Exhibit 1.1
NIQ Global Intelligence plc
[•] Ordinary Shares
Underwriting Agreement
[•], 2025
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
BofA Securities, Inc.
UBS Securities LLC
As Representatives of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule 1 hereto
c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
383 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10179
c/o BofA Securities, Inc.
One Bryant Park
New York, New York, 10036
c/o UBS Securities LLC
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019
Ladies and Gentlemen:
NIQ Global Intelligence plc, an Irish public limited company (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to the several underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”), an aggregate of [•] ordinary shares, nominal value $0.00001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), of the Company (the “Underwritten Shares”). In addition, the shareholder of the Company named in Schedule 2 hereto (the “Selling Shareholder”) proposes to sell to the several Underwriters up to an additional [•] Ordinary Shares (the “Option Shares”). The Underwritten Shares and the Option Shares are herein referred to as the “Shares”. The Ordinary Shares to be outstanding after giving effect to the issuance and sale of the Shares are referred to herein as the “Stock”.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (the “Directed Share Underwriter”) has agreed to reserve a portion of the Shares to be purchased by it under this Agreement, up to [•] Shares, for sale to the Company’s directors, officers, and certain U.S. employees and other parties related to the Company (collectively, “Participants”), as set forth in the Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) under the heading “Underwriting” (the “Directed Share Program”). The Shares to be sold by the Directed Share Underwriter and its affiliates pursuant to the Directed Share Program are referred to hereinafter as the “Directed Shares”. Any Directed Shares not orally confirmed for purchase by any Participant by [•] [A/P].M., New York City time on the business day on which this Agreement is executed will be offered to the public by the Underwriters as set forth in the Prospectus.
The Company hereby confirms the engagement of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citi”) as a “qualified independent underwriter” within the meaning of Rule 5121 (“Rule 5121”) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) (Citi acting in such capacity, the “QIU”). The QIU agrees with the Company to (i) undertake the legal responsibilities and liabilities of an underwriter under the Securities Act (as defined below), specifically including those inherent in Section 11 of the Securities Act, and (ii) participate in the preparation of the Registration Statement (as defined below) and the Prospectus (as defined below) and exercise the usual standards of “due diligence” in respect thereto. No compensation will be paid to the QIU for its services as a qualified independent underwriter.
The Company and the Selling Shareholder hereby confirm their agreement with the several Underwriters concerning the purchase and issue and/or sale of the Shares, as follows:
1. Registration Statement. The Company has prepared and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-288376), including a prospectus, relating to the Shares. Such registration statement, as amended at the time it became effective, including the information, if any, deemed pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act to be part of the registration statement at the time of its effectiveness (“Rule 430 Information”), is referred to herein as the “Registration Statement”; and as used herein, the term “Preliminary Prospectus” means each prospectus included in such registration statement (and any amendments thereto) before effectiveness, any prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) under the Securities Act and the prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time of its effectiveness that omits Rule 430 Information, and the term “Prospectus” means the prospectus in the form first used (or made available upon request of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) in connection with confirmation of sales of the Shares. If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act (the “Rule 462 Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include such Rule 462 Registration Statement. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
At or prior to the Applicable Time (as defined below), the Company had prepared the following information (collectively with the pricing information set forth on Annex A, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”): a Preliminary Prospectus dated [•], 2025 and each “free-writing prospectus” (as defined pursuant to Rule 405 under the Securities Act) listed on Annex A hereto.
“Applicable Time” means [•] [A/P].M., New York City time, on [•], 2025.
-2-
2. Purchase of the Shares. (a) The Company agrees to issue and sell the Underwritten Shares to the several Underwriters as provided in this underwriting agreement (this “Agreement”), and each Underwriter, on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase at a price per share of $[•] (the “Purchase Price”) from the Company the respective number of Underwritten Shares set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule 1 hereto.
In addition, the Selling Shareholder agrees to sell, the Option Shares to the several Underwriters as provided in this Agreement, and the Underwriters, on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, shall have the option to purchase, severally and not jointly, from the Selling Shareholder the Option Shares at the Purchase Price less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Underwritten Shares but not payable on the Option Shares. If any Option Shares are to be purchased, the number of Option Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be the number of Option Shares which bears the same ratio to the aggregate number of Option Shares being purchased as the number of Underwritten Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule 1 hereto (or such number increased as set forth in Section 12 hereof) bears to the aggregate number of Underwritten Shares being purchased from the Company by the several Underwriters, subject, however, to such adjustments to eliminate any fractional Shares as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make.
