false 0001981535 0001981535 2025-07-17 2025-07-17 iso4217:USD xbrli:shares iso4217:USD xbrli:shares

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

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

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 17, 2025

 

SHARPLINK GAMING, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   001-41962   87-4752260

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

 

333 Washington Avenue North, Suite 104, Minneapolis, Minnesota   55402
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (612) 293-0619

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

 

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

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

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

 

Title of each class   Trading symbol   Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 per share   SBET   The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC

 

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

 

Emerging growth company

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

 

As previously reported, on May 30, 2025, pursuant to a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the Shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-287708) of SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (the “Company”), the Company entered into an ATM Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, as sales agent (the “Agent”) to sell shares of its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $1,000,000,000 (the “Shares”) from time to time, through an “at the market offering” (the “ATM Offering”) as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

On July 17, 2025, the Company entered into an Amendment to the Sales Agreement (the “Amendment”) to (i) increase the number of Shares that may be sold in the ATM Offering to $6,000,000,000 (the “ATM Sales Increase”); and (ii) to permit the forward sale of Shares to be sold in the ATM Offering pursuant to Master Forward Confirmation Letter Agreements (the “Forward Sales Agreements,” and each a “Forward Sales Agreement”).

 

Pursuant to the Amendment, the Agent will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of 2.5% of the gross sales price per Share on the first $1.0 billion of Shares sold of the ATM Sales Increase and 2.0% of the gross sales price per Share on all sales of Shares thereafter sold by means of the ATM Offering, and the Agent will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of 4.0% for forward sales made under Forward Sales Agreements. The Agent when acting in their capacity as sales agents for the Company, is referred to as a “Sales Agent”, and when acting in their capacity as counterparties to the Forward Sales Agreement, is referred to as a “Forward Purchaser,” and when acting in their capacity as agent for the Forward Purchaser, is referred to as a “Forward Seller”.

 

Pursuant to the Sales Agreement, as amended by the Amendment, the Company may enter into one or more Forward Sale Agreements with the Forward Purchasers. In connection with each such Forward Sale Agreement, the relevant Forward Purchaser will, at the Company’s request, use commercially reasonable efforts to borrow from third parties and, through the relevant Forward Seller, sell a number of Shares equal to the number of shares of Common Stock underlying such Forward Sales Agreement. Although the Company expects to physically settle any Forward Sale Agreement into which it enters (by the delivery of common stock) and receive proceeds from the sale of Shares upon one or more forward settlement dates no later than the date that is two years from entry into the applicable Forward Sales Agreement, the Company may elect to cash settle or net share settle all or a portion of its obligations under any forward sale agreement. The Forward Sales Agreements are subject to early termination or settlement under certain circumstances.

 

The Company is currently seeking approval from its stockholders to increase the amount of authorized shares of the Company, with the exact meeting date set for July 24, 2025 (the “Stockholder Approval”). As of July 17, 2025, the Company may not issue more than 48,058 shares of common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement, as amended by the Amendment, until the date of the Stockholder Approval as the Company currently has no other authorized shares of common stock available for issuance. As a result, the Company will likely be unable to utilize the ATM Offering in the near term and will instead utilize Forward Sales Agreements until the date of Stockholder Approval.

 

The Company has filed a supplement to the Prospectus Supplement (the “Supplement”) with the SEC to address the ATM Sales Agreement and Forward Sales Agreements on July 17, 2025.

 

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

 

 

 

 

The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement, as amended by the Amendment, and the Forward Sales Agreements, do not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the Amendment and the Forward Sales Agreement, which are filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 and Exhibit 10.2, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.

 

A copy of the opinion of Thompson Hine LLP relating to the validity of the Shares that may be sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement, as amended by the Amendment, is filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1.

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit No.   Description
5.1   Opinion of Thompson Hine LLP
10.1   Amendment to the ATM Sales Agreement, dated July 17, 2025 by and between SharpLink Gaming, Inc. and A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners
10.2   Master Forward Confirmation Letter Agreement, dated July 17, 2025 by and between SharpLink Gaming, Inc. and A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners
23.1   Consent of Counsel to SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (included in Exhibit 5.1).
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

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

 

Date: July 17, 2025 SHARPLINK GAMING, INC.
   
  /s/ Rob Phythian
  Rob Phythian
  Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

July 17, 2025

 

SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

333 Washington Avenue North, Suite 104

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401

 

Re: Registration Statement on Form S-3

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as counsel to SharpLink Gaming, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), with respect to certain matters in connection with the offering by the Company of $5,000,000,000 of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333- 287708) (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), the related prospectus dated May 30, 2025 included within the Registration Statement (the “Base Prospectus”), the prospectus supplement dated May 30, 2025, and the prospectus supplement dated July 17, 2025, filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) promulgated under the Act (together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”). The Shares are to be sold by the Company in accordance with that certain Amendment to the Sales Agreement, dated July 17, 2025, by and between the Company and A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (the “Sales Agreement”), as described in the Prospectus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

July 17, 2025

Page 2

 

In rendering this opinion, we have examined and are familiar with the following:

 

a. The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, as amended and restated through the date hereof (the “Certificate of Incorporation” and “Bylaws”, respectively).
   
b. The Registration Statement.
   
c. The Prospectus.
   
d. Such other records, instruments, documents, and certificates as we have deemed advisable in order to render such opinion.

 

In such examination, we have assumed:

 

a. The genuineness of all signatures.
   
b. The legal capacity of all natural persons.
   
c. The authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals.
   
d. The conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies.

 

Based upon and subject to the foregoing and such other investigation as we have deemed necessary and subject to the qualifications set forth below, we are of the opinion that the Shares, when issued by the Company out of the Company’s duly authorized common stock and issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor as contemplated by and in accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, on terms approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, or a duly authorized committee thereof, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

 

 

 

 

 

SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

July 17, 2025

Page 3

 

Our opinions expressed above are limited to the General Corporation Laws of the State of Delaware and laws of the State of New York, in each case as currently in effect (collectively, “Applicable Law”), and we express no opinion as to the effect on the matters covered by this letter of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

 

We have relied as to certain matters on information obtained from public officials, officers of the Company, and other sources believed by us to be responsible.

 

Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. This opinion is based upon currently existing statutes, rules, regulations and judicial decisions, and we disclaim any obligation to advise you of any change in any of these sources of law or subsequent legal or factual developments which might affect any matters or opinions set forth herein.

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act and to the use of this firm’s name therein and in the Prospectus under the caption “Legal Matters.” In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.

 

Very truly yours,

 

/s/ Thompson Hine LLP

 

Thompson Hine LLP

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

Sharplink gaming, Inc.

 

COMMON STOCK

 

July 17, 2025

 

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners

590 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Reference is made to that certain Sales Agreement (the “Original Agreement”), dated as of May 30, 2025, by and between SharpLink Gaming, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“AGP”, and when acting as Sales Agent under the Original Agreement or this Amendment, the “Sales Agent”). AGP and the Company are referred to collectively as the “Parties.” Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Original Agreement.

 

RECITALS

 

A. Pursuant to Section 15 of the Original Agreement, the Original Agreement may be amended by an agreement in writing signed by the Company and the Sales Agent.

 

B. Each of the Company and the Sales Agent desire to amend the Original Agreement through this Amendment with effect on and after the date hereof (the “Effective Date”).

 

C. Except as set forth in this Agreement, the terms of the Original Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and the Original Agreement is hereby ratified and confirmed. The term “Agreement” shall mean the Original Agreement, as amended by this Amendment.

 

AGREEMENT

 

The Parties agree, from and after the Effective Date, that:

 

1)Any reference to the “Sales Agent” in the Original Agreement shall refer to AGP, in its capacity as Sales Agent, Forward Seller or Forward Purchaser, as the context requires.

 

2)Section 1 of the Original Agreement is amended by adding the following defined terms as a new Section 1. B):

 

As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:

 

Actual Sold Forward Amount” means, for any Forward Hedge Selling Period for any Forward, the number of Forward Hedge Securities that the Forward Seller has sold during such Forward Hedge Selling Period.

 

Aggregate Forward Hedge Price” means, with respect to a period, the product of the Actual Sold Forward Amount during such period and the Forward Hedge Price during such period.

 

Aggregate Sales Price” means, with respect to a period, the sum of the Sales Prices for all Issuance Securities or Forward Hedge Securities, as applicable, sold during such period.

 

Applicable Time” means the date of this Agreement, each Representation Date, each date on which a Placement Notice is given, each Point of Sale, and each Settlement Date.

 

 
 

 

Capped Number” with respect to any Forward Contract has the meaning set forth in such Forward Contract.

 

Commitment Period” means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and expiring on the date this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 11.

 

Forward” means the transaction resulting from each Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) specifying that it relates to a “Forward” and requiring the Forward Seller to use commercially reasonable efforts to sell, as specified in such Placement Notice and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the applicable Forward Contract, the Forward Hedge Securities.

 

Forward Contract” means, for each Forward, the contract evidencing such Forward between the Company and the Forward Purchaser, which shall be comprised of the Master Forward Confirmation and the related “Supplemental Confirmation” (as defined in the Master Forward Confirmation) for such Forward.

 

Forward Hedge Amount” means, for any Forward, the amount specified as such in the Placement Notice for such Forward (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), which amount shall be the target Aggregate Sales Price of the Forward Hedge Securities to be sold by the Forward Seller in respect of such Forward, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

Forward Hedge Price” means, for any Forward Contract, the product of (x) an amount equal to one (1) minus the Forward Hedge Selling Commission Rate for such Forward Contract; and (y) the Volume-Weighted Hedge Price.

 

Forward Hedge Securities” means all Common Stock borrowed by the Forward Purchaser and offered and sold by the Forward Seller in connection with any Forward that has occurred or may occur in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The aggregate amount of Forward Hedge Securities may not exceed $350,000,000.

 

Forward Hedge Selling Commission” means, for any Forward Contract, the product of (x) the Forward Hedge Selling Commission Rate for such Forward Contract and (y) the Volume-Weighted Hedge Price.

 

Forward Hedge Selling Commission Rate” means, for any Forward Contract, a rate mutually agreed to between the Company and the Forward Seller and recorded in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), not to exceed 4%

 

Forward Hedge Selling Period” means, subject to Section 2 hereof, the period of one to 20 consecutive Trading Days (as determined by the Company in the Company’s sole discretion and specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) specifying that it relates to a “Forward”) beginning on the date specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) or, if such date is not a Trading Day, the next Trading Day following such date and ending on the last such Trading Day or such earlier date on which the Forward Seller shall have completed the sale of Forward Hedge Securities in connection with the applicable Forward; provided that if, prior to the scheduled end of any Forward Hedge Selling Period (x) any event occurs that would permit the Forward Purchaser to designate a “Scheduled Trading Day” as an “Early Valuation Date” (as each such term is defined in the Master Forward Confirmation) under, and pursuant to the provisions opposite the caption “Early Valuation” in Section [·] of the Master Forward Confirmation or (y) a “Bankruptcy Termination Event” (as such term is defined in the Master Forward Confirmation) occurs, then the Forward Hedge Selling Period shall, upon the Forward Seller becoming aware of such occurrence, immediately terminate as of the first such occurrence. Any Forward Hedge Selling Period then in effect shall immediately terminate upon the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 8 or Section 11 hereof.

 

Forward Purchaser” shall mean AGP, when acting in its capacity as purchaser under any Forward Contract.

 

 
 

 

Forward Seller” shall mean AGP, when acting in its capacity as agent for the Forward Purchaser in connection with the offering and sale of any Forward Hedge Securities.

 

Investment Company Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

Issuance” means each occasion the Company elects to exercise its right to deliver a Placement Notice that does not involve a Forward and that specifies that it relates to an “Issuance” and requires the Sales Agent to use commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Issuance Securities as specified in such Placement Notice, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

Issuance Selling Period” means the period of one to 20 consecutive Trading Days (as determined by the Company in the Company’s sole discretion and specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) specifying that it relates to an “Issuance”) beginning on the date specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) or, if such date is not a Trading Day, the next Trading Day following such date.

