber (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act) from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including, without limitation, any reasonable external attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) caused by any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement, prospectus included in any Registration Statement or preliminary prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as the same are caused by or contained in any information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of Subscriber expressly for use therein.

 

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(b)    Subscriber agrees, severally and not jointly with any person that is a party to the Other Subscription Agreements, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person who controls the Company (within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act) and each affiliate of the Company against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable external attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) resulting from any untrue statement of material fact contained in the Registration Statement, prospectus or preliminary prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only to the extent that such untrue statement or omission is contained in any information or affidavit so furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Subscriber expressly for use therein. In no event shall the liability of Subscriber be greater in amount than the dollar amount of the net proceeds received by Subscriber upon the sale of the Subscribed Shares purchased pursuant to this Subscription Agreement giving rise to such indemnification obligation.

(c)    Any person entitled to indemnification herein shall (1) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which it seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall not impair any person’s right to indemnification hereunder to the extent such failure has not prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (2) permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent. An indemnifying party who elects not to assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of legal counsel to any indemnified party a conflict of interest exists between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim. No indemnifying party shall, without the consent of the indemnified party, consent to the entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which cannot be settled in all respects by the payment of money (and such money is so paid by the indemnifying party pursuant to the terms of such settlement) or which settlement does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such indemnified party of a release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation.

(d)    The indemnification provided for under this Subscription Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party or any officer, director, employee, agent, affiliate or controlling person of such indemnified party and shall survive the transfer of the Subscribed Shares purchased pursuant to this Subscription Agreement.

(e)    If the indemnification provided under this Section 8 from the indemnifying party is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to herein, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying the indemnified party, subject to Section 7, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault

 

18


of the indemnifying party and indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, was made by, or relates to information supplied by or on behalf of, such indemnifying party or indemnified party, and the indemnifying party’s and indemnified party’s relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses or other liabilities referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other fees, charges or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution pursuant to this Section 8 from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. Any contribution pursuant to this Section 8(e) by any seller of Subscribed Shares shall be limited in amount to the amount of net proceeds received by such seller from the sale of such Subscribed Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, in no event will any party be liable for consequential, special, exemplary or punitive damages in connection with this Subscription Agreement.

Section 9.    Miscellaneous.

(a)    All notices, requests, demands, claims, and other communications hereunder shall be in writing. Any notice, request, demand, claim, or other communication hereunder shall be deemed duly given (i) when delivered personally to the recipient, (ii) when sent by electronic mail, on the date of transmission to such recipient, (iii) one Business Day after being sent to the recipient by reputable overnight courier service (charges prepaid), or (iv) four (4) Business Days after being mailed to the recipient by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, and, in each case, addressed to the intended recipient at its address or electronic mail address, as applicable, specified on the signature page hereof or to such electronic mail address or address as subsequently modified by written notice given in accordance with this Section 9(a).

(b)    Subscriber acknowledges that the Company, eFFECTOR and the Placement Agents (as third-party beneficiaries with the right to enforce Section 3, Section 4 and Section 9 hereof on their own behalf and not, for the avoidance of doubt, on behalf of the Company) will rely on the acknowledgments, understandings, agreements, representations and warranties of Subscriber contained in this Subscription Agreement. Prior to the Closing, Subscriber agrees to promptly notify the Company and the Placement Agents if it becomes aware that any of the acknowledgments, understandings, agreements, representations and warranties of Subscriber set forth herein are no longer accurate in all material respects. Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that each purchase by Subscriber of Subscribed Shares from the Company will constitute a reaffirmation of the acknowledgments, understandings, agreements, representations and warranties herein (as modified by any such notice) by Subscriber as of the time of such purchase. The Company acknowledges that Subscriber will rely on the acknowledgments, understandings, agreements, representations and warranties contained in this Subscription Agreement. Prior to the Closing, the Company agrees to promptly notify Subscriber if it becomes aware that any of the acknowledgments, understandings, agreements, representations and warranties of the Company set forth herein are no longer accurate in all material respects.

 

19


(c)    Each of the Company, eFFECTOR, the Placement Agents and Subscriber is irrevocably authorized to produce this Subscription Agreement or a copy hereof to any interested party in any administrative or legal proceeding or official inquiry with respect to the matters covered hereby.

(d)    Subscriber shall pay all of its own expenses in connection with this Subscription Agreement and the transactions contemplated herein.

(e)    Neither this Subscription Agreement nor any rights that may accrue to Subscriber hereunder (other than the Subscribed Shares acquired hereunder and Subscriber’s rights under Section 5 hereof) may be transferred or assigned. Neither this Subscription Agreement nor any rights that may accrue to the Company hereunder may be transferred or assigned (provided, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the Company may transfer the Subscription Agreement and its rights hereunder solely in connection with the consummation of the Transactions and exclusively to another entity under the control of, or under common control with, the Company). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Subscriber may assign its rights and obligations under this Subscription Agreement to one or more of its affiliates (including other investment funds or accounts managed or advised by the investment manager who acts on behalf of Subscriber) or, with the Company’s prior written consent, to another person, provided that no such assignment shall relieve Subscriber of its obligations hereunder if any such assignee fails to perform such obligations.

(f)    All the agreements, representations and warranties made by each party hereto in this Subscription Agreement shall survive the Closing. For the avoidance of doubt, if for any reason the Closing does not occur prior to the consummation of the Transactions, all representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the parties hereunder shall survive the consummation of the Transactions and remain in full force and effect.

(g)    The Company may request from Subscriber such additional information as the Company may reasonably deem necessary to evaluate the eligibility of Subscriber to acquire the Subscribed Shares and to register the Subscribed Shares for resale, and Subscriber shall provide such information as may be reasonably requested. Subscriber acknowledges that subject to the conditions set forth in Section 9(t), the Company may file a copy of this Subscription Agreement with the Commission as an exhibit to a periodic report of the Company or a registration statement of the Company.

(h)    This Subscription Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived except by an instrument in writing, signed by each of the parties hereto and eFFECTOR.

(i)    This Subscription Agreement constitutes the entire agreement, and supersedes all other prior agreements, understandings, representations and warranties, both written and oral, among the parties, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

(j)    Except as otherwise provided herein, this Subscription Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective affiliates and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors, legal representatives, and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other person. Except as otherwise provided

 

20


herein, this Subscription Agreement shall not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties hereto, and their respective successor and assigns, and the parties hereto acknowledge that such persons so referenced are third-party beneficiaries of this Subscription Agreement for the purposes of, and to the extent of, the rights granted to them, if any, pursuant to the applicable provisions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties hereto agree that eFFECTOR and its affiliates are express third-party beneficiaries (the “Beneficiaries”) of this Subscription Agreement. Each of the parties hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) each of the Beneficiaries shall be entitled to seek and obtain equitable relief, without proof of actual damages, including an injunction or injunctions or order for specific performance to prevent breaches of this Subscription Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Subscription Agreement to cause the Company to cause, or directly cause, the Subscriber to fund the Purchase Price and cause the Closing to occur substantially concurrently with the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, and (ii) without in any way limiting the foregoing, eFFECTOR is an express third-party beneficiary of Sections 2, 6, 9(b), 9(c), 9(d), 9(e), 9(g), 9(h), 9(k) and 9(t) and shall be entitled to seek and obtain equitable relief, without proof of actual damages, including an injunction or injunctions or order for specific performance to prevent breaches of its rights referenced therein. Each party hereto further agrees that each of the Beneficiaries is an express third-party beneficiary of this Section 9(j) and that the Beneficiaries shall not be required to obtain, furnish, or post any bond or similar instrument in connection with or as a condition to obtaining any remedy referred to in this Section 9(j), and each party hereto irrevocably waives any right it may have to require the obtaining, furnishing, or posting of any such bond of similar instrument.

(k)    The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) this Subscription Agreement is being entered into in order to induce the Company to execute and deliver the Merger Agreement and (ii) irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Subscription Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached and that money or other legal remedies would not be an adequate remedy for such damage. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to equitable relief, including in the form of an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Subscription Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Subscription Agreement, this being in addition to any other remedy to which such party is entitled at law, in equity, in contract, in tort or otherwise. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that the Company shall be entitled to specifically enforce Subscriber’s obligations to fund the Purchase Price and the provisions of the Subscription Agreement, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein. The parties hereto further acknowledge and agree: (x) to waive any requirement for the security or posting of any bond in connection with any such equitable remedy; (y) not to assert that a remedy of specific enforcement pursuant to this Section 9(k) is unenforceable, invalid, contrary to applicable law or inequitable for any reason; and (z) to waive any defenses in any action for specific performance, including the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate. In connection with any proceeding for which the Company is being granted an award of money damages, the Subscriber agrees that such damages, to the extent payable by Subscriber, shall include, without limitation, damages related to the consideration that is or was to be paid to the Company under the Merger Agreement and/or this Subscription Agreement and such damages are not limited to an award of out-of-pocket fees and expenses related to the Merger Agreement and this Subscription Agreement.

 

21


(l)    In any dispute arising out of or related to this Subscription Agreement, or any other agreement, document, instrument or certificate contemplated hereby, or any transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, the applicable adjudicating body shall award to the prevailing party, if any, the costs and external attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred by the prevailing party in connection with the dispute and the enforcement of its rights under this Subscription Agreement or any other agreement, document, instrument or certificate contemplated hereby and, if the adjudicating body determines a party to be the prevailing party under circumstances where the prevailing party won on some but not all of the claims and counterclaims, the adjudicating body may award the prevailing party an appropriate percentage of the costs and external attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred and documented by the prevailing party in connection with the adjudication and the enforcement of its rights under this Subscription Agreement or any other agreement, document, instrument or certificate contemplated hereby or thereby.

(m)    If any provision of this Subscription Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality or enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Subscription Agreement shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall continue in full force and effect.

(n)    No failure or delay by a party hereto in exercising any right, power or remedy under this Subscription Agreement, and no course of dealing between the parties hereto, shall operate as a waiver of any such right, power or remedy of such party. No single or partial exercise of any right, power or remedy under this Subscription Agreement by a party hereto, nor any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce any such right, power or remedy, shall preclude such party from any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy hereunder. The election of any remedy by a party hereto shall not constitute a waiver of the right of such party to pursue other available remedies. No notice to or demand on a party not expressly required under this Subscription Agreement shall entitle the party receiving such notice or demand to any other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances or constitute a waiver of the rights of the party giving such notice or demand to any other or further action in any circumstances without such notice or demand.

(o)    This Subscription Agreement may be executed and delivered in one or more counterparts (including by facsimile or electronic mail or in .pdf) and by different parties in separate counterparts, with the same effect as if all parties hereto had signed the same document. All counterparts so executed and delivered shall be construed together and shall constitute one and the same agreement.

(p)    This Subscription Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws that would otherwise require the application of the law of any other state.

(q)    EACH PARTY AND ANY PERSON ASSERTING RIGHTS AS A THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARY HEREBY WAIVES ITS RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO A TRIAL BY JURY OF ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON OR ARISING OUT OR RELATED TO THIS SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY IN ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR OTHER LITIGATION OF ANY TYPE BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER

 

22


PARTY OR ANY AFFILIATE OF ANY OTHER SUCH PARTY, WHETHER WITH RESPECT TO CONTRACT CLAIMS, TORT CLAIMS OR OTHERWISE. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ANY SUCH CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE TRIED BY A COURT TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE PARTIES FURTHER AGREE THAT THEIR RESPECTIVE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IS WAIVED BY OPERATION OF THIS SECTION AS TO ANY ACTION, COUNTERCLAIM OR OTHER PROCEEDING WHICH SEEKS, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, TO CHALLENGE THE VALIDITY OR ENFORCEABILITY OF THIS SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT OR ANY PROVISION HEREOF. THIS WAIVER SHALL APPLY TO ANY SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, SUPPLEMENTS OR MODIFICATIONS TO THIS SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT.

(r)    The parties agree that all disputes, legal actions, suits and proceedings arising out of or relating to this Subscription Agreement must be brought exclusively in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Supreme Court of the State of New York and the federal courts of the United States of America located in the State of New York (collectively the “Designated Courts”). Each party hereby consents and submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Designated Courts. No legal action, suit or proceeding with respect to this Subscription Agreement may be brought in any other forum. Each party hereby irrevocably waives all claims of immunity from jurisdiction, and any objection which such party may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding in any Designated Court, including any right to object on the basis that any dispute, action, suit or proceeding brought in the Designated Courts has been brought in an improper or inconvenient forum or venue. Each of the parties also agrees that delivery of any process, summons, notice or document to a party hereof in compliance with Section 9(a) of this Subscription Agreement shall be effective service of process for any action, suit or proceeding in a Designated Court with respect to any matters to which the parties have submitted to jurisdiction as set forth above.

(s)    This Subscription Agreement may only be enforced against, and any claim, action, suit or other legal proceeding based upon, arising out of, or related to this Subscription Agreement, or the negotiation, execution or performance of this Subscription Agreement, may only be brought against the entities that are expressly named as parties or third-party beneficiaries hereto and then only with respect to the specific obligations set forth herein with respect to such party or third-party beneficiary. No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator, manager, member, partner, stockholder, affiliate, agent, attorney or other representative of any party hereto or of any affiliate of any party hereto, or any of their successors or permitted assigns, shall have any liability for any obligations or liabilities of any party hereto under this Subscription Agreement or for any claim, action, suit or other legal proceeding based on, in respect of or by reason of the transactions contemplated hereby.

(t)    Subscriber hereby consents to the publication and disclosure in any press release issued by the Company, eFFECTOR or any of their respective affiliates, any Form 8-K or other filing with a governmental authority filed by the Company, eFFECTOR or any of their respective affiliates with the Commission in connection with the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby and the Proxy Statement/Prospectus (as defined in the Merger Agreement) (and, as and to the extent otherwise required by the federal securities laws, exchange rules, the Commission or any other securities authorities or any rules

 

23


and regulations promulgated thereby, any other documents or communications provided by the Company, eFFECTOR or any of their respective affiliates to any governmental entity or to any securityholders of the Company) of Subscriber’s identity and beneficial ownership of the Subscribed Shares and the nature of Subscriber’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under and relating to this Subscription Agreement and, if deemed appropriate by the Company or any of its affiliates, a copy of this Subscription Agreement, all solely to the extent determined by such person or entity to be required by applicable law or any regulation or stock exchange listing requirement. Subscriber will promptly provide any information reasonably requested by the Company or any of its affiliates for any regulatory application or filing made or approval sought in connection with the Transactions (including filings with the Commission). Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such person shall provide to Subscriber a copy of any proposed disclosure relating to the Subscriber in accordance with the provisions of this Section 9(t) in advance of any publication thereof and shall include such revisions to such proposed disclosure as Subscriber shall reasonably request.

(u)    The Company shall, by 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the first (1st) Business Day immediately following the date of this Subscription Agreement, issue one or more press releases or file with the Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K (collectively, the “Disclosure Document”) disclosing all material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Other Subscription Agreements, the Transactions, and any other material, nonpublic information the Company, eFFECTOR or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents, has provided to the Subscriber at any time prior to the issuance or filing of the Disclosure Document. From and after the issuance of the Disclosure Document, the Subscriber shall no longer be subject to any confidentiality or similar obligations under any current agreement, whether written or oral with Company, the Placement Agents, eFFECTOR or any of their respective affiliates in connection with the Transactions; provided, that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that Subscriber or any of its affiliates are an investor in eFFECTOR as of the date hereof. Notwithstanding anything in this Subscription Agreement to the contrary, the Company (i) shall not publicly disclose the name of Subscriber or any of its affiliates or advisers, or include the name of Subscriber or any of its affiliates or advisers in any press release, without the prior written consent of Subscriber and (ii) shall not publicly disclose the name of Subscriber or any of its affiliates or advisers, or include the name of Subscriber or any of its affiliates or advisers in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or trading market, without the prior written consent of Subscriber, except as required by the federal securities law, regulatory agency or under the regulations of Nasdaq. Subscriber will promptly provide any information reasonably requested by the Company or any of its affiliates for any regulatory application or filing made or approval sought in connection with the Transactions (including filings with the Commission).

(v)    The obligations of Subscriber under this Subscription Agreement are several and not joint with the obligations of any Other Subscriber or any other investor under the Other Subscription Agreements, and Subscriber shall not be responsible in any way for the performance of the obligations of any Other Subscriber under this Subscription Agreement or any Other Subscriber or other investor under the Other Subscription Agreements. The decision of Subscriber to purchase Subscribed Shares pursuant to this Subscription Agreement has been made by Subscriber independently of any Other Subscriber or any other investor and independently of any information, materials, statements or opinions as to the business, affairs, operations, assets, properties, liabilities, results of operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the

 

24


Company or any of its subsidiaries which may have been made or given by any Other Subscriber or investor or by any agent or employee of any Other Subscriber or investor, and neither Subscriber nor any of its agents or employees shall have any liability to any Other Subscriber or investor (or any other person) relating to or arising from any such information, materials, statements or opinions. Nothing contained herein or in any Other Subscription Agreement, and no action taken by Subscriber or investor pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be deemed to constitute Subscriber and Other Subscribers or other investors as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that Subscriber and Other Subscribers or other investors are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by this Subscription Agreement and the Other Subscription Agreements. Subscriber acknowledges that no Other Subscriber has acted as agent for Subscriber in connection with making its investment hereunder and no Other Subscriber will be acting as agent of Subscriber in connection with monitoring its investment in the Subscribed Shares or enforcing its rights under this Subscription Agreement. Subscriber shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights, including without limitation the rights arising out of this Subscription Agreement, and it shall not be necessary for any Other Subscriber or investor to be joined as an additional party in any proceeding for such purpose.

(w)    The Subscriber hereby acknowledges and agrees that it will not, nor will any person acting at the Subscriber’s direction or pursuant to any understanding with the Subscriber, directly or indirectly offer, sell, pledge, contract to sell, sell any option, engage in hedging activities or execute any “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act of the Subscribed Shares until the consummation of the Transactions (or such earlier termination of this Subscription Agreement in accordance with its terms). For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 9(w) shall not apply to any sale (including the exercise of any redemption right) of securities of the Company (i) held by Subscriber, its controlled affiliates or any person or entity acting on behalf of Subscriber or any of its controlled affiliates prior to the execution of this Subscription Agreement or (ii) purchased by Subscriber, its controlled affiliates or any person or entity acting on behalf of Subscriber or any of its controlled affiliates in open market transactions after the execution of this Subscription Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) nothing herein shall prohibit other entities under common management with the Subscriber that have no knowledge of this Subscription Agreement or of the Subscriber’s participation in the subscription (including the Subscriber’s controlled affiliates and/or affiliates) from entering into any short sales and (b) in the case of a Subscriber that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Subscriber’s assets and the portfolio managers have no knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Subscriber’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 Class A Common Shares covered by this Subscription Agreement.

(x)    If Subscriber is a Massachusetts Business Trust, a copy of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust of Subscriber or any affiliate thereof is on file with the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and notice is hereby given that the Subscription Agreement is executed on behalf of the trustees of Subscriber or any affiliate thereof as trustees and not individually and that the obligations of the Subscription Agreement are not binding on any of the trustees, officers or stockholders of Subscriber or any affiliate thereof individually but are binding only upon Subscriber or any affiliate thereof and its assets and property.

 

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(y)    On December 6, 2016, a final judgment (the “Judgment”) was entered against Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”) by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-00755) resolving a civil lawsuit filed by the SEC in 2011 involving violations of several antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with the sale of synthetic collateralized debt obligations to five Wisconsin school districts in 2006. As a result of the Judgment: (i) Stifel is required to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act; and (ii) Stifel and a former employee were jointly liable to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $2.5 million. Stifel was also required to pay a civil penalty of $22.0 million, of which disgorgement and civil penalty Stifel was required to pay $12.5 million to the school districts involved in this matter.

Simultaneously with the entry of the Judgment, the SEC issued an Order granting Stifel a waiver from, among other things, the application of the disqualification provisions of Rule 506(d)(1)(iv) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.