The Underwriters may exercise the option to purchase Option Shares at any time in whole, or from time to time in part, on or before the thirtieth day following the date of the Prospectus, by written notice from the Representatives to the Company and the Selling Shareholder. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of Option Shares as to which the option is being exercised and the date and time when the Option Shares are to be delivered and paid for, which may be the same date and time as the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined) but shall not be earlier than the Closing Date nor later than the tenth full business day (as hereinafter defined) after the date of such notice (unless such time and date are postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 12 hereof). Any such notice shall be given at least two business days prior to the date and time of delivery specified therein.
(b) The Company and the Selling Shareholder understand that the Underwriters intend to make a public offering of the Shares, and initially to offer the Shares on the terms set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package. The Company and the Selling Shareholder acknowledge and agree that the Underwriters may offer and sell Shares to or through any affiliate of an Underwriter.
(c) Payment for the Shares, including, to the extent applicable, any Option Shares, shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the accounts specified by the Company or the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, to the Representatives, in the case of the Underwritten Shares, at the offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, 425 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017 at 10:00 A.M. New York City time on [•], 2025, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Representatives, the Company and the Selling Shareholder may agree upon in writing or, in the case of any Option Shares not purchased on the Closing Date, on the date and at the time and place specified by the Representatives in the written notice of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Option Shares. The time and date of such payment for the Underwritten Shares is referred to herein as the “Closing Date”, and the time and date for such payment for the Option Shares, if other than the Closing Date, is herein referred to as the “Additional Closing Date”.
-3-
Payment for the Shares to be purchased on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall be made against delivery to the Representatives for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters of the Shares to be purchased on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the initial issuance and sale of such Shares duly paid, or caused to be duly paid, by the Company and the Selling Shareholder, as applicable. Delivery of the Shares to and by all Parties to this Agreement and further transfers of the Shares by the Underwriters shall be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”).
(d) The Company and the Selling Shareholder, severally and not jointly, acknowledge and agree that the Representatives and the other Underwriters are acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company and the Selling Shareholder with respect to the offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the Company, the Selling Shareholder or any other person. Additionally, neither the Representatives nor any other Underwriter is advising the Company, the Selling Shareholder or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. The Company and the Selling Shareholder shall consult with their own advisors concerning such matters and each shall be responsible for making its own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Representatives nor any other Underwriter shall have any responsibility or liability to the Company or the Selling Shareholder with respect thereto. Any review by the Representatives and the other Underwriters of the Company, the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Representatives and the other Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company or the Selling Shareholder. Moreover, the Selling Shareholder acknowledges and agrees that, although the Representatives may be required or choose to provide certain Selling Shareholders with certain Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS disclosures in connection with the offering, the Representatives and the other Underwriters are not making a recommendation to the Selling Shareholder to participate in the offering, enter into a “lock-up” agreement, or sell any Shares at the price determined in the offering, and nothing set forth in such disclosures is intended to suggest that the Representatives or any Underwriter is making such a recommendation.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter and the Selling Shareholder that:
(a) Preliminary Prospectus. No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus included in the Pricing Disclosure Package, at the time of filing thereof, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, and no Preliminary Prospectus included in the Pricing Disclosure Package, at the time of filing thereof, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation or warranty with
-4-
respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in any such Preliminary Prospectus, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 9(c) hereof.
(b) Pricing Disclosure Package. The Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time did not, and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in such Pricing Disclosure Package, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 9(c) hereof. No statement of material fact included in the Prospectus has been omitted from the Pricing Disclosure Package and no statement of material fact included in the Pricing Disclosure Package that is required to be included in the Prospectus has been omitted therefrom.
(c) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Other than the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Shares (each such communication by the Company or its agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clause (i) below) an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”) other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act or (ii) the documents listed on Annex A hereto, each electronic road show and any other written communications approved in writing in advance by the Representatives. Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus complies in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in Rule 433) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Pricing Disclosure Package, and, when taken together with the Preliminary Prospectus included in the Pricing Disclosure Package, did not, and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Preliminary Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Preliminary Prospectus, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 9(c) hereof.
-5-
(d) Testing-the-Waters Materials. The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communications other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives (x) with entities that are qualified institutional buyers (“QIBs”) within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Securities Act (“IAIs”) and otherwise in compliance with the requirements of Section 5(d) of the Securities Act or (y) with entities that the Company reasonably believed to be QIBs or IAIs and otherwise in compliance with the requirements of Rule 163B under the Securities Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than the Representatives to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representatives have been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications by virtue of a writing substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto. The Company has not distributed or approved for distribution any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Annex B hereto. “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act. “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act. Any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Pricing Disclosure Package, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, and when taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not, and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(e) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Company or related to the offering of the Shares has been initiated or threatened by the Commission; as of the applicable effective date of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, the Registration Statement and any such post-effective amendment complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act, and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and as of the date of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, the Prospectus will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to any
-6-
statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 9(c) hereof.
