INDUSTRIALEX MANUFACTURING CORP
SB-2/A, EX-1, 2000-12-12
COATING, ENGRAVING & ALLIED SERVICES
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                                                                       EXHIBIT 1

                                AGENCY AGREEMENT


                                                                       [O], 2000


Industrialex Manufacturing, Corp.
63 - A.S. Pratt Parkway
Longmont, CO
U.S.A.  80501

Attention: Mr. Ahmad Akrami

Dear Sirs:

                  We understand that:

1.       Industrialex Manufacturing Corp. (the "Company") is a corporation
         formed under the laws of the State of Colorado and Broomfield
         Industrial Painting, Inc., Screen Tech Graphics, Inc. and Decorative &
         Coating Systems, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, all
         incorporated under the laws of Colorado;

2.       as of the date hereof the authorized and issued capital of the Company
         is as described in the Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) executed
         concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement; and

3.       the Company proposes to issue up to 3,000,000 units (the "Units") at a
         purchase price of $1.00 USD per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one
         common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and a warrant to
         purchase one common share ("Purchase Warrant") at the following price:

         (a) $1.25USD in the first year (365 days) following the Closing Time
             (as hereinafter defined); or

         (b) $1.50USD in the second year following the Closing Time;

         (collectively, the "Warrant Price"). However, if during the term of the
         Purchase Warrants, the closing price of the Common Shares on the
         Exchange (as hereinafter defined), or any other exchange on which the
         Common Shares are traded, is not less than two times the exercise price
         of the Purchase Warrant then in effect for each of 20 consecutive
         trading dates, any Purchase Warrant not exercised within 30 days of
         deemed receipt by the holders of the Purchase Warrants of written
         notice from the Company will expire on the 30th day after the deemed
         receipt of such notice. Such notice will be deemed to have been
         received by the holder of the Purchase Warrants eight calendar days
         after the date on which it is mailed by ordinary post, postage prepaid,
         addressed to the holders of the Purchase Warrants at their respective
         addresses appearing on any of the registers of holders of Purchase
         Warrants maintained by the Company or its transfer agent.


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                                      -2-


    The Company understands that:

1.  the Agent proposes to distribute the Units in certain jurisdictions in
    Canada pursuant to a Preliminary Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) and a
    Prospectus;

2.  the purchase price of the Units has been determined jointly by the Company
    and the Agent; and

3.  the Units shall have the material attributes described in the Preliminary
    Prospectus.

         Based upon the foregoing and on the terms and conditions herein
contained, the Agent hereby agrees to act as Agent and offer for sale on a "best
efforts" basis, in the manner described herein, up to 3,000,000 Units of the
Company. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Agent shall have no
obligation to purchase securities pursuant to this offering on its own behalf.

         In consideration of the agreement of the Agent to market and distribute
the Offered Securities which will result from the acceptance of this offer, the
Company shall pay to the Agent at the Closing Time a fee of 8% of the purchase
price of each Unit, against delivery by the Agent to the Company of a receipt
therefor.

         In addition to the foregoing commission, the Company shall pay or issue
to the Agent:

         (i)    a work fee (the "Work Fee") of $18,000 USD, which fee shall be
                payable at Closing in cash;

         (ii)   an investment banking fee (the "Investment Banking Fee") equal
                to $125,000 (U.S.), which fee shall be payable in Units (the
                "Lead Agent Units") of the Company priced at the same price as
                Units issued pursuant to the Prospectus;

         (iii)  that number of brokers warrants (the "Agent's Warrants") equal
                to 10% of the aggregate number of securities offered pursuant to
                the Prospectus, which brokers warrants shall entitle the Agent
                to acquire an equivalent number of Units (the "Agent's Units")
                at $1.60 USD per Unit at any time up to two (2) years from the
                Closing Time. The Agent's Units shall be exercisable by the
                Agent for a period of two years from Closing on the same terms
                as Units pursuant to the Prospectus; and

         (iv)   a fee (the "Special Warrant Fee") of $29,463 USD, which fee
                shall be payable at Closing in cash.

Where the foregoing compensation contemplates the issuance of securities, the
Company shall qualify such securities under the Preliminary Prospectus and the
Prospectus. The Company also agrees that it shall pay any eligible GST on any of
the foregoing fees.



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                                      -3-



                              TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.       DEFINITIONS

         In this agreement:

    (a)  "AGENCY FEE" means the fees payable by the Company to the Agent as more
         fully set out in the introductory paragraphs to this Agreement;

    (b)  "AGENT" means Thomson Kernaghan & Co. Limited;

    (c)  "AGREEMENT" means the agreement resulting from the acceptance of the
         offer made by the Agent in this letter;

    (d)  "BIP" means Broomfield Industrial Printing, Inc.;

    (e)  "BUSINESS DAY" means a day on which The Canadian Venture Exchange is
         open for trading and banks are open for business in the cities of
         Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto;

    (f)  "CANADIAN SECURITIES LAWS" means, collectively, the applicable
         securities laws of each of the provinces of Canada and the respective
         regulations and rules made thereunder together with all applicable
         published policy statements, blanket orders and rulings of the
         Securities Commissions and all discretionary orders or rulings, if any,
         of the Securities Commissions made in connection with the transactions
         contemplated hereunder;

    (g)  "CLOSING(s)" means the completion of the purchase and sale of the Units
         which may take place more than once;

    (h)  "CLOSING DATE" means a date that is 90 days from the date of issuance
         of a receipt for the Prospectus by the Commission or such earlier date
         as the parties may agree upon;

    (i)  "CLOSING TIME" means 10:00 a.m. (Calgary time) on the Closing Date, or
         such other time on the Closing Date as the parties may agree upon;

    (j)  "COMMON SHARES" means common shares in the capital of the Company;

    (k)  "COMPANY" means Industrialex Manufacturing, Inc. and includes its
         subsidiaries, BIP, DACS and STG, where the context allows;

    (l)  "COMPANY'S KNOWLEDGE" or "KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPANY" means the knowledge
         of the directors and officers of the Company, including those of any of
         its subsidiaries and affiliates, after making reasonable inquiry of
         employees of the Company and/or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates,
         who are, or may be, possessed of knowledge on a particular matter in
         question;


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                                      -4-


    (m)  "DACS" means Decorative & Coating Systems, Inc.;

    (n)  "DISTRIBUTION" means distribution, distribution to the public or
         primary distribution to the public, as the case may be, under relevant
         securities legislation in any province of Canada, and "distribute" has
         a corresponding meaning;

    (o)  "DISTRIBUTION PERIOD" means the period commencing on the date of this
         Agreement and ending on the earlier of:

         (i)  the date on which all of the Offered Securities have been
              distributed by the Agent pursuant to the Prospectus; and

         (ii) 30 days after the Closing Date;

    (p)  "ENGAGEMENT LETTER" has the meaning attributed thereto in paragraph 18
         hereof;

    (q)  "ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIM" means any and all administrative, regulatory or
         judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens,
         notices of non-compliance or violation, investigations or proceedings
         relating in any way to any Environmental Law;

    (r)  "ENVIRONMENTAL LAW" means, with respect to the Company, any federal,
         provincial, local or municipal or other governmental statute, law,
         rule, regulation and any published judicial or administrative
         interpretation thereof including any judicial or administrative order,
         consent, decree or judgment binding on or applicable to the Company or
         any of its subsidiaries, relating to the environment, health, safety or
         any chemical material or substance, exposure to which is prohibited,
         limited or regulated by any such governmental authority;