A copy of the Judgment is available on the SEC’s website at: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2016/lr23700-final-judgment.pdf.

[Signature pages follow]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Company and Subscriber has executed or caused this Subscription Agreement to be executed by its duly authorized representative as of the date first set forth above.

 

LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

Address for Notices:

 

 

 

ATTN:  

 

EMAIL:  

 

with a copy (not to constitute notice) to:

 

 

 

[Signature Page to Subscription Agreement]


SUBSCRIBER:

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
  Address for Notices:
 

 

 

 

  Name in which shares are to be registered:
 

 

 

Number of Subscribed Shares subscribed              for:

  

Price Per Subscribed Share:

   $ 10.00  

Aggregate Purchase Price:

   $    
  

 

 

 

You must pay the Purchase Price by wire transfer of United States dollars in immediately available funds to the account of the Company specified by the Company in the Closing Notice.

 

[Signature Page to Subscription Agreement]


ANNEX A

ELIGIBILITY REPRESENTATIONS OF SUBSCRIBER

This page should be completed by Subscriber

and constitutes a part of the Subscription Agreement.

 

A.

QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYER STATUS

(Please check the applicable subparagraphs):

 

 

We are a “qualified institutional buyer” (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act).

OR

 

B.

INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITED INVESTOR STATUS

(Please check the applicable subparagraphs):

 

  1.

☐ We are an “accredited investor” (within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3) or (7) under the Securities Act) or an entity in which all of the equity holders are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act, and have marked and initialed the appropriate box below indicating the provision under which we qualify as an “accredited investor.”

 

  2.

☐ We are not a natural person.

Rule 501(a), in relevant part, states that an “accredited investor” shall mean any person who comes within any of the below listed categories, or who the issuer reasonably believes comes within any of the below listed categories, at the time of the sale of the securities to that person. The Subscriber has indicated, by marking and initialing the appropriate box below, the provision(s) below which apply to the Subscriber and under which the Subscriber accordingly qualifies as an “accredited investor.”

 

 

A bank as defined in Section 3(a)(2) of the Securities Act, or any savings and loan association or other institution as defined in Section 3(a)(5)(A) of the Securities Act, whether acting in its individual or fiduciary capacity;

 

 

A broker or dealer registered pursuant to Section 15 of the Exchange Act;

 

 

An investment adviser registered pursuant to section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Investment Advisers Act”) or registered pursuant to the laws of a state, or an investment adviser relying on the exemption from registering with the SEC under the section 203(l) or (m) of the Investment Advisers Act;

 

 

An insurance company as defined in section 2(13) of the Exchange Act;

 

 

An investment company registered under the Investment Company Act or a business development company as defined in Section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act;

 

 

A Small Business Investment Company licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under Section 301(c) or (d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958;


 

A Rural Business Investment Company as defined in section 384A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act;

 

 

A plan established and maintained by a state, its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or its political subdivisions for the benefit of its employees, if such plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000;

 

 

An employee benefit plan, within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, if a plan fiduciary, as defined in section 3(21) of such act (which is either a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or registered investment adviser) makes the investment decisions, or if the plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000, or, if a self-directed plan, with investment decisions made solely by persons that are accredited investors;

 

 

A private business development company as defined in section 202(a)(22) of the Investment Advisers Act;

 

 

An organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, corporation, similar business trust, or partnership, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, with total assets in excess of $5,000,000;

 

 

A trust with assets in excess of $5,000,000, not formed to acquire the securities offered, whose purchase is directed by a sophisticated person; or

 

 

An entity in which all of the equity owners are accredited investors meeting one or more of the above tests.

EX-10.4

Exhibit 10.4

AMENDED AND RESTATED REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

THIS AMENDED AND RESTATED REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of May 26, 2021, is made and entered into by and among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) (formerly known as Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation), Locust Walk Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), certain equityholders of eFFECTOR Therapeutics Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“eFFECTOR”), set forth on Schedule A (such equityholders, the “eFFECTOR Holders”), and certain equityholders of the Company set forth on Schedule B (such equityholders, including the Sponsor, the “Sponsor Holders” and, collectively with the eFFECTOR Holders, and any person or entity who hereafter becomes a party to this Agreement pursuant to Section 6.2 or Section 6.9 of this Agreement, the “Holders” and each, a “Holder”).

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the Company and the Sponsor are party to that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of January 7, 2021 (the “Original RRA”);

WHEREAS, the Company has entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 26, 2021, (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, eFFECTOR and Locust Walk Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation;

WHEREAS, on the date hereof, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the eFFECTOR Holders received shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”);

WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, the Sponsor beneficially holds (i) 5,056,250 shares of Common Stock which consists of (a) 4,511,250 shares of Common Stock issued upon the automatic conversion of the Company’s Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share in connection with the Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement) (the “Founder Shares”); and (b) 545,000 share of Common Stock issued pursuant to that certain unit subscription agreement, dated January 7, 2021, between the Sponsor and the Company, pursuant to which the Sponsor purchased 545,000 units of the Company (the “Placement Units”), each Placement Unit consisting of one share of Common Stock (the “Placement Shares”) and one third of one warrant to purchase one share of Common Stock (the “Placement Warrants”) in a private placement transaction; and (ii) the Placement Warrants exercisable for 181,667 shares of Common Stock (the “Placement Warrant Shares”);

WHEREAS, on the date hereof, certain eFFECTOR Holders purchased an aggregate of 4,000,003 shares of Common Stock (the “PIPE Shares”) in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act (as defined below) pursuant to a subscription agreement, dated as of May 26, 2021, entered into by and between the Company and each of the stockholders party thereto (each, a “PIPE Subscription Agreement”);

 

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WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Original RRA, the provisions, covenants and conditions set forth therein may be amended or modified upon the written consent of the Company and the Holders (as defined in the Original RRA) of at least a majority-in-interest of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Original RRA) at the time in question, and the Sponsor and the Sponsor Holders are Holders in the aggregate of at least a majority-in-interest of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Original RRA) as of the date hereof; and

WHEREAS, the Company, the Sponsor and the Sponsor Holders desire to amend and restate the Original RRA in its entirety and enter into this Agreement, pursuant to which the Company shall grant the Holders certain registration rights with respect to certain securities of the Company, as set forth in this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the representations, covenants and agreements contained herein, and certain other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

1.1    Definitions. The terms defined in this Article I shall, for all purposes of this Agreement, have the respective meanings set forth below:

Adverse Disclosure” shall mean any public disclosure of material non-public information, which disclosure, in the good faith judgment of the Board or the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer or principal financial officer of the Company (i) would be required to be made in any Registration Statement or Prospectus in order for the applicable Registration Statement or Prospectus not to contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements contained therein (in the case of any Prospectus and any preliminary Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, (ii) would not be required to be made at such time if the Registration Statement were not being filed, declared effective or used, as the case may be, and (iii) the Company has a bona fide business purpose for not making such information public.

Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

Block Trade” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.4.1.

Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Bylaws” shall mean the bylaws of the Company in effect immediately following the Closing.

Closing” shall have the meaning given in the Merger Agreement.

Closing Date” shall have the meaning given in the Merger Agreement.

 

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Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Common Stock” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto. For the sake of clarity, the Common Stock had been designated as “Class A Common Stock” prior to the Closing.

Company” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto and includes the Company’s successors by recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, reorganization or similar transaction.

Demanding eFFECTOR Holder” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Demanding Sponsor Holders” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Demanding Holder” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Earn-Out Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.

eFFECTOR” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto.

eFFECTOR Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto.

Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as it may be amended from time to time.

Form S-1” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.1.

Form S-3” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.1.

Holder Information” shall have the meaning given in Section 4.1.2.

Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble hereto, for so long as such person or entity holds any Registrable Securities.

Joinder” shall have the meaning given in Section 6.9.

majority-in-interest” shall mean, as applicable, the Holders of a majority-in-interest of the then outstanding number of Registrable Securities held by the applicable Holders.

Maximum Number of Securities” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.5.

Merger Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Minimum Takedown Threshold” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Misstatement” shall mean an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact required to be stated in a Registration Statement or Prospectus, or necessary to make the statements in a Registration Statement or Prospectus (in the case of the Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.

 

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Original RRA” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Permitted Transferees” shall mean (a) with respect to the Sponsor Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, the “Permitted Transferees” as defined in the Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement; (b) with respect to the eFFECTOR Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, the “Permitted Transferees” as defined in the Bylaws; and (c) with respect to all other Holders and their respective Permitted Transferees, any person or entity to whom such Holder of Registrable Securities is permitted to transfer such Registrable Securities, subject to and in accordance with any applicable agreement between such Holder and/or their respective Permitted Transferees and the Company and any transferee thereafter.

Piggy-back Registration” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.2.1.

PIPE Shares” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.

Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus included in any Registration Statement, as supplemented by any and all prospectus supplements and as amended by any and all post-effective amendments and including all material incorporated by reference in such prospectus.

Registrable Security” shall mean (a) any outstanding shares of Common Stock or any other equity security (including warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock and shares of Common Stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of any other equity security) of the Company held by a Holder immediately following the Closing (including the Founder Shares, the Placement Shares, the Placement Warrants, the Placement Warrant Shares and any securities distributable pursuant to the Merger Agreement, including the Earn-Out Shares) other than PIPE Shares; and (b) any other equity security of the Company issued or issuable with respect to any securities referenced in clause (a) above by way of a stock dividend or stock split or in connection with a combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, reorganization or similar transaction; provided, however, that, as to any particular Registrable Security, such securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities upon the earliest to occur of: (A) a Registration Statement with respect to the sale of such securities shall have become effective under the Securities Act and such securities shall have been sold, transferred, disposed of or exchanged in accordance with such Registration Statement by the applicable Holder; (B)(i) such securities shall have been otherwise transferred, (ii) new certificates for such securities not bearing (or book entry positions not subject to) a legend restricting further transfer shall have been delivered by the Company and (iii) subsequent public distribution of such securities shall not require registration under the Securities Act; (C) such securities shall have ceased to be outstanding; (D) such securities may be sold without registration pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission) (but with no volume, current public information or other requirements, restrictions or limitations); or (E) such securities have been sold to, or through, a broker, dealer or underwriter in a public distribution or other public securities transaction.

Registration” shall mean a registration, including any related Shelf Takedown, effected by preparing and filing a registration statement, Prospectus or similar document in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and such registration statement becoming effective.

 

4


Registration Expenses” shall mean the documented, out-of-pocket expenses of a Registration, including, without limitation, the following:

(A)    all registration and filing fees (including fees with respect to filings required to be made with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) and any national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is then listed;

(B)    fees and expenses of compliance with securities or blue sky laws (including reasonable fees and disbursements of outside counsel for the Underwriters in connection with blue sky qualifications of Registrable Securities);

(C)    printing, messenger, telephone and delivery expenses;

(D)    reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company;

(E)    reasonable fees and disbursements of all independent registered public accountants of the Company incurred specifically in connection with such Registration; and

(F)    in an Underwritten Offering or other offering involving an Underwriter, reasonable fees and expenses of one (1) legal counsel selected by the majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders, not to exceed $75,000 without the consent of the Company, not to be unreasonably withheld.

Registration Statement” shall mean any registration statement that covers the Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, including the Prospectus included in such registration statement, amendments (including post-effective amendments) and supplements to such registration statement, and all exhibits to and all materials incorporated by reference in such registration statement.

Requesting Holders” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.5.

Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

Shelf” shall mean the Form S-1, the Form S-3 or any Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement, as the case may be.

Shelf Registration” shall mean a registration of securities pursuant to a registration statement filed with the Commission in accordance with and pursuant to Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule then in effect).

Shelf Takedown” shall mean an Underwritten Shelf Takedown or any proposed transfer or sale using a Registration Statement, including a Piggy-back Registration.

Sponsor shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

Sponsor Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.

 

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Sponsor Lock-Up Agreement” shall mean the sponsor lock-up agreement by and among the Company, the Company’s officers and directors and the Sponsor, dated May 26, 2021.

Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.2.

Triggering Event” shall have the meaning set forth in the Merger Agreement.

Underwriter” shall mean a securities dealer who purchases any Registrable Securities as principal or as broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to a Registration and not as part of such dealer’s market-making activities.

Underwritten Offering” shall mean a Registration in which securities of the Company are sold to an Underwriter in a firm commitment underwriting for distribution to the public.

Underwritten Shelf Takedown” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.4.

Withdrawal Notice” shall have the meaning given in Section 2.1.6.

ARTICLE II

REGISTRATIONS AND OFFERINGS

2.1    Shelf Registration.

2.1.1    Filing. The Company agrees that it will file with the Commission (at the Company’s sole cost and expense) a Registration Statement for a Shelf Registration on Form S-1 (the “Form S-1”) or a Registration Statement for a Shelf Registration on a delayed or continuous basis no later than twenty (20) business days after the Closing Date, and the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the Registration Statement declared effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, but no later than the earlier of (i) sixty (60) calendar days after the filing thereof (or, in the event the Commission reviews and has written comments to the Registration Statement, the ninetieth (90th) calendar day following the filing thereof) and (ii) the third (3rd) business day after the date the Company is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the Commission that the Registration Statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be subject to further review ((i) and (ii) collectively, the “Effectiveness Deadline”); provided, that if such day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or other day that the Commission is closed for business, the Effectiveness Deadline shall be extended to the next Business Day on which the Commission is open for business. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide a draft of the Registration Statement to the undersigned for review at least two (2) business days in advance of filing the Registration Statement; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall the Company be required to delay or postpone the filing of such Registration Statement as a result of or in connection with a Holder’s review. Such Shelf shall provide for the resale of the Registrable Securities included therein pursuant to any method or combination of methods legally available to, and requested by, any Holder named therein, including but not limited to, distributions by a Holder to members or limited partners of such Holder, and such members or limited partners shall receive such Registrable Securities free of any restrictive legends. The Company shall maintain a Shelf in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall prepare and file with the Commission such amendments, including post-effective amendments, and supplements as may be necessary to keep a Shelf continuously effective, available for use to permit the Holders named therein to sell their Registrable Securities included therein and in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any Registrable Securities. In the event the Company files a Form S-1, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to convert the Form S-1 (and any Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement) to a Form S-3 as soon as practicable after the Company is eligible to use Form S-3. The Company’s obligation under this Section 2.1.1, shall, for the avoidance of doubt, be subject to Section 3.4.

 

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2.1.2    Subsequent Shelf Registration. If any Shelf ceases to be effective or if the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes a Misstatement for any reason at any time while Registrable Securities are still outstanding, the Company shall, subject to Section 3.4, use its commercially reasonable efforts to as promptly as is reasonably practicable cause such Shelf to again become effective under the Securities Act (including using its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the prompt withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of such Shelf) and correct any such Misstatement, and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to as promptly as is reasonably practicable amend such Shelf in a manner reasonably expected to result in the withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of such Shelf or file an additional registration statement as a Shelf Registration (a “Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement”) registering the resale of all Registrable Securities (determined as of two (2) business days prior to such filing), and pursuant to any method or combination of methods legally available to, and requested by, any Holder named therein. If a Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement is filed, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) cause such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement to become effective under the Securities Act as promptly as is reasonably practicable after the filing thereof and (ii) keep such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective, available for use to permit the Holders named therein to sell their Registrable Securities included therein and in compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act until such time as there are no longer any Registrable Securities. Any such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be on Form S-3 to the extent that the Company is eligible to use such form. Otherwise, such Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be on another appropriate form. The Company’s obligation under this Section 2.1.2, shall, for the avoidance of doubt, be subject to Section 3.4.

2.1.3    Additional Registrable Securities. Subject to Section 3.4, in the event that any Holder holds Registrable Securities that are not registered for resale on a delayed or continuous basis, the Company, upon written request of a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder shall promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the resale of such Registrable Securities to be covered by either, at the Company’s option, any then available Shelf (including by means of a post-effective amendment) or by filing a Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement and cause the same to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and such Shelf or Subsequent Shelf Registration Statement shall be subject to the terms hereof.

2.1.4    Requests for Underwritten Shelf Takedowns. Subject to Section 3.4, at any time and from time to time when an effective Shelf is on file with the Commission, (a) a Sponsor Holder (the “Demanding Sponsor Holder”) or (b) an eFFECTOR Holder (the “Demanding eFFECTOR Holder”) (any Demanding Sponsor Holder or Demanding eFFECTOR Holder being in such case, a “Demanding Holder”) may request to sell all or any portion of its Registrable Securities in an Underwritten Offering or other coordinated offering that is registered pursuant to the Shelf (each, an “Underwritten Shelf Takedown”); provided that the Company shall only be obligated to effect an Underwritten Shelf Takedown if such offering shall include Registrable Securities proposed to be sold by the Demanding Holder, either individually or together with other Demanding Holders, with a total offering price reasonably expected to exceed, in the aggregate,

 

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$50 million (the “Minimum Takedown Threshold”). All requests for Underwritten Shelf Takedowns shall be made by giving written notice to the Company, which shall specify the approximate number of Registrable Securities proposed to be sold in the Underwritten Shelf Takedown. Subject to Section 2.4.4, the Company shall have the right to select the Underwriters for such offering (which shall consist of one or more reputable nationally recognized investment banks), subject to the initial Demanding Holder’s prior approval (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). The Demanding Sponsor Holders and the Demanding eFFECTOR Holder may each demand not more than one (1) Underwritten Shelf Takedowns pursuant to this Section 2.1.4 in any twelve (12) month period. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company may effect any Underwritten Offering pursuant to any then effective Registration Statement, including a Form S-3, that is then available for such offering, subject to the provisions of Section 2.2.

2.1.5    Reduction of Underwritten Offering. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Shelf Takedown, in good faith, advises the Company, the Demanding Holders and the Holders requesting piggy-back rights pursuant to this Agreement with respect to such Underwritten Shelf Takedown (the “Requesting Holders”) (if any) in writing that the dollar amount or number of Registrable Securities that the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) desire to sell, taken together with all other shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell for its own account and all other shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, that have been requested to be sold in such Underwritten Offering pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights held by any other stockholders who desire to sell, exceeds the maximum dollar amount or maximum number of equity securities that can be sold in the Underwritten Offering without adversely affecting the proposed offering price, the timing, the distribution method, or the probability of success of such offering (such maximum dollar amount or maximum number of such securities, as applicable, the “Maximum Number of Securities”), then the Company shall include in such Underwritten Offering, before including any shares of Common Stock or other equity securities proposed to be sold by Company or by other holders of Common Stock or other equity securities, the Registrable Securities of the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) (pro rata based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Demanding Holder and Requesting Holder (if any) has requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Demanding Holders and Requesting Holders have requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown) that can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities.

2.1.6    Withdrawal. Prior to the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used for marketing such Underwritten Shelf Takedown, a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating an Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall have the right to withdraw from such Underwritten Shelf Takedown for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification (a “Withdrawal Notice”) to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of their intention to withdraw from such Underwritten Shelf Takedown; provided that a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder may elect to have the Company continue an Underwritten Shelf Takedown if the Minimum Takedown Threshold would still be satisfied by the Registrable Securities proposed to be sold in the Underwritten Shelf Takedown by the Sponsor Holders, the eFFECTOR Holders or any of their respective Permitted Transferees, as applicable.

 

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If withdrawn, a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall constitute a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown by the withdrawing Demanding Holder for purposes of Section 2.1.4, unless either (i) such Demanding Holder has not previously withdrawn any Underwritten Shelf Takedown or (ii) such Demanding Holder reimburses the Company for all Registration Expenses with respect to such Underwritten Shelf Takedown (or, if there is more than one Demanding Holder, a pro rata portion of such Registration Expenses based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Demanding Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Shelf Takedown); provided that, if a Sponsor Holder or an eFFECTOR Holder elects to continue an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to the proviso in the immediately preceding sentence, such Underwritten Shelf Takedown shall instead count as an Underwritten Shelf Takedown demanded by such Sponsor Holder or such eFFECTOR Holder, as applicable, for purposes of Section 2.1.4. Following the receipt of any Withdrawal Notice, the Company shall promptly forward such Withdrawal Notice to any other Holders that had elected to participate in such Shelf Takedown. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with a Shelf Takedown prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.1.6, other than if a Demanding Holder elects to pay such Registration Expenses pursuant to clause (ii) of the second sentence of this Section 2.1.6.

