| | | | | 1 | | | |
| | | | | 1 | | | |
| | | | | 2 | | | |
| | | | | 9 | | | |
| | | | | 32 | | | |
| | | | | 32 | | | |
| | | | | 32 | | | |
| | | | | 33 | | | |
| Item 9. Exhibits | | | | | 35 | | |
Name of Executive Officer or Director
|
| |
Number of
Shares Beneficially Owned (#) |
| |
Implied Cash
Consideration for Shares ($) |
| ||||||
Brenton W. Hatch
|
| | | | 9,124,279 | | | | | | 23,266,911.45 | | |
Daren J. Shaw
|
| | | | 613,437 | | | | | | 1,564,264.35 | | |
Colleen Larkin Bell
|
| | | | 313,070 | | | | | | 798,328.50 | | |
Ryan W. Oviatt
|
| | | | 544,357 | | | | | | 1,388,110.35 | | |
Ronald R. Spoehel
|
| | | | 590,601 | | | | | | 1,506,032.55 | | |
Cameron M. Tidball
|
| | | | 650,184 | | | | | | 1,657,969.20 | | |
Patrick D. Fisher
|
| | | | 196,803 | | | | | | 501,847.65 | | |
All directors and executive officers as a group (7 persons)
|
| | | | 12,032,731 | | | | | | 30,683,464.05 | | |
Name of Executive Officer or Director
|
| |
Number of
Company RSUs (#) |
| |
Cash
Consideration for Company RSUs ($) |
| ||||||
Brenton W. Hatch
|
| | | | 0 | | | | | | 0 | | |
Daren J. Shaw
|
| | | | 32,117 | | | | | | 81,898.35 | | |
Colleen Larkin Bell
|
| | | | 32,117 | | | | | | 81,898.35 | | |
Ryan W. Oviatt
|
| | | | 638,900 | | | | | | 1,629,195.00 | | |
Ronald R. Spoehel
|
| | | | 32,117 | | | | | | 81,898.35 | | |
Cameron M. Tidball
|
| | | | 638,900 | | | | | | 1,629,195.00 | | |
Patrick D. Fisher
|
| | | | 114,874 | | | | | | 292,928.70 | | |
All directors and executive officers as a group (7 persons)
|
| | | | 1,489,025 | | | | | | 3,797,013.75 | | |
Name
|
| |
Cash
($)(1) |
| |
Equity
($)(2) |
| |
Perquisites /
Benefits ($)(3) |
| |
Total Value
($) |
| ||||||||||||
Ryan Oviatt
|
| | | | 546,058 | | | | | | 878,750 | | | | | | 27,740 | | | | | | 1,452,548 | | |
Cameron Tidball
|
| | | | 539,526 | | | | | | 878,750 | | | | | | 3,376 | | | | | | 1,421,652 | | |
Patrick Fisher
|
| | | | 99,397 | | | | | | 155,584 | | | | | | 2,250 | | | | | | 257,231 | | |
Period ($ in millions)
|
| |
2024E
|
| |
2025E
|
| |
2026E
|
| |
2027E
|
| |
2028E
|
| |
2029E
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
Total Revenues
|
| | | $ | 61.1 | | | | | $ | 73.0 | | | | | $ | 79.5 | | | | | $ | 86.5 | | | | | $ | 94.8 | | | | | $ | 104.2 | | |
Gross Profit
|
| | | | 30.5 | | | | | | 37.3 | | | | | | 39.6 | | | | | | 43.4 | | | | | | 47.4 | | | | | | 51.9 | | |
Total Operating Expenses
|
| | | | 21.2 | | | | | | 25.2 | | | | | | 26.2 | | | | | | 28.5 | | | | | | 30.8 | | | | | | 33.4 | | |
PF Adjusted EBITDA(1)
|
| | | | 13.8 | | | | | | 17.7 | | | | | | 19.1 | | | | | | 21.0 | | | | | | 23.0 | | | | | | 25.1 | | |
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
|
| | | | 11.6 | | | | | | 15.5 | | | | | | 16.9 | | | | | | 18.8 | | | | | | 20.8 | | | | | | 22.9 | | |
EBITDA
|
| | | | 10.5 | | | | | | 14.2 | | | | | | 15.5 | | | | | | 17.3 | | | | | | 19.1 | | | | | | 21.1 | | |
Net Income
|
| | | | 7.4 | | | | | | 9.1 | | | | | | 10.1 | | | | | | 11.4 | | | | | | 12.7 | | | | | | 14.3 | | |
| | |
As of October 25, 2024
|
| |||||||||
| | |
Current Price
|
| |
Offer Price
|
| ||||||
Price per Share
|
| | | $ | 1.74 | | | | | $ | 2.55 | | |
Current Price/Offer Price Premium (Discount) vs. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Current Price ($1.74)
|
| | | | — | | | | | | 46.6% | | |
1-Month VWAP ($1.66)
|
| | | | 5.1% | | | | | | 54.0% | | |
3-Month VWAP ($1.59)
|
| | | | 9.5% | | | | | | 60.4% | | |
6-Month VWAP ($1.56)
|
| | | | 11.8% | | | | | | 63.8% | | |
52-Week High ($2.10)
|
| | | | (17.1)% | | | | | | 21.4% | | |
Transaction Multiples | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Enterprise value / 2024E EBITDA multiple
|
| | | | 6.3x | | | | | | 10.0x | | |
Price / 2024E EPS multiple
|
| | | | 11.5x | | | | | | 16.9x | | |
| | | | | |
Enterprise Value /
|
| |
Price /
|
| ||||||
Sector
|
| |
Selected Public Company
|
| |
2024E
EBITDA |
| |
2025E
EBITDA |
| |
2024E
EPS |
| |
2025E
EPS |
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | NOV Inc. | | |
6.1x
|
| |
5.4x
|
| |
11.0x
|
| |
9.3x
|
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | Cactus, Inc. | | |
9.6x
|
| |
9.0x
|
| |
18.9x
|
| |
17.6x
|
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | Hunting PLC | | |
5.2x
|
| |
4.4x
|
| |
11.1x
|
| |
8.2x
|
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc. | | |
4.0x
|
| |
2.8x
|
| |
25.8x
|
| |
14.3x
|
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. | | |
3.7x
|
| |
3.2x
|
| |
NM
|
| |
12.8x
|
|
OFS Manufacturing
|
| | Drilling Tools International Corp. | | |
3.0x
|
| |
2.4x
|
| |
10.8x
|
| |
7.0x
|
|
Large-Cap OFS
|
| | Schlumberger Limited | | |
7.7x
|
| |
7.1x
|
| |
12.2x
|
| |
11.1x
|
|
Large-Cap OFS
|
| | Baker Hughes Company | | |
9.0x
|
| |
8.1x
|
| |
16.4x
|
| |
14.3x
|
|
Large-Cap OFS
|
| | Halliburton Company | | |
5.9x
|
| |
5.6x
|
| |
9.0x
|
| |
8.3x
|
|
Large-Cap OFS
|
| | Weatherford International plc | | |
4.7x
|
| |
4.5x
|
| |
11.6x
|
| |
10.2x
|
|
| | | | | |
Summary Statistics
|
| | | |||||||
OFS Manufacturing Mean | | |
5.3x
|
| |
4.5x
|
| |
11.5x
|
| |
11.5x
|
| |||
OFS Manufacturing Median | | |
4.6x
|
| |
3.8x
|
| |
11.1x
|
| |
11.1x
|
| |||
Large-Cap OFS Mean | | |
6.8x
|
| |
6.3x
|
| |
12.3x
|
| |
11.0x
|
| |||
Large-Cap OFS Median | | |
6.8x
|
| |
6.4x
|
| |
11.9x
|
| |
10.7x
|
|
Valuation Year
|
| |
Estimated
EBITDA |
| |
Estimated
EPS |
| |
EV /
EBITDA Multiples |
| |
Price to
Earnings Multiples |
| |
Company
Implied Share Price |
| |||
FYE 2024E
|
| | | $ | 10.5 | | | |
$0.15
|
| |
4.0x to 6.5x
|
| |
10.0x to 14.0x
|
| |
$1.23 to $2.11
|
|
FYE 2025E
|
| | | | 14.2 | | | |
0.19
|
| |
3.5x to 6.0x
|
| |
9.5x to 13.5x
|
| |
$1.39 to $2.50
|
|
Date Announced
|
| |
Acquiror
|
| |
Target
|
| |
Enterprise
Value / EBITDA for the last twelve months prior to announcement |
| |||
12/31/2019
|
| | Hunting PLC | | | Enpro Subsea Ltd | | | | | 9.7x | | |
12/30/2022
|
| | Cactus, Inc. | | |
FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies, Inc.
|
| | | | 6.0x | | |
7/5/2023
|
| | Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc | | | Ulterra Drilling Technologies, L.P. | | | | | 5.1x(1) | | |
7/31/2023
|
| | Dril-quip | | | Great North Wellhead & Frac | | | | | 3.2x | | |
11/1/2023
|
| | Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. | | | Variperm Energy Services Inc. | | | | | 3.7x | | |
3/6/2024
|
| | Drilling Tools International Corporation | | | Superior Drilling Products, Inc. | | | | | 7.2x | | |
3/18/2024
|
| | Innovex | | | Dril-quip | | | | | 7.5x | | |
3/21/2024
|
| | ChampionX UK Limited | | | RMSpumptools Ltd | | | | | 7.5x | | |
Valuation Year
|
| |
Estimated
EBITDA |
| |
EV / EBITDA
Multiples |
| |
Company Implied Share Price
|
|
FYE 2024
|
| |
$10.5
|
| |
5.0x to 9.0x
|
| |
$1.45 to $2.33
|
|
Announcement
Date |
| |
Target
|
| |
Acquirer
|
| |
Equity
Value |
| |
Target Stock
Premium 1-Day Prior to Announcement (%) |
| ||||||
9/25/24 | | | Markforged Holding Corp. | | | Nano Dimension Ltd. | | | | $ | 101.7 | | | | | | 83.2% | | |
9/12/24 | | | Manitex International, Inc. | | | TADANO Ltd. | | | | | 118.3 | | | | | | 52.2% | | |
8/21/24 | | | Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc. | | | Bitfarms Ltd. (Canada) | | | | | 99.9 | | | | | | 101.9% | | |
6/28/24 | | | ARC Document Solutions, Inc. | | |
Arc Document Solutions LLC /Private Group/
|
| | | | 114.1 | | | | | | 24.5% | | |
6/8/24 | | | ICC Holdings, Inc. | | | Tuscarora Wayne Group of Cos. | | | | | 73.9 | | | | | | 46.9% | | |
6/5/24 | | | SPAR Group, Inc. | | | Highwire Capital LLC | | | | | 60.8 | | | | | | (11.7)% | | |
3/28/24 | | | Doma Holdings, Inc. | | | Title Resources Guaranty Co. | | | | | 89.0 | | | | | | 43.0% | | |
3/11/24 | | | The L.S. Starrett Co. | | | MiddleGround Management LP | | | | | 121.6 | | | | | | 63.2% | | |
2/6/24 | | | ZeroFox Holdings, Inc. | | | Haveli Investment Management LLC | | | | | 142.3 | | | | | | 24.6% | | |
11/8/23 | | | GAN Ltd. | | | Sega Sammy Creation, Inc. | | | | | 89.4 | | | | | | 120.9% | | |
11/1/23 | | |
Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc.
|
| | United Petroleum Transports, Inc. | | | | | 57.8 | | | | | | 111.7% | | |
10/13/23 | | | PCTEL, Inc. | | | Amphenol Corp. | | | | | 135.5 | | | | | | 48.8% | | |
9/29/23 | | | Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. | | | Wonder Distribution LLC | | | | | 100.1 | | | | | | 136.8% | | |
6/28/23 | | | Kaleyra, Inc. | | | Tata Communications Ltd. | | | | | 96.6 | | | | | | 51.0% | | |
4/12/23 | | | TESSCO Technologies, Inc. | | | Tessco Technologies Inc. | | | | | 83.4 | | | | | | 91.5% | | |
12/21/22 | | | IsoPlexis Corp. | | | Berkeley Lights, Inc. | | | | | 55.5 | | | | | | 85.7% | | |
8/24/22 | | | Flexsteel Industries, Inc. | | | CSC Generation, Inc. | | | | | 110.3 | | | | | | 21.6% | | |
8/9/22 | | | CarLotz, Inc. | | | Shift Technologies, Inc. | | | | | 129.2 | | | | | | 73.3% | | |
8/1/22 | | | Romeo Power, Inc. | | | Nikola Corp. | | | | | 137.1 | | | | | | 34.1% | | |
3/14/22 | | | O2Micro International Ltd. | | | FNOF Precious Honour Ltd. | | | | | 146.0 | | | | | | 54.1% | | |
12/7/21 | | | TESSCO Technologies, Inc. | | |
Lakeview Investment Group & Trading Co. Llc
|
| | | | 59.1 | | | | | | 45.1% | | |
11/8/21 | | | DOVER MOTORSPORTS INC | | | Speedway Motorsports LLC | | | | | 131.5 | | | | | | 57.6% | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Summary Statistics
|
| |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | Median | | | | | | 53.2% | | |
10/29/24 | | | Profire Energy, Inc. | | | CECO Environmental Corp. | | | | $ | 122.8 | | | | | | 49.1% | | |
| | |
Company Implied Share Price
|
|
Leveraged Buyout Analysis
|
| |
$1.99 to $2.61
|
|
Valuation Year
|
| |
Estimated
EBITDA |
| |
Estimated
EPS |
| |
EV /
EBITDA Multiples |
| |
Price to
Earnings Multiples |
| |
Implied
Future Price Per Share for Company |
| |
Company
Equity Discount Rate |
| |
Implied
Present Value Price Per Share for Company |
| |||||||||
FYE 2025
|
| | | $ | 14.2 | | | | | $ | 0.19 | | | |
6.0x to 8.0x
|
| |
14.0x to 16.0x
|
| |
$2.34 to $2.97
|
| | | | 14.9% | | | |
$2.04 to $2.58
|
|
FYE 2026
|
| | | | 15.5 | | | | | | 0.20 | | | |
6.0x to 8.0x
|
| |
14.0x to 16.0x
|
| |
$2.64 to $3.25
|
| | | | 14.9% | | | |
$2.00 to $2.47
|
|
| | |
Company Implied Share Price
|
|
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
|
| |
$2.25 to $2.86
|
|
Exhibit No.
|
| |
Description
|
|
(a)(1)(A) | | | Offer to Purchase, dated December 3, 2024 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1)(A) to the Schedule TO) | |
(a)(1)(B) | | | Form of Letter of Transmittal (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1)(B) to the Schedule TO) | |
(a)(1)(C) | | | Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1)(C) to the Schedule TO). | |
(a)(1)(D) | | | Letter to Brokers, Dealers, Commercial Banks, Trust Companies and Other Nominees (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1)(D) to the Schedule TO). | |
(a)(1)(E) | | | Letter to Clients for use by Brokers, Dealers, Commercial Banks, Trust Companies and Other Nominees (incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1)(E) to the Schedule TO). | |
(a)(5)(A) | | | | |
(a)(5)(C) | | | | |
(e)(1) | | | Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 28, 2024, by and among CECO Environmental Corp., Combustion Merger Sub, Inc. and Profire Energy, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Profire Energy, Inc. with the SEC on October 29, 2024). | |
(e)(2) | | | | |
(e)(3) | | | Tender and Support Agreement, dated as of October 28, 2024, by and among CECO Environmental Corp., Combustion Merger Sub, Inc., Brenton W. Hatch and Hatch Family Holding Company, LLC. | |
(e)(4) | | | |
Exhibit No.
|
| |
Description
|
|
(e)(5) | | | | |
(e)(6) | | | |
| | | | PROFIRE ENERGY, INC. | |
| Date: December 3, 2024 | | |
By:
/s/ Ryan W. Oviatt
Name: Ryan W. Oviatt
Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer
|
|
| | | |
By:
/s/ Cameron M. Tidball
Name: Cameron M. Tidball
Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer
|
|
Exhibit (a)(5)(A)
October 28, 2024
Board of Directors
Profire Energy, Inc.