    (s)  "EXCHANGE" means the Canadian Venture Exchange;

    (t)  "INDEMNIFIED PARTIES" has the meaning attributed thereto in paragraph
         11 hereof;

    (u)  unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "MATERIAL CHANGE",
         "MATERIAL FACT" and "MISREPRESENTATION" shall have the respective
         meanings given thereto by the Canadian Securities Laws or any of them;

    (v)  "OFFERED SECURITIES" means the Units, the Agent's Warrants and the Lead
         Agent Units;

    (w)  "OFFERING DOCUMENTS" means, collectively, the Prospectus and any
         Supplementary Material and any amendments thereto;

    (x)  "PERSONNEL" has the meaning attributed thereto in paragraph 11 hereof;

    (y)  "PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS" means the preliminary prospectus of the
         Company in the English language dated July 7, 2000 which has been
         approved, signed and


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                                      -5-


         certified in accordance with the Canadian Securities Laws, relating to
         the distribution of the Offered Securities in the Qualifying
         Jurisdictions;

    (z)  "PROSPECTUS" means the final prospectus of the Company in the English
         language to be approved, signed and certified in accordance with the
         Canadian Securities Laws relating to the distribution of the Offered
         Securities in the Qualifying Jurisdictions;

    (aa) "QUALIFYING JURISDICTIONS" or "QUALIFYING PROVINCES" means the
         provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario;

    (bb) "SECURITIES COMMISSIONS" means, collectively, the securities commission
         or other securities regulatory authority of each of the Qualifying
         Jurisdictions;

    (cc) "SELLING FIRMS" has the meaning attributed thereto in paragraph 4(a)
         hereof;

    (dd) "STG" means Screen Tech Graphics, Inc.;

    (ee) "SUBSIDIARY" means a subsidiary for purposes of the Business
         Corporations Act (Alberta) and includes BIP, DACS and STG;

    (ff) "SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL" means, collectively, any amendment to the
         Prospectus and amended or supplemental Preliminary Prospectus or
         Prospectus which may be filed with the Securities Commissions by or on
         behalf of the Company under the Canadian Securities Laws in connection
         with the distribution of the Offered Securities;

    (gg) "UNITED STATES SECURITIES LAWS" means the United States Securities Act
         of 1933, as amended, the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
         as amended, the applicable securities laws of each of the states,
         territories and/or possessions of the United States of America, and the
         rules, regulations, policies, orders and rulings made thereunder,
         including discretionary orders or rulings of the United States
         Securities and Exchange Commission, or any securities regulator of any
         of the states, territories or possessions of the United States of
         America, made in connection with the transactions contemplated herein;

    (hh) "USD" means United States Dollars; and

    (ii) "WARRANT INDENTURE" means the share purchase warrant indenture
         providing for the issue of up to 3,000,000 share purchase warrants
         among the Company and Montreal Trust Company of Canada dated November
         o, 2000.

2.       INTERPRETATION

         Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, words importing
the singular number include the plural and vice versa and words importing gender
include all


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                                      -6-


genders. References to Sections, paragraphs and subparagraphs are to the
appropriate sections, paragraphs and subparagraphs of this Agreement.

3.       COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITIES LAWS:  DUE DILIGENCE

         The Company shall, as soon as possible, fulfil and comply with, to the
satisfaction of the Agent, the Canadian Securities Laws required to be fulfilled
or complied with by the Company to enable the Offered Securities to be lawfully
distributed in the Qualifying Provinces through the Agent. Prior to the filing
of the Prospectus, the Company shall have allowed the Agent to participate fully
in the preparation of such documents and shall have allowed the Agent to conduct
all due diligence investigations which it reasonably requires in order to fulfil
their obligations as Agent and in order to enable them to execute the
certificate required to be executed by them on such documents.

4.       DISTRIBUTION AND CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF THE AGENT

    (a)  The Agent shall, and shall require any investment dealer or broker,
         other than the Agent, with which the Agent may have a contractual
         relationship in respect of the distribution of the Offered Securities
         (a "Selling Firm"), to comply with the Canadian Securities Laws in
         connection with the distribution thereof and shall offer the Offered
         Securities for sale to the public directly and through Selling Firms
         upon the terms and conditions set out in the Prospectus and this
         Agreement. The Agent shall offer, and shall require any Selling Firm to
         offer for sale to the public and sell the Offered Securities only in
         those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale or
         sold.

    (b)  The Agent shall, and shall require any Selling Firm to agree to,
         distribute the Offered Securities in a manner which complies with and
         observes all applicable laws and regulations in each jurisdiction into
         and from which they may offer to sell the Offered Securities or
         distribute the Prospectus or any Supplementary Material in connection
         with the distribution of the Offered Securities and will not, directly
         or indirectly, offer, sell or deliver any Offered Securities or deliver
         the Prospectus or any Supplementary Material to any person in any
         jurisdiction other than in the Qualifying Provinces except in a manner
         which will not require the Company to comply with the registration,
         prospectus, filing or other similar requirements under the applicable
         securities laws of such other jurisdictions. The Agent shall notify the
         Corporation, in advance, of any distribution that is intended to be
         made outside the Qualifying Provinces in reliance upon any prospectus,
         registration or other exemption, provided that the Agent is aware that
         the Company intends to concurrently conduct a United States public
         offering pursuant to a registration statement prepared by the Company.
         The Agent has no responsibility for such registration statement or
         United States public offering and the Company agrees that it will not
         distribute the Prospectus in the United States as part of, or separate
         from, such United States public offering.

    (c)  For the purposes of this Section 4, the Agent shall be entitled to
         assume that the Offered Securities are qualified for distribution in
         any Qualifying Province where


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                                      -7-


         a receipt or similar document for the Prospectus shall have been
         obtained from the applicable securities commission following the filing
         of the Prospectus.

5.       DELIVERIES ON FILING

    (a)  Concurrently with filing the Prospectus as required pursuant to Section
         5 hereof, the Company shall deliver to the Agent:

         (i)   a copy of the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus in the
               English language signed and certified as required by the Canadian
               Securities Laws;

         (ii)  a copy of any other document required to be filed by the Company
               under the laws of each of the Qualifying Provinces in compliance
               with the Canadian Securities Laws;

         (iii) a comfort letter dated the date of the Prospectus, in form and
               substance satisfactory to the Agent, addressed to the Agent from
               the auditors of the Company, with respect to certain financial
               and accounting information relating to the Company in the
               Prospectus, which letter shall be in addition to the auditors'
               report contained in the Prospectus and the auditors' comfort
               letter addressed to the securities regulatory authorities in the
               Qualifying Provinces.

    (b)  SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

         The Company shall also prepare and deliver promptly to the Agent
         signed and certified copies of all Supplementary Material. Concurrent
         with the delivery of any Supplementary Material, the Company shall
         deliver to the Agent, with respect to such Supplementary Material,
         documents similar to those referred to in Section 5(a).

    (c)  REPRESENTATIONS AS TO PROSPECTUS AND PROSPECTUS AMENDMENTS

         Delivery of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any
         Supplementary Material shall constitute a representation and warranty
         by the Company to the Agent that (i) all information and statements
         (except information and statements relating solely to the Agent and
         provided by the Agent) contained in the Preliminary Prospectus or the
         Prospectus or any Supplementary Material, as the case may be, are true
         and correct and contain no misrepresentation and constitute full, true
         and plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the Company and
         the Offered Securities; (ii)no material fact or information has been
         omitted from such disclosure (except facts or information relating
         solely to the Agent and provided by the Agent) which is required to be
         stated in such disclosure or is necessary to make the statements or
         information contained in such disclosure not misleading in light of
         the circumstances under which they were made; and (iii) such documents
         comply fully with the requirements of the Canadian Securities Laws.
         Such deliveries shall also constitute the Company's consent to the
         Agent's use of the



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                                      -8-


         Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any Prospectus Amendments in
         connection with the distribution of the Offered Securities in
         compliance with this Agreement.