(f) Financial Statements. The financial statements (including the related notes thereto) of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby, and any supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein; and the other financial information included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and presents fairly in all material respects the information shown thereby; all disclosures included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable; and the pro forma financial information and the related notes thereto included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus have been prepared in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the assumptions underlying such pro forma financial information are reasonable and are set forth in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(g) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus: (i) there has not been any change in the share capital of the Company (other than (x) the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of stock options or the settlement of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and warrants described as outstanding in, (y) the grant of options, RSUs or other awards under existing equity incentive plans described in, and (z) and the exchange or conversion of equity securities of any affiliate of the Company for Ordinary Shares on or prior to the Closing Date as described in, the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus), short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of shares, or any material adverse change, or any development that would or would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position,
-7-
shareholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole and that is either from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(h) Organization and Good Standing. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been duly incorporated and/or organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization (or such equivalent concept to the extent it exists under the laws of such jurisdiction), are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, shareholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company does not control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Registration Statement. The subsidiaries listed in Schedule 3 to this Agreement are the only subsidiaries of the Company.
(i) Capitalization. The authorized share capital of the Company is as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the heading “Capitalization”; all of the issued share capital of the Company (including the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder) has been duly and validly authorized and issued and is fully paid and non-assessable and are not subject to any pre-emptive or similar rights; except as described in or expressly contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights (including, without limitation, pre-emptive rights), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible into or exchangeable for, any shares in the capital of the Company or other equity interest in the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any contract, commitment, agreement, understanding or arrangement of any kind relating to the issuance of any shares in the capital of the Company or any such subsidiary, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or any such rights, warrants or options; the share capital of the Company conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all the issued share
-8-
capital or other equity interests of each subsidiary owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable (except, in the case of any foreign subsidiary, for directors’ qualifying shares) and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party.
(j) Equity-Based Incentive Awards. With respect to each equity-based incentive award (the “Equity Award”) granted pursuant to the stock-based compensation plans of the Company and its subsidiaries (the “Company Stock Plans”), each such Equity Award was (i) duly and validly authorized no later than the date on which the grant of such award was by its terms to be effective (the “Grant Date”) by all necessary corporate action, and the award agreement governing such grant (if any) was duly executed and delivered by each party thereto, (ii) made in accordance with the terms of the Company Stock Plans, the Exchange Act and all other applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, including the rules of the New York Stock Exchange and any other exchange on which Company securities are traded and the Code, and (iii) properly accounted for in accordance with GAAP in the financial statements (including the related notes) of the Company. Each Company Stock Plans has been administered in compliance with its terms and the operational and documentary requirements of Section 409A of the Code and the regulations thereunder, except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(k) Due Authorization. The Company has full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; and all corporate action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery by it of this Agreement and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby has been duly and validly taken.
(l) Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(m) The Shares. (A) The Underwritten Shares to be issued and sold by the Company hereunder have been duly and validly authorized by the Company and, when issued and delivered and paid for as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, will be fully paid and non-assessable and will conform, in all material respects, to the descriptions thereof in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and (B) the Option Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder hereunder have been duly authorized by the Company, and when issued and delivered and paid for as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and conform, in all material respects, to the descriptions thereof in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights.
-9-
(n) Description of the Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(o) No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its constitution, charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(p) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, result in the termination, modification or acceleration of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the constitution, charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters.
-10-
(r) Legal Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, demands, claims, suits, arbitrations, inquiries or proceedings (“Actions”) pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or, to the knowledge of the Company, may be a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may become the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; no such Actions are threatened or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (i) there are no current or pending Actions that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus that are not so described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and (ii) there are no statutes, regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(s) Independent Accountants. Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act.
(t) Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple or other comparable valid title to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property (other than Intellectual Property, as defined below) that are material to the respective businesses of the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(u) Intellectual Property. (i) The Company and its subsidiaries own or have the right to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, domain names and other source indicators, copyrights and copyrightable works, know-how, trade secrets, systems, procedures, proprietary or confidential information and all other worldwide intellectual property, industrial property and proprietary rights (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to the conduct of their respective businesses; (ii) the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ conduct of their respective businesses does not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any Intellectual Property of any person in any material respect; (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim relating to Intellectual Property; and (iv) to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property of the Company and its subsidiaries is not being infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated by any person.