2.2    Piggy-back Registration.

2.2.1    Piggy-back Rights. Subject to Section 2.4.3, if the Company or any Holder proposes to conduct a registered offering of, or if the Company proposes to file a Registration Statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Registration of, equity securities, or securities or other obligations exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into equity securities, for its own account or for the account of stockholders of the Company (or by the Company and by the stockholders of the Company including, without limitation, an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to Section 2.1), other than a Registration Statement (or any registered offering with respect thereto) (i) filed in connection with any employee stock option or other benefit plan, (ii) for a rights offering or an exchange offer or offering of securities solely to the Company’s existing stockholders, (iii) pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (or similar form that relates to a transaction subject to Rule 145 under the Securities Act or any successor rule thereto), (iv) for an offering of debt that is convertible into equity securities of the Company, (v) for a dividend reinvestment plan or (vi) a Block Trade, then the Company shall give written notice of such proposed offering to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities as soon as practicable but not less than ten (10) days before the anticipated filing date of such Registration Statement or, in the case of an Underwritten Offering pursuant to a Shelf Registration, the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used for marketing such offering, which notice shall (A) describe the amount and type of securities to be included in such offering, the intended method(s) of distribution, and the name of the proposed managing Underwriter or Underwriters, if any, in such offering, and (B) offer to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities the opportunity to include in such registered offering such number of Registrable Securities as such Holders may request in writing within five (5) days after receipt of such written notice (such registered offering, a “Piggy-back Registration”). Subject to Section 2.2.2, the Company shall, in good faith, cause such Registrable Securities to be included in such Piggy-back Registration and, if applicable, shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the managing Underwriter or Underwriters of such Piggy-back Registration to permit the Registrable Securities requested by the Holders pursuant to this Section 2.2.1 to be included therein on the same terms and conditions as any similar securities of the Company included in such

 

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registered offering and to permit the sale or other disposition of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method(s) of distribution thereof. The inclusion of any Holder’s Registrable Securities in a Piggy-back Registration shall be subject to such Holder agreement to enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the Underwriter(s) selected for such Underwritten Offering by the Company. The Company may postpone or withdraw the filing or the effectiveness of a Piggy-back Registration at any time in its sole discretion.

2.2.2    Reduction of Piggy-back Registration. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Offering that is to be a Piggy-back Registration, in good faith, advises the Company and the Holders of Registrable Securities participating in the Piggy-back Registration in writing that the dollar amount or number of shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, taken together with (i) the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been demanded pursuant to separate written contractual arrangements with persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, (ii) the Registrable Securities as to which registration has been requested pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof, and (iii) the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, exceeds the Maximum Number of Securities, then:

(a)    if the Registration or registered offering is undertaken for the Company’s account, the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering (A) first, the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.2.1, pro rata, based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Offering and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Holders have requested to be included in such Underwritten Offering, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities;

(b)    if the Registration or registered offering is pursuant to a demand by persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, then the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering (A) first, the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, of such requesting persons or entities, other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.2.1, pro rata, based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has requested be included in such Underwritten Offering

 

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and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Holders have requested to be included in such Underwritten Offering, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (D) fourth, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A), (B) and (C), the shares of Common Stock or other equity securities, if any, as to which Registration or a registered offering has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and

(c)    if the Registration or registered offering and Underwritten Shelf Takedown is pursuant to a request by Holder(s) of Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, then the Company shall include in any such Registration or registered offering securities in the priority set forth in Section 2.1.5.

2.2.3    Piggy-back Registration Withdrawal. Any Holder of Registrable Securities (other than a Demanding Holder, whose right to withdraw from an Underwritten Shelf Takedown, and related obligations, shall be governed by Section 2.1.6) shall have the right to withdraw from a Piggy-back Registration for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of his, her or its intention to withdraw from such Piggy-back Registration prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement filed with the Commission with respect to such Piggy-back Registration or, in the case of a Piggy-back Registration pursuant to a Shelf Registration, the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement with respect to such Piggy-back Registration used for marketing such transaction. The Company (whether on its own good faith determination or as the result of a request for withdrawal by persons or entities pursuant to separate written contractual obligations) may withdraw a Registration Statement filed with the Commission in connection with a Piggy-back Registration (which, in no circumstance, shall include a Shelf) at any time prior to the effectiveness of such Registration Statement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement (other than Section 2.1.6), the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with the Piggy-back Registration prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.2.3.

2.2.4    Unlimited Piggy-back Registration Rights. For purposes of clarity, subject to Section 2.1.6, any Piggy-back Registration effected pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof shall not be counted as a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown under Section 2.1.4 hereof.

2.3    Block Trades.

2.3.1    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article II, but subject to Section 3.4, at any time and from time to time when an effective Shelf is on file with the Commission, if a Demanding Holder wishes to engage in an underwritten or other coordinated registered offering not involving a “roadshow,” an offer commonly known as a “block trade” (a “Block Trade”), with a total offering price reasonably expected to exceed, in the aggregate, either (x) $25 million or

 

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(y) all remaining Registrable Securities held by the Demanding Holder, then such Demanding Holder only needs to notify the Company of the Block Trade at least five (5) business days prior to the day such offering is to commence and the Company shall as expeditiously as possible use its commercially reasonable efforts to facilitate such Block Trade; provided that the Demanding Holders representing a majority of the Registrable Securities wishing to engage in the Block Trade shall use commercially reasonable efforts to work with the Company and any Underwriters (including by disclosing the maximum number of Registrable Securities proposed to be the subject of such Block Trade) prior to making such request in order to facilitate preparation of the registration statement, prospectus and other offering documentation related to the Block Trade.

2.3.2    Prior to the filing of the applicable “red herring” prospectus or prospectus supplement used in connection with a Block Trade, a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating such Block Trade shall have the right to submit a Withdrawal Notice to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of their intention to withdraw from such Block Trade. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with a Block Trade prior to its withdrawal under this Section 2.4.2.

2.3.3    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Section 2.2 shall not apply to a Block Trade initiated by a Demanding Holder pursuant to this Agreement.

2.3.4    The Demanding Holder in a Block Trade shall have the right to select the Underwriters for such Block Trade (which shall consist of one or more reputable nationally recognized investment banks).

2.3.5    A Holder in the aggregate may demand no more than two (2) Block Trades pursuant to this Section 2.4 in any twelve (12) month period. For the avoidance of doubt, any Block Trade effected pursuant to this Section 2.4 shall not be counted as a demand for an Underwritten Shelf Takedown pursuant to Section 2.1.4 hereof.

ARTICLE III

COMPANY PROCEDURES

3.1    General Procedures. In connection with any Shelf and/or Shelf Takedown, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect such Registration to permit the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended plan of distribution thereof, and pursuant thereto the Company shall:

3.1.1    prepare and file with the Commission a Registration Statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective and remain effective until all Registrable Securities have ceased to be Registrable Securities;

3.1.2    prepare and file with the Commission such amendments and post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, and such supplements to the Prospectus, as may be requested by a Holder or any Underwriter of Registrable Securities or as may be required by the

 

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rules, regulations or instructions applicable to the registration form used by the Company or by the Securities Act or rules and regulations thereunder to keep the Registration Statement effective until the earlier of (a) one year following the effective date of the Registration Statement or (b) until all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement are sold in accordance with the intended plan of distribution set forth in such Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus and either (i) any underwriter overallotment option has terminated by its terms or (ii) the underwriters have advised the Company that they will not exercise such option or any remaining portion thereof;

3.1.3    prior to filing a Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, furnish without charge to the Underwriters, if any, and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration, and such Holders’ legal counsel, copies of such Registration Statement as proposed to be filed, each amendment and supplement to such Registration Statement (in each case including all exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein), the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement (including each preliminary Prospectus), and such other documents as the Underwriters and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration or the legal counsel for any such Holders may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by such Holders;

3.1.4    prior to any public offering of Registrable Securities, use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) register or qualify the Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement under such securities or “blue sky” laws of such jurisdictions in the United States as any Holder of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement (in light of their intended plan of distribution) may reasonably request (or provide evidence satisfactory to such Holders that the Registrable Securities are exempt from such registration or qualification) and (ii) take such action necessary to cause such Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental authorities as may be necessary by virtue of the business and operations of the Company and do any and all other acts and things that may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities in such jurisdictions; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to qualify generally to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify or take any action to which it would be subject to general service of process or taxation in any such jurisdiction where it is not then otherwise so subject;

3.1.5    use commercially reasonable efforts to cause all such Registrable Securities to be listed on each national securities exchange on which similar securities issued by the Company are then listed;

3.1.6    provide a transfer agent or warrant agent, as applicable, and registrar for all such Registrable Securities no later than the effective date of such Registration Statement;

3.1.7    advise each seller of such Registrable Securities, promptly after it shall receive notice or obtain knowledge thereof, of the issuance of any stop order by the Commission suspending the effectiveness of such Registration Statement or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose and promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such stop order should be issued;

 

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3.1.8    at least five (5) days prior to the filing of any Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to such Registration Statement or Prospectus (or such shorter period of time as may be (a) necessary in order to comply with the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, as applicable or (b) advisable in order to reduce the number of days that sales are suspended pursuant to Section 3.4), furnish a copy thereof to each seller of such Registrable Securities or its counsel (excluding any exhibits thereto and any filing made under the Exchange Act that is to be incorporated by reference therein);

3.1.9    notify the Holders at any time when a Prospectus relating to such Registration Statement is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the happening of any event as a result of which the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes a Misstatement, and then to correct such Misstatement as set forth in Section 3.4 hereof;

3.1.10    in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, permit a representative of the Holders, the Underwriters or other financial institutions facilitating such Underwritten Offering, Block Trade or other sale pursuant to such Registration, if any, and any attorney, consultant or accountant retained by such Holders or Underwriter to participate, at each such person’s or entity’s own expense, in the preparation of the Registration Statement, and cause the Company’s officers, directors and employees to supply all information reasonably requested by any such representative, Underwriter, financial institution, attorney, consultant or accountant in connection with the Registration; provided, however, that such representatives, Underwriters or financial institutions agree to confidentiality arrangements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company, prior to the release or disclosure of any such information; and provided further, that the Company will not include the name of any Holder or any information regarding any Holder not participating in such sale pursuant to such Registration unless required by the Commission or any applicable law, rules or regulations.

3.1.11    obtain a “cold comfort” letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration (subject to such broker, placement agent or sales agent providing such certification or representation reasonably requested by the Company’s independent registered public accountings and the Company’s counsel) in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by “cold comfort” letters as the managing Underwriter may reasonably request, and reasonably satisfactory to a majority-in-interest of the participating Holders;

3.1.12    in the event of an Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, on the date the Registrable Securities are delivered for sale pursuant to such Registration, obtain an opinion, dated such date, of counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such Registration, addressed to the participating Holders, the broker, placement agents or sales agent, if any, and the Underwriters, if any, covering

 

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such legal matters with respect to the Registration in respect of which such opinion is being given as the participating Holders, broker, placement agent, sales agent, or Underwriter may reasonably request and as are customarily included in such opinions and negative assurance letters;

3.1.13    in the event of any Underwritten Offering, a Block Trade or sale by a broker, placement agent or sales agent pursuant to such Registration, enter into and perform its obligations under an underwriting or other purchase or sales agreement, in usual and customary form, with the managing Underwriter or the broker, placement agent or sales agent of such offering or sale;

3.1.14    otherwise use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Commission, and to make available to its security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement covering the period of at least twelve (12) months beginning with the first day of the Company’s first full calendar quarter after the effective date of the Registration Statement which satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 thereunder, and which requirement will be deemed satisfied if the Company timely files complete and accurate information on Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K under the Exchange Act and otherwise complies with Rule 158 under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission);

3.1.15    with respect to an Underwritten Offering pursuant to Section 2.1.4, use its commercially reasonable efforts to make available senior executives of the Company to participate in customary “road show” presentations that may be reasonably requested by the Underwriter in such Underwritten Offering; and

3.1.16    otherwise, in good faith, cooperate reasonably with, and take such customary actions as may reasonably be requested by the participating Holders, consistent with the terms of this Agreement, in connection with such Registration.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to provide any documents or information to an Underwriter or other sales agent or placement agent if such Underwriter or other sales agent or placement agent has not then been named with respect to the applicable Underwritten Offering or other offering involving a registration and an Underwriter.

3.2    Registration Expenses. The Registration Expenses of all Registrations shall be borne by the Company. It is acknowledged by the Holders that the Holders shall bear all incremental selling expenses relating to the sale of Registrable Securities, such as Underwriters’ commissions and discounts, brokerage fees, Underwriter marketing costs and, other than as set forth in the definition of “Registration Expenses,” all reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel representing the Holders.

3.3    Requirements for Participation in Registration Statement in Offerings. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any Holder does not provide the Company with its requested Holder Information, the Company may exclude such Holder’s Registrable Securities from the applicable Registration Statement or Prospectus if the Company determines, based on the advice of counsel, that such information is necessary to effect the registration and such Holder continues thereafter to withhold such information. No person may participate in any Underwritten Offering or other offering involving a Registration and an

 

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Underwriter for equity securities of the Company pursuant to a Registration initiated by the Company hereunder unless such person (i) agrees to sell such person’s securities on the basis provided in any arrangements approved by the Company and (ii) completes and executes all customary questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, lock-up agreements, underwriting or other agreements and other customary documents as may be reasonably required under the terms of such arrangements. The exclusion of a Holder’s Registrable Securities as a result of this Section 3.3 shall not affect the registration of the other Registrable Securities to be included in such Registration.

3.4    Suspension of Sales; Adverse Disclosure; Restrictions on Registration Rights.

3.4.1    Upon receipt of written notice from the Company that a Registration Statement or Prospectus contains a Misstatement, or in the opinion of counsel for the Company it is necessary to supplement or amend such Prospectus to comply with law, each of the Holders shall forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities until it has received copies of a supplemented or amended Prospectus correcting the Misstatement or including the information counsel for the Company believes to be necessary to comply with law (it being understood that the Company hereby covenants to prepare and file such supplement or amendment as soon as practicable after the time of such notice), or until it is advised in writing by the Company that the use of the Prospectus may be resumed.

3.4.2    Subject to Section 3.4.4, if the filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Registration Statement in respect of any Registration at any time would (a) require the Company to make an Adverse Disclosure, (b) require the inclusion in such Registration Statement of financial statements that are unavailable to the Company for reasons beyond the Company’s control, or (c) in the good faith judgment of the majority of the Board such Registration, be seriously detrimental to the Company and the majority of the Board concludes as a result that it is essential to defer such filing, initial effectiveness or continued use at such time, the Company may, upon giving prompt written notice of such action to the Holders, delay the filing or initial effectiveness of, or suspend use of, such Registration Statement for the shortest period of time, but in no event more than thirty (30) days, determined in good faith by the Company to be necessary for such purpose. In the event the Company exercises its rights under this Section 3.4.2, the Holders agree to suspend, immediately upon their receipt of the notice referred to above, their use of the Prospectus relating to any Registration in connection with any sale or offer to sell Registrable Securities until such Holder receives written notice from the Company that such sales or offers of Registrable Securities may be resumed, and in each case maintain the confidentiality of such notice and its contents.

3.4.3    Subject to Section 3.4.4, (a) during the period starting with the date sixty (60) days prior to the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of the filing of, and ending on a date one hundred and twenty (120) days after the effective date of, a Company-initiated Registration and provided that the Company continues to actively employ, in good faith, all reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the applicable Shelf Registration Statement, or (b) if, pursuant to Section 2.1.4, Holders have requested an Underwritten Shelf Takedown and the Company and Holders are unable to obtain the commitment of underwriters to firmly underwrite such offering, the Company may, upon giving prompt written notice of such action to the Holders, delay any other registered offering pursuant to Section 2.1.4 or 2.4.

 

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3.4.4    The right to delay or suspend any filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Registration Statement pursuant to Section 3.4.2 or a registered offering pursuant to Section 3.4.3 shall be exercised by the Company, in the aggregate, on not more than two occasions or for more than sixty (60) consecutive calendar days or more than two (2) times in any three hundred sixty (360) day period.

3.4.5    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Company shall not provide any Holder with any material, nonpublic information regarding the Company other than to the extent that providing notice to such Holder hereunder constitutes material, nonpublic information regarding the Company.

3.5    Reporting Obligations. As long as any Holder shall own Registrable Securities, the Company, at all times while it shall be a reporting company under the Exchange Act, covenants to use commercially reasonable efforts to file timely (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 Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and to promptly furnish the Holders with true and complete copies of all such filings; provided that any documents publicly filed or furnished with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System shall be deemed to have been furnished or delivered to the Holders pursuant to this Section 3.5. The Company further covenants that it shall take such further action as any Holder may reasonably request, all to the extent required from time to time to enable such Holder to sell the shares of Common Stock held by such Holder without registration under the Securities Act within the limitation of the exemptions provided by Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission). Upon the request of any Holder, the Company shall deliver to such Holder a written certification of a duly authorized officer as to whether it has complied with such requirements.

ARTICLE IV

INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION

4.1    Indemnification.

4.1.1    The Company agrees to indemnify, to the extent permitted by law, each Holder of Registrable Securities, its officers, directors and agents and each person or entity who controls such Holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act), against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and out-of-pocket expenses (including, reasonable outside attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as the same are caused by or contained in any information so furnished in writing to the Company by such Holder expressly for use therein. The Company shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers and directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to the indemnification of the Holder.

 

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4.1.2    In connection with any Registration Statement in which a Holder of Registrable Securities is participating, such Holder shall furnish (or cause to be furnished) to the Company in writing such information and affidavits as the Company reasonably requests for use in connection with any such Registration Statement or Prospectus (the “Holder Information”) and, to the extent permitted by law, shall indemnify the Company, its directors, officers and agents and each person who controls the Company (within the meaning of the Securities Act) against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and out-of-pocket expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable outside attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only to the extent that such untrue statement or omission is contained in (or not contained in, in the case of an omission) any information or affidavit so furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Holder expressly for use therein; provided, however, that the obligation to indemnify shall be several, not joint and several, among such Holders of Registrable Securities, and the liability of each such Holder of Registrable Securities shall be in proportion to and limited to the net proceeds received by such Holder from the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement. The Holders of Registrable Securities shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers, directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to indemnification of the Company..

4.1.3    Any person entitled to indemnification herein shall (i) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which it seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall not impair any person’s right to indemnification hereunder to the extent such failure has not materially prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (ii) unless in such indemnified party’s reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist with respect to such claim, permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent (but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). An indemnifying party who is not entitled to, or elects not to, assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (plus local counsel) for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of any indemnified party a conflict of interest may exist between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim. No indemnifying party shall, without the consent of the indemnified party, consent to the entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which cannot be settled in all respects by the payment of money (and such money is so paid by the indemnifying party pursuant to the terms of such settlement) or which settlement includes a statement or admission of fault and culpability on the part of such indemnified party or which settlement does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such indemnified party of a release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation.

4.1.4    The indemnification provided for under this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party or any officer, director or controlling person of such indemnified party and shall survive the transfer

 

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of securities. The Company and each Holder of Registrable Securities participating in an offering also agrees to make such provisions as are reasonably requested by any indemnified party for contribution to such party in the event the Company’s or such Holder’s indemnification is unavailable for any reason.

