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EXHIBIT 1.1
IXYS CORPORATION
4,000,000 Shares(1)
Common Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
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_______, 2000
Stephens Inc.
CIBC World Markets Corp.
Needham & Company, Inc.
As Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto.
c/o Stephens Inc.
111 Center Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Ladies and Gentlemen:
IXYS Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and the
stockholder of the Company named in Schedule II hereto (the "Selling
Stockholder"), confirm their agreement with the several underwriters (the
"Underwriters") for whom you are acting as representatives (the
"Representatives") for the Company to issue and sell 2,000,000 newly issued
shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common
Stock") and for the Selling Stockholder to sell 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock
to the Underwriters (said shares of Common Stock to be issued and sold by the
Company and the shares of Common Stock to be sold by the Selling Stockholder
collectively being hereinafter referred to as the "Underwritten Shares"). The
Company's Common Stock is more fully described in the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus hereinafter mentioned.
For the sole purpose of covering over-allotments in connection with the
sale of the Underwritten Shares, the Selling Stockholder is granting to the
Underwriters the option (the "Option") described in Section 2 hereof to purchase
all or any part of an aggregate of 600,000 additional shares of Common Stock
(the "Option Shares"). The Underwritten Shares and the Option Shares purchased
pursuant to this Underwriting Agreement (this "Agreement") are herein
collectively called the "Shares" and the proposed offering of the Underwritten
Shares and, if applicable, the Option Shares by the Underwriters is hereinafter
referred to as the "Public Offering."
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission"), pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"),
and published rules and regulations adopted by the Commission under the Act (the
"Rules"), a registration statement on Form S-3 (the "Form S-3") (File No.
_______), including a preliminary prospectus, relating to the Shares, and such
amendments to such registration statement as may have been filed with the
Commission to the date of this Agreement. The term "preliminary prospectus"
means any preliminary prospectus (as referred to in Rule 430 or Rule 430A of the
Rules) included at any time as a part of the registration statement. The
Company has furnished to the Representatives copies of such registration
statement, each amendment to it filed by the Company with the Commission and
each preliminary prospectus filed by the Company with the Commission and any
other offering materials used by the Company. If such registration statement
has not become effective, a further amendment (the "Final Amendment") to such
registration statement, including a form of final prospectus, if necessary to
permit such registration statement to become effective, will promptly be filed
by the Company with the Commission. If such registration statement has become
effective, a final prospectus containing information permitted to be omitted at
the time of effectiveness by Rule 430A of the Rules will promptly be filed by
_____________________________
(1) Plus up to 600,000 shares of Common Stock subject to the Underwriters'
Over-Allotment Option as set forth herein.
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the Company with the Commission in accordance with the Rules. The registration
statement as amended at the time it becomes or became effective (the "Effective
Date"), including financial statements and all exhibits and any information
deemed to be included by Rule 430A, is called the "Registration Statement." The
term "Prospectus" means the prospectus as first filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules, or if no such filing is required, the form
of final prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the Effective
Date.
Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any
documents incorporated by reference therein on or before the Effective Date or
the date of such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
Any reference herein to the terms "amend," "amendment" or "supplement" with
respect to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the
Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") after the
Effective Date or the date of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as
the case may be, and deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.
As the Representatives, you have advised the Company and the Selling
Stockholder that (a) you are authorized to enter into this Agreement on behalf
of the several Underwriters and (b) the Underwriters are willing, acting
severally and not jointly, to purchase the amounts of the Underwritten Shares
set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule I hereto, plus their pro
rata portion of the Option Shares as set forth in Section 2 hereof, if you elect
to exercise the Option in whole or in part for the accounts of the several
Underwriters.
In consideration of the mutual agreements contained herein and of the
interests of the parties in the transactions contemplated hereby, the Company,
the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters hereby agree as follows:
1. Representations, Warranties and Agreements.
(a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each
Underwriter as follows:
(i) The Company has been duly organized, is in compliance with its
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and/or restated to date (the
"Certificate of Incorporation") and is validly existing as a corporation in good
standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with full power and authority
(corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as
described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus. Each subsidiary of the
Company listed on Schedule III hereto (each, a "Subsidiary" and collectively,
the "Subsidiaries") has been duly organized or incorporated and is validly
existing as a corporation or other legally authorized entity, in good standing
under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power and
authority (corporate and other) to own and lease its properties and conduct its
business; the Company and the Subsidiaries are duly qualified to transact
business in all jurisdictions in which the conduct of their business or the
ownership or lease of their properties requires such qualifications, except
where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing as a foreign
corporation would not have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below);
except as shown on Schedule III hereto, all of the outstanding shares of
capital stock or other ownership interests of each Subsidiary are owned by the
Company and have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and
non-assessable and are owned by the Company free and clear of any claim, lien,
encumbrance or security interest. The Subsidiaries are the only subsidiaries
of the Company which currently have assets or are conducting business
operations.
(ii) The outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized
and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; the Shares have been
duly authorized and, when issued and paid for as contemplated herein, will be
validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. There are no preemptive or other
restrictive rights to subscribe for or to purchase, or any restriction upon the
voting or transfer of any class of the Company's capital stock pursuant to the
Company'sCertificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, or other governing documents or
any agreement or other instrument to which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them may be bound. Neither the
filing of the Registration Statement nor the offering of the Shares as
contemplated by this Agreement gives rise to any rights, other than those which
have been waived or satisfied, for or relating to the registration of any shares
of any class of the Company's capital stock. No approval of the Nasdaq National
Market is required for the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement.
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(iii) The Shares conform to the description thereof contained in any
preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. As of
the Closing Date (as defined below) and any Option Closing Date (as defined
below), if applicable, the Company will have the authorized capitalization set
forth under the captions "Capitalization" and "Description of Capital Stock" in
the Prospectus. No further corporate approval or authority on behalf of the
Company will be required for the issuance and sale of the Shares to be sold by
the Company as contemplated herein.
(iv) Any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration
Statement have been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements
of the Act and the Rules, including Form S-3. The Company meets the
requirements of, and is eligible to use, Form S-3 for the Public Offering. The
Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission under the Act.
(v) Neither the Commission nor any other agency, body, authority,
court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction has, by order or otherwise,
prohibited or suspended the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus
relating to the proposed offering of the Shares or instituted proceedings for
that purpose. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any preliminary
prospectus, and any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time they became
or become effective or at the time they were or are filed with the Commission
conformed or conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and
the Rules. None of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any
preliminary prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, as of its date
and while effective contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to
state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein (in light of the circumstances under which they were made)
not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or
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warranties as to information contained in or omitted from the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus, or any preliminary prospectus or any such amendment
or supplement, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information
furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the
Representatives, expressly for use in the preparation thereof.
(vi) The documents which are incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any preliminary prospectus or from
which information is so incorporated by reference, when they were filed (or, if
any amendment with respect to such document was filed, when such amendment was
filed) with the Commission complied in all material respects with the
requirements of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations thereunder and
any documents so filed and incorporated by reference subsequent to the
Effective Date shall, when they are so filed with the Commission, conform in all
material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and
regulations thereunder.
(vii) The consolidated financial statements of the Company and the
Subsidiaries, together with related notes and schedules as set forth in the
Registration Statement, present fairly in all material respects the consolidated
financial position, results of operations and changes in cash flow of the
Company and the Subsidiaries, at the indicated dates and for the indicated
periods. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United
States generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied throughout
the periods involved, and all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring
adjustments or accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of results for such
periods have been made. The Summary Consolidated Financial Data and the
Selected Consolidated Financial Data included in the Prospectus have been
compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited and unaudited financial
statements from which they were derived. The Company and its Subsidiaries
maintain and keep accurate books and records and maintain internal accounting
controls which provide reasonable assurance that (1) transactions are executed
in accordance with management's authorization, (2) transactions are recorded as
necessary to permit the preparation of the Company's consolidated financial
statements and to maintain accountability for the assets of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, (3) access to the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries is
permitted only in accordance with management's authorization, and (4) the
recorded accounts of the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries are compared
with existing assets at reasonable intervals.