 

Issuance Securities” means all shares of Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to an Issuance that has occurred or may occur in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

Master Forward Confirmation” means the Master Confirmation for Issuer Share Forward Sale Transactions, dated as of the date hereof, by and among the Company and the Forward Purchaser, including all provisions incorporated by reference therein.

 

Selling Period” means any Forward Hedge Selling Period or any Issuance Selling Period.

 

Settlement Date” means, unless the Company and the Sales Agent shall otherwise agree, any Forward Hedge Settlement Date or any Issuance Settlement Date, as applicable.

 

Trading Day” means any day on which the Company’s Common Stock is purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted.

 

Unwind Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the Master Forward Confirmation.

 

Volume-Weighted Hedge Price” has the meaning set forth in the Master Forward Confirmation; provided that, for purposes of determining the Aggregate Forward Hedge Price payable to the Forward Purchaser in respect of a Trading Day on which the Forward Seller has made sales of Forward Hedge Securities hereunder pursuant to Sections 3(b) and 6(e), the Volume-Weighted Hedge Price shall be determined solely with respect to the Forward Hedge Securities sold by the Forward Seller on such Trading Day.

 

 
 

 

3)Section 2 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

Placements. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, on any Trading Day during the Commitment Period on which (i) the conditions set forth in Section 9 hereof have been satisfied and (ii) with respect to any Forward, no event described in clause (x) or clause (y) of the proviso contained in the definition of Forward Hedge Selling Period shall have occurred, the Company wishes to issue (in the case of an Issuance) and sell the Securities hereunder (each, a “Placement”), by delivery of an email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) to the Sales Agent (in the case of an Issuance) or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser (in the case of a Forward) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Securities to be sold, which shall at a minimum specify whether it relates to an “Issuance” or a “Forward” and include the number of Securities to be issued (in the case of an Issuance) and/or sold (the “Placement Securities”), the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Securities that may be sold in any one day, any minimum price below which sales may not be made or a formula pursuant to which such minimum price shall be determined and, as applicable, certain specified terms of the Forward (a “Placement Notice”), a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary with respect to Issuances and Forwards is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. If the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, wish to accept such proposed terms included in the Placement Notice (which they may decline to do for any reason in their sole discretion) or, following discussion with the Company, wish to accept amended terms, the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, will, prior to 4:30 p.m. (New York City Time) on the business day following the business day on which such Placement Notice is delivered to the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, issue to the Company a notice by email (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) addressed to all of the individuals from the Company and the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, set forth on Schedule 2 setting forth the terms that the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, are willing to accept. Where the terms provided in the Placement Notice are amended as provided for in the immediately preceding sentence, such terms will not be binding on the Company or the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, until the Company delivers to the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, an acceptance by email (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) of all of the terms of such Placement Notice, as amended (the “Acceptance”), which email shall be addressed to all of the individuals from the Company and the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, set forth on Schedule 2. The Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) shall be effective upon receipt by the Company of the Sales Agent’s or the Forward Seller’s and the Forward Purchaser’s, as applicable, acceptance of the terms of the Placement Notice or upon receipt by the Sales Agent or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, as applicable, of the Company’s Acceptance, as the case may be, unless and until (i) the entire amount of the Placement Securities has been sold, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in the second sentence of the prior paragraph, the Company terminates the Placement Notice, (iii) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, (iv) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11 or (v) either party shall have suspended the sale of the Placement Securities in accordance with Section 4 below. The termination of the effectiveness of a Placement Notice as set forth in the prior sentence shall not affect or impair any party’s obligations with respect to any Securities sold hereunder prior to such termination (including, in the case of any Forward Hedge Securities, the obligation to enter into the resulting Forward Contract). It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Sales Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Securities unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Sales Agent and either (i) the Sales Agent accepts the terms of such Placement Notice or (ii) where the terms of such Placement Notice are amended, the Company accepts such amended terms by means of an Acceptance pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) and herein. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that the Company, the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser will have no obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Securities unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser and either (i) the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser accept the terms of such Placement Notice or (ii) where the terms of such Placement Notice are amended, the Company accepts such amended terms by means of an Acceptance pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), this Agreement and the Master Forward Confirmation. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), the terms of the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) will control. No Placement Notice may be delivered hereunder other than on a Trading Day during the Commitment Period; no Placement Notice may be delivered hereunder if the Selling Period specified therein may overlap in whole or in part with any Selling Period specified in a Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) delivered hereunder unless the Securities to be sold under all such previously delivered Placement Notices have all been sold.; no Placement Notice may be delivered hereunder if any Selling Period specified therein may overlap in whole or in part with any Unwind Date under any Forward Contract entered into between the Company and the Forward Purchaser; and no Placement Notice specifying that it relates to a “Forward” may be delivered if such Placement Notice, together with all prior Placement Notices (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) delivered by the Company relating to a “Forward” hereunder, would result in the sum of the number of shares of Common Stock issued under all Forward Contracts that have settled, plus the Capped Numbers under all Forward Contracts then outstanding or to be entered into between the Company and the Forward Purchaser exceeding 19.99% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the date of this Agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, any notice required to be delivered by the Company or by the Sales Agent (in the case of an Issuance) or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser (in the case of a Forward) pursuant to this Section 2 may be delivered by telephone (confirmed promptly by facsimile or email addressed to all of the individuals from the Company and the Sales Agent (in the case of an Issuance) or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser (in the case of a Forward) set forth on Schedule 2, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the receiving party) or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties. For the avoidance of doubt, notices delivered by telephone shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company or the Sales Agent (in the case of an Issuance) or the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser (in the case of a Forward) set forth on Schedule 2.

 

 
 

 

4)Section 3 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, upon the delivery of a Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) specifying that it relates to an “Issuance,” the Sales Agent will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell the Issuance Securities at market prevailing prices up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). The Manager will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Issuance Securities hereunder setting forth the number of Issuance Securities sold on such day, the corresponding Aggregate Sales Price, the compensation payable by the Company to the Sales Agent pursuant to this Section 3(a) with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds payable to the Company, with an itemization of deductions made by the Sales Agent (as set forth in Section 5(a)) from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. The amount of any commission, discount or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Sales Agent, when the Sales Agent is acting as agent, in connection with the sale of the Issuance Securities shall be determined in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 2. The amount of any commission, discount or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Sales Agent, when the Sales Agent is acting as principal, in connection with the sale of the Issuance Securities shall be as separately agreed among the parties hereto at the time of any such sales. Subject to terms and conditions set forth herein and the Master Forward Confirmation, upon the delivery of a Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) specifying that it relates to a “Forward,” the Forward Purchaser will use commercially reasonable efforts to borrow, offer and sell Forward Hedge Securities through the Forward Seller to hedge the Forward, and the Forward Seller will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Forward Hedge Securities at market prevailing prices up to the Forward Hedge Amount specified in such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). The Forward Seller will provide written confirmation by email to all of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time) and to the Forward Purchaser no later than the opening of the Trading Day immediately following each Trading Day on which it has made sales of Forward Hedge Securities hereunder setting forth the number of Forward Hedge Securities sold on such day, the Forward Hedge Selling Commission in respect of such Forward Hedge Securities, the corresponding Aggregate Sales Price and the Aggregate Forward Hedge Price payable to the Forward Purchaser in respect thereof. No later than the opening of the Trading Day immediately following the last Trading Day of each Forward Hedge Selling Period (or, if earlier, no later than the opening of the Trading Day immediately following the date on which any Forward Hedge Selling Period is suspended or terminated or the Forward Contract or this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 8 or Section 11 hereof), the Forward Purchaser shall execute and deliver to the Company a “Supplemental Confirmation” in respect of the Forward for such Forward Hedge Selling Period, which “Supplemental Confirmation” shall set forth the “Trade Date” for such Forward (which shall, subject to the terms of the Master Forward Confirmation, be the last Trading Day of such Forward Hedge Selling Period), the “Effective Date” for such Forward (which shall, subject to the terms of the Master Forward Confirmation, be the date one Settlement Cycle (as such term is defined in the Master Forward Confirmation) immediately following the last Trading Day of such Forward Hedge Selling Period), the initial “Number of Shares” for such Forward (which shall be the Actual Sold Forward Amount for such Forward Hedge Selling Period), the “Maturity Date” for such Forward (which shall, subject to the terms of the Master Forward Confirmation, be the date that follows the last Trading Day of such Forward Hedge Selling Period by the number of days or months set forth opposite the caption “Term” in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) for such Forward, which number of days or months shall in no event be less than three months nor more than two years), the “Initial Forward Price” for such Forward, the “Spread” for such Forward (as set forth in the related Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable)), the “Volume-Weighted Hedge Price” for such Forward, the “Threshold Price” for such Forward, the “Initial Stock Loan Rate” for such Forward (as set forth in the related Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable)), the “Maximum Stock Loan Rate” for such Forward (as set forth in the related Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable)), the “Forward Price Reduction Dates” for such Forward (which shall be each of the dates set forth below the caption “Forward Price Reduction Dates” in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) for such Forward) and the “Forward Price Reduction Amounts” corresponding to such Forward Price Reduction Dates (which shall be each amount set forth opposite each “Forward Price Reduction Date” and below the caption “Forward Price Reduction Amounts” in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) for such Forward) and the “Regular Dividend Amounts” for such Forward (which shall be each of the amount(s) set forth below the caption “Regular Dividend Amounts” in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) for such Forward). Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Forward Purchaser’s obligation to use its commercially reasonable efforts to borrow all or any portion of the Forward Hedge Securities (and the Forward Seller’s obligation to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell such portion of the Forward Hedge Securities) for any Forward hereunder shall be subject in all respects to the last paragraph of Section 3 of the Master Forward Confirmation. The Securities may be offered and sold by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made directly on the Exchange, on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock or to or through a market maker, or subject to the terms of the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), by any other method permitted by law, including but not limited to, privately negotiated transactions.

 

 
 

 

5)Section 5 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following Section 5(c) to follows Section 5(b) in the Original Agreement:

 

On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions in this Agreement and the Master Forward Confirmation, upon the Forward Purchaser’s and the Forward Seller’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice specifying that it relates to a “Forward” or upon receipt by the Forward Purchaser and Forward Seller of an Acceptance, as the case may be, and unless the sale of the Forward Hedge Securities described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or the Master Forward Confirmation (including without limitation as a result of any event described in clause (x) or (y) of the proviso contained in the definition of Forward Hedge Selling Period), the Forward Purchaser will use its commercially reasonable efforts to borrow a number of Forward Hedge Securities sufficient to have an Aggregate Sales Price as close as reasonably practicable to the Forward Hedge Amount specified in the Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) and the Forward Seller will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Forward Hedge Securities at market prevailing prices, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable). Each of the Company and the Forward Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Forward Purchaser will be successful in borrowing or that the Forward Seller will be successful in selling Forward Hedge Securities, (ii) the Forward Seller will incur no liability or obligation to the Company, the Forward Purchaser, or any other person or entity if it does not sell Forward Hedge Securities borrowed by the Forward Purchaser for any reason other than a failure by the Forward Seller to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Forward Hedge Securities as required under this Section 6, and (iii) the Forward Purchaser will incur no liability or obligation to the Company, the Forward Seller, or any other person or entity if it does not borrow Forward Hedge Securities for any reason other than a failure by the Forward Purchaser to use its commercially reasonable efforts to borrow such Forward Hedge Securities as required under this Section 5. In acting hereunder, the Forward Seller will be acting as agent for the Forward Purchaser and not as principal. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable), settlement for sales of Forward Hedge Securities will occur on the first (1st) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Forward Hedge Settlement Date”). On or before each Forward Hedge Settlement Date, the Forward Purchaser will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Forward Hedge Securities being sold by crediting the Forward Seller or its designee’s account (provided Forward Seller shall have given the Forward Purchaser written notice of such designee prior to the Forward Hedge Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Forward Hedge Settlement Date, the Forward Seller will deliver the related Aggregate Forward Hedge Price to the Forward Purchaser in same day funds to an account designated by the Forward Purchaser prior to the relevant Forward Hedge Settlement Date.