4.1.5    If the indemnification provided under Section 4.1 from the indemnifying party is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and    expenses referred to herein, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying the indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities and    expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, was made by (or not made by, in the case of an omission), or relates to information supplied by (or not supplied by in the case of an omission), such indemnifying party or indemnified party, and the indemnifying party’s and indemnified party’s relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action; provided, however, that the liability of any Holder under this Section 4.1.5 (when combined with any indemnification liability under Section 4.1.2) shall be limited to the amount of the net proceeds received by such Holder in such offering giving rise to such liability. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses or other liabilities referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 4.1.1, 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 above, any legal or other fees, charges or out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. The parties hereto agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 4.1.5 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation, which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 4.1.5. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution pursuant to this Section 4.1.5 from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

ARTICLE V

MISCELLANEOUS

5.1    Notices. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be in writing and given by (i) deposit in the United States mail, addressed to the party to be notified, postage prepaid and registered or certified with return receipt requested, (ii) delivery in person or by courier service providing evidence of delivery, or (iii) transmission by hand delivery, electronic mail or facsimile. Each notice or communication that is mailed, delivered, or transmitted in the manner described above shall be deemed sufficiently given, served, sent, and received, in the case of mailed notices, on the third business day following the date on which it is mailed and, in the case of notices delivered by courier service, hand delivery, electronic mail or facsimile, at such time as

 

19


it is delivered to the addressee (with the delivery receipt of the indented recipient or the affidavit of messenger) or at such time as delivery is refused by the addressee upon presentation. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be addressed, to the Company at:

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.

11120 Roselle Street, Suite A

San Diego, CA 92121

Attention: [ ● ]

Email: [ ● ]

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

Latham & Watkins LLP

12670 High Bluff Drive

San Diego, CA 92130

Attention: Matthew T. Bush

Ryan J. Maierson

Email:    matt.bush@lw.com

ryan.maierson@lw.com

and to the Holders, at such Holder’s address referenced in Schedule A or Schedule B.

Any party may change its address for notice at any time and from time to time by written notice to the other parties hereto, and such change of address shall become effective thirty (30) days after delivery of such notice as provided in this Section 6.1.

5.2    Assignment; No Third Party Beneficiaries.

5.2.1    This Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of the Company hereunder may not be assigned or delegated by the Company in whole or in part.

5.2.2    Subject to Section 5.2.4 and Section 5.2.5, this Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of a Holder hereunder may be assigned in whole or in part to such Holder’s Permitted Transferees; provided, that, with respect to the eFFECTOR Holders and the Sponsor Holders, the rights hereunder that are personal to such Holders may not be assigned or delegated in whole or in part, except that (x) each of the eFFECTOR Holders shall be permitted to transfer its rights hereunder as the eFFECTOR Holders to one or more affiliates or any direct or indirect partners, members or equity holders of such eFFECTOR Holder (it being understood that no such transfer shall reduce any rights of such eFFECTOR Holder or such transferees) and (y) each of the Sponsor Holders shall be permitted to transfer its rights hereunder as the Sponsor Holders to one or more affiliates or any direct or indirect partners, members or equity holders of such Sponsor Holder (it being understood that no such transfer shall reduce any rights of the Sponsor or such transferees).

5.2.3    This Agreement and the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of each of the Holders, the permitted assigns and its successors and the permitted assigns of the Holders, which shall include Permitted Transferees.

 

20


5.2.4    This Agreement shall not confer any rights or benefits on any persons or entities that are not parties hereto, other than as expressly set forth in this Agreement and Section 5.2 hereto.

5.2.5    No assignment by any party hereto of such party’s rights, duties and obligations hereunder shall be binding upon or obligate the Company unless and until the Company shall have received (i) written notice of such assignment as provided in Section 5.1 hereof and (ii) the written agreement of the assignee, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to be bound by the terms and provisions of this Agreement (which may be accomplished by an addendum or certificate of joinder to this Agreement). Any transfer or assignment made other than as provided in this Section 5.2 shall be null and void.

5.3    Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts (including facsimile or PDF counterparts), each of which shall be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute the same instrument, but only one of which need be produced.

5.4    Governing Law; Venue. THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE CONFLICT OF LAW PROVISIONS OF SUCH 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 or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the city of New York, and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.

5.5    Amendments and Modifications. Upon the written consent of the Company and the Holders of at least a majority in interest then outstanding of the Registrable Securities, compliance with any of the provisions, covenants and conditions set forth in this Agreement may be waived, or any of such provisions, covenants or conditions may be amended or modified; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, any amendment hereto or waiver hereof that adversely affects one Holder, solely in its capacity as a holder of the shares of capital stock of the Company, in a manner that is materially different from the other Holders (in such capacity) shall require the consent of the Holder so affected. No course of dealing between any Holder or the Company and any other party hereto or any failure or delay on the part of a Holder or the Company in exercising any rights or remedies under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver of any rights or remedies of any Holder or the Company. No single or partial exercise of any rights or remedies under this Agreement by a party shall operate as a waiver or preclude the exercise of any other rights or remedies hereunder or thereunder by such party.

5.6    Other Registration Rights. Other than pursuant to the terms of the PIPE Subscription Agreement, the Company represents and warrants that no person, other than a Holder of Registrable Securities, has any right to require the Company to register any securities of the Company for sale or to include such securities of the Company in any Registration Statement filed by the Company for the sale of securities for its own account or for the account of any other person. Further, the Company and each of the Holders agree that this Agreement supersedes any other registration rights agreement or agreement with similar terms and conditions among the parties hereto and in the event of a conflict between any such agreement or agreements and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail.

 

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5.7    Termination. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) the third anniversary of the date of this Agreement or (b) the date as of which (i) all of the Registrable Securities have either been sold pursuant to a Registration Statement or cease to be Registrable Securities (but in no event prior to the applicable period referred to in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act and Rule 174 thereunder (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission)) or (ii) the Holders of all Registrable Securities are permitted to sell the Registrable Securities under Rule 144 (or any similar provision) under the Securities Act without limitation on the amount of securities sold or the manner of sale or current public information requirement. The provisions of Section 3.5 and Article IV shall survive any termination.

5.8    Holder Information. Each Holder agrees, if requested in writing, to represent to the Company the total number of Registrable Securities held by such Holder to the extent necessary for the Company to make determinations hereunder.

5.9    Joinder. Each person or entity who becomes a Holder pursuant to Section 5.2 hereof must execute a joinder to this Agreement in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto (a “Joinder”).

5.10    Severability. It is the desire and intent of the parties that the provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought. Accordingly, if any particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction, be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.

5.11    Entire Agreement; Restatement. This Agreement constitutes the full and entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to such subject matter. Upon the Closing, the Original RRA shall no longer be of any force or effect.

[SIGNATURE PAGES FOLLOW]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written above.

 

COMPANY:

EFFECTOR THERAPEUTICS, INC.

a Delaware corporation

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

[Signature Page to Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement]


HOLDERS:

LOCUST WALK SPONSOR, LLC

a Delaware limited liability company

By: Locust Walk Partners, LLC, its Manager
By:  

 

  Name:   Geoffrey Meyerson
  Title:   Senior Managing Director

[Entity eFFECTOR Holders]

a [●]

By:  

 

  Name:  
  Title:  

 

[Individual eFFECTOR Holders]

 

[●]

 

[Signature Page to Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement]


Schedule A

eFFECTOR Holders


Schedule B

Sponsor Holders


Exhibit A

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT JOINDER

The undersigned is executing and delivering this joinder (this “Joinder”) pursuant to the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of [●], 2021 (as the same may hereafter be amended, the “Registration Rights Agreement”), among eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the other persons or entities named as parties therein. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in the Registration Rights Agreement.

By executing and delivering this Joinder to the Company, and upon acceptance hereof by the Company upon the execution of a counterpart hereof, the undersigned hereby agrees to become a party to, to be bound by, and to comply with the Registration Rights Agreement as a Holder of Registrable Securities in the same manner as if the undersigned were an original signatory to the Registration Rights Agreement, and the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock shall be included as Registrable Securities under the Registration Rights Agreement to the extent provided therein.

Accordingly, the undersigned has executed and delivered this Joinder as of the                      day of                     , 20    .

 

 

Signature of Stockholder

 

Print Name of Stockholder
Its:  
Address:  

 

 

 

Agreed and Accepted as of

                    , 20    

 

eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.
By:  

 

Name:
Its:
EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

 

LOGO

eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. Announce Merger Agreement to Create Publicly Listed, Next-Generation Oncology Company Developing New Class of Cancer Therapies

 

   

Gross proceeds expected to include $60 million from a committed PIPE and up to $175 million held in trust

 

   

Anticipated cash resources will fund eFFECTOR’s pipeline advancement through multiple clinical milestones

 

   

Merger expected to be completed in third quarter of 2021; combined company expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker “EFTR” 

 

   

Webcast to discuss the proposed transaction scheduled for Thursday, May 27th at 9:00 am ET

SAN DIEGO, May 27, 2021 – eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (eFFECTOR), a biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering the development of selective translation regulation inhibitors (STRIs) for the treatment of cancer, and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: LWAC), a blank-check company formed for the purpose of acquiring or merging with one or more businesses, today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, anticipated to occur in the third quarter of 2021, the combined company will be named eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. and will be led by Steve Worland, Ph.D., president and CEO. The combined company’s common stock is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “EFTR”.

“This milestone is the beginning of a significant new chapter in eFFECTOR’s history, as we build on our strong scientific foundation as leaders in the development of selective translation regulator inhibitors as a new class of therapies for cancer,” said Dr. Worland. “We’re entering into this transaction to accelerate eFFECTOR’s growth with the goal of delivering a new class of medicines to help drive improved health outcomes for people with cancer. We are excited to be selected by the management and board of LWAC, whose members have vast experience as investors and operating executives in the biotechnology industry.”

“After evaluating more than 90 biotech companies, eFFECTOR emerged as the best choice for our business combination,” stated Chris Ehrlich, CEO and director of LWAC. “eFFECTOR is at the cutting-edge of targeting translation regulation, which has the potential to simultaneously address multiple drivers of cancer. We are confident that the highly experienced management team with a track record of pipeline advancement and business accomplishments are prepared to lead eFFECTOR as a publicly listed company. This transaction positions eFFECTOR to reach important value inflection points for our impressive list of stakeholders.”

The transaction includes up to $175 million in trust at LWAC (less any redemptions by existing LWAC stockholders) and a concurrent, fully committed $60 million PIPE financing of common stock issued at $10.00 per share from new and existing leading healthcare investors including founding Series A investors Abingworth, SR One, The Column Group and U.S. Venture Partners, as well as Altitude Life Science Ventures, Sectoral Asset Management, Pfizer Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, BioMed Ventures and Osage University Partners.


LOGO

 

Proceeds from the transaction are expected to provide eFFECTOR with the capital to further develop its pipeline, advancing it through multiple clinical milestones, including the following:

 

 

Report topline data from the randomized Phase 2b KICKSTART clinical trial of eFFECTOR’s lead product candidate, tomivorsertib, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinases 1 and 2 (MNK) 1/2, in combination with pembrolizumab in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), both in the frontline extension and frontline settings; this study is open for enrollment.

 

 

Initiate multiple Phase 2a expansion cohorts for zotatifin, a small-molecule inhibitor of eIF4A, in patients with breast cancer and NSCLC in the second half of 2021.

 

 

Support expansion of both tomivosertib and zotatifin into additional indications.

Key Transaction Terms

Upon the closing of the business combination, and assuming no redemptions of shares of LWAC by its public stockholders, eFFECTOR would be expected to have cash resources of approximately $210 million (less any redemptions), and a total enterprise valuation of $419 million.

The boards of directors of both eFFECTOR and LWAC have unanimously approved the proposed transaction, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval of LWAC shareholders and the satisfaction or waiver of certain other customary closing conditions.

Additional information about the transaction will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by LWAC with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, LWAC intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus, and will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC.

Advisors

Credit Suisse and Stifel are acting as lead PIPE placement agents, and Credit Suisse is also acting as capital markets advisor to eFFECTOR. Locust Walk Securities is also acting as PIPE placement agent. Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel to eFFECTOR. Cantor Fitzgerald is acting as the lead capital markets advisor to LWAC. JMP Securities and Mizuho Securities are also acting as capital markets advisors to LWAC. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. is serving as legal counsel to LWAC.

Investor Webcast

The management teams of eFFECTOR and LWAC will host a webcast today, Thursday, May 27 at 9:00 a.m. ET to provide a brief overview of eFFECTOR and the proposed transaction. The webcast can be accessed here: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=145087

In addition, the link will be available on eFFECTOR’s website at www.effector.com and LWAC’s website at www.locustwalkacquisitioncorp.com.

About eFFECTOR

eFFECTOR is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering the development of a new class of oncology drugs referred to as selective translation regulator inhibitors (STRIs). eFFECTOR’s STRI product candidates target the eIF4F complex and its activating kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase 1/2 (MNK 1/2). The eIF4F complex is a central node where two of the most frequently mutated signaling pathways in cancer, the PI3K-AKT and RAS-MEK pathways, converge to activate the translation


LOGO

 

of select messenger RNA into proteins that are frequent culprits in key disease driving processes. Each of eFFECTOR’s product candidates is designed to act on a single protein that drives the expression of multiple functionally related proteins, including oncoproteins and immunosuppressive proteins in T cells, that together control tumor growth, survival and immune evasion. eFFECTOR’s lead product candidate, tomivosertib, is a MNK 1/2 inhibitor. KICKSTART, a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled Phase 2b trial of tomivorsertib in NSCLC in combination with pembrolizumab is currently open for enrollment. Zotatifin, eFFECTOR’s inhibitor of eIF4A, is currently in the dose-escalation portion of a Phase 1/2 trial, with Phase 2a expansion cohorts expected to initiate in the second half of 2021. eFFECTOR has a global collaboration with Pfizer to develop inhibitors of a third target, eIF4E. eFFECTOR plans to evaluate zotatifin as a potential host-directed anti-viral therapy in patients with mild to moderate COVID in collaboration with University of California, San Francisco, under a $5 million grant sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

About Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.

Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: LWAC) is a blank-check company formed for the purpose of entering a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the proposed transaction between Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding LWAC or eFFECTOR’s future results of operations and financial position, the amount of cash expected to be available to eFFECTOR after the closing and giving effect to any redemptions by LWAC stockholders, eFFECTOR’s business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations, future results of current and anticipated products and expected use of proceeds, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the following risks relating to the proposed transaction: the risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of LWAC’s securities; the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing the transaction, including the approval by the stockholders of LWAC and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the risk that some or all of LWAC’s stockholders may redeem their shares at the closing of the transaction; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on the eFFECTOR’s business relationships and business generally; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted related to the transaction; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction; eFFECTOR may use its capital resources sooner than it expects; and the risks associated with eFFECTOR’s business set forth in the Appendix to the investor presentation filed as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by LWAC discussed above . Moreover, eFFECTOR operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond LWAC’s and eFFECTOR’s control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of LWAC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed by LWAC from time to time


LOGO

 

with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and except as required by law. LWAC and eFFECTOR assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither LWAC nor eFFECTOR gives any assurance that either LWAC or eFFECTOR or the combined company will achieve its expectations.

Important Information for Investors and Stockholders

This press release relates to a proposed transaction between LWAC and eFFECTOR. This document does not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. LWAC intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include a document that serves as a prospectus and proxy statement of LWAC, referred to as a proxy statement/prospectus. A proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all LWAC stockholders. LWAC also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors and security holders of LWAC are urged to read the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by LWAC through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, these documents, when available, can be obtained free of charge from LWAC upon written request to Locust Walk Acquisition Corp., c/o eFFECTOR, 11120 Roselle Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92121, Attn: Secretary, or by calling (858) 925-8215.

Participants in the Solicitation

LWAC and eFFECTOR and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from LWAC’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. A list of the names of the directors and executive officers of LWAC and information regarding their interests in the business combination will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus when available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such other jurisdiction.

Contacts:

Investors:

Stephanie Carrington

Westwicke, an ICR Company

646-277-1282


LOGO

 

Stephanie.Carrington@westwicke.com

Media:

Heidi Chokeir, Ph.D.

Canale Communications

619-203-5391

heidi.chokeir@canalecomm.com

EX-99.2

Slide 0

Corporate Overview May 2021 Next Generation Targeted Therapy for Cancer Exhibit 99.2


Slide 1

Disclaimer 1 ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION This presentation is for informational purpose sonly to assist interested parties in making their own evaluation with respect to a proposed business combination (the Business Combination) between Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (LWAC) and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (eFFECTOR or the Company) and related transactions, and for no other purpose. The information contained herein does not purport to be all inclusive and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by LWAC, eFFECTOR, or any of their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees or advisers or any other person as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained in this presentation. The distribution of this presentation may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession this presentation comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This presentation contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this presentation, including statements regarding LWAC or the Company’s future results of operations and financial position, the amount of cash expected to be available to eFFECTOR after giving effect to any redemptions by LWAC stockholders, eFFECTOR’s business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations, future results of current and anticipated products and expected use of proceeds by LWAC, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “could”,“ should”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “project”, “will”, “forecast” and similar terms. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the risks relating to the Company set forth in the Appendix and the following risks relating to the Business Combination: the risk that the Business Combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of LWAC’s securities; the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing the Business Combination, including the approval by the stockholders of LWAC and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the risk that some or all of LWAC’s stockholders may redeem their shares at the closing of the transaction; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the Business Combination on the Company’s business relationships and business generally; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted related to the Business Combination; and the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination. Moreover, the Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond LWAC’s and the Company’s control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should also refer to those risks that will be included under the header “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by LWAC with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those included under the header “Risk Factors” in LWAC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021. The events and circumstances reflected in these forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those Except as required by applicable law, neither LWAC nor the Company plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information ,future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA This presentation also contains estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. In addition, projections, assumptions, and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the markets in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk. CLINICAL INVESTIGATION/FDA This presentation concerns product candidates that are under clinical investigation and which have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are currently limited by Federal law to investigational use, and no representation is made as to their safety or effectiveness for the purposes for which they are being investigated. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In connection with the proposed Business Combination, LWAC will file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus, that will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to holders of LWAC common stock in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the vote by LWAC stockholders with respect to the proposed Business Combination and other matters as may be described in the registration statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities to be issued in the Business Combination. After the registration statement is declared effective, LWAC will mail a definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its stockholders. This presentation does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed Business Combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the Business Combination. LWAC’s stockholders, the Company, and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the proposed Business Combination, as these materials will contain important information about the Company, LWAC and the Business Combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement and other relevant materials for the proposed Business Combination will be sent to stockholders of LWAC as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed Business Combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: LWAC c/o at eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., 11120 Roselle Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92121. PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION LWAC and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from LWAC’s stockholders with respect to the proposed Business Combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in LWAC is contained in LWAC’s final prospectus dated January 11, 2021 relating to its initial public offering, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed Business Combination when available. The Company and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of LWAC in connection with the proposed Business Combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed Business Combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed Business Combination when available. NO SOLICITATION OR OFFER This presentation and any oral statements made in connection with this presentation shall neither constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or the solicitation of any proxy, vote, consent or approval in any jurisdiction in connection with the proposed Business Combination, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to any registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdictions. This communication is restricted by law; it is not intended for distribution to, or use by any person in, any jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. TRADEMARKS This presentation contains trademarks, service marks, and trade names of the Company, LWAC and other companies, which are the property of their respective owners.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pioneering Selective Translation Regulator Inhibitors (STRIs) – a leading company targeting MNK and eIF4F complex MNK drives production of checkpoint proteins including PD-1, PD-L1, LAG-3 and TIM-3 eIF4F is a key node where the RAS and PI3K pathways converge to drive production of onco-proteins Novel mRNA translation platform – STRIs simultaneously block production of multiple disease-driving proteins NOVEL STRI PLATFORM Three wholly-owned, novel clinical programs with near-term data milestones anticipated Tomivosertib – randomized Phase 2b study with pembrolizumab in 1L NSCLC Zotatifin Oncology – Phase 2 expansion cohorts anticipated to start H2 2021 Zotatifin COVID – DARPA to fully fund Phase 1 trial and CMC costs ROBUST CLINICAL PIPELINE Attractive $507M partnership with Pfizer on third candidate validates platform $42M received to date with up to $465M additional development and sales milestones Top-tier investor base providing eFFECTOR with ~$150M in total capital raised to date Investors include USVP, Column Group, Abingworth, SR One, Altitude, Sectoral, Pfizer, AbbVie, Astellas VALIDATING INVESTOR BASE AND PARTNERSHIP Tomivosertib – randomized Phase 2b topline data in NSCLC 1L extension in H1 2022; 1L treatment naïve in H2 2022 Zotatifin – RP2D and initiation of Phase 2a expansion cohorts in H2 2021 Zotatifin – initial ORR data from expansion cohorts H1 2022; topline data from completed expansion cohorts H2 2022 Expansions into new indications for tomivosertib and zotatifin starting 2022 ANTICIPATED NEAR-TERM CLINICAL MILESTONES