(viii) There is no action or proceeding pending or, to the knowledge
of the Company, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary before any
court or administrative or governmental agency or other body which, if adversely
determined, is reasonably likely to (A) result in any material adverse change in
or
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effect on the financial condition, or the earnings, business, business
prospects or results of operations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (a
"Material Adverse Change" or "Material Adverse Effect" as the case may be),
whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (B) affect the
performance of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions herein
contemplated, except in either case as disclosed in the Registration Statement
and the Prospectus.
(ix) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of any
law, ordinance, governmental rule or regulation or court decree to which it is
subject which violation may have a Material Adverse Effect.
(x) The Company and each Subsidiary has good and marketable title to
all of the properties and assets reflected in the financial statements
hereinabove described or as described in the Prospectus as being owned by them,
subject to no lien, mortgage, pledge, charge or other encumbrance of any kind
except those securing indebtedness described in such financial statements or as
described in the Prospectus or which do not materially affect the present or
proposed use of such properties or assets. The Company and the Subsidiaries
occupy their leased properties under valid, subsisting and binding leases with
only such exceptions as are not in the aggregate material and do not interfere
with the conduct of the business of the Company. There exists no default under
the provisions of any lease, contract or other obligation to which the Company
or any Subsidiary is a party which may result in a Material Adverse Change.
(xi) The Company and each Subsidiary have filed all federal, state,
foreign and other tax returns which have been required to be filed and have paid
all taxes indicated by said returns and all assessments received by them to the
extent that such taxes have become due and there is no tax deficiency that has
been or, to the Company's knowledge, might be asserted against the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries that could reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect. All material tax liabilities are adequately provided for on the
books of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(xii) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in
the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as they may be amended or
supplemented, (A) there has not been any Material Adverse Change, nor to the
Company's knowledge, is any such change threatened, (B) there has not been any
transaction entered into by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries that is
material to the earnings, business, business prospects or results of operations
of the Company or any such Subsidiary, other than transactions in the ordinary
course of business and changes and transactions contemplated by the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus, as they may be amended or supplemented, (C) there
has not been any material change in the capital stock, long term debt or
liabilities of the Company, and (D) there has not been any dividend or
distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has
any contingent obligations or liabilities which are required to be but are not
disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(xiii) The filing of the Registration Statement and related
Prospectus and the execution and delivery of this Agreement have been duly
authorized by the Board of Directors of the Company; this Agreement constitutes
a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company enforceable in accordance
with its terms except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other laws affecting creditors' rights
generally and by general principles of equity, and except insofar as rights to
indemnification and contribution contained herein may be limited by federal or
state securities laws or related public policy. Neither the Company nor any of
the Subsidiaries individually or in the aggregate are in breach or violation of
or default under any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, lease, contract, note
or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of
its properties is bound and which breach, violation or default would,
individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect. The
consummation of the transactions herein contemplated and the fulfillment of the
terms hereof will not result in a breach or violation of any of the material
terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage,
deed of trust, lease, contract, note or other agreement or instrument to which
the Company or any Subsidiary is a party, or of the Company's Certificate of
Incorporation, as amended, or By-laws or any law, decree, order, rule, writ,
injunction or regulation applicable to the Company or any Subsidiary of a court
or of any regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body
having
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jurisdiction, except for those violations that, individually or in the
aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse Change.
(xiv) Each approval, consent, order, authorization, designation,
declaration or filing by or with any regulatory, administrative or other
governmental body necessary in connection with the execution and delivery by the
Company of this Agreement and performance of its obligations hereunder (except
such additional steps, if any, as may be necessary to qualify the Shares for
public offering by the Underwriters under state securities or Blue Sky laws and
the filing the Prospectus under Rule 424(b)) has been obtained or made and is in
full force and effect. Each approval, consent or authorization, if any, of any
person named or referenced in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus,
including any customer and supplier of the Company, which is required under
contract, the Rules or otherwise, has been obtained or made and is in full force
and effect.
(xv) The Company and each Subsidiary hold all material licenses,
authorizations, charters, certificates and/or permits from governmental
authorities which are necessary to the conduct of their businesses and neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary has received notice of any proceeding relating to
the revocation or modification of any of such licenses, authorizations,
charters, certificates or permits, which, individually or in the aggregate, if
the subject of an unfavorable decision, would result in a Material Adverse
Change.
(xvi) Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, independent auditors, who have
reported on the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, filed with the Commission and included as part of the Registration
Statement and Prospectus or incorporated therein by reference, are independent
public accountants within the meaning of the Act, the Rules and Regulation S-X
of the Commission and Rule 101 of the Code of Professional Ethics of the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
(xvii) There are no agreements, contracts or other documents of a
character required to be described in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or required by Form S-3 to be filed as exhibits to the Registration
Statement or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement which are
not described, filed or incorporated as required.
(xviii) No labor dispute exists or is pending or, to the Company's
knowledge, is imminent or threatened with the Company's employees or with
employees of any Subsidiary.
(xix) Except as contemplated by Section 2 hereof and as disclosed in
the Prospectus and permitted by the Rules, the Company has not taken and will
not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or which could
reasonably be expected to, cause or result in a violation of Section 5 of the
Act, Regulation M under the Exchange Act, or otherwise in stabilization or
manipulation of the price of the Company's Common Stock.
(xx) Except for those matters which are specifically disclosed in the
Prospectus or which would not have a Material Adverse Effect: (a) each of the
Company and its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all applicable environmental
laws, rules and regulations, including any environmental law, rules and
regulations of any foreign country ("Environmental Laws"), (b) each of the
Company and its Subsidiaries has all environmental permits and approvals
required to operate their businesses as presently conducted or as reasonably
anticipated to be conducted, (c) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has received any written, or to the Company's knowledge other, communication
from a governmental authority that alleges that such Company or Subsidiary is
not in compliance with all Environmental Laws, (d) to the Company's knowledge,
there are no circumstances that may prevent or interfere with such compliance in
the future, (e) there is no claim regarding environmental matters pending or, to
the Company's knowledge, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary, (f)
there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, conditions,
events or incidents, including, without limitation, the release, emission,
discharge or disposal of any material or substance of environmental concern,
that could reasonably be expected to form the basis of any environmental claims
against any of the Company or its Subsidiaries. None of the present or, to the
knowledge of the Company, past property of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries is listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List
pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act of 1980, as amended ("CERCLA"), or on the Comprehensive Environmental
Response Compensation Liability Information System List ("CERCLIS"), or any
similar list of sites requiring
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remedial action prepared by any state or foreign government. Neither the Company
nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any state Environmental Property
Transfer Act, or to the extent that any such statute is applicable to any
property, the Company and its Subsidiaries have fully complied with their
obligations under such statute(s), and neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has any outstanding obligations or liabilities under any state
Environmental Property Transfer Act.
(xxi) Except as disclosed in the Prospectus and except for those
matters which individually or in the aggregate would not have a Material Adverse
Effect, (a) each of the Company and its Subsidiaries owns and possesses all
right, title and interest in and to, or have a valid license to use, all of its
Intellectual Property (as defined below) free and clear of encumbrances and
other interests; (b) each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has full ownership
rights and interests in and to all of the trade secrets used in connection with
their personal property; (c) no claim by any third party contesting the
validity, enforceability, use or ownership of any Intellectual Property has been
made or, to the Company's knowledge, is threatened against the Company or any
affiliate of the Company; (d) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has
infringed or misappropriated any Intellectual Property and, to the Company's
knowledge, no such claim has been made or threatened against the Company or any
Subsidiary; and (e) the operations of the Company or its Subsidiaries are not
reasonably likely to result in the infringement or misappropriation of any
Intellectual Property rights of third parties. As used in this Agreement,
"Intellectual Property" means: all patents, patent applications, patent
disclosures and inventions (whether or not patentable and whether or not reduced
to practice); all trade names, trademarks, trade dress, logos and all goodwill
associated therewith; all copyrights, copyrightable work, and mask works; all
registrations and applications and renewals for any of the foregoing; all trade
secrets, manufacturing and production processes and techniques, technical and
computer data, documentation and software, software licenses and all tangible
embodiments thereof.