    (d)  COMMERCIAL COPIES

         The Company shall cause commercial copies of the Prospectus and any
         Supplementary Material to be delivered to the Agent without charge, in
         such numbers and in such cities as the Agent may reasonably request by
         oral instructions to the printer of the Prospectus given forthwith
         after the Agent has been advised that the Company has complied with
         the Canadian Securities Laws in the Qualifying Provinces pursuant to
         Section 3.

6.       MATERIAL CHANGE DURING DISTRIBUTION

    (a)  During the Distribution Period, the Company shall promptly notify the
         Agent in writing of:

         (i)   any material change (actual, anticipated, contemplated or
               threatened, financial or otherwise) in or affecting the business,
               affairs, prospects, operations, management, ownership, assets,
               liabilities (contingent or otherwise) or capital of the Company
               and its subsidiaries taken as a whole;

         (ii)  any material fact which has arisen or has been discovered and
               would have been required to have been stated in the Prospectus
               had the fact arisen or been discovered on, or prior to, the date
               of the Prospectus; and

         (iii) any change in any material fact contained in the Prospectus or
               any Supplementary Material which change is, or may be, of such a
               nature as to render any statement in the Prospectus or any
               Supplementary Material misleading or untrue or which would result
               in a misrepresentation in the Prospectus or any Supplementary
               Material or which would result in the Prospectus or any
               Supplementary Material not complying (to the extent that such
               compliance is required) with the Canadian Securities Laws.

         The Company shall promptly, and in any event within any applicable
         time limitation, comply, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agent,
         with all applicable filings and other requirements under the Canadian
         Securities Laws as a result of such fact or change; provided that the
         Company shall not file any Supplementary Material or other document
         without first obtaining from the Agent the approval of the Agent,
         after consultation with the Agent with respect to the form and content
         thereof, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld. The Company
         shall in good faith discuss with the Agent any fact or change in
         circumstances (actual, anticipated, contemplated or threatened,
         financial or otherwise) which is of such a nature that there is
         reasonable doubt whether written notice need be given under this
         paragraph.


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                                      -9-


    (b)  CHANGE IN THE CANADIAN SECURITIES LAWS

         If during the Distribution Period there shall be any change in the
         Canadian Securities Laws which, in the reasonable opinion of the Agent
         requires the filing of Supplementary Material, the Company shall, to
         the reasonable satisfaction of the Agent, promptly prepare and file
         such Supplementary Material with the appropriate securities regulatory
         authority in each of the Qualifying Provinces where such filing is
         required.

    (c)  CEASE TRADE NOTIFICATION

         The Company shall advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice
         thereof, of the issuance by any federal, provincial or other
         governmental authority of any cease trade order or of any order
         preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or
         Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Offered
         Securities or any of them for offering or sale in any of the Qualifying
         Provinces, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any
         such purpose, or of any request by any federal, provincial or other
         governmental authority for the amending or supplementing of the
         Prospectus or for additional information and, in the event of issuance
         of any cease trade order or of any order preventing or suspending the
         use of any Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus or suspending any such
         qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the
         withdrawal of such order.

7.       CHANGE OF CLOSING DATE

         Subject to Section 14, if a material change or a change in a material
fact occurs prior to the Closing Date, the Closing Date shall be, unless the
Company and the Agent otherwise agree in writing, the tenth Business Day
following the later of:

    (a)  the date on which all applicable filing or other requirements of the
         Canadian Securities Laws with respect to such material change or change
         in a material fact have been complied with in all applicable Qualifying
         Provinces and any appropriate receipts obtained for such filings and
         notice of such filings from the Company or its counsel has been
         received by the Agent; and

    (b)  the date upon which the commercial copies of any Supplementary Material
         have been delivered in accordance with paragraph 5(d).

8.       REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

         The Company represents, warrants and covenants to the Agent and
acknowledges that the Agent is relying upon such representations, warranties and
covenants in offering for sale the Units, that:

    (a)  the Company and each of its subsidiaries, whether direct or indirect,
         have been duly incorporated and organized and are validly existing
         under the laws of their


<PAGE>   10
                                      -10-


         respective jurisdictions of incorporation, have all requisite power and
         authority to carry on their business as now conducted and as
         contemplated by the Prospectus and to own, lease and operate their
         properties and assets, and the Company and each of its subsidiaries,
         whether direct or indirect, are current with all material filings
         required to be made in all jurisdictions in which they carry on any
         material business, and the Company has all requisite power and
         authority to carry out its obligations under this Agreement;

    (b)  the Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the
         Prospectus, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company
         have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and
         non-assessable, and no person, firm or corporation has any agreement or
         option, or right or privilege capable of becoming an agreement, for the
         purchase, subscription or issuance of any of the unissued Common Shares
         of the Company except as described in the Prospectus; all of the issued
         and outstanding shares of the subsidiaries of the Company have been
         duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and
         non-assessable; all of the shares of the subsidiaries held by the
         Company or by the Company's subsidiaries are held in each case free and
         clear of any pledge, lien, security interest, charge, claim or
         encumbrance except as disclosed in the Prospectus;

    (c)  this Agreement has been, and prior to Closing, all material contracts,
         (as that term is defined in the Prospectus), will be, duly authorized,
         executed and delivered by the Company and each of such agreements
         constitutes or, at the Closing Time, will constitute a legal, valid and
         binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in
         accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency and other
         laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and the qualifications
         that (i) equitable remedies may be granted only in the discretion of a
         court of competent jurisdiction and (ii) rights to indemnity and
         contribution may be limited by applicable law;

    (d)  the Units, the Lead Agent Units and the Agent's Warrant to be issued by
         the Company and sold pursuant to this Agreement will be duly authorized
         for such issuance and sale by all necessary action on the part of the
         Company and, in the case of the Units and the Lead Agent Units, when
         issued and delivered by the Company against payment of the
         consideration therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will have been duly
         and validly issued, will be fully paid and non-assessable and will not
         have been issued in violation of or subject to any pre-emptive rights
         or other contractual rights to purchase securities issued by the
         Company. The certificates used to evidence the Offered Securities will,
         where applicable, comply with the requirements of The Canadian Venture
         Exchange and all applicable laws;

    (e)  the Units, Lead Agent Units, and Agent's Warrant will conform to the
         description thereof in the Prospectus;


<PAGE>   11
                                      -11-



    (f)  no consent, approval, permit, authorization, order or filing of or with
         any court or governmental agency or body of Canada or any Qualifying
         Province is required by the Company for the issue, offer and sale of
         the Offered Securities in Canada, or the execution and delivery of and
         the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement
         except as may be required under Canadian Securities Laws or the United
         States Securities Laws;