321 South 1250 West Suite 1
Lindon, UT 84042
Dear Members of the Board:
We have acted as your financial advisor in connection with the proposed acquisition of Profire Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) by CECO Environmental Corp. (the “Buyer”) and understand the Company, the Buyer and Combustion Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Buyer (“Merger Sub”) propose to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which, among other things, (a) the Buyer will cause Merger Sub to commence a tender offer (the “Offer”) to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (the “Company Common Stock”) at a price per share of Company Common Stock of $2.55 (the “Offer Price”) in cash, without interest, and (b) following the consummation of the Offer, Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company (the “Merger” and, together with the Offer, the “Transaction”), with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer, and as a result of the Merger each outstanding share of Company Common Stock that was not tendered and accepted pursuant to the Offer (other than shares of Company Common Stock owned by Buyer, Merger Sub or the Company (as treasury stock or otherwise) or any of their respective direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, all of which shares will be cancelled (the “Cancelled Shares”)) will be converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the Offer Price.
You have requested that we provide our opinion (the “Opinion”) as investment bankers to the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, to the holders of Company Common Stock (other than the Cancelled Shares) (solely in their capacity as such holders, the “Stockholders”) of the Offer Price to be received by the Stockholders pursuant to the Agreement.
In connection with arriving at our Opinion, we have:
(i) | reviewed certain publicly available financial statements, reports and other information regarding the Company; |
(ii) | reviewed certain audited financial statements regarding the Company; |
(iii) | reviewed certain internal financial statements, management reports and other financial and operating data concerning the Company prepared by management of the Company; |
(iv) | reviewed certain financial projections, forecasted potential future cash flows, and other information and assumptions concerning the Company prepared by and provided by management of the Company; |
(v) | reviewed the reported prices and trading activity for the Company Common Stock; |
October 28, 2024
PAGE 2
(vi) | compared the financial performance of the Company with that of certain publicly-traded companies and their securities that we deemed relevant to our analysis of the Transaction; |
(vii) | reviewed the financial terms, to the extent publicly available, of certain merger or acquisition transactions that we deemed relevant to our analysis of the Transaction; |
(viii) | reviewed the most recent draft of the Agreement and related documents provided to us by the Company; |
(ix) | discussed with management of the Company the operations of and future business prospects for the Company; |
(x) | assisted in your deliberations regarding the material terms of the Transaction and your negotiations with the Buyer; |
(xi) | reviewed a draft of the Agreement; and |
(xii) | performed such other analyses and provided such other services as we have deemed appropriate. |
We have relied on the accuracy and completeness of the information, financial data and financial forecasts provided to us by the Company and of the other information reviewed by us in connection with the preparation of our Opinion, and our Opinion is based upon such information. We have not independently verified or undertaken any responsibility to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of any of such information, data or forecasts. Management of the Company has assured us that it is not aware of any relevant information that has been omitted or remains undisclosed to us. We have not assumed any responsibility for making or undertaking an independent evaluation or appraisal of any of the assets or liabilities of the Company, and we have not been furnished with any such evaluations or appraisals; nor have we evaluated the solvency or fair value of the Company or the Buyer under any laws relating to bankruptcy, insolvency or similar matters. We have not assumed any obligation to conduct any physical inspection of the properties, facilities, assets or liabilities (contingent or otherwise) of the Company or the Buyer. We have not made an independent analysis of the effects of potential future changes in the rate of inflation or of prevailing rates of interest or other market developments or disruptions, or of the effects of any global conflicts or hostilities or any other disaster or adversity, on the business or prospects of the Company or the Buyer. With respect to the financial projections or forecasts prepared by management of the Company, we have assumed that such financial projections or forecasts have been reasonably prepared and reflect the best currently available estimates and judgments of the management of the Company as to the future financial performance of the Company, and provide a reasonable basis for our analysis. We recognize that such financial projections or forecasts are based on numerous variables, assumptions and judgments that are inherently uncertain (including, without limitation, factors related to general economic and competitive conditions) and that actual results could vary significantly from such projections or forecasts, and we express no opinion as to the reliability of such financial projections, forecasts or estimates or the assumptions upon which they are based.
October 28, 2024
PAGE 3
As part of our investment banking business, we regularly issue fairness opinions and are continually engaged in the valuation of companies and their securities in connection with business reorganizations, private placements, negotiated underwritings, mergers and acquisitions and valuations for estate, corporate and other purposes. We are familiar with the Company. We serve as financial adviser to the Company in connection with the Transaction, and we are entitled to receive from the Company reimbursement of our expenses and a fee for our services as financial adviser to the Company, a significant portion of which is contingent upon the consummation of the Transaction. We are also entitled to receive a fee from the Company for providing our Opinion to the Board. The Company has also agreed to indemnify us for certain liabilities arising out of our engagement, including certain liabilities that could arise out of our providing this Opinion letter. As you are aware, in the past two years, we and our affiliates have not provided financial advisory or financing services to the Company or the Buyer for which we and our affiliates have received compensation. We expect to pursue future investment banking services assignments with participants in this Transaction. In the ordinary course of business, Stephens Inc. and its affiliates at any time may hold long or short positions, and may trade or otherwise effect transactions as principal or for the accounts of customers, in debt, equity or derivative securities of any participant in the Transaction.
We are not legal, accounting, regulatory, or tax experts, and we have relied solely, and without independent verification, on the assessments of the Company and its other advisors with respect to such matters. We have assumed, with your consent, that the Transaction will not result in any materially adverse legal, regulatory, accounting or tax consequences for the Company or its Stockholders and that any reviews of legal, accounting, regulatory or tax issues conducted as a result of the Transaction will be resolved favorably to the Company and its Stockholders. We do not express any opinion as to any tax or other consequences that might result from the Transaction.
The Opinion is necessarily based upon market, economic and other conditions as they exist and can be evaluated on the date hereof and on the information made available to us as of the date hereof. Market price data used in connection with this Opinion is based on reported market closing prices as of October 25, 2024. It should be understood that subsequent developments may affect this Opinion and that we do not have any obligation to update, revise or reaffirm this Opinion or otherwise comment on events occurring after the date hereof. We further note that volatility or disruptions in the credit and financial markets relating to, among other things, potential future changes in the rate of inflation or prevailing rates of interest or other market developments or disruptions, or the effects of any global conflicts or hostilities or any other disaster or adversity, may or may not have an effect on the Company or the Buyer, and we are not expressing an opinion as to the effects of such volatility or disruptions on the Transaction or any party to the Transaction. We further express no opinion as to the prices at which shares of the Buyer’s or Company’s common stock may trade at any time subsequent to the announcement of the Transaction.
In connection with developing this Opinion, we have assumed that, in all respects material to our analyses:
(i) | the Transaction and any related transactions will be consummated on the terms of the latest draft of the Agreement provided to us, without material waiver or modification; |
(ii) | the representations and warranties of each party in the Agreement and in all related documents and instruments referred to in the Agreement are true and correct; |
October 28, 2024
PAGE 4
(iii) | each party to the Agreement and all related documents will perform all of the covenants and agreements required to be performed by such party under such documents; |
(iv) | all conditions to the completion of the Transaction will be satisfied within the time frames contemplated by the Agreement without any waivers; |
(v) | that in the course of obtaining the necessary regulatory, lending or other consents or approvals (contractual or otherwise) for the Transaction and any related transactions, no restrictions, including any divestiture requirements or amendments or modifications, will be imposed that would have a material adverse effect on the contemplated benefits of the Transaction to the Stockholders; |
(vi) | there has been no material change in the assets, liabilities, financial condition, results of operations, business or prospects of the Company or the Buyer since the date of the most recent financial statements made available to us, and that no legal, political, economic, regulatory or other development has occurred that will adversely impact the Company or the Buyer; and |
(vii) | the Transaction will be consummated in a manner that complies with applicable law and regulations. |
This Opinion is directed to and is for the use and benefit of the Board (in its capacity as such) solely for purposes of assisting with its review and deliberations regarding the Transaction. Our Opinion does not address the merits of the underlying decision by the Company to engage in the Transaction, the merits of the Transaction as compared to other alternatives potentially available to the Company or the relative effects of any alternative transaction in which the Company might engage, nor is it intended to be a recommendation to any person or entity as to any specific action that should be taken in connection with the Transaction, including with respect to how to vote or act with respect to the Transaction. This Opinion is not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any other person or entity. In addition, except as explicitly set forth in this letter, you have not asked us to address, and this Opinion does not address, the fairness to, or any other consideration of, the holders of any class of securities, creditors or other constituencies of the Company. We have not been asked to express any opinion, and do not express any opinion, as to the fairness of the amount or nature of the compensation to any of the Company’s officers, directors or employees, or to any group of such officers, directors or employees, whether relative to the Offer Price or otherwise. Our Fairness Opinion Committee has approved the Opinion set forth in this letter. Except as otherwise expressly provided in our engagement letter with the Company, neither this Opinion nor its substance may be disclosed by you to anyone other than your advisors without our written permission.
October 28, 2024
PAGE 5
Based on the foregoing and our general experience as investment bankers, and subject to the limitations, assumptions and qualifications stated herein, we are of the opinion that, as of the date hereof, the Offer Price to be received by the Stockholders pursuant to the Agreement is fair to them from a financial point of view.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Stephens Inc.
STEPHENS INC.
Exhibit (e)(2)
Profire Energy, Inc.
321 South 1240 West, Suite 1
Lindon, UT 84042
September 25, 2024
CECO Environmental Corp.
14651 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 500
Dallas, TX 75254
Attention: Todd R. Gleason, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Gleason:
In connection with a potential acquisition (the “Potential Transaction”) of Profire Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) by CECO Environmental Corp. (“CECO”) or one of its affiliates (as defined below) and in consideration for the time, effort and expenses to be undertaken by CECO in connection with the pursuit of the Potential Transaction, and for other good consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and CECO hereby agree as follows:
1. Exclusivity. The Company agrees that for a period (the “Exclusivity Period”) commencing on the date of this letter agreement and ending at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on November 9, 2024, the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective directors and officers (collectively, the “Company Parties”) will not, directly or indirectly, and the Company will instruct and use its reasonable best efforts to cause each affiliate (as defined below), employee, agent, attorney, financial advisor, accountant or other representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company Representatives”) not to, (a) initiate, solicit, negotiate or accept any proposal or offer relating to a Company Sale (as defined below) with any Person (as defined below) other than CECO or (b) provide any non-public information in connection with a Company Sale to, or participate or engage in any discussions or negotiations regarding a Company Sale with, any Person other than (i) CECO, (ii) the Company Parties and the Company Representatives, (iii) any governmental authority to the extent required by applicable law or (iv) any other Person as may be requested by or consented to in writing by CECO. During the Exclusivity Period, the Company shall not enter into any acquisition agreement, merger agreement or similar definitive agreement with any Person (other than CECO or any of its affiliates as CECO may designate) relating to any Company Sale. The Company represents that neither it nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any agreement of the type described in the immediately preceding sentence. The Company shall, and shall cause the other Company Parties to, and the Company will instruct and use its reasonable best efforts to cause each Company Representative to, immediately cease any existing discussions or negotiations with any Person (other than the other Company Parties, the Company Representatives and CECO) regarding a Company Sale. For purposes of this letter agreement, (A) the term “affiliate” means an “affiliate” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), (B) the term “Company Sale” means the acquisition by a Person of (1) 5% or more of the equity interests of the Company or (2) 5% or more of the consolidated assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case, through a merger, purchase of stock, purchase of assets, tender offer or other similar transaction, and (C) the term “Person” means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust, unincorporated organization or other entity, as well as any syndicate or group that would be deemed to be a person under Section 13(d)(3) of the 1934 Act.
1 |
2. Definitive Agreement. Unless and until a mutually acceptable definitive written agreement between CECO (or any of its affiliates as CECO may designate) and the Company with respect to the Potential Transaction (the “Definitive Agreement”) has been executed and delivered by all of the parties thereto, neither party hereto shall be under any legal obligation (except as expressly set forth in this letter agreement and in any confidentiality agreement to which both CECO and the Company are parties) with respect to the Potential Transaction, including that neither party hereto shall be under any obligation to (a) continue discussions or negotiations regarding, (b) enter into any definitive written agreement with respect to, or (c) consummate, in each case, the Potential Transaction or any other transaction by virtue of this letter agreement or any other written or oral expression with respect thereto.
3. Termination. This letter agreement will automatically terminate, and be of no further force and effect, upon the earlier of (a) the execution and delivery of the Definitive Agreement by all of the parties thereto and (b) the end of the Exclusivity Period.
4. Miscellaneous.
(a) This letter agreement may be executed and delivered in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. This letter agreement shall become effective when one or more counterparts have been signed by each of the parties hereto and delivered to the other party. Such delivery may be made by exchange of copies of the signature page by email transmission or other electronic means.
(b) Each of the parties hereto agrees that no failure or delay by any party hereto in exercising any of its rights, powers or privileges hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege hereunder.
(c) This letter agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, regardless of the laws that might otherwise govern under the applicable principles of conflicts of laws thereof. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consents to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court lacks jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware located in New Castle County, for any actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or relating to this letter agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (and each of the parties hereto agrees not to commence any action, suit or proceeding relating thereto except in such courts), and further agrees that service of any process, summons, notice or document by United States registered mail to the address of such party set forth in this letter agreement shall be effective service of process for any action, suit or proceeding brought against such party in any such court. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of this letter agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court lacks jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware located in New Castle County, and hereby further irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
2 |
(d) Each of the parties hereto knowingly, voluntarily and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, all right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based on contract, tort or otherwise) arising out of or relating to this letter agreement or the actions of any party hereto in connection with the negotiation, administration, performance or enforcement of this letter agreement.
(e) Any assignment of this letter agreement by either party hereto without the prior written consent of the other party hereto shall be void.