(xxii) The Company and its Subsidiaries maintain insurance of the
types and in the amounts customary for their businesses, including, but not
limited to, insurance covering liability and real and personal property owned or
leased by the Company and its Subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction,
acts of vandalism and all other risks customarily insured against, all of which
insurance is in full force and effect.
(xxiii) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has at any time during
the last five years (a) made any unlawful contribution to any candidate for
political office, whether foreign or domestic, or failed to disclose fully any
contribution in violation of law, or (b) made any payment to any federal or
state governmental officer or official, or other person charged with similar
public or quasi-public duties, other than payments required or permitted by the
laws of the United States, any foreign country, or any jurisdiction thereof.
(xxiv) Each officer and director of the Company and each of the
members of the respective groups of affiliated persons listed as principal
stockholders of the Company under the caption "Principal and Selling
Stockholders" in the Prospectus has executed a lock-up agreement, a form of
which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (the "Lock-Up Agreement"). The authorized
representative of the former shareholders of Directed Energy, Inc. (the "DEI
Shareholders") has executed a waiver agreement dated September 13, 2000 (the
"Waiver Agreement")with respect to waiving and amending certain provisions of
that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated May 16, 2000, among the DEI
Shareholders and the Company, a copy of which Waiver Agreement has been
provided to the Representatives, and said Waiver Agreement is in full force
and effect and enforceable against the DEI Shareholders.
(xxv) The Company has delivered to you a true and complete copy of
the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, dated as of March 6, 1998, as amended,
by and among IXYS Corporation and Paradigm Technology, Inc., a Delaware
corporation ("Paradigm"), pursuant to which IXYS Corporation was merged with a
subsidiary of Paradigm (the "Paradigm Merger") and Paradigm issued its common
stock in exchange for all of the outstanding common stock of IXYS Corporation.
The Paradigm Merger was duly consummated in accordance with applicable law. All
shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the Paradigm Merger were duly
authorized and validly issued in accordance with all laws, including applicable
securities laws. The Company has delivered to you a true and complete copy of
the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, dated as of May 16, 2000, as amended,
by and among IXYS Corporation, Directed Energy, Inc. ("DEI") and others pursuant
to which DEI was merged with a subsidiary of IXYS Corporation (the "DEI Merger")
and IXYS Corporation issued its common stock in exchange for all of the
outstanding common stock of DEI. The DEI Merger was duly consummated in
accordance with applicable
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law. All shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the DEI Merger were duly
authorized and validly issued in accordance with all laws, including applicable
securities laws.
(xxvi) Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and
delivered to you or counsel for the Representatives pursuant to this Agreement
shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriters
as to the matters covered thereby.
(b) The Selling Stockholder represents and warrants as follows:
(i) Such Selling Stockholder has and will have at the Closing (as
such date is hereinafter defined) good and valid title to the portion of the
Shares to be sold by such Selling Stockholder, free of any liens, encumbrances,
equities and claims, and full right, power and authority to effect the sale and
delivery of such Shares, and upon the delivery of and payment for such Shares
pursuant to this Agreement, good and valid title thereto, free of any liens,
encumbrances, equities and claims, will be transferred to the several
Underwriters.
(ii) The Selling Stockholder has not taken and will not take,
directly or indirectly, any action designed to or which might reasonably be
expected to cause or result in a violation of Section 5 of the Act or Regulation
M under the Act or in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the
Company's common stock.
(iii) Certificates in negotiable form for the Shares to be sold by
the Selling Stockholder hereunder have been placed in custody, for delivery
pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, under a Custody Agreement of even date,
duly executed and delivered by the Selling Stockholder, in the form heretofore
furnished to you (the "Custody Agreement") with the Company, as Custodian (the
"Custodian"); and the Shares represented by the certificates so held in custody
for the Selling Stockholder are subject to the interests hereunder of the
Underwriters.
(iv) No consent, approval, authorization or order of any court or
governmental agency or body is required for the consummation by the Selling
Stockholder of the transactions contemplated herein, except such as may have
been obtained under the Act and such as may be required under the securities or
blue sky laws of any jurisdiction in connection with the purchase and
distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters and such other approvals as have
been obtained.
(v) Neither the sale of the Shares being sold by the Selling
Stockholder nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein
contemplated by the Selling Stockholder or the fulfillment of the terms hereof
by the Selling Stockholder will result in a breach or violation of, or
constitute a default under any law or the terms of any indenture or other
agreement or instrument to which the Selling Stockholder is a party or bound, or
any judgment, order or decree applicable to the Selling Stockholder of any
court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body or arbitrator
having jurisdiction over the Selling Stockholder.
(vi) The information in the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption "Principal and Selling
Stockholders" and "Certain Transactions" that specifically relates to such
Selling Stockholder has been furnished to the Company in writing by such Selling
Stockholder expressly for use therein and does not, and will not on the date of
the execution of this Agreement or on the Closing Date or the Option Closing
Date, 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, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading.
(vii) The representations and warranties of the Company contained in
this Section 1 (including, but not limited to, the representations and
warranties contained in clause (a)(xx) regarding environmental matters) are, to
the knowledge of such Selling Stockholder, true and correct, the Selling
Stockholder is familiar with the Registration Statement and, to the knowledge of
such Selling Stockholder, none of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and
any preliminary prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, as of its
date and while effective contained an untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein (in light of the circumstances under which they were
made) not
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misleading. Any certificate signed by a Selling Stockholder and delivered to you
or counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by
that Selling Stockholder as to matters covered thereby.
2. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of the Underwritten Shares. On the basis
of the representations, warranties and covenants herein contained, and subject
to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company and the Selling
Stockholder, severally and not jointly, agrees to sell each Underwriter,
severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not
jointly, to purchase, at a price of $_______ per share, the number of the
Underwritten Shares set forth opposite the name of each Underwriter in Schedule
I attached hereto, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 10 hereof.
Payment for the Underwritten Shares shall be made by wire transfer of
immediately available U.S. funds to the designated accounts of the Company and
the Selling Stockholder, drawn to the order of the Company and the Selling
Stockholder, against delivery of certificates for the Shares to the
Representatives for the accounts of the several Underwriters. Delivery of
certificates shall be to the Representatives, c/o Stephens Inc. ("Stephens"),
111 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, or at such other address as
Stephens may designate in writing. Payment will be made at the offices of
Stephens, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by Stephens, the
Company and the Selling Stockholder, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Central Time,
on ______, 2000, such time and date being herein referred to as the "Closing
Date." The certificates for the Underwritten Shares will be delivered in such
denominations and in such registrations as Stephens reasonably requests in
writing and will be made available for inspection at such locations as Stephens
may reasonably request at least two full business days prior to the Closing
Date.
In addition, on the basis of the representations, warranties, agreements
and covenants herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein
set forth, the Selling Stockholder hereby grants the Option to the several
Underwriters to purchase the Option Shares at the price per share as set forth
in the first paragraph of this Section 2. The Option may be exercised in whole
or in part at any time upon written notice (or oral notice, subsequently
confirmed in writing) given not more than thirty (30) days following the date of
this Agreement, by Stephens, on behalf of the Representatives of the several
Underwriters, to the Selling Stockholder setting forth the number of Option
Shares as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the Option and the
names and denominations in which the Option Shares are to be registered. The
Closing on the purchase of the Option Shares (the "Option Closing Date"), if
any, shall occur no later than three (3) business days following the date upon
which notice of exercise of the Option is given to the Selling Stockholder, and
shall take place at the offices of Stephens, or at such other place as shall be
agreed upon by Stephens and the Selling Stockholder. Subject to Section 10, the
number of Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be in the same
proportion to the total number of shares of the common stock being purchased by
such Underwriter bears to 4,000,000 shares, adjusted by you in such manner as to
avoid fractional shares. The Option may be exercised only to cover over-
allotments in the sale of the Underwritten Shares by the Underwriters.