    (g)  the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company, the
         fulfilment of the terms thereof and the consummation of the transaction
         contemplated thereby, and the issuance and sale by the Company of the
         Units, the Lead Agent Units and the Agent's Warrant pursuant to the
         terms thereof do not and will not conflict with or result in a breach
         of or require any consent, approval, permit, order or filing under (i)
         any statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company including,
         without limitation, applicable Canadian Securities Laws or United
         States Securities Laws and the by-laws, rules and regulations of The
         Canadian Venture Exchange, except any consent, approval, permit,
         authorization, order or filing required under Canadian Securities Laws
         or United States Securities Laws and the by-laws, rules and regulations
         of The Canadian Venture Exchange which shall have been obtained on or
         before the Closing Date; (ii) the constating documents or by-laws of
         the Company or resolutions of the directors or shareholders of the
         Company which are in effect at the date hereof; (iii) any mortgage,
         note, indenture, contract, agreement, instrument, lease or other
         document to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or
         by which they or any of their property or assets are bound; or (iv) any
         judgement, decree or order binding the Company or the property or
         assets of the Company;

    (h)  at the date hereof, the Company is in compliance with its timely
         disclosure obligations under Canadian Securities Laws and, without
         limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as described in the
         Prospectus, there has not occurred any material adverse change,
         financial or otherwise, in the assets, liabilities (contingent or
         otherwise), business, financial condition, ownership, capital or
         prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, since
         September 30, 2000;

    (i)  since September 30, 2000 there have not been any material changes in
         the capital or long-term debt of the Company otherwise than as set
         forth or contemplated in the Prospectus;

    (j)  other than as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of
         any legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or
         any of the Company's subsidiaries is a party or of which any property
         of the Company or any of the Company's subsidiaries is the subject
         which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of such
         subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a material
         adverse effect on the assets, liabilities (contingent or otherwise),
         business, financial condition, capital or prospects of the Company and
         its subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the ability of the Company or its
         subsidiaries to



<PAGE>   12
                                      -12-



         perform their obligations under this Agreement or the Warrant
         Indenture, as applicable, and to the best of the Company's knowledge,
         no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental
         authorities or others;

    (k)  no order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus
         or the Prospectus has been issued by any securities regulatory
         authority in a Qualifying Province;

    (l)  prior to the Closing, all Offered Securities, as well as Common Shares
         issuable pursuant to the Lead Agent's Units and Agent's Warrant will
         have been conditionally approved for listing on the Exchange and, as at
         the Closing Time, the Company will have complied with all of the
         conditions within its control required by the Exchange to be complied
         with prior to the Closing Date to have the Offered Securities listed
         and posted for trading on the Exchange as of the opening of trading on
         the Closing Date;

    (m)  except with respect to information and statements relating solely to
         the Agent and provided by the Agent, at the date hereof, each of the
         Offering Documents fully complies with the requirements of applicable
         Canadian Securities Laws and all information and statements therein are
         true and accurate in all material respects, contain no
         misrepresentation, and constitute full, true and plain disclosure of
         all material facts relating to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken
         as a whole, and to the securities being offered thereby;

    (n)  the financial statements included in the Offering Documents present
         fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company as at the
         dates indicated and the results of its operations for the periods
         specified and, except as otherwise stated in such documents, the said
         financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally
         accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") pursuant to the requirements of
         Canada or the United States applied on a consistent basis and, where
         such statements have been prepared based on U.S. GAAP, appropriate
         reconciliation to Canadian GAAP is provided;

    (o)  no default exists, and no event has occurred which with notice or lapse
         of time, or both would constitute a default, in the due performance and
         observance of any term, covenant or condition of any material contract,
         indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan, credit agreement,
         evidence of indebtedness or other agreement, understanding or
         instrument to which any of the Company and its subsidiaries is a party
         or by which any of them or any of their respective properties is bound
         or affected, which default would have a material adverse effect on the
         Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole;

    (p)  the Company is aware and understands that the Agent is not registered
         to sell any securities in any jurisdiction of the United States, its
         states, territories or other possessions, and that the Agent is not
         involved in the distribution of any of the Company's securities to
         purchasers in the United States or any of its states, territories or
         other possessions, including, but not limited to, the public offering
         of



<PAGE>   13
                                      -13-



         up to 500,000 Units in the United States, which the Agent understands
         will be distributed concurrently with the offering of Units in Canada
         contemplated herein;

    (q)  the Company has good and marketable title in fee simple to all real
         property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned
         by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and
         defects except such as are described in the Prospectus or such as do
         not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of
         such property by the Company; and any real properties and buildings
         held under lease by the Company are held by it under valid, subsisting
         and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do
         not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such
         properties and buildings by the Company;

    (r)  the Company and its subsidiaries have filed all federal, provincial,
         state, local and foreign tax returns that are required to be filed or
         have requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the
         failure so to file would not have a material adverse effect on the
         assets and properties, business, results of operations, prospects or
         condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its subsidiaries,
         taken as a whole,) and have paid all taxes required to be paid by them
         and any assessment, fine or penalty levied against them, to the extent
         that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such
         assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good
         faith and, except for taxes, the failure to so pay would not have a
         material adverse affect on the business of the Company;

    (s)  none of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, any of its predecessors,
         the United States Internal Revenue Service or any foreign taxation
         authority has asserted or, to the best of the Company's knowledge,
         threatened to assert any reassessment, claim or liability for taxes due
         or to become due in connection with any review or examination of the
         tax returns of the Company or its subsidiaries filed for any year which
         would have a material adverse effect on the assets or properties,
         business, results of operations, prospects or condition (financial or
         otherwise) of the Company or its subsidiaries;

    (t)  neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is subject to any
         material liabilities or obligations, direct or indirect, absolute or
         contingent, other than the liabilities or obligations set forth in the
         Prospectus and those arising thereafter in the ordinary course of
         business. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, neither the
         Company nor any of its subsidiaries has any material obligation or
         liability for the debts or obligations of others or any material
         exposure or liability as a result of hedging transactions, the purchase
         of derivative securities and the like except as set forth in the
         Prospectus or those arising in the ordinary course of business;

    (u)  (1) the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance in all material
         respects with all applicable Environmental Laws; (2) the Company and
         its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals
         required under any applicable


<PAGE>   14
                                      -14-


         Environmental Laws and are in compliance with their requirements except
         to the extent that non-compliance or failure to hold such permits,
         authorizations and approvals would not have a material adverse impact
         on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (3) there are no
         pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries,
         threatened Environmental Claims against the Company or its
         subsidiaries; and (4) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have any
         knowledge of any circumstances that could reasonably be anticipated to
         form the basis of an Environmental Claim against the Company or its
         subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or operations and
         the business operations relating thereto which Environmental Claims,
         individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse affect
         on the business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries
         considered as a whole;

    (v)  neither the Company nor its subsidiaries are in violation of their
         respective Articles, By-Laws or other constating documents, or in
         default in the performance or observance of any material obligation,
         covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of
         trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which
         they are a party or by which they or any of their properties may be
         bound except as disclosed in the Prospectus; and

    (w)  the Company shall use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of
         the Offered Securities pursuant to this Agreement in the manner
         specified in the Prospectus under the caption "Use of Proceeds".

9.       CLOSING

         Closing of the Offering shall take place at the Closing Time at such
place as may be agreed to by the Agent and the Company.