(f) If any term or other provision of this letter agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced under any applicable law or public policy, all other terms and provisions of this letter agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. If any term or provision of this letter agreement is determined to be unenforceable by reason of its extent, duration, scope or otherwise, then the parties hereto agree that the court making such determination shall reduce such extent, duration, scope or other provision in the minimum amount necessary to make such provision enforceable and enforce it in its reduced form for all purposes contemplated by this letter agreement.
(g) This letter agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties hereto concerning the subject matter hereof, and no modification of this letter agreement or waiver of the terms and conditions hereof shall be binding upon either party hereto, unless approved in writing by both such parties.
(h) The words “including,” “includes” or “include” in this letter agreement are to be read as listing non-exclusive examples of the matters referred to, whether or not words such as “without limitation” or “but not limited to” are used in each instance.
[Remainder of page left intentionally blank. Signature pages follow.]
3 |
Please confirm your agreement with the foregoing by signing and returning to the undersigned the duplicate copy of this letter enclosed herewith.
PROFIRE ENERGY, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Ryan W. Oviatt | |
Name: Ryan W. Oviatt | ||
Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-President & Chief Financial Officer |
[Signature page to Exclusivity Agreement]
Accepted and agreed as of the date first written above:
CECO ENVIRONMENTAL CORP.
By: | /s/ Todd R. Gleason | |
Name: Todd R. Gleason | ||
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
[Signature page to Exclusivity Agreement]
Exhibit (e)(3)
Tender And Support Agreement
This TENDER AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of October 28, 2024, by and among CECO Environmental Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), Combustion Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Purchaser”), Brenton W. Hatch (“Hatch”), and Hatch Family Holding Company, LLC (together with Hatch, “Stockholder” and, together with Parent and Purchaser, the “Parties”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Stockholder is the Beneficial Owner or record owner of the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Shares”) set forth on Schedule A, of Profire Energy, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”);
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Company, Parent and Purchaser are entering into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), which provides, among other things, for Purchaser to commence a tender offer (the “Offer”) for all of the issued and outstanding Shares and, following the consummation of the Offer, the merger of Purchaser with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; and
WHEREAS, as a condition to the willingness of Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, and as an inducement and in consideration for Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, Stockholder, with respect to the Owned Shares has agreed to enter into this Agreement.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and of the mutual agreements and covenants set forth herein and in the Merger Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
Article I. Definitions.
Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Merger Agreement. In addition, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this Article I:
“Beneficially Own,” “Beneficial Ownership” or “Beneficial Owner” with respect to any Company Shares means having “beneficial ownership” of such securities (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, or understanding, whether or not in writing.
“Claim” means any demand, claim, suit, litigation, action, legal proceeding (whether at law or in equity) or arbitration.
“Company Entities” means the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
“Offer Documents” means, collectively, and together with all exhibits, amendments, and supplements thereto, the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with respect to the Offer that will contain or incorporate by reference the related offer to purchase the Shares pursuant to the Offer, the form of the related letter of transmittal, the summary advertisement, and other ancillary Offer Documents and instruments pursuant to which the Offer will be made.
“Organizational Documents” means any corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar organizational documents, including charters, certificates, or articles of incorporation, bylaws, certificates of formation, operating agreements (including limited liability company agreements and agreements of limited partnership), certificates of limited partnership, partnership agreements, stockholder agreements, and certificates of existence, as applicable.
“Owned Shares” means, collectively, all (i) Shares set forth on Schedule A and any other voting securities of the Company held of record or Beneficially Owned by Stockholder as of the date hereof and (ii) Shares or other voting securities of the Company that are hereafter issued to or otherwise directly or indirectly acquired by and become owned (whether Beneficially Owned or of record) by Stockholder after the execution of this Agreement.
“Willful Breach” means a material breach of this Agreement or failure to perform that is a consequence of an act or omission of the breaching Party with the knowledge that such act or omission would, or would reasonably be expected to, cause or constitute a material breach of this Agreement.
Article II. Tender of Shares.
Section 2.1. | Tender of Shares. |
(a) | Promptly following the commencement of the Offer, and in any event no later than five (5) Business Days following Stockholder’s receipt of a letter of transmittal with respect to the Offer, Stockholder (i) shall tender, or cause to be tendered, in the Offer all of the Owned Shares pursuant to the terms of the Offer, free and clear of all Liens, and (ii) shall not withdraw, or cause to be withdrawn, any of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer; provided, however, that Stockholder may withdraw the Owned Shares from the Offer at any time following the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 3.2. |
(b) | If the Offer is terminated or withdrawn by Purchaser, or the Merger Agreement is terminated prior to the purchase of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer, Parent and Purchaser shall promptly (and in any event within one (1) Business Day) return, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depository agent or paying agent to promptly return, all of the tendered Owned Shares to Stockholder. |
2
Article III. Transfer and Voting of Shares.
Section 3.1. | No Transfer of Shares. Stockholder shall not, directly or indirectly, (a) sell (including short sell), gift, pledge, encumber, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares, (b) deposit the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or arrangement with respect to any of his, her or its Shares or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto, (c) tender, agree to tender or permit to be tendered any of the Owned Shares in response to or otherwise in connection with any tender or exchange offer other than the Offer, (d) enter into any contract, commitment, option, or other arrangement or undertaking with respect to the direct or indirect acquisition or sale, gift, pledge, encumbrance, assignment, transfer or other disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to hedging, cash settlement or otherwise) of any of the Owned Shares or (e) take or permit any other action that would in any way would be reasonably expected to restrict, limit, impede, delay or interfere with the performance of Stockholder’s obligations hereunder in any material respect (any such action in clause (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above, a “Transfer”). Any action taken in violation of the foregoing sentence shall be null and void ab initio. Stockholder hereby authorizes Parent to direct the Company to impose stop orders to prevent the Transfer of any Owned Shares on the books of the Company in violation of this Agreement. If any involuntary Transfer of Stockholder’s Owned Shares shall occur (including, but not limited to, a sale by Stockholder’s trustee in any bankruptcy, or a sale to a purchaser at any creditor’s or court sale), the transferee (which term, as used herein, shall include any and all transferees and subsequent transferees of the initial transferee) shall take and hold such Owned Shares subject to all of the restrictions, obligations, liabilities, and rights under this Agreement, which shall continue in full force and effect until valid termination of this Agreement. Stockholder agrees that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates not to, become a member of a “group” (as defined under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) for the purpose of taking any actions inconsistent with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Section 3.1 shall not prohibit a Transfer of Owned Shares by Stockholder to (x) if Stockholder is an entity, any Affiliate, Subsidiary, partner, or member of Stockholder or, if Stockholder is a trust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries authorized or entitled to receive distributions from such trust, or (y) if Stockholder is a natural person, (A) a spouse, lineal descendant or antecedent, brother or sister, adopted child or grandchild or the spouse of any child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Stockholder, (B) any trust, the trustees of which include only the Persons named in clause (A) and the beneficiaries of which include only the Persons named in clause (A), (C) any corporation, limited liability company or partnership, the stockholders, members or general or limited partners of which include only the Persons named in clauses (A) or (B), (D) to any Person by will, for estate or tax planning purposes, for charitable purposes or as charitable gifts or donations, or (E) to effect a “net settlement” of a restricted stock unit in which the Company holds back Shares otherwise issuable either to satisfy Stockholder’s tax withholding obligation upon the settlement of a restricted stock unit; provided, however, that in any such case, as a condition to the effectiveness of such Transfer, (1) each Person to which any of such Owned Shares are Transferred has executed and delivered to Parent and Purchaser a counterpart to this Agreement pursuant to which such Person is bound by all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, and (2) this Agreement becomes the legal, valid, and binding agreement of such Person, enforceable against such Person in accordance with its terms. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stockholder may make Transfers of Owned Shares as Parent may agree in writing in its sole discretion. |
Section 3.2. | Termination. This Agreement and the obligations of Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement will terminate automatically, without any notice or action by any Person, upon the earliest to occur of (a) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, (b) the time of the Offer Closing, provided that Stockholder has tendered all of his, her, or its Owned Shares in accordance with Section 2.1(a) and otherwise complied in all material respects with the covenants to be performed and complied with by it under this Agreement, (c) the making of a Company Adverse Recommendation Change in accordance with Section 6.03(d) or Section 6.03(e) of the Merger Agreement, (d) the entry of Parent or Purchaser, without the prior written consent of Stockholder, into any amendment or modification of the Merger Agreement that results in any decrease to the Offer Price or changes the form of Merger Consideration, or (e) the termination of this Agreement by written notice from Parent to Stockholder (such earliest date, the “Expiration Date”). |
3
Section 3.3. | Effect of Termination. In the event this Agreement is validly terminated as provided in Section 3.2, this Agreement shall immediately become void and no Party will have any further obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, except that nothing in this Section 3.3 shall relieve any Party from liability for fraud or any Willful Breach of this Agreement prior to such termination, which liabilities shall survive the termination of this Agreement. The provisions of this Section 3.3 and of Article VII will survive any termination of this Agreement. |
Section 3.4. | Stockholder Capacity. The Parties acknowledge that this Agreement is entered into by Stockholder in his, her, or its capacity as owner of the Owned Shares and not, if applicable, in such Stockholder’s capacity as a director, officer or employee of the Company, and that nothing in this Agreement is intended to restrict or affect any action or inaction of Stockholder or any representative of Stockholder, as applicable, serving on the Company Board or on the board of directors (or similar body) of any Subsidiary of the Company or as an officer or fiduciary of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, acting in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or prevent or be construed to create any obligation on the part of any director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company from taking any action in his or her capacity as such director or officer, and no action taken in any such capacity as an officer or director of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company shall be deemed to constitute a breach of this Agreement. |
Article IV. Representations and Warranties of Stockholder.
Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Purchaser as follows:
Section 4.1. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Stockholder has the requisite legal capacity, right, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform such Stockholder’s obligations hereunder. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by or on behalf of Stockholder and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser, constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Stockholder, enforceable against Stockholder in accordance with its terms, subject to (i) laws of general application relating to bankruptcy, insolvency and the relief of debtors and (ii) rules of law governing specific performance, injunctive relief and other equitable remedies. |
Section 4.2. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Stockholder with any provisions herein will (a) if Stockholder is an entity, violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Stockholder, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Stockholder is a party or by which Stockholder or any of its assets may be bound, (d) result (or, with the giving of notice, the passage of time, or otherwise, would result) in the creation or imposition of any Lien on the Owned Shares (other than one created by Parent or Purchaser), or (e) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Stockholder or by which any of its assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), (d), and (e), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. No trust of which Stockholder is a trustee requires the consent of any beneficiary to the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
4
Section 4.3. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Stockholder, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Stockholder, threatened in writing against Stockholder or any of Stockholder’s properties or assets (including any Shares owned by Stockholder) before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 4.4. | Ownership of Owned Shares; Total Shares. As of the date hereof, Stockholder is, and (except with respect to any Owned Shares Transferred in accordance with Section 3.1 or accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer) at all times during the term of this Agreement will be, the record and/or Beneficial Owner of all of the Owned Shares and has good and marketable title to all such Owned Shares free and clear of any Liens, except for (a) any such Liens that may be imposed pursuant to (i) this Agreement and (ii) any applicable restrictions on transfer under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities Law or any other applicable securities laws, including applicable Canadian securities laws, and (b) Liens resulting from that certain Stock Pledge and Security Agreement dated December 11, 2023 (the “Pledge Agreement”). Except to the extent of any Owned Shares acquired after the date hereof (which shall become Owned Shares upon that acquisition), the number of Owned Shares (as set forth on Schedule A opposite such Stockholder’s name) are the only equity interests in the Company Beneficially Owned or owned of record by such Stockholder as of the date hereof. As of the date hereof, other than the Owned Shares, neither Stockholder nor any of its Affiliates owns any Shares or any other interests in options to purchase or rights to subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities of the Company and has no interest in or voting rights with respect to any securities of the Company. |
Section 4.5. | Reliance; Acknowledgment of the Merger Agreement. Stockholder understands and acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser are entering into the Merger Agreement in reliance upon Stockholder’s execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement. Stockholder (through its authorized representatives) has reviewed and understands the terms of this Agreement and the Merger Agreement and has had the opportunity to consult with its counsel in connection with this Agreement. |
Section 4.6. | Voting Power. Stockholder has full voting power (or the power to effect the full voting power) with respect to all such Stockholder’s Owned Shares, full power of disposition, full power to issue instructions with respect to the matters set forth herein and full power to agree to all of the matters set forth in this Agreement, in each case, with respect to all of the Owned Shares. None of the Owned Shares are subject to any stockholders’ agreement, proxy, voting trust, or other agreement, or arrangement with respect to the voting of such Owned Shares, except as provided hereunder. |
Section 4.7. | Financial Advisor. No broker, finder, investment banker, or other Person is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s, financial advisor’s or other similar fee or commission from the Company in connection with Stockholder tendering the Owned Shares based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of Stockholder in its capacity as such. |
5
Article V. Representations and Warranties of Parent and Purchaser.
Parent and Purchaser hereby represent and warrant to Stockholder as follows:
Section 5.1. | Organization; Qualification. Each of Parent and Purchaser is duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing (to the extent such concept is recognized in such jurisdiction) under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation. |
Section 5.2. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Each of Parent and Purchaser has all requisite organizational power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser have been duly and validly authorized by all necessary organizational action, no other organizational proceedings on the part of Parent or Purchaser are necessary to authorize this Agreement and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder, this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Parent and Purchaser, enforceable against Parent and Purchaser in accordance with its terms. |
Section 5.3. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Parent and Merger Sub with any provisions herein will (a) violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Parent or Merger Sub, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Parent or Merger Sub is a party or by which Parent or Merger Sub or any of its respective assets may be bound, or (d) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Parent or Merger Sub or by which any of its respective assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), and (d), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 5.4. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Parent and Merger Sub, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Parent or Merger Sub, threatened in writing against Parent or Merger Sub or any of Parent’s or Merger Sub’s properties or assets before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Article VI. Covenants of Stockholder.