Stephens, on behalf of the Representatives of the several Underwriters, may
cancel such option at any time prior to its expiration by giving written notice
(or oral notice, subsequently confirmed in writing) of such cancellation to the
Selling Stockholder. To the extent, if any, that the Option is exercised,
payment for the Option Shares shall be made by wire transfer of immediately
available U.S. funds to the designated account of the Selling Stockholder, to
the order of the Selling Stockholder. Certificates for the Option Shares shall
be delivered in the same manner and upon the same terms as the Underwritten
Shares.
3. Offering by the Underwriters. It is understood that the Public
Offering of the Underwritten Shares is to be made as soon as the Representatives
deem it advisable to do so after the Registration Statement has become
effective. The Underwritten Shares are to be initially offered to the public at
the public offering price set forth in the Prospectus. The Representatives may
from time to time thereafter change the public offering price and other selling
terms. To the extent, if at all, that any Option Shares are purchased pursuant
to Section 2 hereof, the Underwriters will offer them to the public on the
foregoing terms.
It is further understood that you will act as the Representatives for the
Underwriters in the offering and sale of the Shares, in accordance with an
Agreement Among Underwriters which has been entered into among you and the
several other Underwriters.
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4. Covenants.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees with each of the several Underwriters
that:
(i) The Company will use its best efforts to cause the Registration
Statement to become effective and will not, either before or after
effectiveness, file any amendment thereto or supplement to the Prospectus
(including a Prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) which differs from the
Prospectus on file at the time the Registration Statement becomes effective) of
which the Representatives shall not previously have been advised and furnished
with a copy or to which the Representatives shall have reasonably objected in
writing or which is not in compliance with the Act or Rules.
(ii) The Company will advise the Representatives promptly of any
request of the Commission or other securities regulatory agency ("Other
Securities Regulator") for amendment of the Registration Statement or for
supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, or of the
issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or the use of the Prospectus or of the institution of any
proceedings for that purpose, or comparable action taken or initiated by any
Other Securities Regulator, and the Company will use its best efforts to prevent
the issuance of any such stop order preventing or suspending the use of the
Prospectus and to obtain as soon as possible the lifting thereof, if issued.
(iii) The Company will cooperate with the Representatives in
endeavoring to qualify the Shares for sale under the securities laws of such
jurisdictions (including foreign jurisdictions) as the Representatives
reasonably may have designated in writing, and will make such applications, file
such documents, and furnish such information as may be reasonably required for
that purpose; provided however, the Company shall not be required to qualify as
-------- --------
a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any
jurisdiction where it is not so qualified or required to file such a consent.
The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports,
and other documents, as are or may be reasonably required to continue such
qualifications in effect for so long a period as the Representatives may
reasonably request for distribution of the Shares.
(iv) The Company will deliver to, or upon the order of, the
Representatives, from time to time, as many copies of any preliminary prospectus
as the Representatives may reasonably request. The Company will deliver to, or
upon the order of, the Representatives on the Effective Date and thereafter from
time to time during the period when delivery of a Prospectus is required under
the Act as many copies of the Prospectus in final form, or as thereafter amended
or supplemented, as the Representatives may reasonably request. The Company
will deliver to the Representatives at or before the Closing Date such number of
copies of the Registration Statement, with and without exhibits, and of all
amendments thereto, as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(v) During the period of time in which a Prospectus relating to the
Shares is required by law to be delivered, the Company shall comply with all
requirements imposed upon it by the Act, as now and hereafter amended, and by
the Rules, as from time to time in force, so far as is necessary to permit the
continuance of sales of or dealings in the Shares as contemplated by the
provisions hereof and the Prospectus. If, during the period in which a
Prospectus is required by law to be delivered, any event shall occur as a result
of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the opinion of counsel for the
Underwriters, it becomes necessary to supplement the Prospectus in order to make
the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at the time
the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or, if it is
necessary at any time to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with any
law, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives and, subject to the
Representatives' prior review, prepare and file with the Commission and any
appropriate Other Securities Regulator an appropriate supplement to the
Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so that the Prospectus as so
supplemented will not, in light of the circumstances when it is so delivered, be
misleading, or so that the Prospectus will comply with the law.
(vi) The Company will make generally available (within the meaning of
Section 11(a) of the Act) to its stockholders in the manner contemplated by Rule
158(b) under the Act, as soon as it is practicable to do so, but in any event
not later than the forty-fifth day after the fiscal quarter first occurring one
year after the Effective Date, an earnings statement (which need not be audited)
in reasonable detail, covering a period of at least twelve
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consecutive months beginning after the Effective Date, which earnings statement
shall satisfy the requirements of Section 11(a) of the Act.
(vii) During the three year period immediately following the date
hereof, the Company will furnish to its stockholders, as soon as practicable
after the end of each respective period, annual reports (including consolidated
financial statements audited by independent public accountants) and unaudited
quarterly reports of consolidated earnings, and will furnish to the
Representatives: (a) concurrently with furnishing such reports to its
stockholders, consolidated statements of income of the Company and its
subsidiaries for each period in the form furnished to the Company's stockholders
and certified by the Company's principal financial or accounting officer; (b)
concurrently with furnishing to its stockholders, a consolidated balance sheet
of the Company as at the end of such fiscal year, together with consolidated
statements of income, stockholders' equity and cash flows of the Company and its
subsidiaries for such fiscal year, all in reasonable detail and accompanied by a
copy of the certificate or report thereon of independent public accountants; (c)
as soon as they are available, copies of all reports (financial or other) mailed
to stockholders; (d) as soon as they are available, copies of all reports and
financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission, the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD") or any securities exchange; (e)
every press release released by the Company; and (f) any additional information
of a public nature concerning the Company or its business which the
Representatives may reasonably request.
(viii) As soon as the Company is advised thereof, it will advise the
Representatives, and confirm the advice in writing, that the Registration
Statement and any amendments shall have become effective.
(ix) The Company will use the net proceeds from the sale of the
Shares in the manner set forth in the Prospectus under the caption "Use of
Proceeds."
(x) Other than as permitted by the Act and the Rules, the Company
will not distribute any prospectus or offering materials in connection with the
offering and sale of the Shares and prior to the Closing Date or, if applicable,
the Option Closing Date, will not issue any press releases or other
communications, directly or indirectly, other than in the ordinary course of
business, and will hold no press conferences with respect to the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries, the financial condition, results of operations, business,
properties, assets or liabilities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or
the offering of the Shares, without the prior written consent of Stephens.
(xi) The Company will maintain an independent institutional transfer
agent and, if required by the jurisdiction of incorporation of the Company, a
registrar for its Common Stock and will, as of the Effective Date, use its best
efforts to maintain the quotation of the Shares on the Nasdaq National Market.
(xii) The Company will not, for a period of 90 days after the
Effective Date of the Registration Statement, offer to sell, contract to sell,
sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of the Company's Common Stock or
securities convertible into shares of the Company's Common Stock without the
prior written consent of Stephens.
The foregoing covenants and agreements shall apply to any successor of the
Company, including without limitation, any entity into which the Company might
be converted, consolidated or merged.
(b) The Selling Stockholder covenants and agrees with each of the several
Underwriters that:
(i) Except for the Shares, the Selling Stockholder will not,
directly or indirectly, for a period of 90 days from the Effective Date of the
Registration Statement, offer to sell, contract to sell, sell or otherwise
dispose of any shares of the Company's common stock or securities convertible
into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of the Company's common stock
without the prior written consent of Stephens.
(ii) The Selling Stockholder will advise you promptly, and if
requested by you, will confirm such advice in writing, so long as delivery of a
prospectus relating to the Shares by an Underwriter or dealer may be required
under the Act, of any change in information in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus relating to the Selling Stockholder.
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(iii) Other than as permitted by the Act and the Rules, the Selling
Stockholder will not distribute any prospectus or offering materials in
connection with the offering and sale of the Shares and prior to the Closing
Date or, if applicable, the Option Closing Date, will not issue any press
releases or other communications directly or indirectly and will hold no press
conferences with respect to the Company, the financial condition, results of
operations, business, properties, assets or liabilities of the Company, or the
offering of the Shares, without the prior written consent of Stephens.