 

6)Section 6(w) of the Original Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following language to Section 6(w) of the Original Agreement:

 

In connection with entering into any Forward Contract, the Company will not acquire any long position (either directly or indirectly, including through an Affiliate or through a derivative transaction) with respect to shares of Common Stock. For purposes of the foregoing, Affiliate means, with respect to any person or entity, any other person or entity directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such person or entity. For purposes of this definition, “control” when used with respect to any person or entity means ownership of 50% or more of the voting power or value of such person or entity.

 

 
 

 

7)Section 7(g) of the Original Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following language to Section 7(g) of the Original Agreement:

 

Provided, further, that the Company shall reimburse the Sales Agent for the expenses of counsel to the Sales Agent in conjunction with the Parties’ execution of Amendment No. 1 of the Agreement as follows: $100,000 to Hogan Lovells US LLP and $25,000 to Sullivan & Worcester LLP.

 

8)Section 8 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following as new Section 8(o):

 

8(o). Effectiveness of Master Forward Confirmation. In respect of any Placement Notice delivered in respect of any Forward, the Master Forward Confirmation shall be in full force and effect.

 

9)Section 12 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended by including the following as an additional party for copies for notices to AGP:

 

Hogan Lovells US LLP

555 13th Street NW

Washington, DC 20004

Attention: Jim Davidson

 

10)Section 22 of the Original Agreement is hereby deleted.

 

11)All references to “Cherry Bekaert LLP” in the Original Agreement are hereby revised to read as “KPMG (beginning July 7, 2025), Cherry Bekaert (ending on July 7, 2025) and any other independent registered accounting firm whose report is filed with the Commission and included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.”

 

12)The Parties hereby agree to waive the requirements set forth in Section 7(o) and Section 8(h) of the Original Agreement with respect to the delivery of any comfort letter that otherwise would be required in conjunction with the execution of this Agreement and the filing of a prospectus supplement on the Effective Date.

 

13)Schedule 3 of the Original Agreement is hereby amended and restated as set forth in Schedule 3 hereto.

 

 
 

 

If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and AGP, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and AGP, as Sales Agent Forward Seller and Forward Purchaser.

 

Very truly yours,  
   
SharpLink Gaming, Inc.  
     
By: /s/ Rob Phythian  
Name:    
Title:    

 

Accepted, as of the date first written above  
   
A.G.P./ALLIANCE GLOBAL PARTNERS, as Sales Agent, Forward Seller and Forward Purchaser  
   
By: /s/ Thomas J. Higgins  
Name:    
Title:    

 

 
 

 

SCHEDULE 3

 

Compensation

 

The Company shall pay to AGP in cash, upon each sale of Issuance Securities pursuant to this Agreement, an amount up to 2.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of Issuance Securities up to $1,000,000,000 and an amount up to 2.0% thereafter; provided, however, that the Company shall pay to AGP in cash, upon each sale of Forward Hedge Securities, an amount up to 4.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of Forward Hedge Securities.

 

* The foregoing rate of compensation shall not apply when the Sales Agent purchases Placement Shares on a principal basis, in which case the Company may sell the Placement Shares to the Sales Agent as principal at a price to be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the Sales Agent at the relevant Point of Sale pursuant to the applicable Placement Notice (it being hereby acknowledged and agreed that the Sales Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to the Sales Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by the Sales Agent and the Company in writing and expressly set forth in a Placement Notice)

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.2

 

Master Forward Confirmation

 

Date: July 17, 2025

 

To: SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

 

From: A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The purpose of this letter agreement (this “Master Confirmation”) is to confirm the terms and conditions of certain forward transactions to be entered into from time to time (each, a “Transaction” and, collectively, the “Transactions”) entered into between A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“Dealer”) and SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (the “Counterparty”) as contemplated in the Sales Agreement, dated as of May 30, 2025 (as amended on the date hereof and as may be amended from time to time, among the Dealer and the Counterparty, the “Sales Agreement”). Each Transaction will be evidenced by a supplemental confirmation substantially in the form of Annex A hereto with a Trade Date specified therein (each, a “Supplemental Confirmation”). This Master Confirmation, together with the related Supplemental Confirmation, constitutes a “Confirmation” as referred to in the ISDA 2002 Master Agreement specified below.

 

The definitions and provisions contained in the 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions (the “Equity Definitions”), as published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”), are incorporated into this Master Confirmation. In the event of any inconsistency between the Equity Definitions and this Master Confirmation, this Master Confirmation shall govern.

 

Each party is hereby advised, and each such party acknowledges, that the other party has engaged in, or refrained from engaging in, substantial financial transactions and has taken other material actions in reliance upon the parties’ entry into each Transaction to which this Master Confirmation relates on the terms and conditions set forth below.

 

1. Each Confirmation evidences a complete and binding agreement between Dealer and Counterparty as to the terms of such Transaction to which this Master Confirmation relates. Each Confirmation shall supplement, form a part of, and be subject to an agreement in the form of the ISDA 2002 Master Agreement (the “Agreement”) as if Dealer and Counterparty had executed an agreement in such form (without any Schedule but (i) with the elections set forth in this Master Confirmation and (ii) with the election that the “Cross Default” provisions of Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement will apply to Dealer and Counterparty as if (a) the phrase “, or becoming capable at such time of being declared,” were deleted from Section 5(a)(vi)(1) of the Agreement; (b) the “Threshold Amount” with respect to Dealer were three percent of the shareholders’ equity of Dealer and with respect to Counterparty were US$50,000,000; (c) the following language were added to the end of Section 5(a)(vi) of the Agreement: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, a default under subsection (2) hereof shall not constitute an Event of Default if (x) the default was caused solely by error or omission of an administrative or operational nature; (y) funds were available to enable the party to make the payment when due; and (z) the payment is made within two Local Business Days of such party’s receipt of written notice of its failure to pay.”; and (d) the term “Specified Indebtedness” had the meaning specified in Section 14 of the Agreement, except that such term shall not include obligations in respect of deposits received in the ordinary course of a party’s banking business). In the event of any inconsistency between provisions of the Agreement, this Master Confirmation, any Supplemental Confirmation and the Equity Definitions, the following will prevail for the purposes of the related Transaction in the order of precedence indicated: (i) such Supplemental Confirmation, (ii) this Master Confirmation, (iii) the Equity Definitions and (iv) the Agreement. The parties hereby agree that, other than the Transactions to which this Master Confirmation relate, no Transaction shall be governed by the Agreement. For purposes of the Equity Definitions, each Transaction is a Share Forward Transaction.

 

 
 

 

2. The terms of each particular Transaction to which this Master Confirmation relates are as follows:

 

General Terms:    
     
Trade Date:   For each Transaction, as specified in the related Supplemental Confirmation.
     
Effective Date:   For each Transaction, such date on which the conditions set forth in Paragraph 7(a) below have been satisfied, including Shares sold through Dealer acting as forward seller, pursuant to the Sales Agreement, have settled.
     
Seller:   Counterparty
     
Buyer:   Dealer
     
Shares:   The common stock of Counterparty, par value USD 0.01 per share (Ticker Symbol: “SBET”)
     
Number of Shares:   For each Transaction, as specified in the related Supplemental Confirmation (the “Initial Number of Shares”).
     
Initial Forward Price:   For each Transaction, as specified in the Supplemental Confirmation
     
Forward Price:   For each Transaction:
     
    (a) On the Effective Date, the Initial Forward Price minus the Forward Price Reduction Amount for the Effective Date; and
     
    (b) on each calendar day thereafter, (i) the Forward Price as of the immediately preceding calendar day multiplied by (ii) the sum of 1 and the Daily Rate for such day; provided that, on each Forward Price Reduction Date, the Forward Price in effect on such date shall be the Forward Price otherwise in effect on such date, minus the Forward Price Reduction Amount for such Forward Price Reduction Date.
     
Daily Rate:   For any day, (i)(A) Overnight Bank Rate for such day, minus (B) the Spread, divided by (ii) 365.
     
Overnight Bank Rate:   For any day, the rate set forth for such day opposite the caption “Overnight bank funding rate,” as such rate is displayed on Bloomberg Screen “OBFR01 <Index> <GO>“, or any successor page; provided that, if no rate appears for a particular day on such page, the rate for the immediately preceding day for which a rate does so appear shall be used for such day.
     
Spread:   For each Transaction, as specified in the related Supplemental Confirmation.
     
Prepayment:   Not Applicable
     
Variable Obligation:   Not Applicable
     
Forward Price Reduction Dates:   For each Forward Price Reduction Date of a Transaction, as set forth in Schedule I to the Supplemental Confirmation for such Transaction, opposite such date.

 

2
 

 

Forward Price Reduction Amounts:   For each Forward Price Reduction Date, the Forward Price Reduction Amount set forth opposite such date on Schedule I to the related Supplemental Confirmation
     
Exchange:   The Nasdaq Capital Market
     
Related Exchange(s):   All Exchanges
     
Clearance System:   [National Financial Services LLC]/[Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC]
     
Securities Act:   Securities Act of 1933, as amended
     
Exchange Act:   Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
     
Market Disruption Event:   Section 6.3(a) of the Equity Definitions is hereby amended by replacing the first sentence in its entirety with the following: “‘Market Disruption Event’ means in respect of a Share or an Index, the occurrence or existence of (i) a Trading Disruption, (ii) an Exchange Disruption, (iii) an Early Closure or (iv) a Regulatory Disruption, in each case that the Calculation Agent determines, in its commercially reasonable judgment, is material”.
     
Early Closure:   Section 6.3(d) of the Equity Definitions is hereby amended by deleting the remainder of the provision following the term “Scheduled Closing Time” in the fourth line thereof.
     
Regulatory Disruption:   Any event that Dealer, based on the advice of counsel, determines makes it advisable with regard to any legal, regulatory or self-regulatory requirements or related policies and procedures that generally apply to transactions of a nature and kind similar to the applicable Transaction and have been adopted in good faith by Dealer (whether or not such policies or procedures are imposed by law or have been voluntarily adopted by Dealer) for Dealer to refrain from or decrease any market activity in connection with such Transaction.
     
Settlement:    
     
Settlement Currency:   USD (all amounts shall be converted to the Settlement Currency in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner by the Calculation Agent)

 

3
 

 

Settlement Date:   Any Scheduled Trading Day following the Effective Date and up to and including the Final Date that is either:
       
    (a) designated by Counterparty as a “Settlement Date” by a written notice (a “Settlement Notice”) that satisfies the Settlement Notice Requirements, if applicable, and is delivered to Dealer no less than (i) two Scheduled Trading Days prior to such Settlement Date, which may be the Final Date, if Physical Settlement applies, and (ii) 60 Scheduled Trading Days prior to such Settlement Date, which may be the Final Date, if Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement applies; provided that, if Dealer shall fully unwind its commercially reasonable hedge with respect to the portion of the Number of Shares to be settled during an Unwind Period by a date that is more than two Scheduled Trading Days prior to a Settlement Date specified above, Dealer may, by written notice to Counterparty, no fewer than two Scheduled Trading Days prior thereto, specify any Scheduled Trading Day prior to such original Settlement Date as the Settlement Date; or
     
    (b) designated by Dealer as a Settlement Date pursuant to the “Termination Settlement” provisions of Paragraph 7(g) below;
     
    provided that the Final Date will be a Settlement Date if on such date the Number of Shares for which a Settlement Date has not already been designated is greater than zero, and provided, further, that, following the occurrence of at least five consecutive Disrupted Days during an Unwind Period and while such Disrupted Days are continuing, Dealer may designate any subsequent Scheduled Trading Day as the Settlement Date with respect to the portion of the Settlement Shares, if any, for which Dealer has determined an Unwind Purchase Price during such Unwind Period, it being understood that the Unwind Period with respect to the remainder of such Settlement Shares shall recommence on the next succeeding Exchange Business Day that is not a Disrupted Day in whole.
     