-11-
(v) No Undisclosed Relationships. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers, suppliers or other affiliates of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and that is not so described in such documents and in the Pricing Disclosure Package.
(w) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering, issuance and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof received by the Company as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”).
(x) Taxes. The Company and its subsidiaries have paid all U.S national, federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxes required to be paid and filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof, in each case except for such failures to pay or file that would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or except as currently being contested in good faith; and except as otherwise disclosed in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency that has been, or would reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets that would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(y) Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, sub-licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course.
-12-
(z) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is contemplated or threatened, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of cancellation or termination with respect to any collective bargaining agreement to which it is a party.
(aa) Certain Environmental Matters. (i) The Company and its subsidiaries (x) are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws (including common law), rules, regulations, requirements, decisions, judgments, decrees, orders and other legally enforceable requirements relating to pollution or the protection of human health or safety, the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, applicable to the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (y) have received and are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under any Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (z) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability or obligation under or relating to, or any actual or potential violation of, any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, except in the case of each of (i) and (ii) above, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) except as described in each of the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (x) there is no proceeding that is pending, or that is known to be contemplated, against the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceeding regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $300,000 or more will be imposed, (y) the Company and its subsidiaries are not aware of any facts or issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (z) none of the Company or its subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws.
(bb) Compliance with ERISA. (i) Each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Company within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA or any entity that would be regarded as a single employer with the Company under Section 414(b),(c),(m) or (o) of the Code would have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a
-13-
statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no Plan has failed (whether or not waived), or is reasonably expected to fail, to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code) applicable to such Plan; (iv) no Plan is, or is reasonably expected to be, in “at risk status” (within the meaning of Section 303(i) of ERISA) and no Plan that is a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA is in “endangered status” or “critical status” (within the meaning of Sections 304 and 305 of ERISA) (v) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code of Section 302 of ERISA exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (vi) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA and the regulations promulgated thereunder) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (vii) each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified, and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would reasonably be expected to cause the loss of such qualification; (viii) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA); and (ix) none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans by the Company or its Controlled Group affiliates in the current fiscal year of the Company and its Controlled Group affiliates compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s and its Controlled Group affiliates’ most recently completed fiscal year; or (B) a material increase in the Company and its subsidiaries’ “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 715-60) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company and its subsidiaries’ most recently completed fiscal year, except in each case with respect to the events or conditions set forth in (i) through (ix) hereof, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(cc) Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and that has been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
-14-
(dd) Accounting Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the Company’s internal controls (it being understood that the Company is not required as of the date hereof to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (as defined below)). The Company’s auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.
(ee) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses, except where the failure to carry such insurance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business in all material respects.
(ff) Cybersecurity; Data Protection. The Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation,
-15-
redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses, and there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same. The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification. The Company and its subsidiaries have taken all reasonably necessary actions to prepare to comply with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to Personal Data that have been announced as of the date hereof as becoming effective within 12 months after the date hereof, and for which any non-compliance with same would be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(gg) No Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any employee, agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 of Ireland, as amended, or any other law, regulation, order, decree or directive having the force of law and relating to anti-bribery or anti-corruption (collectively, the “Anti-Corruption Laws”); or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit. The Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.
(hh) Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and each of its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
-16-
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company or any of its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(ii) No Conflicts with Sanctions Laws. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any employee, agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently or, since April 24, 2019, has been the subject or the target of any economic or financial sanctions, trade embargoes or similar restrictions administered or enforced by the U.S. government (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, persons identified on OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN List”), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union (and any of its Member States), His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor, is the Company or any of its subsidiaries located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, the Crimea, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), and so-called Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) regions of Ukraine, the non-government controlled oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea (each, a “Sanctioned Country”). Since April 24, 2019, the Company and each of its subsidiaries, have not engaged in and are not now engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country, or otherwise in violation of applicable Sanctions then in effect.