5. Costs and Expenses. Whether or not the Registration Statement becomes
effective, the Company will pay all costs, expenses and fees incident to the
performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including,
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following: accounting fees
of the Company; the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; the cost
of printing and delivering to Underwriters copies of the Registration Statement,
preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, this Agreement, the Agreement Among
Underwriters, the Selected Dealer Agreement, the Underwriters' Questionnaire and
Power of Attorney, and any blue sky survey and any supplements thereto; the
filing fees of the Commission; the filing fees and expenses incident to securing
any required review by the SEC and the NASD of the terms of the sale of the
Shares; any applicable listing fees; the cost of printing certificates
representing the Shares; the cost and charges of any transfer agent or
registrar; and the expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of
counsel for the Underwriters, incurred in connection with the qualification or
exemption of the Shares under applicable blue sky laws and the laws of any
foreign jurisdiction. The Selling Stockholder will pay all costs, expenses and
fees incident to the performance of the obligations of the Selling Stockholder
under this Agreement. Any transfer taxes imposed on the sale of the Shares to
the Underwriters will be paid by the Company or the Selling Stockholder, as
appropriate. Neither the Company nor the Selling Stockholder shall, however, be
required to pay for any of the Underwriters' expenses (other than those related
to qualification or exemption under blue sky and foreign laws) except that, if
this Agreement shall not be consummated because the conditions in Section 7
hereof are not satisfied, or because this Agreement is terminated by the
Representatives pursuant to Section 6 hereof unless such termination results
from a failure to satisfy a condition due to the default or omission of any
Underwriter (including any default under Section 10 hereof), or by reason of any
failure, refusal or inability on the part of the Company to perform any
undertaking or satisfy any condition of this Agreement or to comply with any of
the terms hereof on their part to be performed, unless such failure to satisfy
said condition or to comply with said terms is due to the default or omission of
any Underwriter (including any default under Section 10 hereof), then the
Company shall reimburse the several Underwriters for all of their out-of-pocket
costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees and out-of-pocket expenses,
reasonably incurred in connection with investigating, marketing and proposing to
market the Shares or in contemplation of performing their obligations hereunder,
but the Company shall not in any event be liable to any of the several
Underwriters for damages on account of loss of anticipated profits from the sale
by them of the Shares. The Company and the Selling Stockholder may agree, as
among themselves as to any further allocation among themselves of the respective
amounts of such costs for which they each shall be responsible under this
Agreement.
6. Conditions of Obligations of the Underwriters. The obligations of the
several Underwriters are subject to the accuracy, as of the Closing Date and as
of the Option Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company
and the Selling Stockholder contained herein, and to the performance by the
Company and the Selling Stockholder of their obligations hereunder and to the
following additional conditions:
(a) The Registration Statement shall have become effective not later than
__________, Central Time, on the day immediately following this Agreement,
unless a later time and date is agreed to by the Representatives, and no stop
order or other order suspending the effectiveness thereof or the qualification
of the Shares under any blue sky laws or the laws of any foreign jurisdiction
shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been taken
or, to the knowledge of the Company, shall be contemplated or threatened by the
Commission or any Other Securities Regulator. If the Company has elected to
rely upon Rule 430A of the Rules, the price of the Shares and any price-related
information previously omitted from the effective Registration Statement
pursuant to such Rule 430A shall have been transmitted to the Commission for
filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Act within the prescribed time period, and
prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have provided evidence satisfactory
to the Representatives of such timely filing, or a post-effective amendment
providing such information shall have been promptly filed and declared effective
in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A under the Act. All requests
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<PAGE>
for additional information on the part of the Commission or any other government
or regulatory authority with jurisdiction (to be included in the Registration
Statement or Prospectus or otherwise) shall be complied with to the satisfaction
of the Commission or such authorities.
(b) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date and on the
Option Closing Date the opinion of Cooley Godward LLP, counsel for the Company
with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries organized in Delaware and
Colorado as to the matters set forth below in subparagraphs (i) through (xiii)
(except as expressly provided otherwise in such subparagraphs) and with respect
to the Company and all Subsidiaries as to the matters set forth below in
subparagraph (xiv), and opinions of counsel to the Company reasonably
satisfactory to the Representatives, and licensed in The Netherlands, the
Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland, as applicable, with respect to the
Subsidiaries organized in those jurisdictions, as to matters set forth below in
subparagraphs (i) and (vii), each dated the Closing Date and, if applicable, the
Option Closing Date, addressed to the Underwriters in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to Kutak Rock LLP, counsel to the Underwriters, to the
effect that:
(i) The Company and the Subsidiaries have been duly incorporated and
are validly existing in good standing under the laws of the state(s) or similar
foreign jurisdictions (with respect to the Subsidiaries) of their organization,
with all corporate power necessary to own their properties and conduct their
business; and all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary
have been duly authorized and, to the knowledge of such counsel, are duly
issued, fully paid and non-assessable and beneficially owned, directly or
indirectly, solely by the Company, except as expressly set forth to the contrary
on Schedule III to this Agreement.
(ii) Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified to
transact business in each state in which its respective ownership or lease of
property requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so
qualified would not have a material adverse effect on the business, financial
condition or results of operations of the Company or the Subsidiary, as the case
may be.
(iii) The Company has the authorized capital stock set forth under
the caption "Description of Capital Stock" in the Prospectus; the outstanding
shares of its capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued and
are fully paid and non-assessable; all of the Shares conform to the description
thereof contained in the Prospectus; the Underwritten Shares, and the portion of
the Option Shares, if any, to be sold pursuant to this Agreement have been duly
authorized and will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable when issued
and paid for as contemplated by this Agreement, and all of the Shares are free
from preemptive rights pursuant to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation or
under Delaware law.
(iv) The Registration Statement has become effective under the Act,
and such counsel is not aware of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of
the Registration Statement. To such counsel's knowledge, no proceedings
therefor have been initiated or overtly threatened by the Commission and any
required filing of the Prospectus and any supplement thereto pursuant to Rule
424(b) under the Act has been made in the manner and within the time period
required by such Rule.
(v) The Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply as to form
in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the Rules (except
that such counsel need not express any opinion as to the financial statements,
schedules and notes thereto and the other financial, statistical and accounting
information included therein).
(vi) The statements in the Registration Statement under the captions
"Business - Legal Proceedings," "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions"
and "Description of Capital Stock," in each case insofar as such statements
constitute summaries of the legal matters, documents or proceedings referred to
therein, fairly present the information required to be presented with respect to
such legal matters, documents and proceedings.
(vii) To such counsel's knowledge there are no legal or governmental
proceedings pending or overtly threatened to which the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries is a party or to which any of the properties of the
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Company or any of its Subsidiaries is subject that are required to be described
in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and are not so described.
(viii) To such counsel's knowledge, there are no contracts or other
documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not
so described or filed or incorporated by reference under the Rules, as required.
(ix) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered
by the Company and is a valid and binding obligation of the Company, except as
rights to indemnity under Section 8 of the Agreement may be limited by
applicable laws and except as enforcement may be limited by applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, arrangement, moratorium or other similar
laws affecting creditors' rights, and subject to general equity principles and
to limitations on availability of equitable relief, including specific
performance.
(x) The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and
the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder will not result in
the creation of any lien, charge or claim upon any property or asset of the
Company or any Subsidiary under, nor will such actions conflict with or
constitute a default under or violate, (i) any of the terms, conditions or
provisions of the Company or its Delaware Subsidiaries' respective charter or
bylaws, (ii) any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any material
agreement or other material instrument known to such counsel and set forth in
the English language to which the Company or any such Subsidiary is a party or
by which they are bound, (iii) any Delaware or federal law or regulation (other
than state securities or blue sky laws, as to which such counsel need not
express any opinion in this paragraph); or (iv) any judgment, writ, injunction,
decree, order or ruling known to such counsel of any court or governmental
authority binding on the Company or its Delaware Subsidiaries.
(xi) No consent, approval, waiver, license or authorization or other
action by or filing with any Delaware or federal governmental authority is
required in connection with the execution and delivery by the Company of this
Agreement, the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated
hereby or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, except
for filings and other actions required pursuant to the Act and/or the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder and
state securities or blue sky laws, as to which such counsel need not express any
opinion in this paragraph, and those already obtained.