Final Date:   For each other Transaction, as specified in the related Supplemental Confirmation (or if such day is not a Scheduled Trading Day, the next following Scheduled Trading Day).
     
Settlement Shares:   (a)   With respect to any Settlement Date other than the Final Date, the number of Shares designated as such by Counterparty in the relevant Settlement Notice or designated by Dealer pursuant to the “Termination Settlement” provisions of Paragraph 7(g) below, as applicable; provided that the Settlement Shares so designated shall, in the case of a designation by Counterparty, (i) not exceed the Number of Shares at that time and (ii) be at least equal to the lesser of 100,000 and the Number of Shares at that time, in each case with the Number of Shares determined taking into account pending Settlement Shares; and
     
    (b)   with respect to the Settlement Date on the Final Date, a number of Shares equal to the Number of Shares at that time;
     
    in each case with the Number of Shares determined taking into account pending Settlement Shares.

 

4
 

 

Settlement Method Election:   Physical Settlement, Cash Settlement, or Net Share Settlement, at the election of Counterparty as set forth in a Settlement Notice that satisfies the Settlement Notice Requirements; provided that Physical Settlement shall apply (i) if no Settlement Method is validly selected, (ii) with respect to any Settlement Shares in respect of which Dealer is unable, in good faith and in its commercially reasonable discretion, to unwind its commercially reasonable hedge by the end of the Unwind Period (taking into account the unwind of hedges related to each other forward or other equity derivative transaction (if any) entered into between Dealer and Counterparty (each, an “Additional Equity Derivative Transaction”)) (A) in a manner that, in the reasonable discretion of Dealer, based on advice of counsel, is consistent with the requirements for qualifying for the safe harbor provided by Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b-18”) or (B) in its commercially reasonable judgment, due to the occurrence of five or more Disrupted Days or to the lack of sufficient liquidity in the Shares on any Exchange Business Day during the Unwind Period, (iii) to any Termination Settlement Date (as defined under “Termination Settlement” in Paragraph 7(g) below) and (iv) if the Final Date is a Settlement Date other than as the result of a valid Settlement Notice, in respect of such Settlement Date; provided, further, that, if Physical Settlement applies under clause (ii) immediately above, Dealer shall provide written notice to Counterparty at least two Scheduled Trading Days prior to the applicable Settlement Date.
     
Settlement Notice Requirements:   Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, a Settlement Notice delivered by Counterparty that specifies Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement will not be effective to establish a Settlement Date or require Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement unless Counterparty delivers to Dealer with such Settlement Notice a representation, dated as of the date of such Settlement Notice and signed by Counterparty, containing (x) the provisions set forth in clause (i) under the heading “Additional Representations and Agreements of Counterparty” in Paragraph 7(e) below and (y) a representation from Counterparty that neither Counterparty nor any of its subsidiaries has applied, and shall not until after the first date on which no portion of the applicable Transaction remains outstanding following any final exercise and settlement, cancellation or early termination of such Transaction, apply, for a loan, loan guarantee, direct loan (as that term is defined in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”)) or other investment, or receive any financial assistance or relief under any program or facility (collectively “Financial Assistance”) that (I) is established under applicable law (whether in existence as of the Trade Date or subsequently enacted, adopted or amended), including without limitation the CARES Act and the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, and (II) (X) requires under applicable law (or any regulation, guidance, interpretation or other pronouncement of a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility) as a condition of such Financial Assistance, that Counterparty comply with any requirement not to, or otherwise agree, attest, certify or warrant that it has not, as of the date specified in such condition, repurchased, or will not repurchase, any equity security of Issuer, and that it has not, as of the date specified in the condition, made a capital distribution or will make a capital distribution, or (Y) where the terms of the applicable Transaction would cause Counterparty under any circumstance to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of the Financial Assistance (collectively “Restricted Financial Assistance”), other than any such applications for Restricted Financial Assistance that were (or would be) made (x) determined based on the advice of outside counsel of national standing that the terms of such Transaction would not cause Counterparty to fail to satisfy any condition for application for or receipt or retention of such Financial Assistance based on the terms of the program or facility as of the date of such advice or (y) after delivery to Dealer evidence or other guidance from a governmental authority with jurisdiction for such program or facility that such Transaction is permitted under such program or facility (either by specific reference to such Transaction or by general reference to transactions with the attributes of such Transaction in all relevant respects).

 

5
 

 

Physical Settlement:   If Physical Settlement is applicable, then Counterparty shall deliver to Dealer through the Clearance System a number of Shares equal to the Settlement Shares for such Settlement Date, and Dealer shall pay to Counterparty, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by Counterparty, an amount equal to the Physical Settlement Amount for such Settlement Date, on a delivery versus payment basis. If, on any Settlement Date, the Shares to be delivered by Counterparty to Dealer hereunder are not so delivered (the “Deferred Shares”), and a Forward Price Reduction Date occurs during the period from, and including, such Settlement Date to, but excluding, the date such Shares are actually delivered to Dealer, then the portion of the Physical Settlement Amount payable by Dealer to Counterparty in respect of the Deferred Shares shall be reduced by an amount equal to the Forward Price Reduction Amount for such Forward Price Reduction Date, multiplied by the number of Deferred Shares.
     
Physical Settlement Amount:   For any Settlement Date for which Physical Settlement is applicable, an amount in cash equal to the product of (a) the Forward Price in effect on the relevant Settlement Date multiplied by (b) the Settlement Shares for such Settlement Date.
     
Cash Settlement:   On any Settlement Date in respect of which Cash Settlement applies, if the Cash Settlement Amount is a positive number, Dealer will pay the Cash Settlement Amount to Counterparty. If the Cash Settlement Amount is a negative number, Counterparty will pay the absolute value of the Cash Settlement Amount to Dealer. Such amounts shall be paid on such Settlement Date by wire transfer of immediately available funds.

 

6
 

 

Cash Settlement Amount:   An amount determined by the Calculation Agent equal to:
   
    (a) (i)(A) the weighted average (weighted on the same basis as clause (B)) of the Forward Prices on each day during the applicable Unwind Period (calculated assuming no reduction to the Forward Price for any Forward Price Reduction Date that occurs during such Unwind Period, which is accounted for in clause (b) below), minus a commercially reasonable commission related to Dealer’s purchase of Shares in connection with the unwind of its commercially reasonable hedge position, to repurchase each Settlement Share, not to exceed USD 0.02, minus (B) the weighted average price (the “Unwind Purchase Price”) at which Dealer purchases Shares during the Unwind Period to unwind its hedge with respect to the portion of the Number of Shares to be settled during the Unwind Period (including, for the avoidance of doubt, purchases on any Disrupted Day in part) assuming Dealer has a commercially reasonable hedge position and is purchasing Shares in a commercially reasonable manner at prices that reflect prevailing market prices for the Shares, taking into account Shares anticipated to be delivered or received if Net Share Settlement applies, and the restrictions of Rule 10b-18 agreed to hereunder, multiplied by (ii) the Settlement Shares for the relevant Settlement Date; minus
     
    (b) the product of (i) the Forward Price Reduction Amount for any Forward Price Reduction Date that occurs during such Unwind Period and (ii) the number of Settlement Shares for such Settlement Date with respect to which Dealer has not unwound its hedge (assuming Dealer has a commercially reasonable hedge position and unwinds its hedge position in a commercially reasonable manner), including the settlement of such unwinds, as of such Forward Price Reduction Date.
     
Net Share Settlement:   On any Settlement Date in respect of which Net Share Settlement applies, if the Cash Settlement Amount is a (i) positive number, Dealer shall deliver a number of Shares to Counterparty equal to the Net Share Settlement Shares, or (ii) negative number, Counterparty shall deliver a number of Shares to Dealer equal to the Net Share Settlement Shares; provided that, if Dealer determines in its reasonable judgment that it would be required to deliver Net Share Settlement Shares to Counterparty, Dealer may elect to deliver a portion of such Net Share Settlement Shares on one or more dates prior to the applicable Settlement Date.
     
Net Share Settlement Shares:   With respect to a Settlement Date, the absolute value of the Cash Settlement Amount divided by the Unwind Purchase Price, with the number of Shares rounded up in the event such calculation results in a fractional number.

 

7
 

 

Unwind Period:   The period from and including the first Exchange Business Day following the date Counterparty validly elects Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement in respect of a Settlement Date through the second Scheduled Trading Day preceding such Settlement Date, subject to “Termination Settlement” as described in Paragraph 7(g) below.
     
Failure to Deliver:   Applicable if Dealer is required to deliver Shares hereunder; otherwise, Not Applicable.
     
Share Cap:   Notwithstanding any other provision of this Master Confirmation, in no event will Counterparty be required to deliver to Dealer on any Settlement Date, whether pursuant to Physical Settlement, Net Share Settlement or any Private Placement Settlement, a number of Shares in excess of (i) two times the Initial Number of Shares, subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the provisions of this Master Confirmation or the Equity Definitions, minus (ii) the aggregate number of Shares delivered by Counterparty to Dealer hereunder prior to such Settlement Date.
     
Adjustments:    
     
Method of Adjustment:   Calculation Agent Adjustment. Section 11.2(e) of the Equity Definitions is hereby amended by deleting clauses (iii) and (v) thereof. For the avoidance of doubt, the declaration or payment of a cash dividend will not constitute a Potential Adjustment Event.
     
Additional Adjustment:   For each Transaction, if, in Dealer’s commercially reasonable judgment, the actual cost to Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer), over any 10 consecutive Scheduled Trading Day period, of borrowing a number of Shares equal to the Number of Shares to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure to such Transaction exceeds a weighted average rate equal to [25] basis points per annum, the Calculation Agent shall reduce the Forward Price to compensate Dealer for the amount by which such cost exceeded a weighted average rate equal to [25] basis points per annum during such period. The Calculation Agent shall notify Counterparty prior to making any such adjustment to the Forward Price.
     
Extraordinary Events:   In lieu of the applicable provisions contained in Article 12 of the Equity Definitions, the consequences of any Extraordinary Event (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Merger Event, Tender Offer, Nationalization, Insolvency, Delisting, or Change In Law) shall be as specified below under the headings “Acceleration Events” and “Termination Settlement” in Paragraphs 7(f) and 7(g), respectively. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Master Confirmation or in the Equity Definitions, no Additional Disruption Event will be applicable except to the extent expressly referenced in Paragraph 7(f)(iv) below. The definition of “Tender Offer” in Section 12.1(d) of the Equity Definitions is hereby amended by replacing “10%” with “15%.”

 

8
 

 

Dividends:   No adjustment shall be made if, on any day occurring after the Trade Date, Counterparty declares a distribution, issue or dividend to existing holders of the Shares of (i) any cash dividend (other than an Extraordinary Dividend) to the extent all cash dividends having an ex-dividend date during the period from and including any Forward Price Reduction Date (with the Trade Date being a Forward Price Reduction Date for purposes of this clause (i) only) to but excluding the next subsequent Forward Price Reduction Date differs from, on a per Share basis, the Forward Price Reduction Amount set forth opposite the first date of any such period on Schedule I to the related Supplemental Confirmation, (ii) share capital or securities of another issuer acquired or owned (directly or indirectly) by Counterparty as a result of a spin-off or other similar transaction or (iii) any other type of securities (other than Shares), rights or warrants or other assets, for payment (cash or other consideration) at less than the prevailing market price as determined by Dealer.
     