Section 6.1. | Further Assurances. Parent, Purchaser, and Stockholder shall, from time to time and without additional consideration, execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered such additional or further consents, documents and other instruments and use their respective reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Law, to perform their respective obligations under this Agreement. |
6
Section 6.2. | Public Announcements. Stockholder shall not issue any press release or otherwise make any public statement with respect to the Merger Agreement, this Agreement, the Merger, the Offer or any other transactions contemplated hereby or by the Merger Agreement without the prior written consent of Parent, except as may be required by applicable Law (provided that Stockholder shall provide reasonable notice of any such disclosure to Parent, other than an amendment to and report on Schedule 13D or any filing made pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby). |
Section 6.3. | No Solicitation of Takeover Proposals. Stockholder, solely in its capacity as a stockholder of the Company, shall not, and shall instruct its Representatives not to: (a) directly or indirectly solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate (including by way of providing nonpublic information) any inquiries, proposals or offers, or the making of any submission or announcement of any inquiry, proposal or offer that, in each case, constitutes or could reasonably be expected to lead to a Takeover Proposal, (b) directly or indirectly engage in, enter into or participate in any discussions or negotiations with any Person making a Takeover Proposal, or such Person’s Representatives, with respect to a Takeover Proposal (other than, solely in response to an inquiry, proposal or offer by a Person to ascertain facts from the Person making such Takeover Proposal about the terms of such Takeover Proposal and to refer such Person to the restrictions of the Merger Agreement and this Section 6.3) or (c) provide any nonpublic information of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or take any other action to assist or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate, any effort by any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) in a manner that is intended to lead to a Takeover Proposal or in connection with or in response to any inquiry, offer, or proposal that constitutes a Takeover Proposal. Stockholder shall, and shall instruct its Representatives to, immediately cease any solicitation, discussions, or negotiations with any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) with respect to any inquiry, proposal or offer pending on the date hereof that constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Takeover Proposal. |
Section 6.4. | Information for Offer Documents; Disclosure. Stockholder (a) consents to and authorizes Parent and Purchaser to publish and disclose in the Offer Documents and related filings under applicable Laws, and any press release or other disclosure document that Parent or Purchaser reasonably determines to be necessary in connection with the Offer, the Merger, and any transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Stockholder’s identity and ownership of the Owned Shares and the nature of Stockholder’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under this Agreement and any other information that Parent reasonably determines is required to be disclosed by applicable Law (provided, that each Stockholder shall have a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on such disclosure prior to any such filing) and (b) agrees to promptly give to Parent and Purchaser any information they may reasonably require for the preparation of any such disclosure documents. Stockholder agrees to promptly notify Parent and Purchaser of any required corrections with respect to any written information supplied by it specifically for use in any such disclosure document, if and to the extent that any shall have become false or misleading in any material respect. Stockholder acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser may, in Parent’s sole discretion, file this Agreement or a form hereof with the SEC or any other applicable Governmental Entity. |
7
Section 6.5. | Waiver of Certain Actions. During the term of this Agreement, Stockholder agrees not to commence or participate or join in, and agrees to take all actions reasonably necessary to opt out of any class in any class action with respect to, any claim, derivative or otherwise, against Parent, Purchaser, the Company, or any of their respective successors, directors or officers (a) challenging the validity of, or seeking to enjoin or delay the operation of, any provision of this Agreement or the Merger Agreement or (b) alleging a breach of any fiduciary duty of any Person in connection with the negotiation and entry into this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, excluding any such claim brought by Stockholder pursuant to the terms hereof. |
Section 6.6. | Adjustments. In the event of any stock split, stock dividend, merger, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, combination, exchange of Shares, or the like of the capital stock of the Company affecting the Owned Shares, the terms of this Agreement will be equitably adjusted, including to apply to any resulting securities. |
Section 6.7. | Termination of Pledge. Promptly following the execution of this Agreement, and in any event prior to Stockholder’s tender of the Owned Shares in accordance with and subject to the requirements of Section 2.1, Stockholder shall cause the pledge of any Owned Shares under the Pledge Agreement to be terminated and any associated Liens to be removed from the Owned Shares. |
Article VII. General Provisions.
Section 7.1. | Entire Agreement; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. |
(a) | This Agreement (together with Schedule A) and the Merger Agreement constitute the entire agreement, and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between or among the Parties or their Affiliates, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof. |
(b) | Each Party agrees that (i) their respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement are solely for the benefit of the other Parties, in accordance with and subject to the terms of this Agreement and (ii) this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, confer upon any Person other than the Parties any rights or remedies under this Agreement, including the right to rely upon the representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement. |
Section 7.2. | Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests, or obligations under this Agreement may be assigned, by operation of law or otherwise, by any Party, other than in connection with a Transfer of Owned Shares pursuant to the requirements of Section 3.1, without the prior written consent of each of the other Parties. Any purported assignment without such consent shall be void. Subject to the preceding sentences, this Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Parties and their respective successors and assigns. |
Section 7.3. | Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule or Law, or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. Upon any determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in a mutually acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated by this Agreement are fulfilled to the extent possible. |
8
Section 7.4. | Specific Performance. The Parties acknowledge and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached or threatened to be breached and that monetary damages, even if available, would not be an adequate remedy therefor. It is accordingly agreed that, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 3.2, the Parties shall be entitled to obtain an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, in any court referred to in Section 7.6, without proof of actual damages (and each Party hereby waives any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond in connection with such remedy), this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity, including monetary damages. The Parties further agree not to assert that a remedy of specific enforcement is unenforceable, invalid, contrary to Law or inequitable for any reason, nor to assert that a remedy of monetary damages would provide an adequate remedy for any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement. |
Section 7.5. | Governing Law. This Agreement, including all matters of construction, and all Claims (whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, whether at law or in equity) that may be based on, arise out of or relate to this Agreement or the negotiation, execution, performance or subject matter of this Agreement, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts executed and to be performed in that State. |
Section 7.6. | Jurisdiction; Venue; Service of Process. Each of the Parties hereby (i) expressly and irrevocably submits to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement, (ii) agrees that it shall not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any such court, and (iii) agrees that it shall not bring any action relating to this Agreement in any court other than (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware; provided that each of the Parties has the right to bring any proceeding for enforcement of a judgment entered by such court in any other court or jurisdiction. Each Party further agrees that service of any process, summons, notice, or document by U.S. registered mail to the respective addresses set forth in Section 7.8 shall be effective service of process for any Claim brought against such Party in any such court. The foregoing, however, will not limit the right of a Party to effect service of process on any other Party by any other legally available method. Each Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion or as a defense, counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (a) any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in Delaware as described herein for any reason, (b) that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise) and (c) that this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such courts. |
9
Section 7.7. | Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY ARISE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE SUCH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE OFFER OR THE MERGER. EACH PARTY (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVER AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS Section 7.7. |
Section 7.8. | Notices. All notices, demands or other communications to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing in English and will be deemed to have been given when delivered personally to the recipient or when sent to the recipient by email at the address listed below (with receipt confirmed other than automatically generated confirmation), one (1) Business Day after the date when sent to the recipient by reputable overnight express courier services (charges prepaid) or three (3) Business Days after the date when mailed to the recipient by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid. Such notices, demands and other communications will be sent to the Parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as have been specified by like notice): |
To Parent or Purchaser: | |
CECO Environmental Corp. | |
14651 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 500 | |
Dallas, Texas 75254 | |
Attention: Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi, SVP, Chief Administrative & Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | |
Email: lwatkins@OneCECO.com | |
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to: | |
Foley & Lardner LLP | |
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue | |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 | |
Attention: Clyde W. Tinnen | |
Email: ctinnen@foley.com | |
To Stockholder: | |
Brenton W. Hatch | |
457 East 1400 South | |
Salem, UT 84653 | |
Email: b@tmrk.com |
10
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to: | |
Dorsey & Whitney LLP | |
111 S. Main Street, Suite 2100 | |
Salt Lake City, UT 84111 | |
Attention: David Marx | |
Email: marx.david@dorsey.com |
Section 7.9. | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts (including by means of portable document format (.pdf) or other electronic means), each of which is an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Electronic signatures (including DocuSign and Adobe Sign) delivered by electronic mail, portable document format (.pdf) transmission or other electronic means, shall be sufficient and binding as if they were originals and such delivery shall constitute valid delivery of this Agreement. |
Section 7.10. | Amendment and Waiver. This Agreement may not be amended or waived except by an instrument in writing signed (i) by the Parties, in the case of an amendment, or (ii) by each Party against whom the waiver is to be effective, in the case of a waiver. The failure of any Party to assert any rights or remedies will not constitute a waiver of such rights or remedies. No failure or delay by any Party in exercising any right or remedy shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or remedy. |
Section 7.11. | Construction. Each Party has participated in the drafting and negotiation of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement must be construed as if it is drafted by all the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement. |
Section 7.12. | Fees, Costs, and Expenses. All fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be paid by the Party incurring such fees, costs, or expenses. |
Section 7.13. | Interpretation. |
(a) | Time Periods. When calculating the period of time before which, within which or after which any act is to be done or step taken pursuant to this Agreement, (i) the date that is the reference date in calculating such period shall be excluded and (ii) if the last day of such period is not a Business Day, the period in question shall end on the next succeeding Business Day. All references in this Agreement to a number of days are to such number of calendar days unless Business Days are specified. |
(b) | Gender and Number. Any reference in this Agreement to gender shall include all genders, and words imparting the singular number only shall include the plural and vice versa. |
(c) | Articles, Sections, Headings, and Schedules. When a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or a Section, such reference shall be to an Article or a Section of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The headings in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. All Schedules annexed hereto or referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. |
11
(d) | Hereof. The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “hereby,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. |
(e) | Extent. The word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a subject or other thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean simply “if.” |
(f) | Contracts; Laws. Any Contract or Law defined or referred to in this Agreement means such Contract or Law as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, unless otherwise specifically indicated. |
(g) | Persons. References to a person are also to its permitted successors and assigns. |
[Signature Pages Follow]
12
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have duly executed this Agreement, each as of the date first written above.
CECO Environmental Corp.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title | Chief Executive Officer |
Combustion Merger Sub, Inc.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title: | President |
Brenton W. Hatch
/s/ Brenton Hatch |
Hatch Family Holding Company, LLC
By: | /s/ Shauna Marie Jones | |
Name: | Shauna Marie Jones | |
Title: | Manager |
By: | /s/ Justin Wayne Hatch | |
Name: | Justin Wayne Hatch | |
Title: | Manager |
By: | /s/ Keaton Brent Hatch | |
Name: | Keaton Brent Hatch | |
Title: | Manager |
[Signature page to Tender and Support Agreement]
13
Schedule A
Owned Shares
Stockholder | Common Stock Owned | |||
Brent Hatch | 918,719 | |||
Hatch Family Holding Company, LLC | 8,205,560 | |||
Total | 9,124,279 |
14
Exhibit (e)(4)
Tender And Support Agreement
This TENDER AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of October 28, 2024, by and among CECO Environmental Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), Combustion Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Purchaser”), and Ryan W. Oviatt (“Stockholder” and, together with Parent and Purchaser, the “Parties”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Stockholder is the Beneficial Owner or record owner of the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Shares”), and Company restricted stock units set forth on Schedule A, of Profire Energy, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”);
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Company, Parent and Purchaser are entering into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), which provides, among other things, for Purchaser to commence a tender offer (the “Offer”) for all of the issued and outstanding Shares and, following the consummation of the Offer, the merger of Purchaser with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; and
WHEREAS, as a condition to the willingness of Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, and as an inducement and in consideration for Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, Stockholder, with respect to the Owned Shares has agreed to enter into this Agreement.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and of the mutual agreements and covenants set forth herein and in the Merger Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
Article I. Definitions.
Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Merger Agreement. In addition, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this Article I:
“Beneficially Own,” “Beneficial Ownership” or “Beneficial Owner” with respect to any Company Shares means having “beneficial ownership” of such securities (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, or understanding, whether or not in writing.
“Claim” means any demand, claim, suit, litigation, action, legal proceeding (whether at law or in equity) or arbitration.
“Company Entities” means the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
“Offer Documents” means, collectively, and together with all exhibits, amendments, and supplements thereto, the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with respect to the Offer that will contain or incorporate by reference the related offer to purchase the Shares pursuant to the Offer, the form of the related letter of transmittal, the summary advertisement, and other ancillary Offer Documents and instruments pursuant to which the Offer will be made.
“Organizational Documents” means any corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar organizational documents, including charters, certificates, or articles of incorporation, bylaws, certificates of formation, operating agreements (including limited liability company agreements and agreements of limited partnership), certificates of limited partnership, partnership agreements, stockholder agreements, and certificates of existence, as applicable.
“Owned Shares” means, collectively, all (i) Shares and Company restricted stock units set forth on Schedule A and any other voting securities of the Company held of record or Beneficially Owned by Stockholder as of the date hereof and (ii) Shares, Company restricted stock units or other voting securities of the Company that are hereafter issued to or otherwise directly or indirectly acquired by and become owned (whether Beneficially Owned or of record) by Stockholder after the execution of this Agreement.
“Willful Breach” means a material breach of this Agreement or failure to perform that is a consequence of an act or omission of the breaching Party with the knowledge that such act or omission would, or would reasonably be expected to, cause or constitute a material breach of this Agreement.
Article II. Tender of Shares.
Section 2.1. | Tender of Shares. |
(a) | Promptly following the commencement of the Offer, and in any event no later than five (5) Business Days following Stockholder’s receipt of a letter of transmittal with respect to the Offer, Stockholder (i) shall tender, or cause to be tendered, in the Offer all of the Owned Shares pursuant to the terms of the Offer, free and clear of all Liens, and (ii) shall not withdraw, or cause to be withdrawn, any of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer; provided, however, that Stockholder may withdraw the Owned Shares from the Offer at any time following the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 3.2. |
(b) | If the Offer is terminated or withdrawn by Purchaser, or the Merger Agreement is terminated prior to the purchase of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer, Parent and Purchaser shall promptly (and in any event within one (1) Business Day) return, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depository agent or paying agent to promptly return, all of the tendered Owned Shares to Stockholder. |
Article III. Transfer and Voting of Shares.