10.      CLOSING CONDITIONS

         The obligations of the Agent under this Agreement are conditional upon
and subject to the Agent receiving, at the Closing Time:

    (a)  evidence satisfactory to the Agent that the Company has obtained all
         necessary approvals for the Units and the Offered Securities to be
         listed on The Canadian Venture Exchange subject to satisfaction only of
         the usual conditions;

    (b)  one definitive certificate representing the Units registered in the
         name of the Agent (or in such other name or names as the Agent may
         notify the Company of in writing not less than 24 hours prior to the
         Closing Time) against payment to the Company (or as the Company may
         direct to the Agent in writing not less than 24 hours prior to the
         Closing Time) of the aggregate purchase price for the Units by
         certified cheque or bank draft payable immediately at par in Calgary;

    (c)  the Agency Fee, together with all expenses of the Agent, and expenses
         of the Agent's counsel, to the extent the Agent has been provided
         proper invoices



<PAGE>   15
                                      -15-


         therefor at least 24 hours prior to the Closing Time payable by the
         Company by bank draft or certified cheque payable immediately at par in
         Calgary and made payable to the Agent (or as the Agent may direct by
         notice given to the Company in writing not less than 24 hours prior to
         the Closing Time);

    (d)  agreements between the Company and certain registered holders of the
         Common Shares (the "Registered Holders") issued and outstanding prior
         to the sale of the Offered Securities (the "Issued Shares") which
         prevent the sale by the Registered Holders of any of the Issued Shares
         legally or beneficially owned by them in accordance with the guidelines
         and time periods imposed by applicable Canadian Securities Laws and the
         policies, orders and rules of the Securities Commissions and the
         Exchange, specifically, but not limited to, Canadian Securities
         Administrators Notice 46-301-"Proposal for Uniform Terms of Escrow
         Applicable to Initial Public Distributions";

    (e)  a certificate dated as of the Closing Date signed by the Chief
         Executive Officer of the Company or such other persons as may be agreed
         upon by the Agent, acting reasonably, certifying, for and on behalf of
         the Company and without personal liability, to the best of the
         knowledge, information and belief of the persons signing such
         certificate, after having made due inquiry, that:

         (i)    no order ceasing or suspending trading in the Offered Securities
                or prohibiting the sale of the Offered Securities has been
                issued and, to the best of the knowledge of such person, no
                proceedings for such purposes are pending or threatened;

         (ii)   since the later of the date of the Prospectus or the date of any
                Supplementary Material, (A) there has been no material adverse
                change, (actual, contemplated or threatened) in the business,
                affairs, operations, management, assets, liabilities (contingent
                or otherwise) or capital of the Company and its subsidiaries,
                taken as a whole, and (B) there have been no dividends (other
                than as disclosed in the Prospectus as being payable) or other
                distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company
                on or in respect of its equity capital;

         (iv)   since the later of the date of the Prospectus or the date of any
                Supplementary Material, no transaction material to the Company
                and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, has been entered into by
                the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except in the normal
                course of its business;

         (v)    except as disclosed in the Prospectus, none of the Company and
                its subsidiaries has any contingent liability arising out of the
                ordinary course of business which is material to the Company and
                its subsidiaries, taken as a whole;

         (vi)   except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there are no actions,
                suits, proceedings or inquiries in existence or, to the
                knowledge of such officers,

<PAGE>   16
                                      -16-

                pending or threatened against or affecting the Company or any of
                its subsidiaries at law or in equity or before or by any
                federal, provincial, municipal or other governmental department,
                commission, board, bureau, agency or instrumentality which may
                materially adversely affect the Company and its subsidiaries,
                taken as a whole;

         (vii)  the representations and warranties of the Company set out in
                Section 8 hereof are true and correct in all material respects
                at the Closing Time as if made at such time; and

         (viii) the Company has complied with all covenants and satisfied all
                terms and conditions hereof to be complied with and satisfied by
                it, except to the extent that the same have been waived by the
                Agent in writing.

    (f)  an opinion addressed to each of the Agent and to its counsel from
         counsel for the Company with respect to:

         (i)    the Company is validly subsisting under the laws of Colorado and
                has all requisite corporate power and authority to carry on its
                business and the Company has the authority to issue and sell the
                Units and other Offered Securities in the manner provided for in
                this Agreement and to carry out its obligations hereunder;

         (ii)   the authorized capital of the Company;

         (iii)  this Agreement to which the Company is a party has been duly
                authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, is legally
                binding upon the Company, and enforceable in accordance with its
                terms, except as enforcement of rights and indemnity and
                contribution under this Agreement may be limited by applicable
                law and except as enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy,
                insolvency and other laws of general application affecting the
                enforcement of creditors' rights and except that equitable
                remedies, such as specific performance and injunction, may only
                be granted in the discretion of a court of competent
                jurisdiction;

         (iv)   the fulfilment of the terms of this Agreement by the Company and
                the issue and sale of the Units and the issuance of the other
                Offered Securities by the Company do not and will not result in
                a breach of, and do not and will not create a state of facts
                which, after notice or lapse of time or both, will result in a
                breach of, any applicable laws, and do not and will not conflict
                with any of the terms, conditions or provisions of the articles
                or by-laws of the Company;

         (v)    the Offered Securities have been duly qualified for distribution
                (or distribution to the public, as the case may be) in the
                manner contemplated by the Prospectus in all of the Qualifying
                Provinces through registered dealers;


<PAGE>   17
                                      -17-


         (vi)   the attributes of the Units are as described in the Prospectus;

         (vii)  the Common Shares underlying the Units, Lead Agent's Units and
                the Agent's Units have been validly issued by the Company and
                are outstanding as fully paid and non-assessable shares;

         (viii) the Common Shares underlying the Purchase Warrants, including
                the Purchase Warrants that comprise part of the Lead Agent's
                Units and the Agent's Units, have been validly reserved for
                issuance as fully paid and non-assessable Common Shares;

         (ix)   the form and terms of the certificates representing the Units
                meet all legal requirements and have been duly approved by the
                Company;

         (x)    Montreal Trust Company of Canada, at its offices in Vancouver
                has been duly appointed as the transfer agent and registrar for
                the Common Shares; and

         (xi)   the Common Shares and Purchase Warrants issuable on the exercise
                of the Units have been conditionally approved for listing on The
                Canadian Venture Exchange subject to compliance with the
                requirements of such exchange.

    (g)  a comfort letter from the Company's auditors dated the Closing Date to
         the same effect as the comfort letter referred to in paragraph
         5(a)(iii) hereof bringing the information contained in the comfort
         letter referred to in paragraph 5(a)(iii) forward to the Closing Date,
         provided that such comfort letter shall be based on a review by the
         auditors having a cut-off date not more than two Business Days prior to
         the Closing Date;

all of which opinions shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to
the Agent and their counsel.

Campney & Murphy and Stikeman Elliott may rely on the opinions of local counsel
acceptable to them as to matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other
than the Province of British Columbia, in the case of Campney & Murphy, and
Alberta, in the case of Stikeman Elliott. Stikeman Elliott may rely on the
opinion of Campney & Murphy as to matters which relate specifically to the
Company. Campney & Murphy and Stikeman Elliott may rely, to the extent
appropriate in the circumstances, as to matters of fact, on certificates of the
Company executed on its behalf under corporate seal by any officer of the
Company;

    (h)  a certificate dated as of the Closing Date of Montreal Trust Company of
         Canada, the registrar and transfer agent for the Common Shares, as to
         the issued capital of the Company; and

    (i)  such other certificates, statutory declarations, opinions, agreements
         or materials in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent as the
         Agent may reasonably request,


<PAGE>   18
                                      -18-


         including such as may be required as the basis for the opinions
         referred to in this Section 10.