(xii) Except as set forth in the Prospectus, to the knowledge of such
counsel no holders of Common Stock or other securities of the Company have
registration rights with respect to such securities.
(xiii) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the sale of
the Shares and the application of the net proceeds thereof as described in the
Prospectus, will not be an "investment company" required to register under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(xiv) To the knowledge of such counsel, there are no actions or
proceedings pending, or threatened against the Company, any of its Subsidiaries
or any of their properties, assets or rights before any court or administrative
or governmental agency or other body which are not disclosed in the Prospectus
and which reasonably would be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
In rendering such opinion, such counsel may state that its opinion is
limited to matters governed by the federal laws of the United States of America,
the laws of the State of California, the laws of the State of Colorado and the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and that such counsel is not
admitted in the State of Delaware. Such counsel shall also have furnished to
the Representatives a written statement, addressed to the Underwriters and dated
the Closing Date, and, if applicable, the Option Closing Date, in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect that:
"In connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, we
have participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the
Company, representatives of the independent public or certified public
accountants for the Company and with representatives of the Underwriters. We
have not
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independently verified and accordingly, except to the limited extent set forth
in paragraph (vi) of the Underwriting Agreement, are not passing upon and do not
assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the
statements contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any
supplements or amendments thereto. On the basis of the foregoing and in our
capacity as counsel to the Company, nothing has come to our attention which has
caused us to believe that either the Registration Statement or any amendments
thereto (except as to the financial statements and schedules, and other
financial, statistical and accounting data included in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus), at the time the Registration Statement or such
amendments became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein not misleading or that the Prospectus (except as to
the financial statements and schedules, and other financial, statistical and
accounting data included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus), as of
its date or as of the date hereof contained an untrue statement of a material
fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not
misleading."
In addition to the foregoing, with respect to the Subsidiaries organized in
The Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland, counsel
licensed in those jurisdictions shall include their opinions to the further
effect that the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the
performance of the obligations hereunder will not result in the creation of any
lien, charge or claim upon any property or asset of the particular Subsidiary
with respect to which such counsel is providing its opinion under, nor will such
actions conflict with or violate, (i) any of the terms, conditions or provisions
of such Subsidiary's charter or bylaws, (ii) any foreign law or regulation or
(iii) any judgment, writ, injunction, decree, order or ruling known to such
counsel of any court or governmental authority binding on such Subsidiary.
(c) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date and on the
Option Closing Date the opinion of Morrison & Foerster L.L.P. as counsel to the
Selling Stockholder, with respect to the matters set forth below dated the
Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, addressed to the
Underwriters in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Kutak Rock LLP,
counsel to the Underwriters, to the effect that:
(i) The Selling Stockholder has been duly organized and is validly
existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization
with corporate power to own the Shares owned by it and enter into this Agreement
and the Custody Agreement.
(ii) Each of this Agreement and the Custody Agreement has been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Selling
Stockholder and has been duly executed and delivered by the Selling Stockholder.
(iii) This Agreement and the Custody Agreement constitute the legally
valid and binding obligations of the Selling Stockholder, enforceable against
the Selling Stockholder in accordance with their respective terms, except as may
be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium or similar laws relating to or
affecting creditors' rights generally (including, without limitation, fraudulent
conveyance laws) and by general principles of equity, including, without
limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing
and the possible unavailability of specific performance or injunctive relief,
regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law.
(iv) Upon payment for and delivery to the Underwriters of the Shares
sold by the Selling Stockholder in accordance with this Agreement, assuming each
of the Underwriters is acquiring the Shares sold by the Selling Stockholder
without notice of any adverse claim, the Underwriters will acquire the Shares
free and clear of any adverse claim as defined in Article 8 of the Uniform
Commercial Code.
(v) No order, consent, permit or approval of any governmental
authority is required on the part of the Selling Stockholder for the execution
and delivery of this Agreement or the Custody Agreement or the sale of the
Shares sold by the Selling Stockholder, except such as have been obtained under
the Act and such as may be required under the securities or blue sky laws of any
other jurisdiction.
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(vi) The Selling Stockholder's execution and delivery of, and
performance of its obligations under, this Agreement and the Custody Agreement
do not (A) violate the Selling Stockholder's charter or bylaws, (B) breach or
otherwise violate any existing obligation of or restriction on the Selling
Stockholder under any order, judgment or decree of any court or government
authority binding on the Selling Stockholder or (C) result in a breach or
constitute a default under any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, lease,
contract, note or other agreement or instrument to which the Selling Stockholder
is a party or to which any of its assets is bound. The execution and delivery
by the Selling Stockholder of, and performance of its obligations under, this
Agreement and the Custody Agreement do not violate any state, federal or foreign
statute or regulation that such counsel has, in the exercise of customary
professional diligence, recognized as applicable to the Selling Stockholder or
to transactions of the type contemplated by this Agreement or the Custody
Agreement, except that such counsel need express no opinion regarding any
federal securities laws or blue sky or state securities laws.
Such opinion shall be to such further effect with respect to other legal
matters relating to this Agreement as Kutak Rock LLP, counsel to the
Underwriters, may reasonably request. In rendering the opinions described in
(i), (ii) and (vi) above, and in (v) above as they relate to governmental
authorities other than the federal government of the United States of America,
Morrison & Foerster LLP may rely solely and without investigation on the opinion
of in-house counsel to ABB AG.
(d) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date and the
Option Closing Date the opinion of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP,
intellectual property counsel to the Company, with respect to the matters set
forth below, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as the case may
be, addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory
to the Underwriters, to the effect that:
[Reserved for Intellectual Property Law Matters]
(e) The Representatives shall have received from Kutak Rock LLP, counsel
to the Underwriters, an opinion dated the Closing Date, substantially to the
effects specified in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (b) of this
Section 6. In addition to the matters set forth above, such opinion shall also
include a statement to the effect that such counsel has participated in
conferences with directors, officers and other representatives of the Company,
representatives of counsel for the Company, representatives of the independent
public accountants for the Company and the Representatives of the Underwriters,
at which conferences the contents of the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus and related matters were discussed, and, although such counsel has
not independently verified and need not pass upon and assumes no responsibility
for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the
Registration Statement and Prospectus, on the basis of the foregoing and in such
counsel's capacity as counsel to the Underwriters, nothing has come to such
counsel's attention which has caused it to believe that either the Registration
Statement or any amendments thereto (except as to the financial statements and
schedules, and other financial, statistical and accounting data included in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus), at the time the Registration
Statement or such amendments became effective, contained an untrue statement of
a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading or
that the Prospectus (except as to the financial statements and schedules, and
other financial, statistical and accounting data included in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus), as of its date or the date hereof contained an
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omitted to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in
which they were made, not misleading.
(f) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date, and on
the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, signed letters from Pricewaterhouse
Coopers LLP, addressed to the Underwriters dated as of the Effective Date and
again dated as of the Closing Date and as of the Option Closing Date, as the
case may be, (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within
the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable
requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of
Regulation S-X of the Commission, and (ii) stating, as of the Closing Date or
the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, (or, with respect to matters
involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which
specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not
more than five days prior to the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the
case may be), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the
financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants'
"comfort letters" to Underwriters in
15
<PAGE>
connection with registered public offerings. All such letters shall be in form
and substance satisfactory to the Representatives and Kutak Rock LLP, counsel to
the Underwriters.
(g) The Representatives shall have received at or prior to the Closing
Date from Kutak Rock LLP, a memorandum or summary, in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, with respect to the
qualification or exemption therefrom for offering and sale by the Underwriters
of the Shares under the State securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions
as the Representatives may reasonably have designated.
(h) The Representatives shall have received on the Closing Date, and on
the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, a certificate or certificates of
the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company to
the effect that, as of the Closing Date and on the Option Closing Date, as the
case may be, each of them severally certifies as follows:
(i) (A) The representations and warranties of the Company in this
Agreement are true and correct on and as of the Closing Date, and on the Option
Closing Date, as the case may be, and (B) the Company has complied with all the
agreements and has satisfied all of the conditions on its part to be performed
or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date, and at or prior to the Option
Closing Date, as the case may be.