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eFFECTOR MEETS DEMANDING CRITERIA OF LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (LWAC) is a $175M SPAC focused on biotechnology with a comprehensive investment thesis that has been used to evaluate over 90 potential targets SUPERLATIVE CRITERIA Validating Partnership Novel Lead Asset Experienced Management Team PRELIMINARY CRITERIA Platform Technology ≥ 2 Assets Last Valuation <$600M Strong Investor Base (>$50M Raised) eFFECTOR Therapeutics has experienced management, a promising lead asset, validating partnership and is ready to go public via LWAC 3


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eFFECTOR Pipeline: Multiple STRIs in development Program (Target) Discovery Preclinical Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Global Rights Anticipated Milestones U.S. addressable population Tomivosertib (MNK 1/2i) Zotatifin (elF4Ai) eIF4Ei NSCLC – 1L Extension in combo with pembro Solid Tumors RTK BC and KRAS NSCLC Solid Tumors mBC - SU2C combination trial* *Led by McGill University; funded by Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) grant **Funded by $5M DARPA grant eFFECTOR Option to Co-Promote/ Profit Share in US 4 Anti-SARS-CoV-2** Dose Escalation NSCLC – 1L in combo with pembro H1 2022: Topline data readout H2 2022: Topline data readout H2 2021: Topline data readout H2 2021: Initiate Ph 2 Expansions ~9K ~27K ~82K TBD TBD PD biomarkers TBD


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Targeting Key node in cancer controlling Cell Growth and proliferation eIF4F complex is a central node where two highly validated cancer pathways converge to activate production of onco-proteins involved in growth, proliferation and survival of tumor cells MNK activates eIF4F and drives T cell exhaustion/dysfunction Multiple potential advantages of targeting MNK and eIF4F Prevents production of onco-proteins before they are synthesized Simultaneous decrease in production of multiple onco-proteins including: Targeted onco-proteins (RTKs/KRAS) Onco-proteins for which no drugs are currently available (MYC/Cyclin D1) Key resistance proteins often upregulated in response to targeted therapies (KRAS/Cyclin D1/CDKs/RTKs) Inhibition of MNK blocks production of several checkpoint proteins associated with T cell exhaustion/dysfunction and enhances cytotoxic T cell function RTKs, KRAS, Cyclin D1, CDK4/6, MYC PD-L1, LAG3, TIM3, IL10   RTKs, TCR, etc. Extracellular signals growth factors cytokines antigens eIF4F Complex Tomi Zota


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Foundation Platform – mRNA translation biology from UCSF Chemistry – world class SBDD expertise Culture – rigorous science and capital efficiency Next 12-24 months Tomi – definitive PoC for pembro combination Zota – ORR data from expansion cohorts Zota COVID – obtain human antiviral PoC data eIF4E – in clinic w/ milestone payments from Pfizer Poised for significant value inflection events Today Tomi – positive PFS data in NSCLC Zota – achieved desired clinical exposures in Phase 1 dose escalation Zota COVID – 10x more potent than remdesivir in vitro; DARPA to fund Phase 1 eIF4E – Platform validation via Pfizer partnership


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Steve Worland, Ph.D. Founder, President, CEO and Director Premal Patel, M.D., Ph.D. CMO Alana McNulty CBO Mike Byrnes CFO Experienced leadership team Scientific Advisors Institution Expertise Kevan Shokat, PhD UCSF, eFFECTOR Co-founder Translation & KRAS Davide Ruggero, PhD UCSF, eFFECTOR Co-founder Translation Siegfried Reich, PhD eFFECTOR Co-founder, Lead Chemist Drug Discovery, Axitinib Inventor Joan Brugge, PhD Harvard Oncogenic Signaling and RTK Jennifer Doudna, PhD UC Berkeley RNA Expert, CRISPR Co-Inventor Mark Densel VP, Development Operations


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Tomivosertib (eFT508) Designed to stimulate activation, prevent exhaustion and prolong memory of T cells MNK 1/2 Inhibitor


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T Cells Continuous activation of TCR leads to feedback mechanisms involving MNK that result in T cell exhaustion/dysfunction Delaying or reversing T cell exhaustion is a highly sought-after attribute in new IO products to extend benefit of PD-(L)1 agents Highly selective MNK inhibitor, tomivosertib, has been shown to broadly enhance T cell effector response in vitro and in vivo Increased target cell killing Simultaneous down-regulation of several key checkpoint proteins associated with T cell exhaustion/dysfunction, including PD-1, PD-L1, LAG-3, TIM-3 Decreased production of immunosuppressive IL-10 with maintained production of immuno-stimulatory interferon g Increased T cell memory pool Immune Regulation (PD-1, PD-L1, LAG3, TIM3, IL-10) Tomivosertib – inhibiting MNK 1/2 kinase shown to promote T cell activity Tomi


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TOMIVOSERTIB TRIGGERED ANTI-TUMOR ACTIVITY AND ENHANCED THE ACTIVITY OF PD-1 CHECKPOINT BLOCKADE IN VIVO Tumor biopsies from eFT508 treated animals showed an increased ratio of CD8+ T cells to FOXP3+ T cells (Tregs) and a decreased M2 macrophage population Tomivosertib downregulated multiple checkpoint proteins and immunosuppressive IL-10 eFT508 Triggered Immune Memory Both as a Single Agent and In Combination with PD-1i Day 8 measurement of tumor volume following second tumor implantation and no further drug treatment eFT508 Activity Observed in CT26 Tumors Single Agent and in Combination with Anti-PD-1


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Tomivosertib clinical Overview* Tomivosertib was generally well tolerated at RP2D as single agent and in combination with anti-PD-(L)1 agents The most common drug-related side effects have included low grade nausea, vomiting, fatigue and tremors Safety results when combined with anti-PD-(L)1 agents were comparable to those observed in patients receiving anti-PD-(L)1 alone eFFECTOR elected to leverage MNK’s critical role in T cell exhaustion by focusing on combinations with anti-PD-(L)1 agents 90-100% Target Engagement at RP2D *data from completed studies as of September 2020. Lymphoma waterfall plot represents all patients with evaluable disease (n=13) out of 19 patients total enrolled. Single agent activity in lymphoma


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Tomivosertib demonstrated prolonged pfs when combined with anti-PD-(L)1 agents Phase 2a study combined with anti-PD-(L)1 demonstrated encouraging activity* Tomivosertib was added to patients not responding to ongoing anti-PD-(L)1 therapy with no change or break in anti-PD-(L)1 regimen Confirmed PR observed in 1/4 RCC patients 66% reduction in target lesions observed in 1/1 gastric patients Strong signal with most experience of tomi + anti-PD-(L)1 in NSCLC All 17 NSCLC patients had worsening metastatic disease on anti-PD-(L)1 therapy prior to adding tomivosertib (16 of 17 had RECIST progression) Inflection in tumor growth and durable tumor control observed in many patients after adding tomivosertib Confirmed PRs in 2/17 patients (12%), third patient with 28% reduction Prolonged PFS (up to 18 months) after adding tomivosertib delayed need for chemotherapy in these responding patients *data through study completion in September 2020


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Tomi + Pembro Pembro mono Transferred to individual IND phase 2a results suggest tomivosertib’s potential to reverse resistance to anti-PD-(L)1 therapy Data through study completion in September 2020. Includes all evaluable patients with at least one on treatment scan (n=16). Patients 115-103 and 120-103 continued treatment through Single Patient Expanded Access INDs. All 17 NSCLC patients had worsening metastatic disease on anti-PD-(L)1 prior to adding Tomivosertib (16/17 RECIST) (No break in PD-(L)1 tx) 2/17 confirmed PRs (12%) and a third patient showed 28% tumor regression 1 pt. with confirmed PR achieved confirmed CR on continued tomi+pembro on individual IND Tomivosertib/anti-PD-(L)1 combination therapy Pembro mono Tomi + Pembro


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Patient on Tomi/Pembro Combo Experienced Confirmed Complete Response after ~2 Years on Combo Tx


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Demonstrated PFS in NSCLC patients Median of 2 prior therapies for metastatic disease prior to addition of tomivosertib Median PFS = 20 weeks, mOS 19.0 months 9 of 17 patients (53%) remained on study ≥ 24 weeks Comparator data set from OAK study Treatment Beyond Progression cohort* ─ median ~7 weeks treatment beyond PD ─ mOS 12.7 months post PD ~7 weeks treatment comparator data *FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY: Differences exist between trial designs and subject characteristics, and caution should be exercised when comparing data across trials Data through study completion in September 2020 Patients 115-103 and 120-103 continued treatment past study completion on Single Patient Expanded Access INDs


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PD-L1 positive patients showed longer PFS Data through study completion in September 2020 Patients 115-103 and 120-103 continued treatment past study completion on Single Patient Expanded Access INDs


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Pd-l1 positive patients showed longer pfs A post-hoc analysis showed that PD-L1 positive patients had three times lower risk of progression than PD-L1 negative patients in Phase 2a study In the OAK treatment beyond progression cohort, PD-L1 status was not correlated with benefit of continued treatment with atezolizumab alone *data as of study completion September 2020. PD-L1 status available from site communications or central testing for 14 of 17 patients. Comparison of risk of progression between PD-L1 positive and negative patients is from Kaplan Meier analysis of PFS curves. mPFS = 53 weeks mPFS = 9 weeks mPFS = 20 weeks


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Plan to evaluate novel treatment setting – 1L Extension Nsclc Based on our 17 NSCLC patient data, we received FDA allowance to proceed with the following 1L extension study Tomivosertib added to pembrolizumab after initial progression In patients suitable to continue on pembrolizumab after PD Control arm of placebo added to pembrolizumab Aligned with FDA on PFS as the primary endpoint Data from trial, if positive, may support NDA submission This novel treatment setting is prior to any chemotherapy treatment Because delaying resistance is a lower biological hurdle than reversing resistance, also plan to include a frontline combination arm in next study


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~ 120 patients will be enrolled in a randomized Phase 2b trial, with 2 independent cohorts: Front line extension – combo post initial PD on pembrolizumab Front line combo treatment with pembrolizumab Stage IV NSCLC PD-L1 50% No prior chemo   Tomivosertib + pembrolizumab Placebo + pembrolizumab Key endpoints: -Primary: PFS in 1L and PFS in 1L extension -Secondary: PFS ITT (n=120), OS, ORR KICKSTART randomized p2b trial will yield Pembrolizumab +/- tomi data in two important Nsclc indications KICKSTART 1L extension (PD on pembro) N=60 1L Treatment naïve N=60 R 1:1 Tomivosertib + pembrolizumab Placebo + pembrolizumab R 1:1 Initial data readout anticipated H1 2022 for 1L extension cohort and H2 2022 for 1L naïve cohort


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P2A (completed) P2B KICKSTART (ongoing) Patient Population Patients were on any approved PD-(L)1 therapy and allowed prior chemo Pembrolizumab only, no prior chemo in the metastatic setting PD-L1 Status Any PD-L1 level eligible, including PD-L1 negative patients who had shorter PFS Only enrolling PD-L1 ≥ 50% Comparator Group PFS after adding tomi compared to progression immediately prior to tomi Randomized vs pembrolizumab plus placebo Data mPFS 20 weeks; 12% confirmed PRs and a third patient with 28% regression TBD KICKSTART STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE PFS Key Clinical Advisors for Trial Dr. Roy Herbst, Yale Dr. Govindan Ramaswamy, Wash U, St. Louis Dr. Naiyer Rizvi, Columbia


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Pembro Monotherapy ≥ 50% PD-L1 Advanced/Metastatic NSCLC w/ No Actionable Mutations Platinum Doublet ± Pembrolizumab Docetaxel ± Ramucirumab Lenvatinib + Pembrolizumab Sitravatinib + Nivolumab 2L salvage therapy alternatives Novel Setting: Tomi + pembro – 1L Extension (reverse resistance) US addressable population ~9K Treatment Diagnosis Future Tomi + pembro – 1L (delay resistance) US addressable population ~27K Potential Market Settings – PD-L1 > 50%* Chemo *subject to receipt of regulatory approval in each setting


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Zotatifin (eFT226) eIF4A Helicase Inhibitor Oncology: Designed to downregulate key oncoproteins and cell cycle proteins


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4A- translationally regulated genes including RTKs, KRAS, ER, Cyclin D1, CDK4/6 Zotatifin DESIGNED TO inhibit production of key proteins driven by upstream oncogenes eIF4A is activated by upstream oncogenic signaling and regulates synthesis of key cell proliferation proteins In preclinical studies zotatifin was observed to downregulate RTKs and KRAS Cell cycle proteins Cyclin D1 and CDK4/6 that often drive resistance to targeted therapies Estrogen receptor (ER) proteins Across ~20 in vivo models zotatifin was most active in three specific contexts Tumors with 2+ onco-drivers down-regulated by zotatifin Tumors with high mTOR signaling Combinations that resulted in vertical pathway inhibition Zota


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Preclinical regulation of translation by zotatifin was selective for proteins that drive tumor growth and resistance Zotatifin Target Sequence KRASmut protein all forms Cell proliferation/ cycle proteins RTK proteins Control protein unaffected Non-coding sequence coding sequence Experimental structure of natural product RocA bound to eIF4A and zotatifin RNA target sequence* *Iwaski et al. 2019 Mol Cell (73) 738-748 At physiological concentrations in vitro, zotatifin only affected translation of ~5% of mRNAs


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Activity observed as single agent and in combination in ER+ and HER2+ breast cancer models Zotatifin was observed to down-regulate multiple proteins that drive ER+, FGFR+ and HER2+ breast cancer, including: ER, FGFR, HER2, Cyclin D1, CDK4/6 In tumors driven by more than one of these factors, zotatifin as a single agent has the potential to achieve vertical inhibition within a pathway Combination with another agent acting in the pathway can further augment activity MDA-MB-361 Breast Cancer ER+ HER2+ PICK3CAmut Zotatifin mono is as active as palbociclib Combination benefit sustained long after dosing Data Example:


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SINGLE AGENT AND COMBINATION ACTIVITY OBSERVED IN KRAS NSCLC MODEL NCI-H1792 NSCLC KRASG12C – Zotatifin mono showed similar activity as AMG510 in this model – Combination led to regressions in almost all animals Zotatifin (eFT226) showed strong synergy in cell proliferation and apoptosis assays in combination with KRAS G12C inhibitor AMG510 (sotorasib) Zotatifin has potential to overcome mechanisms of resistance to AMG510 and MRTX849 by: Downregulating Cyclin D1 and RTKs Inhibiting de novo KRAS protein production


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Exposures achieved in dose escalation match exposures that showed activity in preclinical models P1 dose escalation ongoing, IV once weekly Long observed half-life of ~4 days has potential to maintain target suppression with intermittent dosing Zotatifin achieved target exposures in patients that showed regression in mice models Generally well tolerated* Currently enrolling at 0.1 mg/kg, 2 week on/ 1 week off regimen 0.005 mg/kg 0.01 mg/kg 0.02 mg/kg 0.035 mg/kg 0.05 mg/kg MTD Current dose à Metastatic Breast Cancer Mono - ER+/HER2+ Mono - ER+/FGFR+ Combo with Fulvestrant/CDKi in ER+ Combo with Herceptin in HER2+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Mono – KRAS (any mutation) Combo with KRASi in KRAS G12C Expansion Cohorts Planned H2 2021 ─ designed based on vertical pathway inhibition Ongoing Dose Escalation Preclinical CRC PDAC CCA BC NSCLC Other 10 6 2 3 3 8 0.07 mg/kg tumor types* 1.0 mg/kg (MTD) 0.1 mg/kg mouse ‘target’ exposure range 0.1 mg/kg *data as of March 26, 2021


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financial OVERVIEW Top-tier Life Sciences Investors 2015 Series B 2013 Series A 2017 Series C Financial Highlights AbbVie Biotech Ventures $150M raised from top tier investors Up to $507M achievable under Pfizer agreement $42M received to date $465M potential additional development and sales milestones Retained US co-promote/profit share option


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Multiple upcoming clinical milestones 29


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Transaction summary


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TRANSACTION OVERVIEW eFFECTOR has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (“LWAC”) Implied post-money enterprise value of ~$420 million Transaction to be funded through a combination of $60 million committed PIPE financing plus up to $175 million from LWAC’s cash in trust* Net proceeds are expected to fund operations of eFFECTOR into early 2024*, including R&D efforts and clinical development of tomivosertib and zotatifin programs Current shareholders of eFFECTOR expected to maintain 54% pro forma ownership *assumes no redemptions 31


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TRANSACTION OVERVIEW Illustrative Post-Money Valuation at Close Illustrative Estimated Transaction Cash Sources and Uses Illustrative Post-Transaction Ownership Note: Assumes eFFECTOR cash balance of $17 million and debt balance of $20 million as of March 31, 2021, a $60 million PIPE issuance at $10/share and no redemptions. Excludes the impact of 6 million public and private placement warrants. Excludes equity awards issued at closing upon rollover of eFFECTOR equity awards and new awards under the combined company’s equity incentive plan. Excludes 5 million eFFECTOR incentive shares vesting at $20/share. 32


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Appendix


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Tomivosertib is a highly selective mnk inhibitor Tomivosertib (eFT508) was tested against > 400 protein and lipid kinases at 1 mM concentration Reich et al. J. Med. Chem. 2018 61, 3516-3540. 34


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tomivosertib background - Preclinical data summary 35 Tomivosertib is an immunologically active agent Downregulated expression of checkpoint proteins, including PD-1,PD-L1, LAG-3 and TIM-3 Inhibited production of immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10 without interfering with interferon-g production Functionally activates T cell effector function and expands T cell central memory pool Consistent with literature on role of MNK, p38 and MEK in T cell function Broad potential activity of tomivosertib on reprogramming T cell biology contrasts with agents acting at a single point (LAG3, TIM3, adenosine receptor) Clinically, tomivosertib has led to marked down-regulation of PD-1 and PD-L1 in on-treatment biopsies and has shown single agent activity in B cell diseases


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Tomivosertib downregulates expression of key immunosuppressive factors in activated T cells Stimulated human primary T cells OT-I cells 36


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Tomivosertib does not inhibit expression of immuno-stimulatory cytokine interferon-g IFN-g expressing T cells 37


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Tomivosertib increased ratio of CD8+ T cells/Tregs and decreased M2 macrophage population In CT-26 syngeneic model (efficacy data on slide 11), treatment with tomivosertib increased ratio of CD8+/FOXP3+ cells and decreased M2 macrophages in tumor biopsies. Collaborators from McGill University independently found that blocking MNK1/2 results in activation of the immune system and anti-tumor response in mice.  Huang et al. J Clin Invest. 2021;131(8):e140752. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI140752 38


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Target cell killing Tomivosertib Reprograms t cells from within to increase central memory pool and enhance cytotoxic function Central memory T cells mouse human 39


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Tomivosertib increased the T cell memory pool and increase was maintained beyond dosing period 40


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Zotatifin (eFT226) eIF4A Helicase Inhibitor COVID-19: Designed to inhibit unwinding of complex RNA structures necessary to translate SARS-CoV-2 proteins