Non-Reliance:   Applicable
     
Agreements and Acknowledgments:    
     
Regarding Hedging Activities:   Applicable
     
Additional Acknowledgments:   Applicable
     
Transfer:   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Master Confirmation, any Supplemental Confirmation or in the Agreement, Dealer may assign, transfer and set over all rights, title and interest, obligations, powers, privileges and remedies of Dealer under each Transaction, in whole or in part, to (A) an affiliate of Dealer, whose obligations hereunder are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Dealer or its ultimate parent entity, or (B) any other affiliate of Dealer or its ultimate parent entity with a long-term issuer rating equal to or better than the credit rating of Dealer or its ultimate parent entity at the time of transfer without the consent of Counterparty; provided that, (i) at the time of such assignment or transfer, Counterparty would not, as a result of such assignment or transfer, designation or delegation, reasonably be expected at any time (A) to be required to pay (including a payment in kind) to Dealer or such transferee or assignee or designee an amount in respect of an Indemnifiable Tax greater than the amount Counterparty would have been required to pay to Dealer in the absence of such assignment, transfer, designation or delegation, or (B) to receive a payment (including a payment in kind) after such assignment or transfer that is less than the amount Counterparty would have received if the payment were made immediately prior to such assignment or transfer, (ii) prior to such assignment or transfer, Dealer shall have caused the assignee, transferee, or designee to make such Payee Tax Representations and to provide such tax documentation as may be reasonably requested by Counterparty to permit Counterparty to determine that the transfer complies with the requirements of clause (i) in this paragraph, and (iii) at all times, Dealer or any transferee or assignee or other recipient of rights, title and interest, obligations, powers, privileges and remedies shall be eligible to provide a U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 or W-8ECI, or any successor thereto, with respect to any payments or deliveries under the Agreement.

 

9
 

 

Hedging Party:   For all applicable Extraordinary Events, Dealer.
     
3. Calculation Agent:   Dealer whose judgments, determinations and calculations shall be made in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner; provided that, following the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default of the type described in Section 5(a)(vii) of the Agreement with respect to which Dealer is the sole Defaulting Party, if the Calculation Agent fails to timely make any calculation, adjustment or determination required to be made by the Calculation Agent hereunder or to perform any obligation of the Calculation Agent hereunder and such failure continues for five Exchange Business Days following notice to the Calculation Agent by Counterparty of such failure, Counterparty shall have the right to designate a nationally recognized third-party dealer in over-the-counter corporate equity derivatives to act, during the period commencing on the date such Event of Default occurred and ending on the Early Termination Date with respect to such Event of Default, as the Calculation Agent. Following any determination or calculation by the Calculation Agent hereunder, upon a written request by Counterparty, the Calculation Agent shall promptly (but in any event within five Scheduled Trading Days) provide to Counterparty by email to the email address provided by Counterparty in such request a report (in a commonly used file format for the storage and manipulation of financial data) displaying in reasonable detail the basis for such determination or calculation (including any assumptions used in making such determination or calculation), it being understood that the Calculation Agent shall not be obligated to disclose any proprietary or confidential models or other proprietary or confidential information used by it for such determination or calculation.
     
4. Account Details:    
     
(a)  Account for delivery of Shares to Dealer:   To be furnished

 

10
 

 

(b)   Account for delivery of Shares to Counterparty:   To be furnished
     
(c)   Account for payments to Counterparty:   To be advised under separate cover or telephone confirmed prior to each Settlement Date
     
(d)   Account for payments to Dealer:   To be advised under separate cover or telephone confirmed prior to each Settlement Date

 

5. Offices:

 

The Office of Counterparty for each Transaction is: Inapplicable, Counterparty is not a Multibranch Party

 

The Office of Dealer for each Transaction is: New York

 

6. Notices: For purposes of this Master Confirmation:

 

(a) Address for notices or communications to Counterparty:

 

SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

[Address]

Attention: [_]

Email: [_]

 

(b) Address for notices or communications to Dealer:

 

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners

590 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Attention: [_]

Email: [_]

 

7. Other Provisions:

 

(a) Conditions to Effectiveness. The effectiveness of this Master Confirmation and each Transaction shall be subject to the satisfaction or waiver by Dealer of the following conditions: (i) the condition that the representations and warranties of Counterparty contained in the Sales Agreement and any certificate delivered pursuant thereto by Counterparty are true and correct on such date as if made as of such date, (ii) the condition that Counterparty has performed all of the obligations required to be performed by it under the Sales Agreement on or prior to such date, (iii) all of the conditions set forth in the Sales Agreement and (iv) the condition, as determined by Dealer, that neither of the following has occurred: (A) Dealer or its affiliate is unable through commercially reasonable efforts to borrow and deliver for sale a number of Shares equal to the Initial Number of Shares in connection with establishing a commercially reasonable hedge position or (B) in Dealer’s commercially reasonable judgment either it is impracticable to do so or Dealer or its affiliate would incur a stock loan cost of more than a rate equal to [200] 1 basis points per annum to do so (in either of which events this Master Confirmation shall be effective but the Number of Shares for the applicable Transaction shall be the number of Shares Dealer (or its affiliate) is required to deliver in accordance with the Sales Agreement).

 

 

1 NTD: Subject to further Dealer review.

 

11
 

 

(b) Sales Agreement Representations, Warranties and Covenants. On the Trade Date, each Settlement Date and on each date on which Dealer or its affiliates makes a sale pursuant to a prospectus in connection with a hedge of any Transaction, Counterparty repeats and reaffirms as of such date all of the representations and warranties contained in the Sales Agreement. Counterparty hereby agrees to comply with its covenants contained in the Sales Agreement as if such covenants were made in favor of Dealer.

 

(c) Interpretive Letter. Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that each Transaction is being entered into in accordance with the October 9, 2003 interpretive letter from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission to Goldman, Sachs & Co. (the “Interpretive Letter”) and agrees to take all actions, and to omit to take any actions, reasonably requested by Dealer for each Transaction to comply with the Interpretive Letter. Without limiting the foregoing, Counterparty agrees that neither it nor any “affiliated purchaser” (as defined in Regulation M (“Regulation M”) promulgated under the Exchange Act) will, directly or indirectly, bid for, purchase or attempt to induce any person to bid for or purchase, the Shares or securities that are convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, Shares during any “restricted period” as such term is defined in Regulation M. In addition, Counterparty represents that it is eligible to conduct a primary offering of Shares on Form S-3, the offering contemplated by the Sales Agreement complies with Rule 415 under the Securities Act, and the Shares are “actively traded” as defined in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M.

 

(d) Agreements and Acknowledgments Regarding Shares.

 

(i) Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that, in respect of any Shares delivered to Dealer hereunder, such Shares shall be newly issued (unless mutually agreed otherwise by the parties) and, upon such delivery, duly and validly authorized, issued and outstanding, fully paid and nonassessable, free of any lien, charge, claim or other encumbrance and not subject to any preemptive or similar rights and shall, upon such issuance, be accepted for listing or quotation on the Exchange.

 

(ii) Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) will hedge its exposure to each Transaction by selling Shares borrowed from third party securities lenders or other Shares pursuant to a registration statement, and that, pursuant to the terms of the Interpretive Letter, the Shares up to the Initial Number of Shares delivered, pledged or loaned by Counterparty to Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) in connection with such Transaction may be used by Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) to return to securities lenders without further registration or other restrictions under the Securities Act, in the hands of those securities lenders, irrespective of whether such securities loan is effected by Dealer or an affiliate of Dealer. Accordingly, subject to Paragraph 7(h) below, Counterparty agrees that the Shares that it delivers, pledges or loans to Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) on or prior to the final Settlement Date will not bear a restrictive legend and that such Shares will be deposited in, and the delivery thereof shall be effected through the facilities of, the Clearance System.

 

(iii) Counterparty agrees and acknowledges that it has reserved and will keep available at all times, free from preemptive or similar rights and free from any lien, charge, claim or other encumbrance, authorized but unissued Shares at least equal to the Share Cap, solely for the purpose of settlement under each Transaction.

 

12
 

 

(iv) Unless the provisions set forth below under “Private Placement Procedures” are applicable, Dealer agrees to use any Shares delivered by Counterparty hereunder on any Settlement Date to return to securities lenders to close out open securities loans created by Dealer or an affiliate of Dealer in the course of Dealer’s or such affiliate’s hedging activities related to Dealer’s exposure under each Transaction.

 

(v) In connection with bids and purchases of Shares in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement of any Transaction, Dealer shall use its good faith efforts to conduct its activities, or cause its affiliates to conduct their activities, in a manner consistent with the requirements of the safe harbor provided by Rule 10b-18, as if such provisions were applicable to such purchases and any analogous purchases under any Additional Equity Derivative Transaction, taking into account any applicable Securities and Exchange Commission no action letters, as appropriate.

 

(e) Additional Representations and Agreements of Counterparty. Counterparty represents, warrants and agrees as follows:

 

(i) Counterparty represents to Dealer on the Trade Date and on any date that Counterparty notifies Dealer that Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement applies to any Transaction, that (A) Counterparty is not aware of any material nonpublic information regarding Counterparty or the Shares, (B) each of its filings under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other applicable securities laws that are required to be filed have been filed and that, as of the date of this representation, when considered as a whole (with the more recent such filings deemed to amend inconsistent statements contained in any earlier such filings), there is no misstatement of material fact contained therein or omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and (C) Counterparty is not entering into this Master Confirmation or any Supplemental Confirmation nor making any election hereunder or thereunder to create actual or apparent trading activity in the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares) or to raise or depress or otherwise manipulate the price of the Shares (or any security convertible into or exchangeable for Shares) or otherwise in violation of the Exchange Act. In addition to any other requirement set forth in this Master Confirmation, Counterparty agrees not to designate, or to appropriately rescind or modify a prior designation of, any Settlement Date if it is notified by Dealer that, in the reasonable determination of Dealer, based on advice of counsel, such settlement or Dealer’s related market activity in respect of such date would result in a violation of any applicable federal or state law or regulation, including the U.S. federal securities laws.

 

(ii) It is the intent of Dealer and Counterparty that following any election of Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement by Counterparty, the purchase of Shares by Dealer during any Unwind Period shall comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-l(c)(l)(i)(B) under the Exchange Act and that each Confirmation shall be interpreted to comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-l(c) under the Exchange Act. Counterparty acknowledges that (i) during any Unwind Period Counterparty shall not have, and shall not attempt to exercise, any influence over how, when or whether to effect purchases of Shares by Dealer (or its agent or affiliate) in connection with this Master Confirmation, any Supplemental Confirmation or any Transaction and (ii) Counterparty is entering into the Agreement and this Master Confirmation, each Supplemental Confirmation and each Transaction in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade compliance with federal securities laws including, without limitation, Rule 10b-5 under the Exchange Act. In addition, Counterparty agrees to act in good faith with respect to this Master Confirmation, each Supplemental Confirmation, each Transaction and the Agreement.

 

13
 

 

(iii) Counterparty shall, at least one day prior to the first day of any Unwind Period, notify Dealer of the total number of Shares purchased in Rule 10b-18 purchases of blocks pursuant to the once-a-week block exception contained in Rule 10b-18(b)(4) by or for Counterparty or any of its affiliated purchasers during each of the four calendar weeks preceding the first day of the Unwind Period and during the calendar week in which the first day of the Unwind Period occurs (“Rule 10b-18 purchase”, “blocks” and “affiliated purchaser” each being used as defined in Rule 10b-18).

 

(iv) During any Unwind Period, Counterparty shall (i) notify Dealer prior to the opening of trading in the Shares on any day on which Counterparty makes, or reasonably expects in advance of the opening to be made, any public announcement (as defined in Rule 165(f) under the Securities Act) of any merger, acquisition, or similar transaction involving a recapitalization relating to Counterparty (other than any such transaction in which the consideration consists solely of cash and there is no valuation period), (ii) promptly notify Dealer following any such announcement that such announcement has been made, and (iii) promptly deliver to Dealer following the making of any such announcement information indicating (A) Counterparty’s average daily Rule 10b-18 purchases (as defined in Rule 10b-18) during the three full calendar months preceding the date of the announcement of such transaction and (B) Counterparty’s block purchases (as defined in Rule 10b-18) effected pursuant to Rule 10b-18(b)(4) during the three full calendar months preceding the date of the announcement of such transaction. In addition, Counterparty shall promptly notify Dealer of the earlier to occur of the completion of such transaction and the completion of the vote by target shareholders.