11.      INDEMNITIES OF THE COMPANY

    (a)  The Company hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the Agent and/or any of
         their subsidiary companies and/or divisions and professional advisors
         (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "INDEMNIFIED PARTIES") and
         each and every one of the directors, officers, employees and
         shareholders of the Indemnified Parties (hereinafter referred to as the
         "PERSONNEL") harmless from and against any and all expenses, losses,
         claims, actions, damages, or liabilities, whether joint or several
         (including the aggregate amount paid in reasonable settlement of any
         actions, suits, proceedings or claims), and the reasonable fees and
         expenses of their counsel that may be incurred in advising with respect
         to and/or defending any claim that may be brought against the
         Indemnified Party and/or its Personnel or to which they may become
         subject or otherwise involved in any capacity under any statute or
         common law insofar as such expenses, losses, claims, damages,
         liabilities or actions arise out of or are based, directly or
         indirectly, upon:

         (i)    any information or statement contained in the Preliminary
                Prospectus or in any of the Offering Documents being or being
                alleged to be a misrepresentation or untrue or any omission or
                alleged omission to state therein any material fact required to
                be stated therein or necessary to make any of the statements
                therein not misleading in light of the circumstances in which
                they were made, except for information contained in the
                Prospectus supplied solely by the Agent;

         (ii)   any order made or any inquiry, investigation or proceeding
                instituted, threatened or announced by any court, securities
                regulatory authority, stock exchange or by any other competent
                authority, based upon any untrue statement, omission or
                misrepresentation or alleged untrue statement, omission or
                misrepresentation in the Preliminary Prospectus or in any of the
                Offering Documents preventing or restricting the trading in or
                the sale or distribution of the Offered Securities in any
                Qualifying Jurisdiction;

         (iii)  the Company not complying with any requirement of any applicable
                Canadian Securities Laws to make any document available for
                inspection, or any breach or violation or alleged breach or
                violation of any applicable Canadian Securities Laws or other
                applicable securities legislation of any jurisdiction resulting
                from any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Company in
                connection with the transactions contemplated herein;

         (iv)   the breach of any representation, warranty or covenant of the
                Company contained herein; or


<PAGE>   19
                                      -19-


         (v)    any claim, demand or action arising from the exempt distribution
                concurrently conducted by the Company in the United States.

         provided, however, that this indemnity shall not apply to the extent
         that a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judgement that has
         become non-appealable shall determine that the Indemnified Party or its
         Personnel have been negligent or dishonest or have committed any
         fraudulent act in the course of their duties and the expenses, losses,
         claims, damages or liabilities, as to which indemnification is claimed,
         were directly caused by the negligence, dishonesty or fraud therein.

    (b)  If for any reason (other than the negligence or fraud of an Indemnified
         Party or its Personnel as referred to above) the foregoing
         indemnification is unavailable to an Indemnified Party or insufficient
         to hold it harmless, then the Company shall contribute to the amount
         paid or payable by the Indemnified Party as a result of such expense,
         loss, claim, damage or liability in such proportion as is appropriate
         to reflect not only the relative benefits received by the Company on
         the one hand and the Indemnified Party on the other hand but also the
         relative fault of the Company and the Indemnified Party, as well as any
         relevant equitable considerations provided that the Company shall in
         any event contribute to the amount paid or payable by the Indemnified
         Party as a result of such expense, loss, claim, damage or liability any
         excess of such amount over the amount of the fees received by the
         Indemnified Party hereunder.

    (c)  The Company agrees that in case any legal proceeding shall be brought
         against the Company and/or the Indemnified Party by any governmental
         commission or regulatory authority, or in case any stock exchange or
         other entity having regulatory authority, either domestic or foreign,
         shall investigate the Company and/or the Indemnified Party, in either
         case in connection with matters pursuant to which an indemnity is being
         provided herein as described in paragraph 11(a), and in case the
         Personnel of such Indemnified Party shall be required to testify in
         connection therewith or shall be required to respond to procedures
         designed to discover information in connection with the performance of
         professional services rendered to the Company by the Indemnified Party,
         the Indemnified Party shall have the right to employ its own counsel in
         connection therewith, and the reasonable fees and expenses of such
         counsel as well as the reasonable costs and out-of-pocket expenses
         incurred by the Indemnified Party and its Personnel in connection
         therewith shall be paid by the Company as they occur.

    (d)  Promptly after receipt of notice of the commencement of any legal
         proceeding against the Indemnified Party or any of its Personnel or
         after receipt of notice of the commencement of any investigation, which
         is based, directly or indirectly, upon any matter in respect of which
         indemnification may be sought from the Company, the Indemnified Party
         will notify the Company in writing of the commencement thereof and,
         throughout the course thereof, will provide copies of all relevant
         documentation to the Company, will keep the Company advised of the



<PAGE>   20
                                      -20-


         progress thereof and will discuss with the Company all significant
         actions proposed.

    (e)  Contribution obligations of the Company shall be in addition to any
         liability which the Company may otherwise have, shall extend upon the
         same terms and conditions to the Personnel of the Indemnified Party and
         shall be binding upon and enure to the benefit of any successors,
         assigns, heirs and personal representatives of the Company, the
         Indemnified Party and any of the Personnel of the Indemnified Party.

12.      INDEMNITY QUALIFICATIONS

         Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11 hereof the foregoing
rights of indemnity shall not enure to any Indemnified Party if the Company has
complied with the provisions of Section 5 hereof and the claim for
indemnification relates to a person asserting a claim in respect of an alleged
untrue statement in or alleged omission from any document, including the
Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, and such person was not provided with
a copy of the Prospectus or Supplementary Material which corrects such alleged
untrue statement or alleged omission and which is required, under applicable
law, to be delivered to such person by such Indemnified Party.

13.      EXPENSES

    (a)  Whether or not the transactions herein contemplated shall be completed,
         all expenses of or incidental to the delivery and sale of the Offered
         Securities and of or incidental to all other matters in connection with
         the transactions herein set out (other than expenses of the Agent as
         hereinafter provided, except to the extent hereinafter provided in this
         Section 13) shall be borne by the Company including, without
         limitation, (i) expenses payable in connection with the qualification
         of the Offered Securities for distribution (including filing fees
         payable to Securities Commissions); (ii) the fees and expenses of the
         Company's counsel and the Company's auditors; (iii) expenses of the
         information meetings relating to the transactions herein set out; (iv)
         all costs incurred in connection with the preparation, printing and
         delivery of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any
         Supplementary Material, including commercial copies thereof; (v) all
         costs of the certificates representing the Units; (vi) all costs
         incurred in connection with the listing of the Units on The Canadian
         Venture Exchange; and (vii) the fees and disbursements of the Agent's
         counsel and the Agent's "out-of-pocket" expenses, including, without
         limitation, advertising, travel, courier, background searches and
         communication expenses.

    (b)  The Company hereby acknowledges that legal fees and disbursements of
         the Agent's counsel shall be payable by the Company on the Closing
         Date.