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Zotatifin showed potent in vitro activity against multiple coronavirus strains eIF4A is required to unwind complex RNA secondary structures within the 5’ untranslated region (5’-UTR) of SARS-CoV-2 and other RNA viruses to translate polyprotein and replicate virus Drug screen published in Nature* reported zotatifin’s in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 *Gordon et al., Nature 2020 (583) 459-468 **Yang and Leibowitz, Virus Research 206 (2015) 120-133 SARS-CoV-2 5’-UTR** zotatifin remdesivir zotatifin remdesivir EC50 (nM) .06 11.6 0.016 17 EC90 (nM) 10 46 42 102 CC50 (µM) 2.1 >16.6 2.3 >16.6 Selectivity 35,000 >1431 144,000 >977 eFFECTOR data on file in lung epithelial cells SARS-CoV-2 MERS-CoV 42


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RISK FACTORS Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History, Financial Position and Capital Requirements We have a limited operating history, have incurred significant operating losses since our inception and expect to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. We may never generate any revenue or become profitable or, if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it. We will require substantial additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, including purchasers of common stock in this offering, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates. Risks Related to the Discovery, Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates We depend heavily on the success of Tomivosertib and Zotatifin, which are in either Phase 1 or Phase 2 clinical development. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. Our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on our technology platform is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to develop any products of commercial value. Clinical and preclinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and the results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results. Any of our product candidates may not have favorable results in later clinical trials, if any, or receive regulatory approval on a timely basis, if at all. Any difficulties or delays in the commencement or completion, or termination or suspension, of our clinical trials could result in increased costs to us, delay or limit our ability to generate revenue and adversely affect our commercial prospects. We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical trials. If we encounter difficulties enrolling subjects in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected. Use of our product candidates could be associated with side effects, adverse events or other properties or safety risks, which could delay or preclude approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, abandon a product candidate, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in other significant negative consequences that could severely harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. We have never completed any later-stage clinical trials, and may be unable to do so for any of our product candidates. Our product candidates are subject to extensive regulation and compliance, which is costly and time consuming, and such regulation may cause unanticipated delays or prevent the receipt of the required approvals to commercialize our product candidates. We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success. We may seek Breakthrough Therapy designation or Fast Track designation by the FDA for one or more of our product candidates, but we may not receive such designation, and even if we do, such designation may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. We may conduct certain of our clinical trials for our product candidates outside of the United States. However, the FDA and other foreign equivalents may not accept data from such trials, in which case our development plans will be delayed, which could materially harm our business. Interim, topline and preliminary data from our clinical trials and preclinical studies that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data. Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business. 43


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RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and preclinical studies. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with applicable regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, our development programs and our ability to seek or obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates may be delayed. We rely on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for clinical and preclinical development. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts. Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed. We are dependent on our collaboration agreement with Pfizer for the discovery, development and commercialization of small-molecule inhibitors of eIF4E. Under certain circumstances, Pfizer may unilaterally terminate the agreement for convenience, which could materially and adversely affect our business. We may seek to enter into additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements and may not be successful in doing so, and even if we are, we may relinquish valuable rights and may not realize the benefits of such relationships. Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates Even if we receive regulatory approval for any product candidate, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions on marketing or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates, when and if any of them are approved. The commercial success of our product candidates will depend upon the degree of market acceptance of such product candidates by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. The successful commercialization of our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish coverage, adequate reimbursement levels and favorable pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue. We face significant competition from entities that have developed or may develop product candidates for cancer, including companies developing novel treatments and technology platforms. If our competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than we do or their technologies are more effective, our business and our ability to develop and successfully commercialize products may be adversely affected. The market opportunities for our product candidates may be limited to patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and may be small or different from our estimates. We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience as a company in commercializing products, and we may have to invest significant resources to develop these capabilities. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our products, we may not be able to generate product revenue. Our future growth may depend, in part, on our ability to operate in foreign markets, where we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and other risks and uncertainties. 44


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RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or any guidance we may provide. We are dependent on the services of our management and other clinical and scientific personnel, and if we are not able to retain these individuals or recruit additional management or clinical and scientific personnel, our business will suffer. We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth and expanding our operations successfully. We are subject to various federal, state and foreign healthcare and privacy laws and regulations, which could increase compliance costs, and our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our results of operations and financial condition. Recently enacted legislation, future legislation and healthcare reform measures may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize our product candidates and may affect the prices we may set. If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our products. Our insurance policies are expensive and only protect us from some business risks, which will leave us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities. We and any of our current and potential future collaborators will be required to report to regulatory authorities if any of our approved products cause or contribute to adverse medical events, and any failure to do so would result in sanctions that would materially harm our business Our internal computer systems, or those of any of our CROs, manufacturers, other contractors or consultants or current or potential future collaborators, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. Our business is subject to risks arising from COVID-19 and other epidemic diseases. Our business could be affected by litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions. Our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, CROs, consultants and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements. We may engage in strategic transactions that could impact our liquidity, increase our expenses and present significant distractions to our management. Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited in connection with this offering or other ownership changes. We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. These principles are subject to interpretation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and various bodies formed to create and interpret appropriate accounting principles and guidance. A change in these principles or guidance, or in their interpretations, may have a material effect on our reported results, as well as our processes and related controls, and may retroactively affect previously reported results. 45


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RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected. We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world. Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements. Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products. Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad. Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on products and product candidates for an adequate amount of time. If we do not obtain patent term extension for our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed. We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property. If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed. We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products and product candidates. We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property. Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violations against us or our collaborators may prevent or delay the development and commercialization of our product candidates. We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful. If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected. Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats. If we fail to comply with any of our obligations under our existing license agreement or any future license agreements, or disputes arise with respect to those agreements, it could have a negative impact on our business and our intellectual property rights. We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to product components and processes for our development pipeline through acquisitions and in-licenses. We, our collaborator and our service providers may be subject to a variety of privacy and data security laws and contractual obligations, which could increase compliance costs and our failure to comply with them could subject us to potentially significant fines or penalties and otherwise harm our business. 46


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RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Becoming a Public Company We will incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives. We will be an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors. If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or publish unfavorable research or reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and the trading price of our common stock may decline. Provisions in our proposed charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable and may lead to entrenchment of management. Our proposed certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders and that the federal district courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees. We could be subject to securities class action litigation. Risks Related to the Private Placement The conditions to closing the Private Placement may not be met and LWAC may be otherwise unable to raise additional financing to complete the Business Combination or to fund the operations and growth of the combined company following the Business Combination (the “Combined Company”). The issuance of shares of the Combined Company’s securities in connection with the Private Placement will dilute substantially the voting power of purchasers in the Private Placement. LWAC may issue shares of its Class A common stock upon the conversion of its Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the closing of the Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in its amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuance would dilute the interest of the Combined Company’s stockholders, including purchasers in the Private Placement. In addition to acting as placement agents, (i) Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as equity capital markets and financial advisor to the Company and (ii) an entity affiliated with certain members of LWAC's management, Locust Walk Partners, LLC, has provided financial advisory services to LWAC in connection with the proposed transaction, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interests or the appearance thereof. Risks Related to the Business Combination Each of LWAC and eFFECTOR will incur significant transaction costs in connection with the Business Combination. The consummation of the Business Combination is subject to a number of conditions and if those conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Business Combination agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the Business Combination may not be completed. The ability to successfully effect the Business Combination and the Combined Company’s ability to successfully operate the business thereafter will be largely dependent upon the efforts of certain key personnel of eFFECTOR. The loss of such key personnel could negatively impact the operations and financial results of the combined business. 47


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RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) There is no assurance that a stockholder’s decision whether to redeem its shares for a pro rata portion of LWAC’s trust account will put the stockholder in a better future economic position. If the Business Combination’s benefits do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of LWAC’s securities or, following the consummation of the Business Combination, the Combined Company’s securities, may decline. A market for the Combined Company’s securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of such securities. There can be no assurance that the Combined Company’s securities will be approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) or that the Combined Company will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. Directors of LWAC have potential conflicts of interest in recommending that LWAC’s stockholders vote in favor of the adoption of the Business Combination. LWAC may redeem unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to the holders of LWAC warrants, thereby making such warrants worthless. Further, even if the Business Combination is completed, there can be no assurance that LWAC’s warrants will be in the money during their exercise period, and they may expire worthless. If LWAC seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, its sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on the Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of LWAC’s Class A common stock or warrants. If LWAC seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, its sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such Business Combination, regardless of how its public stockholders vote. The ability of LWAC’s public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of its shares could increase the probability that the Business Combination would be unsuccessful. The LWAC public shareholders can redeem some or all of the $175 million held in trust, and significant redemptions could materially impact our cash position and runway. LWAC is not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, its stockholders may have no assurance from an independent source that the price it is paying for the business is fair to LWAC from a financial point of view. Legal proceedings in connection with the Business Combination, the outcomes of which are uncertain, could delay or prevent the completion of the Business Combination. The Business Combination or Combined Company may be materially adversely affected by the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect LWAC’s and the Combined Company’s business, including LWAC’s and the Combined Company’s ability to consummate the Business Combination, and results of operations. General Risk Factors We are subject to U.S. and certain foreign export and import controls, sanctions, embargoes, anti-corruption laws and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Compliance with these legal standards could impair our ability to compete in domestic and international markets. We could face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which could harm our business. We and any of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers may use potent chemical agents and hazardous materials, and any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming or costly. Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price. Changes in U.S. tax law may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. 48


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Corporate Overview May 2021 Next Generation Targeted Therapy for Cancer

EX-99.3

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Investor Presentation May 27, 2021 Next Generation Targeted Therapy for Cancer Exhibit 99.3


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Disclaimer ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION This presentation is for informational purpose sonly to assist interested parties in making their own evaluation with respect to a proposed business combination (the Business Combination) between Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. (LWAC) and eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (eFFECTOR or the Company) and related transactions, and for no other purpose. The information contained herein does not purport to be all inclusive and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by LWAC, eFFECTOR, or any of their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees or advisers or any other person as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained in this presentation. The distribution of this presentation may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession this presentation comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This presentation contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this presentation, including statements regarding LWAC or the Company’s future results of operations and financial position, the amount of cash expected to be available to eFFECTOR after giving effect to any redemptions by LWAC stockholders, eFFECTOR’s business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations, future results of current and anticipated products and expected use of proceeds by LWAC, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “could”,“ should”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “project”, “will”, “forecast” and similar terms. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the risks relating to the Company set forth in the Appendix and the following risks relating to the Business Combination: the risk that the Business Combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of LWAC’s securities; the failure to satisfy the conditions to closing the Business Combination, including the approval by the stockholders of LWAC and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the risk that some or all of LWAC’s stockholders may redeem their shares at the closing of the transaction; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the Business Combination on the Company’s business relationships and business generally; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted related to the Business Combination; and the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination. Moreover, the Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond LWAC’s and the Company’s control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should also refer to those risks that will be included under the header “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by LWAC with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those included under the header “Risk Factors” in LWAC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021. The events and circumstances reflected in these forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those Except as required by applicable law, neither LWAC nor the Company plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information ,future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA This presentation also contains estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. In addition, projections, assumptions, and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the markets in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk. CLINICAL INVESTIGATION/FDA This presentation concerns product candidates that are under clinical investigation and which have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are currently limited by Federal law to investigational use, and no representation is made as to their safety or effectiveness for the purposes for which they are being investigated. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In connection with the proposed Business Combination, LWAC will file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus, that will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to holders of LWAC common stock in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the vote by LWAC stockholders with respect to the proposed Business Combination and other matters as may be described in the registration statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities to be issued in the Business Combination. After the registration statement is declared effective, LWAC will mail a definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its stockholders. This presentation does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed Business Combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the Business Combination. LWAC’s stockholders, the Company, and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the proposed Business Combination, as these materials will contain important information about the Company, LWAC and the Business Combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement and other relevant materials for the proposed Business Combination will be sent to stockholders of LWAC as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed Business Combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: LWAC c/o eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc., 11120 Roselle Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92121. PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION LWAC and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from LWAC’s stockholders with respect to the proposed Business Combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in LWAC is contained in LWAC’s final prospectus dated January 11, 2021 relating to its initial public offering, which was filed with the SEC and is available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed Business Combination when available. The Company and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of LWAC in connection with the proposed Business Combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed Business Combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed Business Combination when available. NO SOLICITATION OR OFFER This presentation and any oral statements made in connection with this presentation shall neither constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or the solicitation of any proxy, vote, consent or approval in any jurisdiction in connection with the proposed Business Combination, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to any registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdictions. This communication is restricted by law; it is not intended for distribution to, or use by any person in, any jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. TRADEMARKS This presentation contains trademarks, service marks, and trade names of the Company, LWAC and other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. 1


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eFFECTOR MEETS DEMANDING CRITERIA OF LOCUST WALK ACQUISITION CORP Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (LWAC) is a $175M SPAC focused on biotechnology with a comprehensive investment thesis that has been used to evaluate over 90 potential targets SUPERLATIVE CRITERIA Validating Partnership Novel Lead Asset Experienced Management Team PRELIMINARY CRITERIA Platform Technology ≥ 2 Assets Last Valuation <$600M Strong Investor Base (>$50M Raised) eFFECTOR Therapeutics has experienced management, a promising lead asset, validating partnership and is ready to go public via LWAC


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TRANSACTION OVERVIEW eFFECTOR has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (“LWAC”) Implied post-money enterprise value of ~$420 million Transaction to be funded through a combination of $60 million committed PIPE financing plus up to $175 million from LWAC’s cash in trust* Net proceeds are expected to fund operations of eFFECTOR into early 2024*, including R&D efforts and clinical development of tomivosertib and zotatifin programs Current shareholders of eFFECTOR expected to maintain 54% pro forma ownership *assumes no redemptions 3


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TRANSACTION OVERVIEW Illustrative Post-Money Valuation at Close Illustrative Estimated Transaction Cash Sources and Uses Illustrative Post-Transaction Ownership Note: Assumes eFFECTOR cash balance of $17 million and debt balance of $20 million as of March 31, 2021, a $60 million PIPE issuance at $10/share and no redemptions. Excludes the impact of 6 million public and private placement warrants. Excludes equity awards issued at closing upon rollover of eFFECTOR equity awards and new awards under the combined company’s equity incentive plan. Excludes 5 million eFFECTOR incentive shares vesting at $20/share.


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Major UNMET NEED in ONCOLOGY: therapeutic strategies Designed to outsmart cancer Immuno-oncology and targeted therapies have improved outcomes, but only work for subsets of patients Most patients with metastatic cancer develop treatment resistance over time T cell exhaustion leads to disease progression in majority of patients on checkpoint inhibitors Targeted therapies can’t win when tumors overexpress multiple oncoproteins and resistance proteins Cancer is a complex, aggressive disease driven by multiple factors that enable it to evolve to evade existing therapies.


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Imagine cancer medicines that are designed to: Be well tolerated and easier to take Shut down multiple drivers of cancer simultaneously Reactivate the immune system to eliminate tumors Make existing treatments work better and longer Delay need for toxic chemotherapy


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THE NEXT PHASE IN CANCER THERAPEUTICS Pioneering Selective Translation Regulator Inhibitors (STRIs) designed to: Simultaneously block production of multiple disease-driving proteins with a single drug Knock down oncoproteins, immune suppression and resistance to create better outcomes Strong IP position: composition of matter until at least 2035 NOVEL PLATFORM Tomivosertib: Phase 2b in frontline in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with pembrolizumab Zotatifin: Completing dose escalation portion of Phase 1/2 trial; Phase 2a expansion cohorts in solid tumors expected to initiate in H2 2021 DARPA-funded Phase 1b Zotatifin trial in COVID ROBUST CLINICAL PIPELINE $507M partnership with Pfizer on third candidate validates platform ~$150M in total capital raised to date from top tier investors: USVP, Abbvie, Abingworth, Altitude, Pfizer, Sectoral, SR One, The Column Group VALIDATING PARTNERSHIP AND INVESTOR BASE Anticipated Milestones Q2 2022 – Q4 2022 Tomi: two Phase 2b readouts Zota: multiple Phase 2a readouts Multiple clinical initiations and indication expansions POISED FOR SIGNIFICANT VALUE INFLECTION EVENTS


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Steve Worland, Ph.D. Founder, President, CEO and Director Premal Patel, M.D., Ph.D. CMO Alana McNulty CBO Mike Byrnes CFO Experienced leadership team Scientific Advisors Institution Expertise Kevan Shokat, PhD UCSF, eFFECTOR Co-founder Translation & KRAS Davide Ruggero, PhD UCSF, eFFECTOR Co-founder Translation Siegfried Reich, PhD eFFECTOR Co-founder, Lead Chemist Drug Discovery, Axitinib Inventor Joan Brugge, PhD Harvard Oncogenic Signaling and RTK Jennifer Doudna, PhD UC Berkeley RNA Expert, CRISPR Co-Inventor Mark Densel VP, Development Operations


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STRI Platform: Targeting key node in cancer Novel targets located at key node where two important cancer pathways converge and drive production of multiple disease-driving proteins Multiple potential advantages of inhibiting targets related to the eIF4F complex Simultaneously decrease production of multiple cancer-driving proteins before they are synthesized Strong combination potential due to inhibition of key proteins expressed in resistance to other single oncoprotein-targeted drugs Invented 3 novel product candidates with strong intellectual property RTKs, KRAS, Cyclin D1, CDK4/6, MYC PD-L1, LAG3, TIM3, IL10   eIF4F Complex Tomi Zota


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ROBUST Pipeline: Multiple STRIs in development Program (Target) Discovery Preclinical Phase 1 Phase 2a Phase 2b Phase 3 Global Rights Anticipated Milestones Tomivosertib (MNK 1/2i) Zotatifin (elF4Ai) eIF4Ei NSCLC – 1L Extension in combo with pembro Solid Tumors RTK BC and KRAS NSCLC Solid Tumors mBC - SU2C combination trial* *Led by McGill University; funded by Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) grant **Funded by $5M DARPA grant eFFECTOR Option to Co-Promote/ Profit Share in US Anti-SARS-CoV-2** Dose Escalation NSCLC – 1L in combo with pembro H1 2022: Topline data readout H2 2022: Topline data readout H2 2021: Topline data readout H2 2021: Initiate Ph 2 Expansions PD biomarkers


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Tomivosertib Designed to stimulate activation, prevent exhaustion and prolong memory of T cells MNK 1/2 Inhibitor


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Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) have advanced oncology treatment but: Most patients don’t respond The majority of responders develop resistance and must progress to more toxic chemotherapeutics agents In combination with CPIs, tomi may help overcome resistance to prolong the utility of checkpoint inhibition, potentially delaying toxic chemo Encouraging Phase 2a clinical efficacy signal Data suggests potential to address common resistance mechanisms to CPIs Identified biomarker-driven patient selection strategy to enrich Phase 2b study with patients most likely to respond Tomivosertib (toMI): potential to Delay and reverse resistance to CPI therapy


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T Cells Tomivosertib (Tomi) designed to delay T cell exhaustion and reinvigorate anti-tumor activity to achieve: Increased target cell killing Simultaneous downregulation of several key checkpoint proteins associated with T cell exhaustion/dysfunction Decreased production of immunosuppressive IL-10 Increased T cell memory pool Immune Regulation (PD-1, PD-L1, LAG3, TIM3, IL-10) Tomivosertib Designed to Reprogram T Cells to Enhance Anti-tumor activity Tomi Inhibiting MNK 1/2 kinase shown to promote T cell activity


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TOMIVOSERTIB Designed to downregulate multiple immunosuppressive proteins in one pill Designed to reprogram T cells from within and in preclinical studies inhibited production of multiple immunosuppressive proteins that are the targets of individual IO drugs PD-1 and PD-L1 ($25B+ worldwide sales) TIM3 LAG3 IL-10 Immuno-suppressive proteins Data presented at AACR 2017 and AACR 2018


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Tomivosertib: Generally Well Tolerated with Single-Agent Activity* Tomivosertib was generally well tolerated at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) as single agent and in combination with anti-PD-(L)1 agents Safety profile when combined with anti-PD-(L)1 agents comparable to anti-PD-(L)1 alone MNK1/2 target was 90-100% inhibited at RP2D Single agent activity was observed in lymphoma patients *Data from completed studies as of September 2020. Lymphoma waterfall plot represents all patients with evaluable disease (n=13) out of 19 patients total enrolled.