 

(v) Neither Counterparty nor any of its affiliated purchasers (within the meaning of Rule 10b-18) shall take or refrain from taking any action (including, without limitation, any direct purchases by Counterparty or any of its affiliates, or any purchases by a party to a derivative transaction with Counterparty or any of its affiliates), either under any Confirmation, any Transaction, under an agreement with another party or otherwise, that Counterparty reasonably believes to cause any purchases of Shares by Dealer or any of its affiliates in connection with any Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement of any Transaction not to meet the requirements of the safe harbor provided by Rule 10b-18 determined as if all such foregoing purchases were made by Counterparty.

 

(vi) Counterparty will not engage in any “distribution” (as defined in Regulation M), other than a distribution meeting, in each case, the requirements of an exception set forth in each of Rules 101(b) and 102(b) of Regulation M that would cause a “restricted period” (as defined in Regulation M) to occur during any Unwind Period.

 

(vii) Counterparty is not, and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(viii) Counterparty is not insolvent, nor will Counterparty be rendered insolvent as a result of any Transaction or its performance of the terms hereof.

 

(ix) Without limiting the generality of Section 13.1 of the Equity Definitions, Counterparty acknowledges that Dealer is not making any representations or warranties or taking any position or expressing any view with respect to the treatment of any Transaction under any accounting standards including ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share, ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, or ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity and ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (or any successor issue statements) or under FASB’s Liabilities & Equity Project.

 

14
 

 

(x) Counterparty understands that no obligations of Dealer to it hereunder will be entitled to the benefit of deposit insurance and that such obligations will not be guaranteed by any affiliate of Dealer or any governmental agency.

 

(xi) To Counterparty’s actual knowledge, no federal, state or local (including non-U.S. jurisdictions) law, rule, regulation or regulatory order applicable to the Shares would give rise to any reporting, consent, registration or other requirement (including without limitation a requirement to obtain prior approval from any person or entity) as a result of Dealer or its affiliates owning or holding (however defined) Shares, other than Sections 13 and 16 under the Exchange Act or Article VI of the Articles of Amendment and Restatement of Counterparty, as amended and supplemented; provided that Counterparty makes no representation or warranty regarding any such requirement that is applicable generally to the ownership of equity securities by Dealer or its affiliates solely as a result of their being a financial institution or broker-dealer.

 

(xii) No filing with, or approval, authorization, consent, license, registration, qualification, order or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic or foreign, is necessary or required for the execution, delivery and performance by Counterparty of each Confirmation and the consummation of the related Transaction (including, without limitation, the issuance and delivery of Shares on any Settlement Date) except (i) such as have been obtained under the Securities Act and (ii) as may be required to be obtained under state securities laws.

 

(xiii) Counterparty (i) has such knowledge and experience in financial and business affairs as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of entering into each Transaction; (ii) has consulted with its own legal, financial, accounting and tax advisors in connection with each Transaction; and (iii) is entering into each Transaction for a bona fide business purpose.

 

(xiv) Counterparty will, by the next succeeding Scheduled Trading Day notify Dealer upon obtaining knowledge of the occurrence of any event that would constitute an Event of Default, a Potential Event of Default or a Potential Adjustment Event.

 

(xv) Ownership positions of Counterparty’s common stock held by Dealer or any of its affiliates solely in its capacity as a nominee or fiduciary (where Dealer and such affiliates have no economic interest in such positions) do not constitute “ownership” by Dealer, and Dealer shall not be deemed or treated as the beneficial or constructive “owner” of such positions, in each case, for purposes of Article VI of the Articles of Amendment and Restatement of Counterparty, as amended and supplemented, except for purposes of Section 6.2.4 thereof.

 

(xvi) Counterparty (i) is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with regard to particular transactions and investment strategies involving a security or securities; (ii) will exercise independent judgment in evaluating the recommendations of any broker-dealer or its associated persons, unless it has otherwise notified the broker-dealer in writing; and (iii) has total assets of at least USD 50 million as of the date hereof.

 

15
 

 

(f) Acceleration Events. Each of the following events shall constitute an “Acceleration Event”:

 

(i) Stock Borrow Event. In the commercially reasonable judgment of Dealer, Dealer (or an affiliate of Dealer) (A) is not able to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under a Transaction because insufficient Shares are made available for borrowing by securities lenders or (B) would incur a cost to borrow (or to maintain a borrow of) Shares to hedge in a commercially reasonable manner its exposure under such Transaction that is greater than a rate equal to [200] 2 basis points per annum (each, a “Stock Borrow Event”);

 

(ii) Dividends and Other Distributions. On any day occurring after the Trade Date, Counterparty declares a distribution, issue or dividend to existing holders of the Shares of (A) any cash dividend (other than an Extraordinary Dividend) to the extent all cash dividends having an ex-dividend date during the period from, and including, any Forward Price Reduction Date (with the Trade Date being a Forward Price Reduction Date for purposes of this paragraph (ii) only) to, but excluding, the next subsequent Forward Price Reduction Date exceeds, on a per Share basis, the Forward Price Reduction Amount set forth opposite the first date of any such period on Schedule I to the related Supplemental Confirmation, (B) any Extraordinary Dividend, (C) any share capital or other securities of another issuer acquired or owned (directly or indirectly) by Counterparty as a result of a spin-off or other similar transaction or (D) any other type of securities (other than Shares), rights or warrants or other assets, in any case for payment (cash or other consideration) at less than the prevailing market price, as determined in a commercially reasonable manner by Dealer; “Extraordinary Dividend” means any dividend or distribution (that is not an ordinary cash dividend) declared by the Issuer with respect to the Shares that, in the commercially reasonable determination of Dealer, is (1) a dividend or distribution declared on the Shares at a time at which the Issuer has not previously declared or paid dividends or distributions on such Shares for the prior four quarterly periods, (2) a payment or distribution by the Issuer to holders of Shares that the Issuer announces will be an “extraordinary” or “special” dividend or distribution, (3) a payment by the Issuer to holders of Shares out of the Issuer’s capital and surplus or (4) any other “special” dividend or distribution on the Shares that is, by its terms or declared intent, outside the normal course of operations or normal dividend policies or practices of the Issuer;

 

(iii) ISDA Termination. Either Dealer or Counterparty has the right to designate an Early Termination Date pursuant to Section 6 of the Agreement, in which case, except as otherwise specified in this Master Confirmation and except as a result of an Event of Default under Section 5(a)(i) of the Agreement, the provisions of Paragraph 7(g) below shall apply in lieu of the consequences specified in Section 6 of the Agreement;

 

(iv) Other ISDA Events. An Announcement Date occurs in respect of any Merger Event, Tender Offer, Nationalization, Insolvency, Delisting or the occurrence of any Hedging Disruption or Change in Law; provided that, in case of a Delisting, in addition to the provisions of Section 12.6(a)(iii) of the Equity Definitions, it will also constitute a Delisting if the Exchange is located in the United States and the Shares are not immediately re-listed, re-traded or re-quoted on any of the New York Stock Exchange, The NASDAQ Global Select Market or The NASDAQ Global Market (or their respective successors); provided, further, that (i) the definition of “Change in Law” provided in Section 12.9(a)(ii) of the Equity Definitions is hereby amended by (A) replacing the phrase “the interpretation” in the third line thereof with the phrase “or announcement or statement of the formal or informal interpretation” and (B) immediately following the word “Transaction” in clause (X) thereof, adding the phrase “in the manner contemplated by Dealer on the Trade Date” and (ii) any determination as to whether (A) the adoption of or any change in any applicable law or regulation (including, without limitation, any tax law) or (B) the promulgation of or any change in or announcement or statement of the formal or informal interpretation by any court, tribunal or regulatory authority with competent jurisdiction of any applicable law or regulation (including any action taken by a taxing authority), in each case, constitutes a “Change in Law” shall be made without regard to Section 739 of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 (the “WSTAA”) or any similar provision in any legislation enacted on or after the Trade Date; or

 

 

2 NTD: Subject to further Dealer review.

 

16
 

 

(v) Ownership Event. In the good faith judgment of Dealer, on any day, the Share Amount for such day exceeds the Post-Effective Limit for such day (if any applies) (each, an “Ownership Event”). For purposes of this clause (v), the “Share Amount” as of any day is the number of Shares that Dealer and any person whose ownership position would be aggregated with that of Dealer (Dealer or any such person, a “Dealer Person”) under any law, rule, regulation or regulatory order or Counterparty constituent document that for any reason is, or after the Trade Date becomes, applicable to ownership of Shares (“Applicable Provisions”), owns, beneficially owns, constructively owns, controls, holds the power to vote or otherwise meets a relevant definition of ownership of under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion. The “Post-Effective Limit” means (x) the minimum number of Shares that would give rise to reporting or registration obligations (except for any filing requirements on Form 13F, Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G under the Exchange Act, in each case, as in effect on the Trade Date) or other requirements (including obtaining prior approval from any person or entity) of a Dealer Person, or would result in an adverse effect on a Dealer Person, under the Applicable Provisions, as determined by Dealer in its reasonable discretion, minus (y) 1.0% of the number of Shares outstanding.

 

(g) Termination Settlement. Upon the occurrence of any Acceleration Event, Dealer shall have the right to designate, upon at least one Scheduled Trading Day’s notice, any Scheduled Trading Day following such occurrence to be a Settlement Date hereunder (a “Termination Settlement Date”) to which Physical Settlement shall apply, and to select the number of Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date; provided that (i) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of an Ownership Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares necessary to reduce the Share Amount to reasonably below the Post-Effective Limit and (ii) in the case of an Acceleration Event arising out of a Stock Borrow Event, the number of Settlement Shares so designated by Dealer shall not exceed the number of Shares as to which such Stock Borrow Event exists. If, upon designation of a Termination Settlement Date by Dealer pursuant to the preceding sentence, Counterparty fails to deliver the Settlement Shares relating to such Termination Settlement Date when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of such Transaction, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply. If an Acceleration Event occurs during an Unwind Period relating to a number of Settlement Shares to which Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement applies, then on the Termination Settlement Date relating to such Acceleration Event, notwithstanding any election to the contrary by Counterparty, Cash Settlement or Net Share Settlement shall apply to the portion of the Settlement Shares relating to such Unwind Period as to which Dealer has unwound its hedge (assuming that Dealer has a commercially reasonable hedge and unwinds its hedge in a commercially reasonable manner) and Physical Settlement shall apply in respect of (x) the remainder (if any) of such Settlement Shares and (y) the Settlement Shares designated by Dealer in respect of such Termination Settlement Date. If an Acceleration Event occurs after Counterparty has designated a Settlement Date to which Physical Settlement applies but before the relevant Settlement Shares have been delivered to Dealer, then Dealer shall have the right to cancel such Settlement Date and designate a Termination Settlement Date in respect of such Shares pursuant to the first sentence hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Nationalization or Merger Event, if at the time of the related Relevant Settlement Date the Shares have changed into cash or any other property or the right to receive cash or any other property, the Calculation Agent shall adjust the nature of the Shares as it determines appropriate to account for such change such that the nature of the Shares is consistent with what shareholders receive in such event. If Dealer designates a Termination Settlement Date as a result of an Acceleration Event caused by an excess dividend of the type described in Paragraph 7(f)(ii), no adjustments(s) shall be made to the terms of this contract to account for the amount of such excess dividend.

 

17
 

 

(h) Private Placement Procedures. If Counterparty is unable to comply with the provisions of sub-paragraph (ii) of “Agreements and Acknowledgments Regarding Shares” above because of a change in law or a change in the policy of the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff, or Dealer otherwise determines that in its reasonable opinion any Shares to be delivered to Dealer by Counterparty may not be freely returned by Dealer or its affiliates to securities lenders as described under such sub-paragraph (ii) or otherwise constitute “restricted securities” as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, then delivery of any such Shares (the “Restricted Shares”) shall be effected as provided below, unless waived by Dealer.