Section 3.1. | No Transfer of Shares. Stockholder shall not, directly or indirectly, (a) sell (including short sell), gift, pledge, encumber, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares, (b) deposit the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or arrangement with respect to any of his, her or its Shares or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto, (c) tender, agree to tender or permit to be tendered any of the Owned Shares in response to or otherwise in connection with any tender or exchange offer other than the Offer, (d) enter into any contract, commitment, option, or other arrangement or undertaking with respect to the direct or indirect acquisition or sale, gift, pledge, encumbrance, assignment, transfer or other disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to hedging, cash settlement or otherwise) of any of the Owned Shares or (e) take or permit any other action that would in any way would be reasonably expected to restrict, limit, impede, delay or interfere with the performance of Stockholder’s obligations hereunder in any material respect (any such action in clause (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above, a “Transfer”). Any action taken in violation of the foregoing sentence shall be null and void ab initio. Stockholder hereby authorizes Parent to direct the Company to impose stop orders to prevent the Transfer of any Owned Shares on the books of the Company in violation of this Agreement. If any involuntary Transfer of Stockholder’s Owned Shares shall occur (including, but not limited to, a sale by Stockholder’s trustee in any bankruptcy, or a sale to a purchaser at any creditor’s or court sale), the transferee (which term, as used herein, shall include any and all transferees and subsequent transferees of the initial transferee) shall take and hold such Owned Shares subject to all of the restrictions, obligations, liabilities, and rights under this Agreement, which shall continue in full force and effect until valid termination of this Agreement. Stockholder agrees that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates not to, become a member of a “group” (as defined under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) for the purpose of taking any actions inconsistent with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Section 3.1 shall not prohibit a Transfer of Owned Shares by Stockholder to (x) if Stockholder is an entity, any Affiliate, Subsidiary, partner, or member of Stockholder or, if Stockholder is a trust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries authorized or entitled to receive distributions from such trust, or (y) if Stockholder is a natural person, (A) a spouse, lineal descendant or antecedent, brother or sister, adopted child or grandchild or the spouse of any child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Stockholder, (B) any trust, the trustees of which include only the Persons named in clause (A) and the beneficiaries of which include only the Persons named in clause (A), (C) any corporation, limited liability company or partnership, the stockholders, members or general or limited partners of which include only the Persons named in clauses (A) or (B), (D) to any Person by will, for estate or tax planning purposes, for charitable purposes or as charitable gifts or donations, or (E) to effect a “net settlement” of a restricted stock unit in which the Company holds back Shares otherwise issuable either to satisfy Stockholder’s tax withholding obligation upon the settlement of a restricted stock unit; provided, however, that in any such case, as a condition to the effectiveness of such Transfer, (1) each Person to which any of such Owned Shares are Transferred has executed and delivered to Parent and Purchaser a counterpart to this Agreement pursuant to which such Person is bound by all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, and (2) this Agreement becomes the legal, valid, and binding agreement of such Person, enforceable against such Person in accordance with its terms. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stockholder may make Transfers of Owned Shares as Parent may agree in writing in its sole discretion. |
2
Section 3.2. | Termination. This Agreement and the obligations of Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement will terminate automatically, without any notice or action by any Person, upon the earliest to occur of (a) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, (b) the time of the Offer Closing, provided that Stockholder has tendered all of his, her, or its Owned Shares in accordance with Section 2.1(a) and otherwise complied in all material respects with the covenants to be performed and complied with by it under this Agreement, (c) the making of a Company Adverse Recommendation Change in accordance with Section 6.03(d) or Section 6.03(e) of the Merger Agreement, (d) the entry of Parent or Purchaser, without the prior written consent of Stockholder, into any amendment or modification of the Merger Agreement that results in any decrease to the Offer Price or changes the form of Merger Consideration, or (e) the termination of this Agreement by written notice from Parent to Stockholder (such earliest date, the “Expiration Date”). |
Section 3.3. | Effect of Termination. In the event this Agreement is validly terminated as provided in Section 3.2, this Agreement shall immediately become void and no Party will have any further obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, except that nothing in this Section 3.3 shall relieve any Party from liability for fraud or any Willful Breach of this Agreement prior to such termination, which liabilities shall survive the termination of this Agreement. The provisions of this Section 3.3 and of Article VII will survive any termination of this Agreement. |
3
Section 3.4. | Stockholder Capacity. The Parties acknowledge that this Agreement is entered into by Stockholder in his, her, or its capacity as owner of the Owned Shares and not, if applicable, in such Stockholder’s capacity as a director, officer or employee of the Company, and that nothing in this Agreement is intended to restrict or affect any action or inaction of Stockholder or any representative of Stockholder, as applicable, serving on the Company Board or on the board of directors (or similar body) of any Subsidiary of the Company or as an officer or fiduciary of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, acting in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or prevent or be construed to create any obligation on the part of any director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company from taking any action in his or her capacity as such director or officer, and no action taken in any such capacity as an officer or director of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company shall be deemed to constitute a breach of this Agreement. |
Article IV. Representations and Warranties of Stockholder.
Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Purchaser as follows:
Section 4.1. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Stockholder has the requisite legal capacity, right, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform such Stockholder’s obligations hereunder. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by or on behalf of Stockholder and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser, constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Stockholder, enforceable against Stockholder in accordance with its terms, subject to (i) laws of general application relating to bankruptcy, insolvency and the relief of debtors and (ii) rules of law governing specific performance, injunctive relief and other equitable remedies. |
Section 4.2. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Stockholder with any provisions herein will (a) if Stockholder is an entity, violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Stockholder, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Stockholder is a party or by which Stockholder or any of its assets may be bound, (d) result (or, with the giving of notice, the passage of time, or otherwise, would result) in the creation or imposition of any Lien on the Owned Shares (other than one created by Parent or Purchaser), or (e) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Stockholder or by which any of its assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), (d), and (e), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. No trust of which Stockholder is a trustee requires the consent of any beneficiary to the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
4
Section 4.3. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Stockholder, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Stockholder, threatened in writing against Stockholder or any of Stockholder’s properties or assets (including any Shares or Company restricted stock units owned by Stockholder) before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 4.4. | Ownership of Owned Shares; Total Shares. As of the date hereof, Stockholder is, and (except with respect to any Owned Shares Transferred in accordance with Section 3.1 or accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer) at all times during the term of this Agreement will be, the record and/or Beneficial Owner of all of the Owned Shares and has good and marketable title to all such Owned Shares free and clear of any Liens, except for any such Liens that may be imposed pursuant to (i) this Agreement and (ii) any applicable restrictions on transfer under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities Law or any other applicable securities laws, including applicable Canadian securities laws. Except to the extent of any Owned Shares acquired after the date hereof (which shall become Owned Shares upon that acquisition), the number of Owned Shares (as set forth on Schedule A opposite such Stockholder’s name) are the only equity interests in the Company Beneficially Owned or owned of record by such Stockholder as of the date hereof. As of the date hereof, other than the Owned Shares, neither Stockholder nor any of its Affiliates owns any Shares, Company restricted stock units or any other interests in options to purchase or rights to subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities of the Company and has no interest in or voting rights with respect to any securities of the Company. |
Section 4.5. | Reliance; Acknowledgment of the Merger Agreement. Stockholder understands and acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser are entering into the Merger Agreement in reliance upon Stockholder’s execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement. Stockholder (through its authorized representatives) has reviewed and understands the terms of this Agreement and the Merger Agreement and has had the opportunity to consult with its counsel in connection with this Agreement. |
Section 4.6. | Voting Power. Stockholder has full voting power (or the power to effect the full voting power) with respect to all such Stockholder’s Owned Shares, full power of disposition, full power to issue instructions with respect to the matters set forth herein and full power to agree to all of the matters set forth in this Agreement, in each case, with respect to all of the Owned Shares. None of the Owned Shares are subject to any stockholders’ agreement, proxy, voting trust, or other agreement, or arrangement with respect to the voting of such Owned Shares, except as provided hereunder. |
Section 4.7. | Financial Advisor. No broker, finder, investment banker, or other Person is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s, financial advisor’s or other similar fee or commission from the Company in connection with Stockholder tendering the Owned Shares based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of Stockholder in its capacity as such. |
5
Article V. Representations and Warranties of Parent and Purchaser.
Parent and Purchaser hereby represent and warrant to Stockholder as follows:
Section 5.1. | Organization; Qualification. Each of Parent and Purchaser is duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing (to the extent such concept is recognized in such jurisdiction) under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation. |
Section 5.2. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Each of Parent and Purchaser has all requisite organizational power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser have been duly and validly authorized by all necessary organizational action, no other organizational proceedings on the part of Parent or Purchaser are necessary to authorize this Agreement and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder, this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Parent and Purchaser, enforceable against Parent and Purchaser in accordance with its terms. |
Section 5.3. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Parent and Merger Sub with any provisions herein will (a) violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Parent or Merger Sub, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Parent or Merger Sub is a party or by which Parent or Merger Sub or any of its respective assets may be bound, or (d) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Parent or Merger Sub or by which any of its respective assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), and (d), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 5.4. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Parent and Merger Sub, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Parent or Merger Sub, threatened in writing against Parent or Merger Sub or any of Parent’s or Merger Sub’s properties or assets before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Article VI. Covenants of Stockholder.
Section 6.1. | Further Assurances. Parent, Purchaser, and Stockholder shall, from time to time and without additional consideration, execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered such additional or further consents, documents and other instruments and use their respective reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Law, to perform their respective obligations under this Agreement. |
6
Section 6.2. | Public Announcements. Stockholder shall not issue any press release or otherwise make any public statement with respect to the Merger Agreement, this Agreement, the Merger, the Offer or any other transactions contemplated hereby or by the Merger Agreement without the prior written consent of Parent, except as may be required by applicable Law (provided that Stockholder shall provide reasonable notice of any such disclosure to Parent, other than an amendment to and report on Schedule 13D or any filing made pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby). |
Section 6.3. | No Solicitation of Takeover Proposals. Stockholder, solely in its capacity as a stockholder of the Company, shall not, and shall instruct its Representatives not to: (a) directly or indirectly solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate (including by way of providing nonpublic information) any inquiries, proposals or offers, or the making of any submission or announcement of any inquiry, proposal or offer that, in each case, constitutes or could reasonably be expected to lead to a Takeover Proposal, (b) directly or indirectly engage in, enter into or participate in any discussions or negotiations with any Person making a Takeover Proposal, or such Person’s Representatives, with respect to a Takeover Proposal (other than, solely in response to an inquiry, proposal or offer by a Person to ascertain facts from the Person making such Takeover Proposal about the terms of such Takeover Proposal and to refer such Person to the restrictions of the Merger Agreement and this Section 6.3) or (c) provide any nonpublic information of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or take any other action to assist or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate, any effort by any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) in a manner that is intended to lead to a Takeover Proposal or in connection with or in response to any inquiry, offer, or proposal that constitutes a Takeover Proposal. Stockholder shall, and shall instruct its Representatives to, immediately cease any solicitation, discussions, or negotiations with any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) with respect to any inquiry, proposal or offer pending on the date hereof that constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Takeover Proposal. |
Section 6.4. | Information for Offer Documents; Disclosure. Stockholder (a) consents to and authorizes Parent and Purchaser to publish and disclose in the Offer Documents and related filings under applicable Laws, and any press release or other disclosure document that Parent or Purchaser reasonably determines to be necessary in connection with the Offer, the Merger, and any transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Stockholder’s identity and ownership of the Owned Shares and the nature of Stockholder’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under this Agreement and any other information that Parent reasonably determines is required to be disclosed by applicable Law (provided, that each Stockholder shall have a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on such disclosure prior to any such filing) and (b) agrees to promptly give to Parent and Purchaser any information they may reasonably require for the preparation of any such disclosure documents. Stockholder agrees to promptly notify Parent and Purchaser of any required corrections with respect to any written information supplied by it specifically for use in any such disclosure document, if and to the extent that any shall have become false or misleading in any material respect. Stockholder acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser may, in Parent’s sole discretion, file this Agreement or a form hereof with the SEC or any other applicable Governmental Entity. |
7
Section 6.5. | Waiver of Certain Actions. During the term of this Agreement, Stockholder agrees not to commence or participate or join in, and agrees to take all actions reasonably necessary to opt out of any class in any class action with respect to, any claim, derivative or otherwise, against Parent, Purchaser, the Company, or any of their respective successors, directors or officers (a) challenging the validity of, or seeking to enjoin or delay the operation of, any provision of this Agreement or the Merger Agreement or (b) alleging a breach of any fiduciary duty of any Person in connection with the negotiation and entry into this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, excluding any such claim brought by Stockholder pursuant to the terms hereof. |
Section 6.6. | Adjustments. In the event of any stock split, stock dividend, merger, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, combination, exchange of Shares, or the like of the capital stock of the Company affecting the Owned Shares, the terms of this Agreement will be equitably adjusted, including to apply to any resulting securities. |
Article VII. General Provisions.
Section 7.1. | Entire Agreement; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. |
(a) | This Agreement (together with Schedule A) and the Merger Agreement constitute the entire agreement, and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between or among the Parties or their Affiliates, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof. |
(b) | Each Party agrees that (i) their respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement are solely for the benefit of the other Parties, in accordance with and subject to the terms of this Agreement and (ii) this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, confer upon any Person other than the Parties any rights or remedies under this Agreement, including the right to rely upon the representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement. |
Section 7.2. | Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests, or obligations under this Agreement may be assigned, by operation of law or otherwise, by any Party, other than in connection with a Transfer of Owned Shares pursuant to the requirements of Section 3.1, without the prior written consent of each of the other Parties. Any purported assignment without such consent shall be void. Subject to the preceding sentences, this Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Parties and their respective successors and assigns. |
Section 7.3. | Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule or Law, or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. Upon any determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in a mutually acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated by this Agreement are fulfilled to the extent possible. |
8
Section 7.4. | Specific Performance. The Parties acknowledge and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached or threatened to be breached and that monetary damages, even if available, would not be an adequate remedy therefor. It is accordingly agreed that, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 3.2, the Parties shall be entitled to obtain an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, in any court referred to in Section 7.6, without proof of actual damages (and each Party hereby waives any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond in connection with such remedy), this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity, including monetary damages. The Parties further agree not to assert that a remedy of specific enforcement is unenforceable, invalid, contrary to Law or inequitable for any reason, nor to assert that a remedy of monetary damages would provide an adequate remedy for any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement. |
Section 7.5. | Governing Law. This Agreement, including all matters of construction, and all Claims (whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, whether at law or in equity) that may be based on, arise out of or relate to this Agreement or the negotiation, execution, performance or subject matter of this Agreement, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts executed and to be performed in that State. |
Section 7.6. | Jurisdiction; Venue; Service of Process. Each of the Parties hereby (i) expressly and irrevocably submits to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement, (ii) agrees that it shall not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any such court, and (iii) agrees that it shall not bring any action relating to this Agreement in any court other than (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware; provided that each of the Parties has the right to bring any proceeding for enforcement of a judgment entered by such court in any other court or jurisdiction. Each Party further agrees that service of any process, summons, notice, or document by U.S. registered mail to the respective addresses set forth in Section 7.8 shall be effective service of process for any Claim brought against such Party in any such court. The foregoing, however, will not limit the right of a Party to effect service of process on any other Party by any other legally available method. Each Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion or as a defense, counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (a) any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in Delaware as described herein for any reason, (b) that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise) and (c) that this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such courts. |
9
Section 7.7. | Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY ARISE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE SUCH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE OFFER OR THE MERGER. EACH PARTY (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVER AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS Section 7.7. |
Section 7.8. | Notices. All notices, demands or other communications to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing in English and will be deemed to have been given when delivered personally to the recipient or when sent to the recipient by email at the address listed below (with receipt confirmed other than automatically generated confirmation), one (1) Business Day after the date when sent to the recipient by reputable overnight express courier services (charges prepaid) or three (3) Business Days after the date when mailed to the recipient by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid. Such notices, demands and other communications will be sent to the Parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as have been specified by like notice): |
To Parent or Purchaser:
CECO Environmental Corp.