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Phase 2a: Prolonged PFS when combined with anti-PD-(L)1 agents 39 patient Phase 2a study showed encouraging activity in multiple tumor types* Tomivosertib added on to patients not responding to anti-PD-(L)1 therapy with no change or break in anti-PD-(L)1 regimen Subset including all 17 NSCLC patients had clinical benefit Each had increasing metastatic disease on anti-PD-(L)1 therapy prior to adding tomivosertib (16 of 17 had RECIST progression) Inflection in tumor growth and durable tumor control observed in many patients after adding tomivosertib 2 confirmed partial responses (PR) and third patient with 28% reduction in tumor size 1 PR went on to confirmed complete response (CR) on extension Tomivosertib substantially improved PFS (up to 18 months), particularly in PD-L1+ patients Additional activity seen in other immunologically responsive tumors *Data through study completion in September 2020; initial data presented at ASCO 2020; PR and CR as determined by RECIST criteria


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Phase 2A: Demonstrated extended PFS in NSCLC patients particularly enriched in PD-L1+ patients All patients: mPFS of 20 weeks compared to ~7 weeks in comparative data set in similar patients in the OAK study* PD-L1+ patients: mPFS of 53 weeks (in the OAK TBP cohort, PD-L1+ status did not improve benefit ) *FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY: Treatment Beyond Progression (TBP) cohort; Differences exist between trial designs and subject characteristics, and caution should be exercised when comparing data across trials Data through study completion in September 2020 Patients 115-103 and 120-103 continued treatment past study completion on Single Patient Expanded Access INDs


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Phase 2A: immediate tumor regressions in multiple patients upon addition of tomivosertib Patient was PD-L1>50% Patient on Tomi/Pembro Combo Experienced Confirmed Complete Response after ~2 Years on Combo Therapy


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KEY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Stage IV NSCLC No prior chemo PD-L1 50%   Tomivosertib + pembrolizumab Placebo + pembrolizumab Progression Free Survival (PFS) is primary endpoint Trial design enriched for PD-L1+ patients who received the most benefit in the P2a trial Kickstart: randomized phase 2b trial open for enrollment in two important Nsclc indications – enriched for PD-L1+ 1L extension (PD on pembro) N=60 1L Treatment naïve N=60 R 1:1 Tomivosertib + pembrolizumab Placebo + pembrolizumab R 1:1 Initial data readout anticipated - H1 2022 for frontline extension cohort - H2 2022 for frontline naïve cohort PD, progressive disease


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Pembro Monotherapy Metastatic NSCLC ≥ 50% PD-L1 w/ No Actionable Mutations Chemotherapy regimens Novel Setting: Tomi + pembro – 1L Extension (reverse resistance) US addressable population ~9K Tomi + pembro – 1L (delay resistance) US addressable population ~27K Potential Market Settings – NSCLC PD-L1 > 50%* *subject to receipt of regulatory approval in each setting Frontline represents potential $4B+ US market opportunity Frontline extension is novel setting that delays chemotherapy potentially improving patient quality of life (~$700M+ US market opportunity)


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Zotatifin eIF4A Helicase Inhibitor Oncology: Designed to downregulate key oncoproteins and cell cycle proteins


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4A- translationally regulated genes including RTKs, KRAS, Myc, ER, Cyclin D1, CDK4/6 Zotatifin DESIGNED TO inhibit production of key proteins driven by upstream oncogenes Zota Cancer signaling drives production of multiple tumor promoting proteins Zotatifin designed to block this multi-protein upregulation in a single product In preclinical studies, zotatifin was observed to downregulate: Oncoproteins: RTKs (including HER2 and FGFR), KRAS (all mutant forms), Myc Estrogen receptor (ER) Cell cycle proteins Cyclin D1 and CDK4/6 that drive resistance to targeted therapies Generally well tolerated in ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation study at doses that achieve desired exposures Phase 2a expansion studies in selected breast cancer and KRAS mutant NSCLC patients expected to begin in H2 2021


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Preclinical regulation of translation by zotatifin was selective for proteins that drive tumor growth and resistance Zotatifin Target Sequence KRASmut protein all forms Cell proliferation/ cycle proteins RTK proteins Control protein unaffected Non-coding sequence coding sequence Experimental structure of natural product RocA bound to eIF4A and zotatifin RNA target sequence* *Iwaski et al. 2019 Mol Cell (73) 738-748 At physiological concentrations in vitro, zotatifin only affected translation of ~5% of mRNAs


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Zotatifin demonstrated single agent and combo activity in Preclinical studies ER+ Breast Cancer Model* Zotatifin demonstrated comparable single agent activity to marketed inhibitor of CDK4/6 (palbociclib) Strong combination activity with palbociclib KRAS G12C NSCLC Model Zotatifin demonstrated comparable single agent activity to Amgen’s KRAS G12 C inhibitor (AMG510) Strong combination activity with AMG510 *Data presented at 2020 CSHL Translational Control Meeting


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Additional program opportunities Tomivosertib Expansion into NSCLC with PD-L1 status 1-49% where CPI+chemo is standard of care as triplet (tomi+CPI+chemo) Other immuno-responsive tumors (renal, bladder, MSI) Zotatifin - COVID $5M DARPA grant funding P1b trial as antiviral Potent antiviral activity observed in multiple coronavirus preclinical models eIF4E IND enabling studies ongoing for inhibitors targeting eIF4E for multiple cancer indications.     Worldwide partnership with Pfizer, up to additional $465M in milestones to be received plus royalties on sales eFFECTOR retained option to co-promote and profit share in the U.S.


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Upcoming Milestones


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Multiple upcoming clinical milestones


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Outlook Leverage strong scientific foundation as leaders in development of selective translation regulator inhibitors as a new class of therapies for cancer Trials underway for two product candidates Tomivosertib prolonged disease stabilization in Phase 2a study and biomarker-driven Phase 2b study in non-small cell lung cancer is open for enrollment Zotatifin demonstrated the ability to knock down multiple proteins acting within the tumor cell itself and is currently finishing a Phase 1 dose escalation portion of Phase 1/2 clinical trial


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RISK FACTORS Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History, Financial Position and Capital Requirements We have a limited operating history, have incurred significant operating losses since our inception and expect to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. We may never generate any revenue or become profitable or, if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it. We will require substantial additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, including purchasers of common stock in this offering, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates. Risks Related to the Discovery, Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates We depend heavily on the success of Tomivosertib and Zotatifin, which are in either Phase 1 or Phase 2 clinical development. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. Our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on our technology platform is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to develop any products of commercial value. Clinical and preclinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and the results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results. Any of our product candidates may not have favorable results in later clinical trials, if any, or receive regulatory approval on a timely basis, if at all. Any difficulties or delays in the commencement or completion, or termination or suspension, of our clinical trials could result in increased costs to us, delay or limit our ability to generate revenue and adversely affect our commercial prospects. We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical trials. If we encounter difficulties enrolling subjects in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected. Use of our product candidates could be associated with side effects, adverse events or other properties or safety risks, which could delay or preclude approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, abandon a product candidate, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in other significant negative consequences that could severely harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. We have never completed any later-stage clinical trials, and may be unable to do so for any of our product candidates. Our product candidates are subject to extensive regulation and compliance, which is costly and time consuming, and such regulation may cause unanticipated delays or prevent the receipt of the required approvals to commercialize our product candidates. We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success. We may seek Breakthrough Therapy designation or Fast Track designation by the FDA for one or more of our product candidates, but we may not receive such designation, and even if we do, such designation may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. We may conduct certain of our clinical trials for our product candidates outside of the United States. However, the FDA and other foreign equivalents may not accept data from such trials, in which case our development plans will be delayed, which could materially harm our business. Interim, topline and preliminary data from our clinical trials and preclinical studies that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data. Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.


Slide 30

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and preclinical studies. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with applicable regulatory requirements or meet expected deadlines, our development programs and our ability to seek or obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates may be delayed. We rely on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for clinical and preclinical development. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts. Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed. We are dependent on our collaboration agreement with Pfizer for the discovery, development and commercialization of small-molecule inhibitors of eIF4E. Under certain circumstances, Pfizer may unilaterally terminate the agreement for convenience, which could materially and adversely affect our business. We may seek to enter into additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements and may not be successful in doing so, and even if we are, we may relinquish valuable rights and may not realize the benefits of such relationships. Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates Even if we receive regulatory approval for any product candidate, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions on marketing or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates, when and if any of them are approved. The commercial success of our product candidates will depend upon the degree of market acceptance of such product candidates by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. The successful commercialization of our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish coverage, adequate reimbursement levels and favorable pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue. We face significant competition from entities that have developed or may develop product candidates for cancer, including companies developing novel treatments and technology platforms. If our competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than we do or their technologies are more effective, our business and our ability to develop and successfully commercialize products may be adversely affected. The market opportunities for our product candidates may be limited to patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and may be small or different from our estimates. We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience as a company in commercializing products, and we may have to invest significant resources to develop these capabilities. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our products, we may not be able to generate product revenue. Our future growth may depend, in part, on our ability to operate in foreign markets, where we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and other risks and uncertainties.


Slide 31

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or any guidance we may provide. We are dependent on the services of our management and other clinical and scientific personnel, and if we are not able to retain these individuals or recruit additional management or clinical and scientific personnel, our business will suffer. We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth and expanding our operations successfully. We are subject to various federal, state and foreign healthcare and privacy laws and regulations, which could increase compliance costs, and our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our results of operations and financial condition. Recently enacted legislation, future legislation and healthcare reform measures may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize our product candidates and may affect the prices we may set. If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our products. Our insurance policies are expensive and only protect us from some business risks, which will leave us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities. We and any of our current and potential future collaborators will be required to report to regulatory authorities if any of our approved products cause or contribute to adverse medical events, and any failure to do so would result in sanctions that would materially harm our business Our internal computer systems, or those of any of our CROs, manufacturers, other contractors or consultants or current or potential future collaborators, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. Our business is subject to risks arising from COVID-19 and other epidemic diseases. Our business could be affected by litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions. Our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, CROs, consultants and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements. We may engage in strategic transactions that could impact our liquidity, increase our expenses and present significant distractions to our management. Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited in connection with this offering or other ownership changes. We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. These principles are subject to interpretation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and various bodies formed to create and interpret appropriate accounting principles and guidance. A change in these principles or guidance, or in their interpretations, may have a material effect on our reported results, as well as our processes and related controls, and may retroactively affect previously reported results.


Slide 32

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected. We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world. Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements. Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products. Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad. Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on products and product candidates for an adequate amount of time. If we do not obtain patent term extension for our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed. We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property. If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed. We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products and product candidates. We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property. Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violations against us or our collaborators may prevent or delay the development and commercialization of our product candidates. We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful. If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected. Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats. If we fail to comply with any of our obligations under our existing license agreement or any future license agreements, or disputes arise with respect to those agreements, it could have a negative impact on our business and our intellectual property rights. We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to product components and processes for our development pipeline through acquisitions and in-licenses. We, our collaborator and our service providers may be subject to a variety of privacy and data security laws and contractual obligations, which could increase compliance costs and our failure to comply with them could subject us to potentially significant fines or penalties and otherwise harm our business.


Slide 33

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to Becoming a Public Company We will incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives. We will be an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors. If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or publish unfavorable research or reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and the trading price of our common stock may decline. Provisions in our proposed charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable and may lead to entrenchment of management. Our proposed certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders and that the federal district courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees. We could be subject to securities class action litigation. Risks Related to the Private Placement  The conditions to closing the Private Placement may not be met and LWAC may be otherwise unable to raise additional financing to complete the Business Combination or to fund the operations and growth of the combined company following the Business Combination (the “Combined Company”). The issuance of shares of the Combined Company’s securities in connection with the Private Placement will dilute substantially the voting power of purchasers in the Private Placement. LWAC may issue shares of its Class A common stock upon the conversion of its Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the closing of the Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in its amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuance would dilute the interest of the Combined Company’s stockholders, including purchasers in the Private Placement. In addition to acting as placement agents, (i) Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as equity capital markets and financial advisor to the Company and (ii) an entity affiliated with certain members of LWAC's management, Locust Walk Partners, LLC, has provided financial advisory services to LWAC in connection with the proposed transaction, which may give rise to potential conflicts of interests or the appearance thereof.


Slide 34

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) Risks Related to the Business Combination Each of LWAC and eFFECTOR will incur significant transaction costs in connection with the Business Combination. The consummation of the Business Combination is subject to a number of conditions and if those conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Business Combination agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the Business Combination may not be completed. The ability to successfully effect the Business Combination and the Combined Company’s ability to successfully operate the business thereafter will be largely dependent upon the efforts of certain key personnel of eFFECTOR. The loss of such key personnel could negatively impact the operations and financial results of the combined business. There is no assurance that a stockholder’s decision whether to redeem its shares for a pro rata portion of LWAC’s trust account will put the stockholder in a better future economic position. If the Business Combination’s benefits do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of LWAC’s securities or, following the consummation of the Business Combination, the Combined Company’s securities, may decline. A market for the Combined Company’s securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of such securities. There can be no assurance that the Combined Company’s securities will be approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) or that the Combined Company will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. Directors of LWAC have potential conflicts of interest in recommending that LWAC’s stockholders vote in favor of the adoption of the Business Combination. LWAC may redeem unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to the holders of LWAC warrants, thereby making such warrants worthless. Further, even if the Business Combination is completed, there can be no assurance that LWAC’s warrants will be in the money during their exercise period, and they may expire worthless. If LWAC seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, its sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on the Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of LWAC’s Class A common stock or warrants. If LWAC seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, its sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such Business Combination, regardless of how its public stockholders vote. The ability of LWAC’s public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of its shares could increase the probability that the Business Combination would be unsuccessful. The LWAC public shareholders can redeem some or all of the $175 million held in trust, and significant redemptions could materially impact our cash position and runway. LWAC is not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, its stockholders may have no assurance from an independent source that the price it is paying for the business is fair to LWAC from a financial point of view. Legal proceedings in connection with the Business Combination, the outcomes of which are uncertain, could delay or prevent the completion of the Business Combination. The Business Combination or Combined Company may be materially adversely affected by the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect LWAC’s and the Combined Company’s business, including LWAC’s and the Combined Company’s ability to consummate the Business Combination, and results of operations.


Slide 35

RISK FACTORS (Cont’d) General Risk Factors We are subject to U.S. and certain foreign export and import controls, sanctions, embargoes, anti-corruption laws and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Compliance with these legal standards could impair our ability to compete in domestic and international markets. We could face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which could harm our business. We and any of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers may use potent chemical agents and hazardous materials, and any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming or costly. Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price. Changes in U.S. tax law may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.


Slide 36

Investor Presentation May 27, 2021 Next Generation Targeted Therapy for Cancer

EX-99.4

Exhibit 99.4

eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Locust Walk Acquisition Corporation

Definitive Merger Agreement

Heidi Chokeir:

[slide 0]

Hello and welcome to the eFFECTOR Therapeutics / Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. investor webcast of management’s prepared remarks.

[slide 1]

The information discussed today is qualified in its entirety by the Form 8-K that has been filed today by Locust Walk Acquisition Corp, or LWAC, and may be accessed on the SEC’s website, including the exhibits thereto.

The investor presentation that will be presented as part of today’s discussion has been publicly filed with the SEC and posted on eFFECTOR’s website at www.effector.com, and LWAC’s website at www.locustwalkacquisitioncorp.com, where it is available for download. Please review the disclaimers included therein.

Also, statements we make during this call that are not statements of historical facts constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ from historical results and/or from our forecast, including those that are set forth in LWAC’s Form 8-K filed today and the exhibits thereto, as well as the risks that will be included under the header “Risk Factors” in the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed by LWAC with the SEC and those included under the header “Risk Factors” in LWAC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

You should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties, and other factors discussed in these filings and additional filings LWAC makes with the SEC. Do not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which we assume no responsibility for updating unless required by law.

In addition, statements made today regarding expected cash and equity ownership following the transaction do not take into account any possible redemptions of existing LWAC shareholders prior to the business combination.

Hosting today’s call are Steve Worland, CEO of eFFECTOR Therapeutics, and Chris Ehrlich, CEO of Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. I’ll now turn the call over to Chris.

 

Page 1 of 10


Chris Ehrlich:

Good day, everybody, and thank you for joining. My name is Chris Ehrlich, I’m the CEO of Locust Walk Acquisition Corporation, or LWAC. I have been in the biotechnology field for about 30 years, and I’m proud today to talk about the planned business combination with eFFECTOR.

[Slide 2]

I will start by discussing LWAC, and the criteria that we looked for in a business combination. By way of background, LWAC was formed in late 2020 and we completed our IPO in early 2021. We set very demanding criteria for a business combination with $175 million cash held in trust. Our goal was to identify a biotech company that derived its platform technology from a leading academic institution. We were looking for a company that had more than one product candidate in development, ideally in the clinic. We required a company with a strong investor base that would support the company going forward, and one with a mature enough valuation and infrastructure to thrive in the transition to becoming a public company.

We were also looking for a biotech company with a strong, validating partnership, an experienced management team, and ideally with one, if not more, novel lead assets. We believe that eFFECTOR satisfies all of these demanding criteria.

[Slide 3]

In terms of the specifics of the transaction, eFFECTOR has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with LWAC with an implied post-money enterprise value for eFFECTOR of around $419 million. This combination will be funded through $60 million from a committed PIPE financing, plus up to $175 million of cash in trust, less any redemptions from LWAC’s public investors. If no redemptions are made by LWAC public shareholders, the net proceeds of the transaction would be expected to fund the operations of eFFECTOR into early 2024, and will be focused on R&D efforts and clinical development of tomivosertib and zotatifin, both of which have multiple key value driving events.

[Slide 4]

In terms of a graphic representation, the equity value of the combined company, assuming no redemptions are made by LWAC’s public shareholders, would be expected to be about $626 million. When you back out the cash and debt at eFFECTOR, the enterprise value is $419 million, showing that we’re spending $235 million in cash proceeds (and again, assuming no redemptions).

And now, I’d like to turn the call over to Steve to tell you more about eFFECTOR and why we’re excited. Steve?

Steve Worland:

[Slide 5]

Thank you, Chris. I’m very excited this morning to tell you about eFFECTOR Therapeutics and our highly differentiated approach to treating cancer.

Over the last 10 years, the scientific and medical community has learned a great deal about cancer and made important treatment advances. Immunotherapy and targeted therapies have improved patient outcomes. We also gained greater insights into how cancer works, and learned that most cancers are very complex, with multiple drivers, and multiple ways to become resistant to treatment. Unfortunately, the majority of patients with metastatic disease still don’t respond, even to the newest therapies, and most patients who do initially respond develop resistance over time. At eFFECTOR we wanted to take the new fundamental knowledge about how cancer works and ask: How could we do better? How can we take the next step to outsmart cancer?

 

Page 2 of 10


[Slide 6]

So when we founded eFFECTOR we asked ourselves a series of hard questions:

 

   

How do we imagine the next generation of cancer therapy?

 

   

Can we discover and develop drugs that are safe, well tolerated, and easy to take?

 

   

Since we know cancer is driven by multiple factors, can we shut down those multiple factors simultaneously, to inhibit cancer growth and shut down resistance mechanisms?

 

   

Can we reactivate a patient’s immune system to combat and eliminate tumors?

 

   

Can we make treatments work better and last longer, thereby significantly delaying the need to progress onto old-school, toxic chemotherapy regimens that are so difficult to take?

That’s a pretty tall order. Which is why I’m excited today to tell you about the eFFECTOR STRI platform, which originated from work at the University of California, San Francisco, or UCSF. We leveraged this platform to discover and characterize drug candidates designed to achieve these objectives.