<PAGE>   21
                                      -21-


14.      EARLY TERMINATION

    (a)  In addition to any other remedies which may be available to the Agent,
         the Agent shall be entitled to terminate and cancel, without any
         liability on the Agent's part, the Agent's obligations under this
         Agreement if at any time prior to the Closing Time, or if there is more
         than one Closing, any time prior to the Closing Time associated with
         the first Closing:

         (i)    there should develop, occur or come into effect or existence any
                event, action, state, condition or major financial occurrence of
                national or international consequence or any law or regulation
                which, in the Agent's reasonable opinion, materially and
                adversely affects, or will materially and adversely affect, the
                financial markets, the business, operations or affairs of the
                Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or the
                profitable marketing or distribution of the Offered Securities;

         (ii)   there shall occur any material change, or change in a material
                fact, as described or contemplated in Section 6 hereof which, in
                the Agent's reasonable opinion, has or will have a material
                adverse effect on the market price or value of the Units or
                which results or, in the Agent's opinion, would reasonably be
                expected to result in, the purchasers of a material number of
                the Offered Securities exercising their right under Canadian
                Securities Laws to withdraw from their purchase of the Offered
                Securities;

         (iii)  if any inquiry, action, suit, proceeding or investigation
                (whether formal or informal) is instituted or any order made by
                any federal, provincial, state, municipal, or other governmental
                department, commission, board, bureau, agency or
                instrumentality, including without limitation, any of The
                Canadian Venture Exchange or any of the Securities Commissions
                (other than an inquiry, action, suit, proceeding, investigation
                or order based solely on the activities or alleged activities of
                the Agent) or any law or regulation is promulgated or changed
                which, in the Agent's reasonable opinion, operates to prevent or
                restrict the trading or distribution of the Offered Securities
                or any of them; or

         (iv)   there should occur or come into effect any change in the
                financial markets which, in the Agent's reasonable opinion, is
                material and adverse and such that the Offered Securities cannot
                be profitably marketed;

         by giving written notice to the Company to that effect as soon as
         practicable in the circumstances and in any event prior to the Closing
         Time.

    (b)  If the obligations of the Agent are terminated under this Section 14
         there shall be no further liability on the part of the Agent to the
         Company and the liability of the Company hereunder to the Agent shall
         be limited to their respective obligations under Sections 11, 12 and 13
         hereof.


<PAGE>   22
                                      -22-


15.      RESTRICTIONS ON SALES

         Unless the Closing does not occur, the Company agrees that it will not,
without the prior consent of the Agent, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld, offer, sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares or any
securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Common Shares or
agree to do so or publicly announce any intention to do so (except Common Shares
required to be issued pursuant to stock options or other awards now outstanding
or hereafter issued in the ordinary course under the Company's equity incentive
plan, or pursuant to convertible instruments currently outstanding) for a period
of 180 days from the Closing Date.

16.      TERMS AND CONDITIONS

         All material terms and conditions of this Agreement shall be construed
as conditions. Any breach or failure to comply with any of such terms or
conditions (i) by the Company shall entitle the Agent, without limitation of its
other remedies, to terminate its obligations pursuant to this Agreement or (ii)
by the Agent shall entitle the Company, without limitation of any of its other
remedies, to terminate its obligations pursuant to this Agreement, in any such
case by giving written notice to that effect to the Company or to the Agent
prior to the Closing Time. It is understood that the Agent, on the one hand, or
the Company, on the other hand, may waive, in whole or in part, or extend the
time for compliance with, any of such terms and conditions without prejudice to
its or their rights in respect of any other of such terms and conditions or any
other or subsequent breach or non-compliance, provided that to be binding on the
Agent or the Company, as the case may be, any such waiver or extension must be
in writing.

17.      SURVIVAL

         The representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the
Company and the Agent contained in this Agreement or delivered pursuant hereto
shall survive the period of distribution and shall continue in full force and
effect for a period of three years from the Closing Date, or if more than one
Closing is held, three years from the last Closing Date and the Agent shall be
entitled to rely on the representations and warranties of the Company contained
herein or delivered pursuant hereto notwithstanding any investigation which the
Agent may undertake or which may be undertaken on their behalf.

18.      INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

         This Agreement supercedes and replaces the letter of engagement between
the Company and Thomson Kernaghan & Co. Limited (the "Engagement Letter"), which
no longer continues to be of any force or effect between the parties. For
further clarification, to the extent that there is a conflict between the terms
of the Engagement Letter and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall
prevail.

19.      NOTICES

         Any notice or other communication to be given hereunder shall be
addressed as follows:


<PAGE>   23
                                      -23-


To the Company:            Industrialex Manufacturing Corp.
                           63 - A.S. Pratt Parkway
                           Longmont, Colorado
                           U.S.A.  80501

                           Attention:       Mr. Ahmad Akrami
                                            President
                           Fax:             (303) 447-2338

with a copy to:

                           Campney & Murphy
                           #2100, 1111 West Georgia Street
                           Vancouver, British Columbia
                           V7X 1K9

                           Attention:       Mr. Kevin Hisko
                           Fax:             (604) 661-1676

To the Agent:              Thomson Kernaghan & Co. Limited
                           Suite 600, 630 - 8th Avenue S.W.
                           Calgary, Alberta
                           T2P 1G6

                           Attention:       Ms. Claudia Di Maio
                           Fax:             (403) 206-3093

with a copy to:            Stikeman Elliott
                           1500, 855 - 2nd Street S.W.
                           Calgary, Alberta
                           T2P 4J7

                           Attention:       Stuart M. Olley
                           Fax:             (403) 266-9034

Any such notice or other communication shall be in writing and, unless delivered
personally to a responsible officer of the addressee, shall be given by courier
service or facsimile transmission and shall be deemed to have been received, if
given by facsimile transmission, on the date of sending (or if such day is not a
Business Day, the next Business Day) and, if given by courier service, when
received. The Company or the Agent may change their respective addresses for
notice by notice given in the manner aforesaid.

20.      RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

         Provided the offering contemplated by this Agreement is completed, the
Agent shall have the right of first refusal to lead all subsequent public
financings contemplated by the Company, whether debt or equity, for a period of
eighteen (18) months from May 15, 2000. In the event that the Company receives
any proposal from any party to assist, broker or conduct

<PAGE>   24
                                      -24-


such offering on behalf of the Company, the Company shall immediately deliver a
copy of such proposal (the "Term Sheet") to the Agent who shall have ten (10)
business days to determine if they are prepared to conduct such offering on
behalf of the Company on such terms. In the event that the Agent elects not to
conduct such offering, the Company may proceed to complete such offering with
another party on terms no less favourable than those set out in the Term Sheet
and such offering must be completed within 140 days of the delivery of the Term
Sheet to the Agent.

         This right of first refusal shall be recurring and the failure of the
Agent to exercise such right of first refusal with respect to any one financing
shall not affect the Company's obligation to provide such right to the Agent on
subsequent financings.

         In the circumstances where such offering is to be conducted in the
United States, the Company acknowledges that the Agent shall still be entitled
to such right of first refusal but may involve one or more associated or
affiliated entities to comply with United States legal requirements.

21.      SPONSORSHIP

    (a)  Subject to paragraph (b) below, the Agent agrees that it shall act as
         the Company's sponsor for listing of the Common Shares and Purchase
         Warrants on the Exchange and, in connection therewith, shall prepare
         and file with the Exchange in accordance with the rules, regulations
         and policies of the Exchange:

         (i)    a Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form concurrently with the
                Company's application to list the Common Shares and Purchase
                Warrants on the Exchange;

         (ii)   a Preliminary Sponsor Report concurrently with the Company's
                application to list the Common Shares and Purchase Warrants on
                the Exchange; and

         (iii)  a Final Sponsor Report concurrently with the filing of the final
                Prospectus with the Exchange

         (collectively, the "Sponsorship Documents") or at such other times as
         determined by the Exchange, but only after the Agent conducts the
         necessary Review Procedures and Due Diligence.

         "Sponsorship Acknowledgement Form", Sponsor Report", "Due Diligence"
         and "Review Procedures" all have the meaning prescribed in the policies
         of the Exchange.

         The Company agrees that it shall provide the Agent with the opportunity
         to conduct all necessary Due Diligence and Review Procedures to prepare
         such Sponsorship Documents.