14651 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 500
Dallas, Texas 75254
Attention: Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi, SVP, Chief Administrative & Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Email: lwatkins@OneCECO.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Foley & Lardner LLP
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Attention: Clyde W. Tinnen
Email: ctinnen@foley.com
To Stockholder:
Ryan W. Oviatt
9602 S. Limestone Circle
South Jordan, UT 84095
Email: roviatt@profireenergy.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
111 S. Main Street, Suite 2100
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Attention: David Marx
Email: marx.david@dorsey.com
10
Section 7.9. | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts (including by means of portable document format (.pdf) or other electronic means), each of which is an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Electronic signatures (including DocuSign and Adobe Sign) delivered by electronic mail, portable document format (.pdf) transmission or other electronic means, shall be sufficient and binding as if they were originals and such delivery shall constitute valid delivery of this Agreement. |
Section 7.10. | Amendment and Waiver. This Agreement may not be amended or waived except by an instrument in writing signed (i) by the Parties, in the case of an amendment, or (ii) by each Party against whom the waiver is to be effective, in the case of a waiver. The failure of any Party to assert any rights or remedies will not constitute a waiver of such rights or remedies. No failure or delay by any Party in exercising any right or remedy shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or remedy. |
Section 7.11. | Construction. Each Party has participated in the drafting and negotiation of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement must be construed as if it is drafted by all the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement. |
Section 7.12. | Fees, Costs, and Expenses. All fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be paid by the Party incurring such fees, costs, or expenses. |
Section 7.13. | Interpretation. |
(a) | Time Periods. When calculating the period of time before which, within which or after which any act is to be done or step taken pursuant to this Agreement, (i) the date that is the reference date in calculating such period shall be excluded and (ii) if the last day of such period is not a Business Day, the period in question shall end on the next succeeding Business Day. All references in this Agreement to a number of days are to such number of calendar days unless Business Days are specified. |
(b) | Gender and Number. Any reference in this Agreement to gender shall include all genders, and words imparting the singular number only shall include the plural and vice versa. |
(c) | Articles, Sections, Headings, and Schedules. When a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or a Section, such reference shall be to an Article or a Section of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The headings in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. All Schedules annexed hereto or referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. |
(d) | Hereof. The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “hereby,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. |
11
(e) | Extent. The word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a subject or other thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean simply “if.” |
(f) | Contracts; Laws. Any Contract or Law defined or referred to in this Agreement means such Contract or Law as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, unless otherwise specifically indicated. |
(g) | Persons. References to a person are also to its permitted successors and assigns. |
[Signature Pages Follow]
12
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have duly executed this Agreement, each as of the date first written above.
CECO Environmental Corp.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title | Chief Executive Officer |
Combustion Merger Sub, Inc.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title: | President |
Ryan W. Oviatt
/s/ Ryan Oviatt |
[Signature page to Tender and Support Agreement]
13
Schedule A
Owned Shares
Stockholder | Common Stock Owned | Outstanding RSUs | Total | |||||||||
Ryan W. Oviatt | 544,357 | 638,900 | 1,183,257 |
14
Exhibit (e)(5)
Tender And Support Agreement
This TENDER AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of October 28, 2024, by and among CECO Environmental Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), Combustion Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Purchaser”), and Cameron M. Tidball (“Stockholder” and, together with Parent and Purchaser, the “Parties”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, as of the date hereof, Stockholder is the Beneficial Owner or record owner of the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Shares”), and Company restricted stock units set forth on Schedule A, of Profire Energy, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”);
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of this Agreement, the Company, Parent and Purchaser are entering into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), which provides, among other things, for Purchaser to commence a tender offer (the “Offer”) for all of the issued and outstanding Shares and, following the consummation of the Offer, the merger of Purchaser with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; and
WHEREAS, as a condition to the willingness of Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, and as an inducement and in consideration for Parent and Purchaser to enter into the Merger Agreement, Stockholder, with respect to the Owned Shares has agreed to enter into this Agreement.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and of the mutual agreements and covenants set forth herein and in the Merger Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
Article I. Definitions.
Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Merger Agreement. In addition, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this Article I:
“Beneficially Own,” “Beneficial Ownership” or “Beneficial Owner” with respect to any Company Shares means having “beneficial ownership” of such securities (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, or understanding, whether or not in writing.
“Claim” means any demand, claim, suit, litigation, action, legal proceeding (whether at law or in equity) or arbitration.
“Company Entities” means the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
“Offer Documents” means, collectively, and together with all exhibits, amendments, and supplements thereto, the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with respect to the Offer that will contain or incorporate by reference the related offer to purchase the Shares pursuant to the Offer, the form of the related letter of transmittal, the summary advertisement, and other ancillary Offer Documents and instruments pursuant to which the Offer will be made.
“Organizational Documents” means any corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar organizational documents, including charters, certificates, or articles of incorporation, bylaws, certificates of formation, operating agreements (including limited liability company agreements and agreements of limited partnership), certificates of limited partnership, partnership agreements, stockholder agreements, and certificates of existence, as applicable.
“Owned Shares” means, collectively, all (i) Shares and Company restricted stock units set forth on Schedule A and any other voting securities of the Company held of record or Beneficially Owned by Stockholder as of the date hereof and (ii) Shares, Company restricted stock units or other voting securities of the Company that are hereafter issued to or otherwise directly or indirectly acquired by and become owned (whether Beneficially Owned or of record) by Stockholder after the execution of this Agreement.
“Willful Breach” means a material breach of this Agreement or failure to perform that is a consequence of an act or omission of the breaching Party with the knowledge that such act or omission would, or would reasonably be expected to, cause or constitute a material breach of this Agreement.
Article II. Tender of Shares.
Section 2.1. | Tender of Shares. |
(a) | Promptly following the commencement of the Offer, and in any event no later than five (5) Business Days following Stockholder’s receipt of a letter of transmittal with respect to the Offer, Stockholder (i) shall tender, or cause to be tendered, in the Offer all of the Owned Shares pursuant to the terms of the Offer, free and clear of all Liens, and (ii) shall not withdraw, or cause to be withdrawn, any of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer; provided, however, that Stockholder may withdraw the Owned Shares from the Offer at any time following the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 3.2. |
(b) | If the Offer is terminated or withdrawn by Purchaser, or the Merger Agreement is terminated prior to the purchase of the Owned Shares tendered in the Offer, Parent and Purchaser shall promptly (and in any event within one (1) Business Day) return, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depository agent or paying agent to promptly return, all of the tendered Owned Shares to Stockholder. |
Article III. Transfer and Voting of Shares.
Section 3.1. | No Transfer of Shares. Stockholder shall not, directly or indirectly, (a) sell (including short sell), gift, pledge, encumber, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares, (b) deposit the Owned Shares or any interest in the Owned Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or arrangement with respect to any of his, her or its Shares or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto, (c) tender, agree to tender or permit to be tendered any of the Owned Shares in response to or otherwise in connection with any tender or exchange offer other than the Offer, (d) enter into any contract, commitment, option, or other arrangement or undertaking with respect to the direct or indirect acquisition or sale, gift, pledge, encumbrance, assignment, transfer or other disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to hedging, cash settlement or otherwise) of any of the Owned Shares or (e) take or permit any other action that would in any way would be reasonably expected to restrict, limit, impede, delay or interfere with the performance of Stockholder’s obligations hereunder in any material respect (any such action in clause (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above, a “Transfer”). Any action taken in violation of the foregoing sentence shall be null and void ab initio. Stockholder hereby authorizes Parent to direct the Company to impose stop orders to prevent the Transfer of any Owned Shares on the books of the Company in violation of this Agreement. If any involuntary Transfer of Stockholder’s Owned Shares shall occur (including, but not limited to, a sale by Stockholder’s trustee in any bankruptcy, or a sale to a purchaser at any creditor’s or court sale), the transferee (which term, as used herein, shall include any and all transferees and subsequent transferees of the initial transferee) shall take and hold such Owned Shares subject to all of the restrictions, obligations, liabilities, and rights under this Agreement, which shall continue in full force and effect until valid termination of this Agreement. Stockholder agrees that it shall not, and shall cause each of its Affiliates not to, become a member of a “group” (as defined under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) for the purpose of taking any actions inconsistent with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Section 3.1 shall not prohibit a Transfer of Owned Shares by Stockholder to (x) if Stockholder is an entity, any Affiliate, Subsidiary, partner, or member of Stockholder or, if Stockholder is a trust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries authorized or entitled to receive distributions from such trust, or (y) if Stockholder is a natural person, (A) a spouse, lineal descendant or antecedent, brother or sister, adopted child or grandchild or the spouse of any child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Stockholder, (B) any trust, the trustees of which include only the Persons named in clause (A) and the beneficiaries of which include only the Persons named in clause (A), (C) any corporation, limited liability company or partnership, the stockholders, members or general or limited partners of which include only the Persons named in clauses (A) or (B), (D) to any Person by will, for estate or tax planning purposes, for charitable purposes or as charitable gifts or donations, or (E) to effect a “net settlement” of a restricted stock unit in which the Company holds back Shares otherwise issuable either to satisfy Stockholder’s tax withholding obligation upon the settlement of a restricted stock unit; provided, however, that in any such case, as a condition to the effectiveness of such Transfer, (1) each Person to which any of such Owned Shares are Transferred has executed and delivered to Parent and Purchaser a counterpart to this Agreement pursuant to which such Person is bound by all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, and (2) this Agreement becomes the legal, valid, and binding agreement of such Person, enforceable against such Person in accordance with its terms. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stockholder may make Transfers of Owned Shares as Parent may agree in writing in its sole discretion. |
2 |
Section 3.2. |
Termination. This Agreement and the obligations of Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement will terminate automatically, without any notice or action by any Person, upon the earliest to occur of (a) the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, (b) the time of the Offer Closing, provided that Stockholder has tendered all of his, her, or its Owned Shares in accordance with Section 2.1(a) and otherwise complied in all material respects with the covenants to be performed and complied with by it under this Agreement, (c) the making of a Company Adverse Recommendation Change in accordance with Section 6.03(d) or Section 6.03(e) of the Merger Agreement, (d) the entry of Parent or Purchaser, without the prior written consent of Stockholder, into any amendment or modification of the Merger Agreement that results in any decrease to the Offer Price or changes the form of Merger Consideration, or (e) the termination of this Agreement by written notice from Parent to Stockholder (such earliest date, the “Expiration Date”). |
Section 3.3. | Effect of Termination. In the event this Agreement is validly terminated as provided in Section 3.2, this Agreement shall immediately become void and no Party will have any further obligations or liabilities under this Agreement, except that nothing in this Section 3.3 shall relieve any Party from liability for fraud or any Willful Breach of this Agreement prior to such termination, which liabilities shall survive the termination of this Agreement. The provisions of this Section 3.3 and of Article VII will survive any termination of this Agreement. |
3 |
Section 3.4. | Stockholder Capacity. The Parties acknowledge that this Agreement is entered into by Stockholder in his, her, or its capacity as owner of the Owned Shares and not, if applicable, in such Stockholder’s capacity as a director, officer or employee of the Company, and that nothing in this Agreement is intended to restrict or affect any action or inaction of Stockholder or any representative of Stockholder, as applicable, serving on the Company Board or on the board of directors (or similar body) of any Subsidiary of the Company or as an officer or fiduciary of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, acting in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or prevent or be construed to create any obligation on the part of any director or officer of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company from taking any action in his or her capacity as such director or officer, and no action taken in any such capacity as an officer or director of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company shall be deemed to constitute a breach of this Agreement. |
Article IV. Representations and Warranties of Stockholder.
Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Purchaser as follows:
Section 4.1. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Stockholder has the requisite legal capacity, right, and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform such Stockholder’s obligations hereunder. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by or on behalf of Stockholder and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser, constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Stockholder, enforceable against Stockholder in accordance with its terms, subject to (i) laws of general application relating to bankruptcy, insolvency and the relief of debtors and (ii) rules of law governing specific performance, injunctive relief and other equitable remedies. |
Section 4.2. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Stockholder with any provisions herein will (a) if Stockholder is an entity, violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Stockholder, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Stockholder is a party or by which Stockholder or any of its assets may be bound, (d) result (or, with the giving of notice, the passage of time, or otherwise, would result) in the creation or imposition of any Lien on the Owned Shares (other than one created by Parent or Purchaser), or (e) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Stockholder or by which any of its assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), (d), and (e), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. No trust of which Stockholder is a trustee requires the consent of any beneficiary to the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. |
4 |
Section 4.3. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Stockholder, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Stockholder, threatened in writing against Stockholder or any of Stockholder’s properties or assets (including any Shares or Company restricted stock units owned by Stockholder) before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Stockholder’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 4.4. | Ownership of Owned Shares; Total Shares. As of the date hereof, Stockholder is, and (except with respect to any Owned Shares Transferred in accordance with Section 3.1 or accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer) at all times during the term of this Agreement will be, the record and/or Beneficial Owner of all of the Owned Shares and has good and marketable title to all such Owned Shares free and clear of any Liens, except for any such Liens that may be imposed pursuant to (i) this Agreement and (ii) any applicable restrictions on transfer under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities Law or any other applicable securities laws, including applicable Canadian securities laws. Except to the extent of any Owned Shares acquired after the date hereof (which shall become Owned Shares upon that acquisition), the number of Owned Shares (as set forth on Schedule A opposite such Stockholder’s name) are the only equity interests in the Company Beneficially Owned or owned of record by such Stockholder as of the date hereof. As of the date hereof, other than the Owned Shares, neither Stockholder nor any of its Affiliates owns any Shares, Company restricted stock units or any other interests in options to purchase or rights to subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities of the Company and has no interest in or voting rights with respect to any securities of the Company. |
Section 4.5. | Reliance; Acknowledgment of the Merger Agreement. Stockholder understands and acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser are entering into the Merger Agreement in reliance upon Stockholder’s execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement. Stockholder (through its authorized representatives) has reviewed and understands the terms of this Agreement and the Merger Agreement and has had the opportunity to consult with its counsel in connection with this Agreement. |
Section 4.6. | Voting Power. Stockholder has full voting power (or the power to effect the full voting power) with respect to all such Stockholder’s Owned Shares, full power of disposition, full power to issue instructions with respect to the matters set forth herein and full power to agree to all of the matters set forth in this Agreement, in each case, with respect to all of the Owned Shares. None of the Owned Shares are subject to any stockholders’ agreement, proxy, voting trust, or other agreement, or arrangement with respect to the voting of such Owned Shares, except as provided hereunder. |
Section 4.7. | Financial Advisor. No broker, finder, investment banker, or other Person is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s, financial advisor’s or other similar fee or commission from the Company in connection with Stockholder tendering the Owned Shares based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of Stockholder in its capacity as such. |
5 |
Article V. Representations and Warranties of Parent and Purchaser.