 

(i) If Counterparty delivers the Restricted Shares pursuant to this clause (i) (a “Private Placement Settlement”), then delivery of Restricted Shares by Counterparty shall be effected in accordance with private placement procedures customary for private placements of equity securities of substantially similar size with respect to such Restricted Shares reasonably acceptable to Dealer; provided that Counterparty may not elect a Private Placement Settlement if, on the date of its election, it has taken, or caused to be taken, any action that would make unavailable either the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for the sale by Counterparty to Dealer (or any affiliate designated by Dealer) of the Restricted Shares or the exemption pursuant to Section 4(a)(1) or Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act for resales of the Restricted Shares by Dealer (or any such affiliate of Dealer), and if Counterparty fails to deliver the Restricted Shares when due or otherwise fails to perform obligations within its control in respect of a Private Placement Settlement, it shall be an Event of Default with respect to Counterparty and Section 6 of the Agreement shall apply. The Private Placement Settlement of such Restricted Shares shall include customary representations, covenants, blue sky and other governmental filings and/or registrations, indemnities to Dealer, due diligence rights (for Dealer or any designated buyer of the Restricted Shares by Dealer), opinions and certificates, and such other documentation as is customary for private placement agreements of equity securities of a substantially similar size, all reasonably acceptable to Dealer. In the case of a Private Placement Settlement, Dealer shall, in its good faith discretion, adjust the amount of Restricted Shares to be delivered to Dealer hereunder in a commercially reasonable manner to reflect the fact that such Restricted Shares may not be freely returned to securities lenders by Dealer and may only be saleable by Dealer at a discount to reflect the lack of liquidity in Restricted Shares. Notwithstanding the Agreement, this Master Confirmation or the related Supplemental Confirmation, the date of delivery of such Restricted Shares shall be the Clearance System Business Day following notice by Dealer to Counterparty of the number of Restricted Shares to be delivered pursuant to this clause (i). For the avoidance of doubt, delivery of Restricted Shares shall be due as set forth in the previous sentence and not be due on the date that would otherwise be applicable.

 

18
 

 

(ii) If Counterparty delivers any Restricted Shares in respect of any Transaction, Counterparty agrees that (A) such Shares may be transferred by and among Dealer and its affiliates and (B) after the minimum “holding period” within the meaning of Rule 144(d) under the Securities Act has elapsed, Counterparty shall promptly remove, or cause the transfer agent for the Shares to remove, any legends referring to any transfer restrictions from such Shares upon delivery by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer) to Counterparty or such transfer agent of any seller’s and broker’s representation letters customarily delivered by Dealer or its affiliates in connection with resales of restricted securities pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, each without any further requirement for the delivery of any certificate, consent, agreement, opinion of counsel, notice or any other document, any transfer tax stamps or payment of any other amount or any other action by Dealer (or such affiliate of Dealer).

 

(i) Indemnity. Counterparty agrees to indemnify Dealer and its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and controlling persons (Dealer and each such affiliate or person being an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities, joint and several, incurred by or asserted against such Indemnified Party arising out of, in connection with, or relating to, any breach of any covenant or representation made by Counterparty in any Confirmation or the Agreement and will reimburse any Indemnified Party for all reasonable expenses (including reasonable legal fees and expenses) as they are incurred in connection with the investigation of, preparation for, or defense of any pending or threatened claim or any action or proceeding arising therefrom, whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto, except to the extent determined in a final and nonappealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from Dealer’s negligence, fraud, bad faith and/or willful misconduct or from a breach of any representation or covenant of Dealer contained in this Master Confirmation or the Agreement. The foregoing provisions shall survive any termination or completion of all Transaction(s).

 

(j) Waiver of Trial by Jury. COUNTERPARTY AND DEALER HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE (ON ITS OWN BEHALF AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS STOCKHOLDERS) 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 ANY TRANSACTION OR THE ACTIONS OF DEALER OR ITS AFFILIATES IN THE NEGOTIATION, PERFORMANCE OR ENFORCEMENT HEREOF.

 

(k) Governing Law/Jurisdiction. This Master Confirmation, any Supplement Confirmation and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related hereto or thereto shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without reference to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. The parties hereto irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York and the United States Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with all matters relating hereto and waive any objection to the laying of venue in, and any claim of inconvenient forum with respect to, these courts.

 

(l) Designation by Dealer. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Master Confirmation or any Supplemental Confirmation to the contrary requiring or allowing Dealer to purchase, sell, receive or deliver any Shares or other securities to or from Counterparty, Dealer may designate any of its affiliates to purchase, sell, receive or deliver such Shares or other securities and otherwise to perform Dealer’s obligations in respect of any Transaction and any such designee may assume such obligations. Dealer shall be discharged of its obligations to Counterparty only to the extent of any such performance.

 

19
 

 

(m) Insolvency Filing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any Confirmation, in the Agreement or in the Equity Definitions, upon any Insolvency Filing or other proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code in respect of the Issuer, each Transaction shall automatically terminate on the date thereof without further liability of either party to the applicable Confirmation to the other party (except for any liability in respect of any breach of representation or covenant by a party under such Confirmation prior to the date of such Insolvency Filing or other proceeding), it being understood that each Transaction is a contract for the issuance of Shares by the Issuer.

 

(n) Disclosure. Effective from the date of commencement of discussions concerning each Transaction, each of Dealer and Counterparty and each of their employees, representatives, or other agents may disclose to any and all persons, without limitation of any kind, the tax treatment and tax structure of such Transaction and all materials of any kind (including opinions or other tax analyses) relating to such tax treatment and tax structure.

 

(o) Right to Extend. Dealer may postpone any Settlement Date or any other date of valuation or delivery, with respect to some or all of the relevant Settlement Shares, if Dealer determines, based on advice of counsel, that such extension is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enable Dealer to effect purchases of Shares in connection with its hedging activity hereunder in a manner that would, if Dealer were Counterparty or an affiliated purchaser of Counterparty, be in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

 

(p) Counterparty Share Repurchases. Counterparty agrees not to repurchase, directly or indirectly, any Shares if, immediately following such purchase, the Outstanding Share Percentage would be equal to or greater than 4.5%. The “Outstanding Share Percentage” as of any day is the fraction (1) the numerator of which is the aggregate of the Number of Shares for each Transaction and the “Number of Shares” under each Additional Equity Derivative Transaction that is a share forward transaction and (2) the denominator of which is the number of Shares outstanding on such day.

 

(q) Limit on Beneficial Ownership. Notwithstanding any other provisions hereof, Dealer shall not have the right to acquire Shares hereunder and Dealer shall not be entitled to take delivery of any Shares hereunder (in each case, whether in connection with the purchase of Shares on any Settlement Date or any Termination Settlement Date, any Private Placement Settlement or otherwise) to the extent (but only to the extent) that, after such receipt of any Shares hereunder, (i) the Share Amount would exceed the Post-Effective Limit, (ii) Dealer and each person subject to aggregation of Shares with Dealer under Section 13 or Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder (including all persons who may form a “group” within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) (collectively, the “Dealer Group”) would directly or indirectly beneficially own (as such term is defined for purposes of Section 13 or Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder) in excess of 4.9% of the then outstanding Shares (the “Threshold Number of Shares”), (iii) Dealer would hold 5% or more of the number of Shares of Counterparty’s outstanding common stock or 5% or more of Counterparty’s outstanding voting power (the “Exchange Limit”) or (iv) such acquisition would result in a violation of any restriction on ownership or transfer set forth in Article VI of the Articles of Amendment and Restatement of Counterparty, as amended and supplemented (the “Counterparty Stock Ownership Restrictions”). Any purported delivery hereunder shall be void and have no effect to the extent (but only to the extent) that, after such delivery, (i) the Share Amount would exceed the Post-Effective Limit, (ii) the Dealer Group would directly or indirectly so beneficially own in excess of the Threshold Number of Shares, (iii) Dealer would directly or indirectly hold in excess of the Exchange Limit or (iv) such delivery would result in a violation of the Counterparty Stock Ownership Restrictions. If any delivery owed to Dealer hereunder is not made, in whole or in part, as a result of this provision, Counterparty’s obligation to make such delivery shall not be extinguished and Counterparty shall make such delivery as promptly as practicable after, but in no event later than one Scheduled Trading Day after, Dealer gives notice to Counterparty that, after such delivery, (i) the Share Amount would not exceed the Post-Effective Limit, (ii) the Dealer Group would not directly or indirectly so beneficially own in excess of the Threshold Number of Shares, (iii) Dealer would not directly or indirectly hold in excess of the Exchange Limit and (iv) such delivery would not result in a violation of the Counterparty Stock Ownership Restrictions.

 

20
 

 

In addition, notwithstanding anything in any Confirmation to the contrary, if any delivery owed to Dealer hereunder is not made, in whole or in part, as a result of the immediately preceding paragraph, Dealer shall be permitted to make any payment due in respect of such Shares to Counterparty in two or more tranches that correspond in amount to the number of Shares delivered by Counterparty to Dealer pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph.

 

Dealer represents and warrants that, as of the Trade Date, if Dealer received the maximum number of Shares hereunder assuming both (i) Physical Settlement applies and (ii) no restrictions on the delivery of Shares hereunder were applicable, then the Counterparty Stock Ownership Restrictions would not apply so as to limit the number of Shares that Dealer could receive hereunder.

 

(r) Commodity Exchange Act. Each of Dealer and Counterparty agrees and represents that it is an “eligible contract participant” as defined in Section 1a(18) of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”), the Agreement and each Transaction are subject to individual negotiation by the parties and have not been executed or traded on a “trading facility” as defined in Section 1a(51) of the CEA.

 

(s) Bankruptcy Status. Subject to Paragraph 7(m) above, Dealer acknowledges and agrees that no Confirmation is intended to convey to Dealer rights with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby that are senior to the claims of Counterparty’s common stockholders in any U.S. bankruptcy proceedings of Counterparty; provided, however, that nothing herein or in any Supplemental Confirmation shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s right to pursue remedies in the event of a breach by Counterparty of its obligations and agreements with respect to such Confirmation and the Agreement; and provided, further, that nothing herein or in any Supplemental Confirmation shall limit or shall be deemed to limit Dealer’s rights in respect of any transaction other than the Transactions.

 

(t) No Collateral or Setoff. Notwithstanding Section 6(f) or any other provision of the Agreement or any other agreement between the parties to the contrary, the obligations of Counterparty hereunder are not secured by any collateral. Obligations in respect of any Transaction shall not be set off against any other obligations of the parties, whether arising under the Agreement, any Confirmation, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and no other obligations of the parties shall be set off against obligations in respect of any Transaction, whether arising under the Agreement, any Confirmation, under any other agreement between the parties hereto, by operation of law or otherwise, and each party hereby waives any such right of setoff; except that set-off solely with respect to amounts payable under the Transactions and any and all Additional Equity Derivative Transactions governed by the Agreement shall be permissible.

 

21
 

 

(u) Tax Matters.

 

(i) Payer Tax Representations. For the purpose of Section 3(e) of the Agreement, each of Dealer and Counterparty makes the following representation: It is not required by any applicable law, as modified by the practice of any relevant governmental revenue authority, of any Relevant Jurisdiction to make any deduction or withholding for or on account of any Tax from any payment (other than interest under Section 9(h) of the Agreement or amounts payable hereunder that may be considered to be interest for U.S. federal income tax purposes) to be made by it to the other party under the Agreement. In making this representation, it may rely on (A) the accuracy of any representations made by the other party pursuant to Section 3(f) of the Agreement, (B) the satisfaction of the agreement contained in Section 4(a)(i) or Section 4(a)(iii) of the Agreement and the accuracy and effectiveness of any document provided by the other party pursuant to Section 4(a)(i) or Section 4(a)(iii) of the Agreement and (C) the satisfaction of the agreement of the other party contained in Section 4(d) of the Agreement, except that it will not be a breach of this representation where reliance is placed on clause (B) above and the other party does not deliver a form or document under Section 4(a)(iii) of the Agreement by reason of material prejudice to its legal or commercial position.