(ii) (A) The Registration Statement has become effective under the
Act; (B) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration
Statement or the use or effectiveness of the Prospectus has been issued; (C) no
proceedings for such purpose have been taken or, to his knowledge, are
contemplated by the Commission or any Other Securities Regulator; and (D) all
requests for additional information on the part of the Commission or any Other
Securities Regulator have been complied with.
(iii) No litigation has been instituted or, to the best of his
knowledge, threatened against the Company or any Subsidiary of a character
required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement which is not so
disclosed; there is no contract required to be filed as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement which is not so filed.
(iv) He has carefully examined the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus and in his opinion, on the Effective Date: (A) the statements
contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus were true and
correct, (B) such Registration Statement and Prospectus did not omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein not misleading and (C) since the Effective Date, no event has
occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement to or an amendment to
the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to render any statement
contained in the Registration Statement or Prospectus not misleading, which has
not been so set forth in such supplement or amendment.
(i) The Company and the Selling Stockholder shall have furnished to the
Representatives such additional information and further certificates and
documents confirming the representations and warranties contained herein and
related matters as the Representatives may reasonably have requested.
(j) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the
Prospectus, there shall not have occurred any Material Adverse Change whether or
not arising in the ordinary course of business.
The opinions and certificates mentioned in this Agreement shall be deemed
to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in all material
respects reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives and Kutak Rock LLP,
counsel for the Underwriters.
If any of the conditions hereinabove provided for in this Section 6 shall
not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement to be fulfilled,
the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be terminated by the
Representatives by notifying the Company and the Selling Stockholder of such
termination in writing or by confirmed facsimile at or prior to the Closing
Date. In such event, the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters
shall not be under any obligation to each other (except to the extent provided
in Sections 5 and 8 hereof).
16
<PAGE>
7. Conditions of the Obligations of the Company and the Selling
Stockholder. The obligations of the Company and the Selling Stockholder to sell
and deliver the Shares are subject to the conditions that (a) on __________,
2000 or such later time and date as the Company and the Representatives may from
time to time consent to in writing or by confirmed facsimile, the Registration
Statement shall have become effective, and (b) at the Closing Date no stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been
issued or proceedings therefor initiated or threatened. If either of the
Conditions hereinabove provided for in this Section 7 shall not have been
fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement to be fulfilled, this Agreement
may be terminated by the Company and the Selling Stockholder by jointly
notifying the Representatives of such termination in writing or by confirmed
facsimile at or prior to the Closing Date.
8. Indemnification.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter and
each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section
15 of the Act and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act from and against any and all
losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, and expenses (including
costs of investigation and legal expenses) to which such Underwriter or such
controlling person may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or
otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or
several, and expenses (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) arise out
of or are based upon (i) any breach of any representation or warranty of the
Company contained herein or any agreement or covenant of the Company contained
herein or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of material fact
contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the
Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based
upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of
the circumstances under which they were made not misleading; provided, however,
-------- --------
that the Company will not be liable under this Section 8(a) to any Underwriter
in any such case to the extent that any such losses, claims, damages,
liabilities or expenses arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement, or omission or alleged omission made in the
Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, or such
amendment or supplement, in reliance upon and in conformity with written
information furnished to the Company by or through the Representatives
specifically for use in the preparation thereof and provided, further, that with
-------- -------
respect to any preliminary prospectus, such indemnity shall not inure to the
benefit of any Underwriter or controlling person if the person asserting any
such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses purchased the Shares that
are the subject thereof from such Underwriter and if such person was not sent or
given a copy of the Prospectus at or prior to confirmation of the sale of such
Shares to such person in any case where such sending or giving is required by
the Act and the untrue statement or omission of a material fact contained in
such preliminary prospectus was corrected in the Prospectus. This indemnity
agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise
have.
(b) The Selling Stockholder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each
Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the
meaning of the of Section 15 of the Act and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act
from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or
several, to which such Underwriter or such controlling person may become subject
under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims,
damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect thereof) arise out
of or are based upon any breach of any representation or warranty of the Selling
Stockholder contained herein or any agreement or covenant of the Selling
Stockholder contained herein and the Selling Stockholder will reimburse each
Underwriter and each such controlling person for legal and other expenses
reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such loss,
claim, damage, liability, action or proceeding. This indemnity agreement will be
in addition to any liability which the Selling Stockholder may otherwise have.
(c) Each Underwriter severally, but not jointly, agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who have
signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the
Company, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act and Section 20(a) of the
Exchange Act and the Selling Stockholder, from and against any losses, claims,
damages, liabilities, joint or several, and expenses to which the Company or any
such director, officer, or controlling person or Selling Stockholder may become
subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses,
claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (or actions or proceedings in respect
thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement of
17
<PAGE>
alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in the Registration
Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or
supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstance under
which they were made) not misleading; provided, however, that each Underwriter
-------- -------
will be liable under this Section 8(c) in any such case only to the extent that
such untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged
omission has been made in the Registration Statement, any preliminary
prospectus, the Prospectus, or such amendment or supplement, in reliance upon
and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or
through the Representatives expressly for use in the preparation thereof. This
indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which such Underwriter
may otherwise have.
(d) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of
notice of the commencement of any action or proceeding, such indemnified party
will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party
under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the
commencement thereof; but the failure so to notify the indemnifying party will
not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party
otherwise than under this Section 8, and then only to the extent that the
indemnifying party is actually prejudiced by the omission of such notification.
In case any such action or proceeding is brought against any party, and it
notifies an indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying
party will be entitled to participate therein, and, to the extent that it may
wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume
the defense thereof with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party, and
after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its
election so to assume the defense thereof, except to the extent otherwise
provided in this subsection (d) the indemnifying party will not be liable to
such indemnified party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses
subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense
thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party
shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any
settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any
indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been
sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an
unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims
that are the subject matter of such proceeding. Any indemnified party shall
have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in
the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the
expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment of such counsel has
been specifically authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (ii) the
indemnifying party has failed to assume the defense and employ counsel, or (iii)
the named parties to any such action (including any impleaded parties) include
such indemnified party and the indemnifying party, as the case may be, and such
indemnified party shall have been advised in writing by such counsel that there
may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or
additional to those available to the indemnifying party, in which case the
indemnifying party shall not have the right to assume the defense of such action
on behalf of such indemnified party, it being understood, however, that (A) the
indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any one such action or separate
but substantially similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising
out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be liable for the fees and
expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys (in addition to any local
counsel) for all such indemnified parties, which firm shall be designated in
writing by the indemnified parties, and that (B) all such fees and expenses
shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Subject to the foregoing provisions
of this Section 8(d), the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the costs
and expenses of any settlement of any action without the consent of the
indemnifying party.
(e) In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in
circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is for
any reason held to be unavailable to an indemnified party under subsection (a) -
(c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses
referred to therein, then each applicable indemnifying party, in lieu of
indemnifying such indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or
payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages,
liabilities and expenses (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the
relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling
18
<PAGE>
Stockholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the
offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is
not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect
not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the
relative fault of the parties in connection with the statements or omissions
which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well
as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received
by the Company and Selling Stockholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriters,
on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total
proceeds from the offering (net of underwriting discounts and commissions but
before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder
bears to the underwriting discounts and commissions received by the
Underwriters. The relative fault of a party shall be determined by reference to,
among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to
information supplied by each party and the parties' relative intent, knowledge,
access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or
omission. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses,
claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to
include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in
connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim.
The Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters agree that it
would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8 were
determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one
entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not
take account of the equitable considerations referred to in the immediately
preceding paragraph. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, no
Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount
by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed
to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that
such Underwriters have otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue
or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty
of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act)
shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such
fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters' obligations in this subsection
(e) to contribute shall be several in proportion to their respective
underwriting obligations and not joint.