Parent and Purchaser hereby represent and warrant to Stockholder as follows:
Section 5.1. | Organization; Qualification. Each of Parent and Purchaser is duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing (to the extent such concept is recognized in such jurisdiction) under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation. |
Section 5.2. | Authorization; Binding Agreement. Each of Parent and Purchaser has all requisite organizational power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Purchaser have been duly and validly authorized by all necessary organizational action, no other organizational proceedings on the part of Parent or Purchaser are necessary to authorize this Agreement and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder, this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of Parent and Purchaser, enforceable against Parent and Purchaser in accordance with its terms. |
Section 5.3. | Non-Contravention. Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby nor compliance by Parent and Merger Sub with any provisions herein will (a) violate, contravene, or conflict with or result in any breach of any provision of the Organizational Documents of Parent or Merger Sub, (b) require any consent, approval, authorization, or permit of, action by, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Authority on the part of Stockholder, except for compliance with applicable securities Laws, (c) violate, conflict with, or result in a breach of any provisions of, or require any consent, waiver, or approval or result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give rise to any right of termination, cancellation, amendment, or acceleration under any of the terms, conditions or provisions under, any Contract to which Parent or Merger Sub is a party or by which Parent or Merger Sub or any of its respective assets may be bound, or (d) violate any Law or judgment applicable to Parent or Merger Sub or by which any of its respective assets are bound, except as would not, in the case of each of clauses (c), and (d), reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Section 5.4. | Absence of Litigation. With respect to Parent and Merger Sub, as of the date hereof, there are no Legal Actions pending against, or, to the knowledge of Parent or Merger Sub, threatened in writing against Parent or Merger Sub or any of Parent’s or Merger Sub’s properties or assets before or by any Governmental Entity that would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent’s or Merger Sub’s ability to timely perform its obligations under this Agreement. |
Article VI. Covenants of Stockholder.
Section 6.1. | Further Assurances. Parent, Purchaser, and Stockholder shall, from time to time and without additional consideration, execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered such additional or further consents, documents and other instruments and use their respective reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Law, to perform their respective obligations under this Agreement. |
6 |
Section 6.2. | Public Announcements. Stockholder shall not issue any press release or otherwise make any public statement with respect to the Merger Agreement, this Agreement, the Merger, the Offer or any other transactions contemplated hereby or by the Merger Agreement without the prior written consent of Parent, except as may be required by applicable Law (provided that Stockholder shall provide reasonable notice of any such disclosure to Parent, other than an amendment to and report on Schedule 13D or any filing made pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby). |
Section 6.3. | No Solicitation of Takeover Proposals. Stockholder, solely in its capacity as a stockholder of the Company, shall not, and shall instruct its Representatives not to: (a) directly or indirectly solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate (including by way of providing nonpublic information) any inquiries, proposals or offers, or the making of any submission or announcement of any inquiry, proposal or offer that, in each case, constitutes or could reasonably be expected to lead to a Takeover Proposal, (b) directly or indirectly engage in, enter into or participate in any discussions or negotiations with any Person making a Takeover Proposal, or such Person’s Representatives, with respect to a Takeover Proposal (other than, solely in response to an inquiry, proposal or offer by a Person to ascertain facts from the Person making such Takeover Proposal about the terms of such Takeover Proposal and to refer such Person to the restrictions of the Merger Agreement and this Section 6.3) or (c) provide any nonpublic information of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or take any other action to assist or knowingly encourage or knowingly facilitate, any effort by any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) in a manner that is intended to lead to a Takeover Proposal or in connection with or in response to any inquiry, offer, or proposal that constitutes a Takeover Proposal. Stockholder shall, and shall instruct its Representatives to, immediately cease any solicitation, discussions, or negotiations with any Person (other than Parent, Purchaser, or any designees of Parent or Purchaser) with respect to any inquiry, proposal or offer pending on the date hereof that constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Takeover Proposal. |
Section 6.4. | Information for Offer Documents; Disclosure. Stockholder (a) consents to and authorizes Parent and Purchaser to publish and disclose in the Offer Documents and related filings under applicable Laws, and any press release or other disclosure document that Parent or Purchaser reasonably determines to be necessary in connection with the Offer, the Merger, and any transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Stockholder’s identity and ownership of the Owned Shares and the nature of Stockholder’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under this Agreement and any other information that Parent reasonably determines is required to be disclosed by applicable Law (provided, that each Stockholder shall have a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on such disclosure prior to any such filing) and (b) agrees to promptly give to Parent and Purchaser any information they may reasonably require for the preparation of any such disclosure documents. Stockholder agrees to promptly notify Parent and Purchaser of any required corrections with respect to any written information supplied by it specifically for use in any such disclosure document, if and to the extent that any shall have become false or misleading in any material respect. Stockholder acknowledges that Parent and Purchaser may, in Parent’s sole discretion, file this Agreement or a form hereof with the SEC or any other applicable Governmental Entity. |
7 |
Section 6.5. | Waiver of Certain Actions. During the term of this Agreement, Stockholder agrees not to commence or participate or join in, and agrees to take all actions reasonably necessary to opt out of any class in any class action with respect to, any claim, derivative or otherwise, against Parent, Purchaser, the Company, or any of their respective successors, directors or officers (a) challenging the validity of, or seeking to enjoin or delay the operation of, any provision of this Agreement or the Merger Agreement or (b) alleging a breach of any fiduciary duty of any Person in connection with the negotiation and entry into this Agreement or the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, excluding any such claim brought by Stockholder pursuant to the terms hereof. |
Section 6.6. | Adjustments. In the event of any stock split, stock dividend, merger, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, combination, exchange of Shares, or the like of the capital stock of the Company affecting the Owned Shares, the terms of this Agreement will be equitably adjusted, including to apply to any resulting securities. |
Article VII. General Provisions.
Section 7.1. | Entire Agreement; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. |
(a) | This Agreement (together with Schedule A) and the Merger Agreement constitute the entire agreement, and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between or among the Parties or their Affiliates, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof. |
(b) | Each Party agrees that (i) their respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements set forth in this Agreement are solely for the benefit of the other Parties, in accordance with and subject to the terms of this Agreement and (ii) this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, confer upon any Person other than the Parties any rights or remedies under this Agreement, including the right to rely upon the representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement. |
Section 7.2. | Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests, or obligations under this Agreement may be assigned, by operation of law or otherwise, by any Party, other than in connection with a Transfer of Owned Shares pursuant to the requirements of Section 3.1, without the prior written consent of each of the other Parties. Any purported assignment without such consent shall be void. Subject to the preceding sentences, this Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Parties and their respective successors and assigns. |
Section 7.3. | Severability. If any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced by any rule or Law, or public policy, all other conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. Upon any determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in a mutually acceptable manner to the end that transactions contemplated by this Agreement are fulfilled to the extent possible. |
8 |
Section 7.4. | Specific Performance. The Parties acknowledge and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached or threatened to be breached and that monetary damages, even if available, would not be an adequate remedy therefor. It is accordingly agreed that, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 3.2, the Parties shall be entitled to obtain an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, in any court referred to in Section 7.6, without proof of actual damages (and each Party hereby waives any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond in connection with such remedy), this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity, including monetary damages. The Parties further agree not to assert that a remedy of specific enforcement is unenforceable, invalid, contrary to Law or inequitable for any reason, nor to assert that a remedy of monetary damages would provide an adequate remedy for any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement. |
Section 7.5. | Governing Law. This Agreement, including all matters of construction, and all Claims (whether in contract or in tort or otherwise, whether at law or in equity) that may be based on, arise out of or relate to this Agreement or the negotiation, execution, performance or subject matter of this Agreement, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts executed and to be performed in that State. |
Section 7.6. | Jurisdiction; Venue; Service of Process. Each of the Parties hereby (i) expressly and irrevocably submits to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement, (ii) agrees that it shall not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any such court, and (iii) agrees that it shall not bring any action relating to this Agreement in any court other than (A) the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (B) if such Court of Chancery lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware; provided that each of the Parties has the right to bring any proceeding for enforcement of a judgment entered by such court in any other court or jurisdiction. Each Party further agrees that service of any process, summons, notice, or document by U.S. registered mail to the respective addresses set forth in Section 7.8 shall be effective service of process for any Claim brought against such Party in any such court. The foregoing, however, will not limit the right of a Party to effect service of process on any other Party by any other legally available method. Each Party hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion or as a defense, counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (a) any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in Delaware as described herein for any reason, (b) that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise) and (c) that this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such courts. |
9 |
Section 7.7. | Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY ARISE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE SUCH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE OFFER OR THE MERGER. EACH PARTY (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVER AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS Section 7.7. |
Section 7.8. | Notices. All notices, demands or other communications to be given or delivered under or by reason of the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing in English and will be deemed to have been given when delivered personally to the recipient or when sent to the recipient by email at the address listed below (with receipt confirmed other than automatically generated confirmation), one (1) Business Day after the date when sent to the recipient by reputable overnight express courier services (charges prepaid) or three (3) Business Days after the date when mailed to the recipient by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid. Such notices, demands and other communications will be sent to the Parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as have been specified by like notice): |
To Parent or Purchaser:
CECO Environmental Corp.
14651 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 500
Dallas, Texas 75254
Attention: Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi, SVP, Chief Administrative & Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Email: lwatkins@OneCECO.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Foley & Lardner LLP
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Attention: Clyde W. Tinnen
Email: ctinnen@foley.com
To Stockholder:
Cameron M. Tidball
21343 51 Ave NW
Edmonton Alberta
T6M0K7 Canada
Email: ctidball@profireenergy.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
111 S. Main Street, Suite 2100
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Attention: David Marx
Email: marx.david@dorsey.com
10 |
Section 7.9. | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts (including by means of portable document format (.pdf) or other electronic means), each of which is an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Electronic signatures (including DocuSign and Adobe Sign) delivered by electronic mail, portable document format (.pdf) transmission or other electronic means, shall be sufficient and binding as if they were originals and such delivery shall constitute valid delivery of this Agreement. |
Section 7.10. | Amendment and Waiver. This Agreement may not be amended or waived except by an instrument in writing signed (i) by the Parties, in the case of an amendment, or (ii) by each Party against whom the waiver is to be effective, in the case of a waiver. The failure of any Party to assert any rights or remedies will not constitute a waiver of such rights or remedies. No failure or delay by any Party in exercising any right or remedy shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or remedy. |
Section 7.11. | Construction. Each Party has participated in the drafting and negotiation of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement must be construed as if it is drafted by all the Parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any Party by virtue of authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement. |
Section 7.12. | Fees, Costs, and Expenses. All fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be paid by the Party incurring such fees, costs, or expenses. |
Section 7.13. | Interpretation. |
(a) | Time Periods. When calculating the period of time before which, within which or after which any act is to be done or step taken pursuant to this Agreement, (i) the date that is the reference date in calculating such period shall be excluded and (ii) if the last day of such period is not a Business Day, the period in question shall end on the next succeeding Business Day. All references in this Agreement to a number of days are to such number of calendar days unless Business Days are specified. |
(b) | Gender and Number. Any reference in this Agreement to gender shall include all genders, and words imparting the singular number only shall include the plural and vice versa. |
(c) | Articles, Sections, Headings, and Schedules. When a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or a Section, such reference shall be to an Article or a Section of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The headings in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. All Schedules annexed hereto or referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. |
(d) | Hereof. The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “hereby,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. |
11 |
(e) | Extent. The word “extent” in the phrase “to the extent” shall mean the degree to which a subject or other thing extends, and such phrase shall not mean simply “if.” |
(f) | Contracts; Laws. Any Contract or Law defined or referred to in this Agreement means such Contract or Law as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, unless otherwise specifically indicated. |
(g) | Persons. References to a person are also to its permitted successors and assigns. |
[Signature Pages Follow]
12 |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have duly executed this Agreement, each as of the date first written above.
CECO Environmental Corp.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title | Chief Executive Officer |
Combustion Merger Sub, Inc.
By: | /s/ Todd Gleason | |
Name: | Todd Gleason | |
Title: | President |
Cameron M. Tidball
/s/ Cameron Tidball |
13 |
Schedule A
Owned Shares
Stockholder | Common Stock Owned | Outstanding RSUs | Total | |||||||||
Cameron Tidball | 650,184 | 638,900 | 1,289,084 |
14 |
Exhibit (e)(6)
MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This Mutual Confidentiality Agreement (“Agreement”), effective as of August 9, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), is entered into by and between CECO ENVIRONMENTAL CORP, a Delaware corporation, having a place of business at 14651 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75254, and all entities directly or indirectly controlled, controlling and under common control with it (collectively, “CECO”), and PROFIRE ENERGY, INC., a Nevada corporation (“Profire”), having its principal place of business at 321 South 1250 West, Suite 1, Lindon, Utah 84042, (each of CECO and Profire, a “Party” and collectively, “Parties” ).