[Slide 7]

At eFFECTOR, we are pioneering the development of selective translation regulator inhibitors, or STRIs, a potential new class of oncology drugs. Each of our STRI product candidates is designed to simultaneously block production of multiple disease driving proteins with a single agent. We believe STRIs have the potential to knock down the oncoproteins that are driving tumor growth, reactivate the immune system and block or delay resistance, to create better outcomes for patients, and, especially keep them on well-tolerated regimens longer. We have invented a portfolio of product candidates covered by strong intellectual property that includes composition of matter patents until at least 2035.

We have a robust pipeline with two clinical stage assets: tomivosertib, or tomi for short, that is now in a randomized Phase 2b trial for frontline non-small cell lung cancer in combination with pembrolizumab, the market leader.

And zotatifin, or zota for short, is just finishing up Phase 1 dose escalation and we’re on track to move into Phase 2a expansion cohorts in the second half of this year. We have shown that zota can block production of RNA virus proteins needed for replication, and we’ve received a $5M DARPA grant to explore zotatifin in COVID disease as well.

We have a very attractive partnership with Pfizer focusing on inhibitors of eIF4E, our third development platform. We believe this collaboration provides third-party validation for our rigorous science and also provides non-dilutive financing for the company. Moreover, we have a really great group of existing top-tier biotech investors who are continuing to support the company in this transaction.

What really sets eFFECTOR apart is our clinical pipeline, which is supported by strong data from earlier clinical and preclinical studies. Over the next 12-18 months, we expect to report important clinical data, including two Phase 2b readouts for tomivosertib, as well as multiple phase 2a expansion cohort readouts for zotatifin. We also have opportunities to expand into additional indications with tomi and zota and report data from those studies as well.

 

Page 3 of 10


[Slide 8]

Let me tell you about the very experienced management team that leads our company. I have been in the biotechnology field for more than 30 years, starting in R&D and moving to the business side, including previously leading a public company that was acquired by Roche in 2011. Our Chief Medical Officer, Premal Patel, is an oncology expert. He conducted his training at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and then held roles at well-regarded cancer companies such as Genentech, Pfizer, Juno and Lyell. Alana McNulty is our chief business officer, and Mike Byrnes is our chief financial officer. They each have significant prior experience handling multiple transactions including licensing and M&A. eFFECTOR has an experienced management team that knows how to couple the science with business, and drive it as a public company.

[Slide 9]

Using our pioneering STRI platform, we have developed a portfolio of novel product candidates that target various aspects of the eIF4F protein translation node. This node is at the intersection where two important cell growth and proliferation pathways, PI3K-AKT and RAS-MEK, converge and drive the production of multiple disease driving proteins. These are well-known signaling pathways in cancer, with many approved agents inhibiting individual targets in these pathways to bring benefit to patients. Our novel approach to outsmarting cancer is to develop product candidates that act downstream of those individual targets, at the eIF4F node. By doing so, each of our product candidates is designed to block multiple disease driving proteins before they are ever synthesized.

In preclinical studies and early clinical trials, we have demonstrated that our product candidates can block production of proteins that can function as resistance mechanisms for other therapies, providing a strong rationale to pursue combinations to block resistance and extend duration of benefit.

We invented three novel product candidates against three targets: MNK 1/2, eIF4A and eIF4E. Each candidate confers unique biologic properties, and each of the exciting candidates has strong intellectual property protection.

[Slide 10]

We have a robust pipeline with multiple STRIs in development. Starting with our lead program tomi, we’ve generated compelling data in our completed Phase 2a trial and enrollment is open for a randomized Phase 2b trial in two different important patient populations in non-small cell lung cancer. We expect to report topline data from the first cohort in the first half of next year, and topline data from the second cohort in the second half of next year. With zotatifin, we have extensive preclinical data that demonstrated tumor regressions in multiple difficult to treat tumor models. We’re finishing up Phase 1 dose escalation and expect to move into Phase 2 expansion cohorts in the second half of this year. We then expect to report our data from those expansion cohorts in 2022.

[slide 11]

I will now turn to our lead candidate tomivosertib. This agent was designed to activate the immune system, particularly T cells, against the tumor, prevent T cell exhaustion, and enhance memory T cells, providing an opportunity to extend the duration of treatment benefit.

[slide 12]

Checkpoint inhibitors have changed the standard of care in many cancers. They work by activating T cells to attack tumors. But unfortunately, most patients don’t respond to checkpoint inhibitors, and a large majority of patients ultimately progress on checkpoint inhibitor therapy due to treatment resistance. We now know that a major cause of resistance is T cell exhaustion, as these immune cells

 

Page 4 of 10


just become tired and can’t do their job. In combination with checkpoint inhibitors, tomi has the potential to overcome that resistance by reversing or preventing immune exhaustion, extending the benefit of the checkpoint inhibitor, and hopefully delaying the need to move onto a toxic chemo regimen.

We have generated encouraging data from a Phase 2a trial supporting tomi’s potential to address resistance. Importantly, we’ve identified a biomarker in the Phase 2a data that we are using to select patients for the Phase 2b trial. We believe our biomarker strategy will enrich the trial with patients most likely to respond to this therapeutic approach.

[slide 13]

And, so how does this work in T cells? Tomi, which is designed to reprogram T cells, enhancing their anti-tumor activity, has demonstrated highly selective, potent inhibition of a protein called MNK 1 / 2 kinase, shown here on the left. Tomi has been shown to inhibit the MNK signaling network in T cells and down-regulate several immune checkpoint proteins associated with immune suppression and T cell exhaustion. Our studies show that tomi can make T cells better cancer cell killers as well as increase the T cell memory pool.

[slide 14]

Tomi is designed to act inside T cells to down-regulate many checkpoint proteins that lead to T cell exhaustion. You will probably recognize many of these immuno-suppressive proteins that tomi down-regulates: PD-1, PD-L1, LAG3, etc. Each one of these proteins individually is the target of drugs that are already FDA approved, such as PD-1 and PD-L1, or are in late stage clinical trials. In our preclinical studies, at clinically relevant concentrations, tomi demonstrated the ability to simultaneously down-regulate several of these immunosuppressive proteins. And, importantly, tomi did not impair T cell viability or inhibit production of immune stimulatory factors such as 4-1BB. The collective effect is the potential to maintain and enhance T cell function, actually making them more effective tumor cell killers.

[slide 15]

In our completed Phase 1 dose escalation studies tomi was well tolerated at doses that inhibit the target 90%-100%. This is exciting that tomi can shut down a kinase target so significantly and still be well-tolerated. This positive outcome supported our decision to continue advancing tomi into later development.

We saw activity of tomi as a monotherapy in lymphoma, a cancer that involves immune cells called B cells, consistent with research demonstrating the importance of MNK signaling in both T and B-cells. Taking this into account, as well as the high unmet medical needs and market opportunities, we decided to focus on cancers that respond to T cell-directed therapies, and specifically pursue development of tomi as a combination with checkpoint inhibitors.

[slide 16]

We conducted a Phase 2a combination trial with tomi in patients who were no longer responding to their checkpoint inhibitor. Tomi was simply added to the anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 drug regimen – and we didn’t change anything else – maintaining backbone checkpoint therapy without a treatment gap. We asked the key question: can tomi re-activate the immune system and resensitize patients to their checkpoint inhibitor after they’ve already progressed?

 

Page 5 of 10


The largest data set from this trial is in non-small cell lung cancer, where we had 17 patients with increasing metastatic disease when we added tomi. 16 of those 17 met the formal RECIST definition for progressive disease, so that’s a high bar. Importantly, what we saw first was an inflection in the tumor growth. In many patients, adding tomi resulted in tumor shrinkage and/or long-term disease control. We saw two confirmed partial responses, or PRs. In a third patient, we saw 28% reduction in tumor size, just below the 30% threshold for a PR.

One of PRs actually went on to become a confirmed complete response, or CR, meaning there’s no evidence of the tumor left. And it’s worth noting that we saw additional activity in other immune-responsive tumor types, providing potential expansion opportunities into other indications.

[slide 17]

Now let me review the non-small cell lung cancer data from the Phase 2a trial in more detail. On this slide, we show what we call a swimmers plot. Each one of these bars represents how long the patient was able to remain in the trial. Remember the patients came in with progressing disease, then we added tomi, and we kept them on the combination therapy without having to move on to a toxic chemo regimen. And what you can see is that our median progression free survival was 20 weeks.

You might ask, well, what can I compare that to? And it turns out that in the Phase 3 OAK trial of atezolizumab, an FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor, Genentech reported that patients who demonstrated RECIST progression and remained on checkpoint therapy past progression only remained on the monotherapy checkpoint regimen for a median of 7 weeks, or about the time of their next CT scan.

In our Phase 2a tomi trial, we saw a median PFS of 20 weeks prior to progression, and while not done in a head-to-head trial, this was approximately three times longer than the historical comparator.

You can also see in the swimmers plot that some patients did really well, and then there are some patients at the bottom, unfortunately, who didn’t do well. And so we dug into the data and asked, can we identify a biomarker that identifies patients who have the best chance to benefit from our treatment, so we can focus further development on those patients? And, in fact, there is a good biomarker that retrospectively predicted response very well – PD-L1 status.

You can see, at the bottom of the swimmers plot, those six zeroes represent patients who had no detectable PD-L1. And the one patient at the bottom who was PD-L1 positive had an EGFR mutation, a known predictor of poor outcomes on checkpoint therapy. If we use the retrospective analysis of PFS by PD-L1 status, which was available for 14 of the 17 patients, for the seven patients known to be PD-L1 positive, we see a median PFS of 53 weeks. This is much greater than the median PFS of 9 weeks that we saw for the seven patients known to be PD-L1 negative. We therefore designed the Phase 2b clinical trial to focus on patients most likely to respond to tomivosertib. PD-L1 as a biomarker makes good sense based on the mechanism of tomivosertib, because it is a marker for those patients that might be most responsive to immunotherapy treatment.

[slide 18]

I want to show you the one patient I mentioned who had a complete response after approximately two years on combination therapy. Here you see the trajectory of this patient’s tumors. Initially the patient was on pembrolizumab alone, and had two sizable lesions, one on each lung, with a total measurement of 7 centimeters. Before entering our tomi Phase 2a trial, the tumor was growing and no longer responding to pembrolizumab.

 

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Then we added tomi, and kept them on pembrolizumab, or pembro. You see that the tumor started to shrink right away and achieved a PR, which is a 30% or greater reduction in tumor size. And then, as we were wrapping up the trial, the physician asked us, can we keep this patient on the combination? Through an expanded access IND, the physician continued treating this one patient with tomi and pembro. You can see that over the next 6 months the tumor disappeared. This is considered a complete response, or CR, which was confirmed with a second scan. So this is called a confirmed CR.

[slide 19]

We used our Phase 2a data, inclusive of the biomarker, and designed a new, larger, randomized Phase 2b trial in Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer or NSCLC. This trial, named KICKSTART, is now open for enrollment in two patient populations – frontline, or patients who are treatment naïve, and frontline extension, or patients who are currently being treated with pembro frontline and have had an initial RECIST progression. All eligible patients must not have had chemotherapy for metastatic NSCLC, and must have PD-L1 ³ 50%, as these are the most immuno-responsive tumors.

On the top of the schematic is the frontline extension cohort, in which patients who have progressed on pembro will be randomized to receive tomi or placebo, each with continued pembro. And then we’ll monitor how long these patients can continue, as assessed by the PFS endpoint.

On the bottom of the schematic is the other cohort, which will enroll patients who haven’t yet been treated for their metastatic disease. They will be randomized to receive tomi plus pembro or placebo plus pembro. The rationale for including a treatment naïve cohort is that we believe that if tomi can reverse resistance, which we saw in the Phase 2a trial, it should be easier to delay the emergence of resistance if tomi is on board from the initiation of therapy.

The primary endpoint in both cohorts will be progression-free survival or PFS. We expect to report topline data from the frontline extension cohort in the first half of 2022, and topline data from the frontline treatment naïve cohort in the second half of 2022.

[Slide 20]

Let me place the market opportunity for tomi in the context of the current treatment paradigm for you. For metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with no actionable mutations and PD-L1 ³ 50%, the current standard of care is monotherapy with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor. We decided to combine with pembrolizumab, or pembro, because it’s the market leader. Once patients progress on their checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy, they typically receive chemotherapy-based treatment as their next regimen, which can significantly degrade their quality of life.

Shown on the right hand side of the diagram, we expect that our tomi combination will provide more durable response than pembro monotherapy, delaying the need to move to chemotherapy. We expect that if tomi plus pembro allows patients to remain on a well-tolerated regimen longer, that will drive adoption of the combination in clinical practice. We also hope to change the market share dynamic and move some patients who would currently start on another checkpoint inhibitor to start on the tomi/pembro regimen, expanding share for the pembro/tomi combination.

 

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On the left hand side is this novel setting of frontline extension, where we believe that by adding tomi we can reverse resistance to checkpoint inhibitors and prevent further tumor growth even after a patient has initially progressed. This would again provide an opportunity to extend the time patients can remain on a well-tolerated regimen and delay the need to quickly move to chemotherapy, which we believe will be compelling to patients and physicians.

Based on our current estimates, the frontline combination represents a potential $4B plus market opportunity in the US and the novel frontline extension indication represents a potential $700M plus market opportunity in the US.

So just to close on tomi – in our preclinical studies we’ve shown that tomi acts within T cells to knock down several immunosuppressive factors. We believe this mechanism naturally lends itself to a combination with a checkpoint inhibitor as demonstrated by the Phase 2a data, the 20 week median PFS, and, importantly, a biomarker now to further enrich that signal in future studies. Now we’re proceeding with a randomized, Phase 2b trial, KICKSTART, selecting for the most responsive PD-L1 high patients, combining with the market leading checkpoint inhibitor, pembrolizumab.

[slide 21]

Now let’s turn to our second clinical stage candidate zotatifin. This product candidate is designed to act inside the tumor cell to knock down multiple oncoproteins that drive tumor cell growth and division.

[Slide 22]

You can see on the left, here is eIF4A again. Cancer signaling within the tumor cell activates eIF4A to drive production of multiple different factors that help the tumor grow, including important oncoproteins like HER2 and FGFR, KRAS, which has come to great attention recently with new inhibitors in development, and Myc, another important oncoprotein. Also under control of eIF4A are the estrogen receptor, which is so important in most breast cancers, as well cell cycle proteins Cyclin D1 and CDK4/6. Zotatfin is designed to bind to eIF4A, thereby blocking production of several of these proteins at the same time.

In this program we are approaching the conclusion of the dose escalation portion of our Phase 1/2 trial, and the product candidate has been generally well tolerated at doses that achieve the desired exposures of zotatifin in the blood. Our Phase 2a expansion cohorts, which we expect to begin in the second half of 2021, will focus on breast cancer patients with specific biomarkers and non-small cell lung cancer patients with any mutant form of KRAS, G12C as well as others.

[Slide 23]

You can think of zotatifin as a piece of velcro with two sticky ends. So it sticks to a protein, eIF4A, but it also sticks to certain messenger RNAs, preventing those mRNAs from being translated into protein. And what’s important is that this is very selective: only messenger RNAs with certain structures within the non-coding parts of the RNA, represented by the green boxes, are bound by zotatifin. The mRNAs that have these structures encode cancer-driving proteins, including these RTKs, KRAS, all the different mutant forms of KRAS, as well Cyclin D1 and CDK4. In preclinical studies zotatifin inhibited translation of these mRNAs, but the rest of the RNAs that don’t have the secondary structures, were still readily translated in the cell.

 

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[Slide 24]

Here is how this works in preclinical models. On the left is a model of ER positive breast cancer, and we’re comparing zotatifin to palbociclib an approved CDK4/6 inhibitor that is part of the standard of care for the treatment of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. And you can see here, in the green and the blue, zota was as active as palbociclib in this model. When zotatifin was combined with palbociclib, you see more activity, with tumor control persisting even after we stopped dosing.

On the right side, you see a model of KRAS G12C mutant non-small cell lung cancer, and here we’re comparing ourselves to the leading G12C inhibitor, AMG510 or sotorasib. That’s the Amgen product candidate currently undergoing FDA review for approval, and you can see again in this model, green and blue, zota had comparable activity to AMG510. And when we tested the combination of the two agents, you see an even deeper regression, that persisted over time.

We’re finishing up the dose escalation portion of our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of zota, and later this year, we plan to open up expansion cohorts in both ER-positive breast cancer as well as KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer both as single agents and in combination with other leading drugs.

[slide 25]

Before we wrap up, I want to mention some potential pipeline expansion opportunities we see for tomi and zota. I’ve already talked about tomi in NSCLC patients with PD-L1 ³ 50%, who are normally treated with checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy as their first regimen. Patients who have PD-L1 between 1 and 49%, which represents another third of the non-small cell lung cancer population, typically receive a checkpoint inhibitor combined with platinum chemotherapy today. We believe tomi has potential to improve response and duration of response in the PD-L1 1-49% NSCLC patients as well as in other immuno-responsive tumors and look forward to potentially initiating future studies in additional indications.

We know that RNA viruses such as coronaviruses also utilize eIF4A to produce viral proteins. In collaboration with the Quantitative Biosciences Institute, or QBI, at UCSF, we have initiated a trial of zotatifin in mild to moderate COVID patients with $5 million funding from DARPA. In cell-based assays run head-to-head, we’ve shown that zotatifin had comparable potency to AT-511, a clinical agent currently in Phase 2 development for COVID, and greater potency than remdesivir, a drug now approved by US FDA for COVID treatment.

Lastly, let me mention our preclincal program targeting eIF4E for multiple cancer indications. This program is the subject of our partnership with Pfizer and IND-enabling studies are currently ongoing. We are eligible to receive up to $465 million in additional milestones, plus sales royalties, for this program and we retained an option to co-promote and profit share in the U.S.

[slide 26, Slide 27]

We have multiple important value-driving milestones over the next 12-24 months with several key clinical data readouts. For the Phase 2b trial of tomi plus pembro in NSCLC we expect to report topline data from the frontline extension cohort in the first half of 2022 and topline data from the treatment naïve cohort in the second half of 2022. We also expect to expand into additional Phase 2b indications and report data from those studies in 2023. We anticipate that we’ll be ready to initiate a registrational Phase 3 trial for tomi in non-small cell lung cancer in 2023.

For zotatifin, we plan to initiate Phase 2a expansion cohorts in the second half of this year in biomarker-positive patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. We expect to report initial data from

 

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the first stage of these expansions in the first half of 2022, and topline data from completed expansion cohorts in the second half of 2022. Then we plan to move on to initiate randomized combination trials as well as potentially initiate a single arm registration trial, depending on the data from the expansion cohorts in 2023.

[Slide 28]

In closing, I want to remind you about the big picture at eFFECTOR. We formed the company to incorporate all the knowledge learned about cancer and figure out new ways to outsmart the disease, recognizing all the complexity and the multiple different factors that really drive tumor growth and resistance to therapy. We identified MNK and the eIF4F complex as targets that can simultaneously control production of several proteins important for tumor growth and treatment resistance. And we invented potent, selective inhibitors of MNK, eIF4A and eIF4E.

Tomivosertib, designed to act on immune cells to reinvigorate them, induced tumor regression and partial responses in patients who were progressing on checkpoint monotherapy in our Phase 2a trial. That trial informed the design of the randomized Phase 2b trial of tomivosertib in combination with pembrolizumab that is now open for enrollment, using the PD-L1 biomarker to enrich the trial for patients most likely to respond to this combination approach.

Zotatifin, acting within the tumor itself, has demonstrated the ability to knock down multiple cancer-driving and resistance proteins, and we are excited about the clinical opportunities with this agent. We believe that our preclinical studies to date are compelling, and we are currently finishing the Phase 1 dose escalation portion of our Phase 1/2 clinical trial with expansion cohorts anticipated to initiate in the second half of this year.

We plan to update you on our progress as we move ahead and look forward to closing the merger transaction with LWAC. Thank you.

 

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