(f) In any proceeding relating to the Registration Statement, any
preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any supplement or amendment thereto,
each party against whom contribution may be sought under this Section 8 hereby
consents to the jurisdiction of any court having jurisdiction over any other
contributing party, agrees that process issuing from such court may be served
upon him or it by any other contributing party and consents to the service of
such process and agrees that any other contributing party may join him or it as
an additional defendant in any such proceeding in which such other contributing
party is a party.
9. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All
representations, warranties and agreements of the Company and officers of the
Company or of the Selling Stockholder contained herein or in certificates
delivered pursuant hereto, and the indemnity and contribution agreements
contained in Section 8 hereof, shall remain operative and in full force and
effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriters
or any controlling person, or by or on behalf of the Company or any of its
officers, directors or controlling persons or the Selling Stockholder, and shall
survive delivery of the Underwritten Shares and, as applicable, the Option
Shares to the Representatives or termination of this Agreement.
10. Default by Underwriters. If any Underwriter shall fail to purchase
and pay for the Shares which such Underwriter has agreed to purchase and pay for
hereunder (otherwise than by reason of any default on the part of the Company or
the Selling Stockholder), you, as the Representatives of the Underwriters, shall
use your best efforts to procure within twenty-four hours thereafter one or more
of the other Underwriters, or any others, to purchase from the Company and the
Selling Stockholder such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms set
forth herein, the Shares which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters failed
to purchase. If during such twenty-four hours you, as such Representatives,
shall not have procured such other Underwriters, or any others, to purchase the
Shares agreed to be purchased by the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters,
then (a) if the aggregate number of Shares that the defaulting Underwriter
agreed to but failed to purchase does not exceed 10% of the Shares which the
Underwriters are obligated to purchase hereby, the other Underwriters shall be
obligated, severally, in proportion to the respective number of shares which
they are obligated to purchase hereunder, to purchase the Shares which such
defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters failed to purchase, or (b) if the
aggregate number of Shares that the defaulting Underwriter agreed to but failed
to purchase exceeds 10% of the Company's Common Stock covered hereby, the
Company or you, as the Representatives of the Underwriters will have the right,
by written notice given within the next twenty-four hour period to the parties
to this Agreement, to terminate this Agreement without liability on the part of
the non-defaulting Underwriters, the Company or the Selling Stockholder except
to the extent provided
19
<PAGE>
in Section 8 hereof. In the event of a default by any Underwriter or
Underwriters, as set forth in this Section 10, the time of closing may be
postponed for such period, not to exceed seven days, as you, as the
Representatives, may determine in order that the required changes in the
Registration Statement or in the Prospectus or in any other documents or
arrangements may be effected. The term "Underwriters" includes any person
substituted for a defaulting Underwriter. Any action taken under this Section 10
shall not relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any
default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
11. Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and, except
as otherwise provided herein, will be mailed, delivered or sent via facsimile
and confirmed as follows: if to the Representatives of the Underwriters, to
Stephens Inc., 111 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, Attention: W.
Scott Davis, Head of Syndicate & Capital Markets, with a copy to Kutak Rock LLP,
Suite 1100, 425 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, Attention: H.
Watt Gregory, III, Esq.; if to the Company: to IXYS Corporation, 3540 Bassett
Street, Santa Clara, California 95054, Attention: Dr. Nathan Zommer, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, with a copy to Cooley Godward LLP, Five Palo Alto
Square, 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California 94306-2155, Attention: James
R. Jones, Esq.; if to the Selling Stockholder: to ABB AG, Gottlieb-Daimler
Strasse 8, 68165 Mannheim, Germany, Attention: Andreas Hartmann, Esq., with
copies to ABB, Inc., 501 Merritt 7, Norwalk, Connecticut 06856-5308, Attention:
E. Barry Lyon, Esq. and Morrison & Foerster LLP, 425 Market Street, San
Francisco, California 94105, Attention: John W. Campbell, Esq.
12. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by notice to the
Company and the Selling Stockholder as follows:
(a) at any time prior to the earlier of (i) the time the Shares are
released by you for sale by notice to the Underwriters, or (ii) 11:30 a.m.,
Central Time, on __________, 2000;
(b) at any time prior to the Closing Date if any of the following has
occurred: (i) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus, any Material Adverse Change or a
development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change, whether or not
arising in the ordinary course of business, which would, in your reasonable
judgment, materially impair the investment quality of the Shares, (ii) any
outbreak of hostilities or other national or international calamity or crisis or
change in economic or political conditions if the effect of such outbreak,
calamity, crisis or change on the financial markets of the United States would,
in your reasonable judgment, make the offering or delivery of the Shares
impracticable, (iii) general suspension of trading or general trading halts in
securities on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, the
Nasdaq National Market or the over-the-counter market or limitation on prices
(other than limitations on hours or numbers of days or trading) for securities
on either such Exchange, the Nasdaq National Market or the over-the-counter
market, (iv) the enactment, publication, decree or other promulgation of any
federal or state statute, regulation, rule or order of any court or other
governmental authority which in your reasonable opinion materially and adversely
affects or will materially or adversely affect the business, business prospects
or operations of the Company, (v) declaration of a banking moratorium by either
federal or state authorities, or (vi) the taking of any action by any federal,
state or local government or agency in respect of its monetary or fiscal affairs
which in your reasonable opinion has a material adverse effect on the securities
markets in the United States; or
(c) as provided in Sections 6 and 10 of this Agreement.
13. Successors. This Agreement has been and is made solely for the
benefit of the Underwriters, the Company, the Selling Stockholder and their
respective successors, executors, administrators, heirs, and assigns, and the
officers, directors and controlling persons referred to herein, and no other
person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term "successors" shall
not include any purchaser of the Shares merely because of such purchase.
14. Miscellaneous. The reimbursement, indemnification and contribution
agreements contained in this Agreement and the representations, warranties and
covenants of the Company and Selling Stockholder in this Agreement shall remain
in full force and effect regardless of (a) any termination of this Agreement,
(b) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriters or controlling
person or (c) delivery of any payment for the Shares under this Agreement.
20
<PAGE>
This Agreement may be executed 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.
This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the
laws of the State of Arkansas, without giving effect to the choice of law or
conflict of law principles thereof.
21
<PAGE>
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement,
please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicates hereof, whereupon it will
become a binding agreement among the Company and the several Underwriters in
accordance with its terms.
Very truly yours,
IXYS CORPORATION
By:_____________________________________
Its:_____________________________________
SELLING STOCKHOLDER
[SPECIFIC ABB ENTITY OR ENTITIES AS SELLING
STOCKHOLDER - TO BE PROVIDED]
By:_____________________________________
Its:_____________________________________
The foregoing Underwriting Agreement
is hereby confirmed and accepted as
of the date first above written.
STEPHENS INC.
CIBC WORLD MARKETS CORP.
NEEDHAM & COMPANY, INC.
as Representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I hereto
By: STEPHENS INC.
By: ___________________________
Authorized Officer
22
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE I
Name No. of Underwritten Shares
---- --------------------------
Stephens Inc.
CIBC World Markets Corp.
Needham & Company, Inc.
[list additional Underwriters]
Total ___________________________
-----
---------------------------
23
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE II
Selling Stockholder
-------------------
[SPECIFIC ABB ENTITY OR ENTITIES
AS SELLING STOCKHOLDER:
TO BE PROVIDED]
24
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE III
List of Subsidiaries
--------------------
PER CENT
STATE OR INTEREST ADDITIONAL NAMES
JURISDICTION OWNED BY UNDER WHICH
SUBSIDIARY INCORPORATED COMPANY CONDUCTS BUSINESS
------------------------ ---------------- ---------- -----------------
IXYS USA, Inc. Delaware, USA 100%
Directed Energy, Inc. Colorado, USA 100%
IXYS Semiconductor BV The Netherlands 100%
IXYS Semiconductor GmbH Germany 100%
IXYS Berlin GmbH Germany 74.5% (1)
IXYS CH GmbH Switzerland 100%
------------------------------------
(1) The Company has the right to acquire, effective April 1, 2004, the
minority interest in the IXYS Berlin subsidiary at the March 31, 2004 book
value of such interest, provided that the Company will be entitled to retain
all previously undistributed profits from prior years.
25