WHEREAS, in connection with a possible negotiated transaction (referred to by the Parties as “Project Panther”) (the “Purpose”), the Parties desire to share certain information that is non-public, confidential, or proprietary in nature or that constitutes trade secrets.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, terms, and conditions set out herein, the Parties agree as follows:
1) | Confidential Information. Except as set out in this Section 1, “Confidential Information” means all information or trade secrets disclosed before, on, or after the Effective Date, by either Party (“Disclosing Party”) to the other Party (“Recipient”) or its affiliates, or to any of such Recipient’s or its affiliates’ employees, officers, directors, partners, shareholders, agents, attorneys, accountants or advisors (collectively, “Representatives”), and includes, but is not limited to all information, data, documents, agreements, files, and other materials, which is obtained from or disclosed by the Disclosing Party, its Representatives, or otherwise, and whether obtained before or on or after the date hereof regarding the Disclosing Party, including, without limitation, all notes, analyses, compilations, reports, forecasts, studies, samples, and other documents prepared by or for the Recipient which contain or otherwise reflect or are derived or based in whole or in part on such information, data, documents, agreements, files, or other materials, and any information related to an identified, or a directly or indirectly identifiable, natural person (“Personal Data”) and any information afforded protection under applicable law, whether disclosed orally or disclosed or accessed in written, electronic or other form or media. |
2) | Exclusions from Confidential Information. Except as required by applicable law, the term “Confidential Information” shall not include information that: (a) is or becomes generally available to and known by the public through no fault of, or other than as a result of a breach of this Agreement by, Recipient or any of its Representatives; (b) at the time of disclosure is, or thereafter becomes, available to Recipient on a non-confidential basis from a third-party source that is not and was not legally, contractually or fiducially prohibited from disclosing such information to Recipient; (c) was known by or in the possession of Recipient or its Representatives, as established by documentary evidence, before being disclosed under this Agreement; or (d) was or is independently developed by Recipient, as established by documentary evidence, without use of or reference to any of Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information. |
3) | Recipient Obligations. With respect to Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, Recipient shall: (a) safeguard the confidentiality of such Confidential Information with at least the same degree of care as Recipient would protect its own Confidential Information, but in no event with less than a commercially reasonable degree of care; (b) use such Confidential Information, or permit it to be accessed or used, only for the Purpose; (c) not use such Confidential Information, or permit it to be accessed or used, in any manner to Disclosing Party’s detriment; (d) not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble Confidential Information; and (e) except as required by law or permitted under this Agreement, not disclose such Confidential Information to any third party, except to Recipient’s Representatives who (i) need to know such Confidential Information to assist or act on behalf of Recipient in relation to the Purpose or to exercise Recipient’s rights under this Agreement; (ii) are informed by Recipient of the confidential nature of such Confidential Information; and (iii) are subject to confidentiality obligations to Recipient that are no less protective than this Agreement. Recipient shall be responsible for any breach of this Agreement caused by any of its Representatives. In addition, Recipient shall promptly notify Disclosing Party upon the discovery of any loss, any unauthorized disclosure, access, or use of any of Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, or any breach of this Agreement, by Recipient or any of its Representatives. In such an event, Recipient and its Representatives shall use commercially reasonable efforts to assist Disclosing Party to regain possession of all such Confidential Information and to prevent any such further loss, breach, disclosure, access, and use. |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 1 of 6 |
4) | Additional Confidentiality Obligations. Except as required by law, regulation, order, or other similar requirement of any governmental, regulatory, or supervisory authority or any applicable rules and regulations of any national securities exchange, or except as otherwise permitted by this Agreement, neither Party shall disclose, nor permit any of its Representatives to disclose, (a) that Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information has been made available to Recipient and its Representatives; (b) the existence or status of any discussions or negotiations between the Parties in respect of the Purpose; or (c) any terms, conditions or other arrangements that are being discussed or negotiated between the Parties in respect of the Purpose. |
5) | Required Disclosure. Recipient or its Representatives may disclose any of Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information as required by law or by subpoena or valid order issued by a court or governmental agency of competent jurisdiction (a “Legal Order”) without violating this Agreement, provided that before making any such disclosure, Recipient shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide Disclosing Party with (a) prompt written notice of such Legal Order; and (b) reasonable assistance, at Disclosing Party’s sole cost and expense, in opposing or seeking appropriate limitations on such disclosure. If the court of competent jurisdiction finds that such Legal Order remains valid notwithstanding any legal challenge, those to whom it is directed (i) shall disclose no more than that portion of Confidential Information specifically required to be disclosed, and (ii) on Disclosing Party’s request, shall use reasonable efforts to obtain confidential treatment of Confidential Information from the applicable court or agency. |
6) | “Click Through” Agreements. The terms of this Agreement shall control over any additional purported confidentiality requirements imposed by an offering memorandum or electronic database, dataroom, or similar repository of Confidential Information to which Recipient or its Representatives are granted access in connection with this Agreement or the Purpose, notwithstanding acceptance of such an offering memorandum or submission of an electronic signature, “clicking” on an “I Agree” icon or other indication of assent to such additional confidentiality conditions, it being understood and agreed that Recipient’s and its Representatives’ confidentiality obligations with respect to the Confidential Information are governed by this Agreement. |
7) | Return or Destruction of Confidential Information. At Disclosing Party’s written request, Recipient and its Representatives shall, at Recipient’s election, promptly (a) return to Disclosing Party all originals and copies, whether in written, electronic or other form or media, of Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, or (b) destroy all such originals and copies and certify such destruction in writing to Disclosing Party. The foregoing notwithstanding, neither Recipient nor its Representatives are required to return or destroy digital copies of any records or files containing Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information that have been created pursuant to automated business processes such as document retention, archiving or backup policies and procedures, provided that (i) each and any such copies of Confidential Information is not accessible other than to personnel whose function is primarily information technology in nature, (ii) such personnel have access to such Confidential Information only as is reasonably necessary for the performance of their ordinary course duties and (iii) if any such Confidential Information becomes accessible to personnel whose function is not primarily information technology in nature, Recipient shall promptly and permanently destroy such Confidential Information; however (A) Recipient’s legal department and external legal counsel may each retain a copy of each document containing Confidential Information (other than personally identifiable information) for use in disputes relating to this Agreement or the Purpose and (B) Recipient may retain such Confidential Information as is required to be retained to comply with applicable law or any order of a governmental authority; provided that in such case of (i), (ii), and (iii), Recipient shall continue to treat any Confidential Information so retained in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and such obligation shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Upon request, Recipient shall deliver a certificate signed by an authorized officer of Recipient who supervised the return or destruction of the Confidential Information certifying Recipient compliance with this Section 7. Notwithstanding the return or destruction of the Confidential Information, Recipient and its Representatives shall continue to be bound by the confidentiality and other obligations hereunder during the Term of this Agreement. |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 2 of 6 |
8) | Term and Expiration. The term of this Agreement shall be for a period of two (2) years, commencing on the Effective Date, or until Project Panther is consummated, whichever comes first; provided, however, that the obligations of Recipient and its Representatives with respect to any trade secret information of Disclosing Party shall remain in effect for so long as such information remains a trade secret under applicable law. |
9) | No Representations or Warranties. Neither Disclosing Party nor any of its Representatives make(s) any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the Confidential Information disclosed hereunder. Neither Disclosing Party nor any of its Representatives shall have any liability to Recipient or any of its Representatives relating to or resulting from its/their use of any of such Confidential Information or any errors therein or omissions therefrom. |
10) | No Transfer of Rights, Title or Interest. Each Party hereby retains its entire right, title and interest, including, but not limited to, all intellectual property rights, in and to all of such Party’s Confidential Information. In no event shall disclosure of Confidential Information by Disclosing Party be construed as an assignment, grant, option, license or other transfer of any such right, title or interest whatsoever to Recipient or any of its Representatives. |
11) | No Other Obligation. Neither Party shall be under any obligation of any kind whatsoever to enter into any relationship, investment, contract or transaction by virtue of this Agreement. Either Party may at any time, solely at its discretion, with or without cause, terminate discussions and negotiations with the other Party, in connection with the Purpose or otherwise. Each Party agrees that the investigation of the other Party by such Party and its Representatives is entirely at such Party’s own expense and risk. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as obligating either Party to provide, or to continue to provide, any information to the other Party. |
12) | No Solicitation. Except with the express permission of the other Party, each Party agrees that for a period of 18 months from the Effective Date, neither such Party nor its Representatives will directly or indirectly solicit or hire any officer, director, or employee of the other Party, or any of their respective subsidiaries, except pursuant to a general solicitation that is not directed specifically to any such employees. |
13) | Standstill Agreement. Unless approved in advance in writing by the board of directors of the other Party, each Party agrees that neither it nor any of its Representatives that has received Confidential Information or is acting on behalf of or in concert with such Party (or any of its Representatives) will, for a period of 18 months after the date of this Agreement, directly or indirectly: |
a) | make any statement or proposal to the board of directors of the other Party, any of the other Party’s Representatives or any of the other Party’s stockholders regarding, or make any public announcement, proposal, or offer (including any “solicitation” of “proxies” as such terms are defined or used in Regulation 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) with respect to, or otherwise solicit, seek, or offer to effect (including, for the avoidance of doubt, indirectly by means of communication with the press or media): (i) any business combination, merger, tender offer, exchange offer, or similar transaction involving the other Party or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) any restructuring, recapitalization, liquidation, or similar transaction involving the other Party or any of its subsidiaries, (iii) any acquisition of any of the other Party’s loans, debt securities, equity securities or assets, or rights or options to acquire interests in any of the other Party’s loans, debt securities, equity securities, or assets, or (iv) any proposal to seek representation on the board of directors of the other Party or otherwise seek to control or influence the management, board of directors, or policies of the other Party; |
b) | instigate, encourage, or assist any third party (including forming, joining or participating in a “group” as defined in the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder) to do, or enter into any discussions or agreements with any third party with respect to, any of the actions set forth in Section 13(a); |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 3 of 6 |
c) | take any action that would reasonably be expected to require the other Party or any of its affiliates to make a public announcement regarding any of the actions set forth in Section 13(a); |
d) | acquire (or propose or agree to acquire), of record or beneficially, by purchase or otherwise, any loans, debt securities, equity securities, or assets of the other Party or any of its subsidiaries, or rights or options to acquire interests in any of the other Party’s loans, debt securities, equity securities, or assets; or |
e) | enter into any discussions or arrangements with any person or entity with respect to any of the foregoing. |
Notwithstanding anything in this Section 13 to the contrary, each Party shall have the right to make a confidential proposal for or offer of a business combination to the board of directors of the other Party (a “Permitted Proposal”) so long as any such Permitted Proposal or the negotiations or discussions related thereto are kept confidential, are not disclosed to any person by the proposing Party or any of its Representatives in violation of this Agreement and are not made in a manner that would require the other Party to make a public disclosure with respect thereto under applicable law.
14) | No Waiver of Privilege. To the extent that any Confidential Information includes materials or other information subject to the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or any other applicable privilege or doctrine concerning pending or threatened legal proceedings or governmental investigations, the Parties understand and agree that they have a commonality of interest with respect to such matters and it is their desire, intention, and mutual understanding that the sharing of such material or other information is not intended to, and shall not, waive or diminish in any way the confidentiality of such material or information or its continued protection under the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other applicable privilege or doctrine as a result of disclosing any Confidential Information (including Confidential Information related to pending or threatened litigation) to the Recipient or any of its Representatives. Accordingly, all Confidential Information that is entitled to protection under the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or other applicable privilege or doctrine shall remain entitled to protection thereunder and shall be entitled to protection under the joint defense doctrine, and the Parties agree to take all measures necessary to preserve, to the fullest extent possible, the applicability of all such privileges or doctrines. |
15) | Securities Law Compliance. Each Party hereby acknowledges that it understands that: (a) the Confidential Information may contain or constitute material non-public information concerning the Disclosing Party and its affiliates; and (b) trading in the Disclosing Party’s securities while in possession of material nonpublic information or communicating that information to any other person who trades in such securities could subject the Recipient to liability under the U.S. federal and state securities laws, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Each Party agrees that it and its controlled affiliates will comply with such securities laws. Nothing herein will be deemed to constitute an admission by either Party or any of their respective Representatives that any Confidential Information in fact contains material non-public information concerning the Disclosing Party. |
16) | Remedies. Each Party acknowledges and agrees that money damages might not be a sufficient remedy for any breach or threatened breach of this Agreement by such Party or its Representatives. Therefore, in addition to all other remedies available at law or in equity (which neither Party waives by the exercise of any rights hereunder), the non-breaching Party shall be entitled to seek specific performance, injunctive and other equitable relief as a remedy for any such breach or threatened breach, and the Parties hereby waive any requirement for the securing or posting of any bond or the showing of actual monetary damages in connection with such claim. |
17) | Legal Fees. In the event of litigation relating to this Agreement, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that Recipient or its Representatives have breached this Agreement, then Recipient shall be liable and pay to the Disclosing Party the reasonable legal fees and costs incurred by the Disclosing Party in connection with such litigation, including any appeal therefrom, as a court of competent jurisdiction may deem appropriate under the circumstances. |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 4 of 6 |
18) | Financial Advisor. CECO understands and agrees that Profire’s financial advisor, Stephens, Inc. (the “Financial Advisor”), shall arrange for appropriate contacts for due diligence purposes with CECO as the Financial Advisor and the Company in their sole discretion shall determine. CECO understands and agrees that all (a) communications regarding Project Panther, (b) requests for additional information, (c) requests for management meetings, and (d) discussions or questions regarding procedures, shall be submitted or directed exclusively to the Financial Advisor. |
19) | Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Venue. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Nevada. Each Party consents and submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Utah for the adjudication of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of this Agreement. Each party waives any and all objections it may have to such venue for reasons of personal or subject matter, jurisdiction and forum non conveniens. |
20) | Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be (a) in writing; (b) deemed to have been given (i) when hand-delivered (with written confirmation of receipt), (ii) when received by the addressee if sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier (receipt requested), or (iii) on the third day after the date mailed, by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid; and (c) sent to the applicable Party to the address set forth in the signature block below (or to such other address that a Party from time to time in accordance with this Section). |
21) | Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the Parties regarding the subject matter contained herein, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written oral, regarding such subject matter. This Agreement may be amended, modified or supplemented only by an agreement in writing signed by each Party. |
22) | Severability. If any part or provisions of this Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by any rule or law, or public policy, all other provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect. Upon such a determination, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the Parties to the extent possible without being invalid, illegal or unenforceable. |
23) | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall be deemed to be one and the same agreement. A signed copy of this Agreement delivered by e-mail or other means of electronic transmission shall be deemed to have the same legal effect as delivery of an original signed copy of this Agreement. |
24) | Assignment. Neither Party may assign any of its rights or delegate any of its obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other Party. Any purported assignment or delegation in violation of this Section shall be null and void. No assignment or delegation shall relieve the assigning or delegating Party of any of its obligations hereunder. This Agreement is for the sole benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns, and nothing herein, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer on any other person or entity any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. |
25) | Waivers. No waiver by any Party of any of the provisions hereof shall be effective unless explicitly set out in writing and signed by the Party so waiving. No waiver by any Party shall operate or be construed as a waiver in respect of any failure, breach or default not expressly identified by such written waiver, whether of a similar or different character, and whether occurring before or after that waiver. No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power or privilege arising from this Agreement shall operate or be construed as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. |
26) | Interpretation. In this Agreement, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, (a) words used in the singular may be read as the plural and vice versa; (b) the word “or” shall not be exclusive; (c) the words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereunder,” “hereto” and words of similar import shall be deemed references to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement; and (d) the section titles herein are for reference only and shall not be deemed to be a part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 5 of 6 |
27) | Advance Waiver. |
a) | CECO acknowledges that Profire has engaged Mayer Brown LLP (together with its affiliates, “Mayer Brown”) as its legal counsel in connection with Project Panther. CECO hereby, on behalf of itself and its affiliates, (i) consents to the continued representation of Profire by Mayer Brown in connection with Project Panther, notwithstanding the fact that Mayer Brown may have represented, and may currently or in the future represent, CECO or any of its affiliates with respect to unrelated matters and (ii) waives any actual or alleged conflict and actual or alleged violation of ethical or comparable rules applicable to Mayer Brown that may arise from representation of Profire in connection with Project Panther. In addition, CECO hereby acknowledges that its consent and waiver under this Section 26(a) is voluntary and informed. |
b) | Profire acknowledges that CECO has engaged Foley & Lardner LLP (together with its affiliates, “Foley”) as its legal counsel in connection with Project Panther. Profire hereby, on behalf of itself and its affiliates, (i) consents to the continued representation of CECO by Foley in connection with Project Panther, notwithstanding the fact that Foley may have represented, and may currently or in the future represent, Profire or any of its affiliates with respect to unrelated matters and (ii) waives any actual or alleged conflict and actual or alleged violation of ethical or comparable rules applicable to Foley that may arise from representation of CECO in connection with Project Panther. In addition, Profire hereby acknowledges that its consent and waiver under this Section 26(b) is voluntary and informed. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement to be effective as of the Effective Date.
CECO Environmental Corp. | Profire Energy, Inc. | |||
By: | /s/ Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi | By: | /s/ Ryan W. Oviatt | |
Name: Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi | Name: Ryan W. Oviatt | |||
Title: Chief Administrative and Legal Officer | Title: Co-CEO & CFO | |||
Address for Notice: | Address for Notice: | |||
CECO Environmental Corp. | Profire Energy, Inc. | |||
ATTN: Office of The General Counsel | 321 S 1250 W, Suite 1 | |||
14651 Dallas Parkway, Suite 500 | Lindon, Utah 84042 | |||
Dallas, Texas 75254 | ||||
Email for notice: ogc@onececo.com | Email for notice: tfugal@profireenergy.com |
CECO M&A MUTUAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT | Page: 6 of 6 |