 

(ii) Payee Tax Representations. For the purpose of Section 3(f) of the Agreement:

 

(1) Dealer makes the following representations:

 

a. It is a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America and is an exempt recipient under section 1.6049-4(c)(1)(ii) of the United States Treasury Regulations.

 

(2) Counterparty makes the following representations:

 

a. It is a “U.S. person” (as that term is used in Section 1.1441-4(a)(3)(ii) of the United States Treasury Regulations) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

b. It is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and is an exempt recipient within the meaning of section 1.6049-4(c)(1)(ii) of the United States Treasury Regulations.

 

(iii) Withholding Tax Imposed on Payments to non-U.S. Counterparties under the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. “Tax” as used in Paragraph 7(u)(i) and “Indemnifiable Tax” as defined in Section 14 of the Agreement, shall not include any FATCA Withholding Tax. For the avoidance of doubt, a FATCA Withholding Tax is a Tax the deduction or withholding of which is required by applicable law for the purposes of Section 2(d) of the Agreement.

 

Code” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

 

FATCA Withholding Tax” means any U.S. federal withholding tax imposed or collected pursuant to Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreement entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b) of the Code, or any fiscal or regulatory legislation, rules or practices adopted pursuant to any intergovernmental agreement entered into in connection with the implementation of such Sections of the Code.

 

22
 

 

(iv) 871(m) Protocol. To the extent that either party to the Agreement is not an adhering party to the ISDA 2015 Section 871(m) Protocol published by ISDA on November 2, 2015 and available at www.isda.org, as may be amended, supplemented, replaced or superseded from time to time (the “871(m) Protocol”), the parties agree that the provisions and amendments contained in the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol are incorporated into and apply to the Agreement with respect to each Transaction as if set forth in full in herein. The parties further agree that, solely for purposes of applying such provisions and amendments to the Agreement with respect to each Transaction, references to “each Covered Master Agreement” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Agreement with respect to such Transaction, and references to the “Implementation Date” in the 871(m) Protocol will be deemed to be references to the Trade Date of such Transaction. For greater certainty, if there is any inconsistency between this provision and the provisions contained in any other agreement between the parties with respect to the Transactions, this provision shall prevail unless such other agreement expressly overrides the provisions of the Attachment to the 871(m) Protocol.

 

(v) Tax Documentation. For the purposes of Sections 4(a)(i) and 4(a)(ii) of the Agreement, Counterparty shall provide to Dealer a valid and duly executed U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-9, or any successor thereto, completed accurately and in a manner reasonably acceptable to Dealer and, in particular, with the “C Corporation” box checked on line 3 thereof (i) on or before the date of execution of this Master Confirmation; (ii) promptly upon reasonable demand by Dealer; and (iii) promptly upon learning that any such tax form previously provided by Counterparty has become inaccurate or incorrect.

 

For the purposes of Sections 4(a)(i) and 4(a)(ii) of the Agreement, Dealer shall provide to Counterparty a valid and duly executed U.S. Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 or W-8ECI, or any successor thereto, completed accurately and in a manner reasonably acceptable to Counterparty and, in particular, with the “C Corporation” box checked on line 3 thereof, respectively, (i) on or before the date of execution of this Master Confirmation; (ii) promptly upon reasonable demand by Counterparty; and (iii) promptly upon learning that any such tax form previously provided by Dealer has become inaccurate or incorrect.

 

(vi) Deduction or Withholding for Tax. Sections 2(d)(i), 2(d)(i)(4), 2(d)(ii)(1) of the Agreement and the definition of “Tax” are hereby amended by replacing the words “pay”, “paid”, “payment” or “payments” with the words “pay or deliver”, “paid or delivered”, “payment or delivery” or “payments or deliveries”, respectively.

 

(v) Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010. The parties hereby agree that none of (i) Section 739 of the WSTAA, (ii) any similar legal certainty provision included in any legislation enacted, or rule or regulation promulgated, on or after the Trade Date, (iii) the enactment of the WSTAA or any regulation under the WSTAA, (iv) any requirement under the WSTAA or (v) any amendment made by the WSTAA shall limit or otherwise impair either party’s right to terminate, renegotiate, modify, amend or supplement any Confirmation or the Agreement, as applicable, arising from a termination event, force majeure, illegality, increased cost, regulatory change or similar event under any Confirmation, the Equity Definitions or the Agreement (including, but not limited to, any right arising from any Acceleration Event).

 

23
 

 

(w) Other Forwards / Dealers. Dealer acknowledges that Counterparty has entered or may enter in the future into one or more substantially similar forward transactions for the Shares (each, an “Other Forward” and collectively, the “Other Forwards”) with one or more other dealers. Dealer and Counterparty agree that if Counterparty designates a “Settlement Date” with respect to one or more Other Forwards for which “Cash Settlement” or “Net Share Settlement” is applicable, and the resulting “Unwind Period” for such Other Forwards coincides for any period of time with an Unwind Period for such Other Forwards (the “Overlap Unwind Period”), Counterparty shall notify Dealer at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to the commencement of such Overlap Unwind Period of the first Scheduled Trading Day and length of such Overlap Unwind Period, and Dealer shall be permitted to purchase Shares to unwind its commercially reasonable hedge in a commercially reasonable manner in respect of such Transaction only on alternating Scheduled Trading Days during such Overlap Unwind Period, commencing on the first, second, third or later Scheduled Trading Day of such Overlap Unwind Period, as notified to Dealer by Counterparty at least one Scheduled Trading Day prior to such Overlap Unwind Period (which alternating Scheduled Trading Days, for the avoidance of doubt, may be every other Scheduled Trading Day if there is only one other dealer, every third Scheduled Trading Day if there are two other dealers, etc.).

 

(x) Delivery of Cash. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in any Confirmation shall be interpreted as requiring Counterparty to deliver cash in respect of the settlement of anyTransaction, except in circumstances where the required cash settlement thereof is permitted for classification of the contract as equity by ASC 815-40 (formerly EITF 00-19) as in effect on the Trade Date (including, without limitation, where Counterparty so elects to deliver cash or fails timely to elect to deliver Shares in respect of such settlement). For the avoidance of doubt, the preceding sentence shall not be construed as limiting (i) Paragraph 7(i) hereunder or (ii) any damages that may be payable by Counterparty as a result of breach of any Confirmation.

 

(y) Counterparts.

 

(i) Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., DocuSign and AdobeSign (any such signature, an “Electronic Signature”)) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes. The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature” and words of like import in this any Confirmation or in any other certificate, agreement or document related to this Master Confirmation shall include any Electronic Signature, except to the extent electronic notices are expressly prohibited under this Master Confirmation or the Agreement.

 

(ii) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement, either party may deliver to the other party a notice relating to any Event of Default or Termination Event under any Confirmation by email.

 

24
 

 

(z) U.S. Stay Regulations. To the extent that the QFC Stay Rules are applicable hereto, then the parties agree that (i) to the extent that prior to the date hereof both parties have adhered to the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol (the “Protocol”), the terms of the Protocol are incorporated into and form a part of this Master Confirmation, and for such purposes each Confirmation shall be deemed a Protocol Covered Agreement and each party shall be deemed to have the same status as “Regulated Entity” and/or “Adhering Party” as applicable to it under the Protocol; (ii) to the extent that prior to the date hereof the parties have executed a separate agreement the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between them to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules (the “Bilateral Agreement”), the terms of the Bilateral Agreement are incorporated into and form a part of this Master Confirmation and each party shall be deemed to have the status of “Covered Entity” or “Counterparty Entity” (or other similar term) as applicable to it under the Bilateral Agreement; or (iii) if clause (i) and clause (ii) do not apply, the terms of Section 1 and Section 2 and the related defined terms (together, the “Bilateral Terms”) of the form of bilateral template entitled “Full-Length Omnibus (for use between U.S. G-SIBs and Corporate Groups)” published by ISDA on November 2, 2018 (currently available on the 2018 ISDA U.S. Resolution Stay Protocol page at www.isda.org and, a copy of which is available upon request), the effect of which is to amend the qualified financial contracts between the parties thereto to conform with the requirements of the QFC Stay Rules, are hereby incorporated into and form a part of each Confirmation, and for such purposes each Confirmation shall be deemed a “Covered Agreement,” Dealer shall be deemed a “Covered Entity” and Counterparty shall be deemed a “Counterparty Entity.” In the event that, after the date of this Master Confirmation, both parties hereto become adhering parties to the Protocol, the terms of the Protocol will replace the terms of this paragraph. In the event of any inconsistencies between any Confirmation and the terms of the Protocol, the Bilateral Agreement or the Bilateral Terms (each, the “QFC Stay Terms”), as applicable, the QFC Stay Terms will govern. Terms used in this paragraph without definition shall have the meanings assigned to them under the QFC Stay Rules. For purposes of this paragraph, references to “this Master Confirmation” and “each Confirmation” include any related credit enhancements entered into between the parties or provided by one to the other. In addition, the parties agree that the terms of this paragraph shall be incorporated into any related covered affiliate credit enhancements, with all references to Dealer replaced by references to the covered affiliate support provider.

 

QFC Stay Rules” mean the regulations codified at 12 C.F.R. 252.2, 252.81–8, 12 C.F.R. 382.1-7 and 12 C.F.R. 47.1-8, which, subject to limited exceptions, require an express recognition of the stay-and-transfer powers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Orderly Liquidation Authority under Title II of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the override of default rights related directly or indirectly to the entry of an affiliate into certain insolvency proceedings and any restrictions on the transfer of any covered affiliate credit enhancements.

 

25
 

 

Please confirm your agreement to be bound by the terms stated in this Master Confirmation by executing the copy of this Master Confirmation enclosed for that purpose and returning it to us.

 

Yours sincerely,  
     
A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners  
     
By: /s/ Thomas J. Higgins  
Name:    
Title:    

 

26
 

 

Confirmed as of the date first above written:

 

SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

 

By: /s/ Rob Phythian  
Name:    
Title:    

 

27
 

 

ANNEX A

 

FORM OF SUPPLEMENTAL CONFIRMATION

 

Date: [*], 20[*]

 

To: SharpLink Gaming, Inc.
[Address]
Attention: [Chief Financial Officer]

 

From: [DEALER NAME AND NOTICE INFORMATION]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

1.This Supplemental Confirmation supplements, forms part of, and is subject to, the Master Confirmation dated as of [*] (as amended and supplemented from time to time, the “Master Confirmation”) between SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (“Counterparty”) and [DEALER NAME]. All provisions contained in the Master Confirmation govern this Supplemental Confirmation except as expressly modified below.
   
2.The terms of the Transaction to which this Supplemental Confirmation relates are as follows:

 

Trade Date: [*], 20[*]
   
Maximum Number of Shares to be Sold: [Initially, [__] Shares, subject to reduction (i) as provided in Paragraph 7 below and (ii) on each Settlement Date, by the number of Settlement Shares settled on such date.]
   
Initial Forward Price: USD [__] per Share
   
Final Date: [*], 20[*]
   
Spread: [*] basis points per annum

 

 
 

 

  Yours sincerely,
     
  [DEALER NAME]
     
  By:         
  Name:  
  Title:  

 

Confirmed as of the date first above written:

 

  SHARPLINK GAMING, INC.
     
  By:            
  Name:  
  Title:  

 

 
 

 

SCHEDULE I to SUPPLEMENTAL CONFIRMATION DATED [*], 20[*]

 

Forward Price Reduction Date

 

Forward Price Reduction Amount

     
Trade Date   USD 0.00
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]
[*], 20[*]   USD [*]