    (b)  The parties acknowledges that the Agent has agreed to act as the
         Company's sponsor for listing of the Common Shares and Purchase
         Warrants on the


<PAGE>   25
                                      -25-


         Exchange relying on its own Due Diligence and Review Procedures and on
         the good faith of the representations made, and materials provided, by
         the Company and its directors, officers, promoters, agents and
         employees. The parties hereby agree that the Agent may unilaterally
         cease to act as the Company's sponsor for listing the Common Shares and
         Purchase Warrants on the Exchange, without penalty or deduction of the
         Work Fee, Investment Banking Fee or the amounts prescribed by Sections
         13, if, at any time following preparation and filing of any of the
         Sponsorship Documents with the Exchange:

         (i)    there shall have occurred any material adverse change or any
                adverse change of a material fact or a development that could
                reasonably result in a material adverse change or adverse change
                in a material fact in respect of the business, operations,
                capital, condition (financial or otherwise), properties, assets,
                liabilities, obligations or affairs of the Company;

         (ii)   the Company shall be in breach of or default under or
                non-compliance with any material representation, warranty, term,
                condition or covenant of this Agreement, its application to the
                Exchange to list the Common Shares, the Prospectus or any other
                material contract listed in the Prospectus.;

         (iii)  any inquiry, investigation (whether formal or informal) or other
                proceeding is announced or commenced by any court, securities
                commission or other regulatory authority, or any order is issued
                in relation to the Company, any of its affiliates, or any of its
                directors or officers or any of the Company's securities;

         which, in the sole discretion of the Agent, prevents or restricts
         trading in or the distribution of the Common Shares, or has or would
         have a material adverse affect on the business of the Company or on the
         value of, or market price, or the investment quality or marketability
         of the Common Shares;

         (iv)   if there should develop, occur or come into effect or existence
                any event, action, state, condition or major financial
                occurrence of national or international consequence or any law
                or regulation which, in the opinion of the Agent, materially
                adversely affects or involves, or will materially adversely
                affect or involve, the financial markets or the business,
                operations or affairs of the Company or the marketability of the
                Common Shares; or

         (v)    an order to cease or suspend trading is made by any securities
                commission, stock exchange or other competent authority by
                reason of the fault of the Company or its directors, officers
                and agents and such order is not rescinded within two business
                days; or

         (vi)   the Agent receives or becomes aware of any information which, in
                the sole opinion of the Agent, acting reasonably, may result in
                the purchasers of a


<PAGE>   26
                                      -26-


                material number of the Units exercising their rights under
                applicable legislation to withdraw or rescind their purchase
                thereof at any time following the filing or preparation of any
                of the Sponsorship Documents;

         (vii)  the Agent shall become aware, as a result of its Due Diligence,
                Review Procedures or otherwise, of any adverse material change
                or adverse material fact (financial or otherwise) with respect
                to the Company, its subsidiaries, affiliates or their directors,
                officers or promoters, which had not been publicly disclosed or
                disclosed to the Agent in writing by the Company, prior to the
                preparation or filing of the Sponsorship Documents with the
                Exchange; or

         (viii) the Company has not obtained all necessary regulatory approvals
                and filed all necessary documentation under applicable Canadian
                Securities Laws or the rules, regulations and policies of the
                Exchange in connection with the listing of the Common Shares on
                the Exchange or the Offered Securities; or

         (ix)   if there is an event or occurrence of any nature in the business
                or other affairs of the Company, its subsidiaries and
                affiliates, or their directors, officers or promoters, which, in
                the sole discretion of the Agent, would seriously effect the
                ability of the Agent to perform its obligations as sponsor for
                listing of the Common Shares on the Exchange; or


<PAGE>   27
                                      -27-


        (x)     if any of the representations made by the Company, its
                affiliates or subsidiaries, or their directors, officers or
                promoters in the course of the Agent's Due Diligence, Review
                Procedures or otherwise are, in the sole opinion of the Agent,
                false or have become false in any material respect since the
                preparation and/or filing of the Sponsorship Documents with the
                Exchange; or

        (xi)    if the Agent becomes aware of any past conduct of the directors,
                officers, promoters or Insiders (as that term is defined in the
                policies of the Exchange) of the Company or any of its
                subsidiaries or affiliates which, in the sole discretion of the
                Agent, shows that one or more of them do not possess the
                industry and securities experience, as well as integrity,
                required by the Exchange for publicly listed companies, or that
                one or more of them has displayed a history of regulatory
                non-compliance or lack of corporate or financial success; or

        (xii)   if the Agent becomes aware that the Insiders and Control Persons
                (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) of the
                Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates do not, to the
                sole satisfaction of the Agent, understand their statutory
                trading and reporting obligations as prescribed by applicable
                Canadian Securities Laws; or

        (xiii)  if the Agent becomes aware that, in its sole opinion, the
                directors and officers of the Company or any of its affiliates
                or subsidiaries do not possess the business acumen, history of
                responsible business conduct and success, or educational and
                professional qualities required by the policies of the Exchange;
                or

        (xiv)   if the Agent becomes aware that internal controls do not exist
                in the Company requiring the signatures of two authorized
                persons on all cheques or other instruments binding the Company;
                or

        (xv)    if the Agent becomes aware that the proceeds from the sale of
                the Offered Securities are not being used as disclosed in the
                Prospectus; or

        (xvi)   if the Agent becomes aware that the directors and officers are
                not, in its sole opinion, devoting sufficient time to properly
                manage the business and corporate affairs of the Company; or

        (xvii)  if the Agent becomes aware that the officers and/or directors of
                the Company have failed to prepare or disclose all information
                required by applicable Canadian Securities Laws and the rules,
                regulations and policies of the Exchange; or

        (xviii) if the Agent becomes aware that the directors and officers of
                the Company, in the Agent's sole opinion, do not appreciate the
                nature of their responsibilities as management of the Company;
                or



<PAGE>   28
                                      -28-


         (xix)  if the Agent becomes aware, in it sole opinion, that the Company
                does not meet minimum listing or other requirements, as defined
                in the rules, regulations and policies of the Exchange.

22.      STABILIZATION

         In connection with the distribution of the Offered Securities, the
Agent may, for its own account, over-allot or effect transactions which
stabilize or maintain the market price of the Offered Securities at levels other
than those which might otherwise prevail in the open markets but in each case
only as permitted by applicable law. Such stabilizing transactions, if any, may
be discontinued at any time.

23.      SEVERABILITY

         If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be void or
unenforceable in whole or in part, it shall be deemed not to affect or impair
the validity of any other provision of this Agreement and such void or
unenforceable provision shall be severable from this Agreement.

24.      TIME OF ESSENCE

         Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.

25.      GOVERNING LAW

                  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the Province of Alberta.

26.      COUNTERPARTS

         This offer and the agreement resulting from the acceptance of this
offer may be executed by manual or facsimile signature in several counterparts,
each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and such
counterparts together shall constitute one and the same instrument.



<PAGE>   29
                                      -29-


27.      ATTORNMENT

         The Company and the Agent hereby attorn to the non-exclusive
jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Alberta.

         If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding and is agreed
to by you, will you please confirm your acceptance by signing the enclosed
copies of this Agreement and returning the same to the Agent.

                                            Yours truly,

                                            THOMSON KERNAGHAN & CO. LIMITED


                                            Per:
                                                -------------------------------
                                                Ms. Claudia Di Maio


Accepted and agreed to this ______ day of ______________, 2000.

INDUSTRIALEX MANUFACTURING CORP.

Per:
     ------------------------------------


Per:
     ------------------------------------




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