(jj) No Conflicts with Outbound Investment Rules. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is or has any present intention to become, and the Company and its subsidiaries will take reasonable measures to avoid becoming, a “covered foreign person,” as that term is used in the regulations administered and enforced, together with any related public guidance issued, by the United States Treasury Department under U.S. Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023, or any similar law or regulation, as of the date of this Agreement, and as codified at 31 C.F.R. § 850.101 et seq. (the “Outbound Investment Rules”). Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries currently engages, or has any present intention to engage in the future, and the Company and its subsidiaries will take reasonable measures to avoid engaging, directly or indirectly, in (i) a “covered activity” or a “covered transaction,” as each such term is defined in the Outbound Investment Rules, (ii) any activity or transaction that would constitute a “covered activity” or a “covered transaction”, as each such term is defined in the Outbound Investment Rules, if the Company were any United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including
-17-
any foreign branch of any such entity, or any person in the United States (a “U.S. Person”). Notwithstanding the representations and warranties above, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall engage in any other activity that would cause the Underwriters and Selling Shareholder to be in violation of the Outbound Investment Rules or cause the Underwriters and Selling Shareholder to be legally prohibited by the Outbound Investment Rules from performing under this Agreement.
(kk) Policies and Procedures. The Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, maintained and enforced, and will continue to maintain and enforce policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with Sanctions, Anti-Money Laundering Laws, and Anti-Corruption Laws.
(ll) No Restrictions on Subsidiaries. No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, other than the Credit Agreement, dated as of March 5, 2021 (as amended through that certain Eleventh Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of January 24, 2025), by and among AI PAVE Dutchco III B.V., Intermediate Dutch Holdings B.V., US Holdco, Nielsen Consumer Inc., Indy Dutch Bidco B.V., the revolving borrowers from time to time party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA., as the administrative agent and the U.S. collateral agent, Kroll Agency Services (US) LLC, as non-US Collateral Agent and the lenders and issuing banks from time to time party thereto, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock or similar ownership interest, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.
(mm) No Broker’s Fees. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against any of them or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares.
(nn) No Registration Rights. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no person has the right to require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission, the issuance and sale of the Shares by the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, the sale of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder hereunder.
(oo) No Stabilization. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or affiliates has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares.
(pp) Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
-18-
(qq) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included in any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(rr) Statistical and Market Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.
(ss) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company has taken all necessary actions such that, upon the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, it will be in compliance with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), with which the Company is required to comply at such time.
(tt) Status under the Securities Act. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Shares and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(uu) Directed Share Program. The Company represents and warrants that (i) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses comply in all material respects, and any further amendments or supplements thereto will comply in all material respects, with any applicable laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, are distributed in connection with the Directed Share Program, and that (ii) no authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration or qualification of or with any government, governmental instrumentality or court, other than such as have been obtained, is necessary under the securities laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions in which the Directed Shares are offered outside the United States. The Company has not offered, or caused the Underwriters to offer, Shares to any person pursuant to the Directed Share Program with the specific intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company, or (ii) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or its products.
-19-
(vv) Stamp Taxes. No stamp duties or other issuance or transfer taxes are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters in Ireland, the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof solely in connection with (A) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, (B) the issuance, sale and / or delivery of the Shares by the Company to the Underwriters and to the Selling Shareholder in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus or (C) the re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Shares as contemplated herein and in the Prospectus where any such re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Shares is effected by an instruction to transfer book-entry interests representing the Shares through the securities settlement system operated by DTC and the Shares are dealt in on the Exchange at the time of such re-sale and delivery.
(ww) No Immunity. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or their properties or assets has immunity under Irish law, U.S. federal or New York state law from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any Irish, U.S. federal or New York state court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior to judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court with respect to their respective obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection herewith; and, to the extent that the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings arising out of, or relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, may at any time be commenced, the Company has, pursuant to Section 18(c) of this Agreement, waived, and it will waive, or will cause its subsidiaries to waive, such right to the extent permitted by law.
(xx) Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Any final judgment for a fixed or determined sum of money rendered by any U.S. federal or New York state court located in the State of New York having jurisdiction under its own laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement would be declared enforceable against the Company by the courts of Ireland, always subject to the applicable laws and procedures governing the enforcement of foreign judgments in Ireland.
(yy) Valid Choice of Law. The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of Ireland and will be honored by the courts of Ireland, subject to the restrictions described under the caption “Enforcement of Judgements” in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 18(c) of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York state and United States federal court sitting in the City of New York and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in such court.
(zz) Indemnification and Contribution. The indemnification and contribution provisions set forth in Section 9 hereof do not contravene Irish law or public policy.
-20-
(aaa) Passive Foreign Investment Company. The Company was not a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) as defined in Section 1297 of the Code for its most recently completed taxable year and, based on the Company’s current projected income, assets and activities, the Company does not expect to be classified as a PFIC for any subsequent taxable year.
(bbb) Dividends. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no approvals are currently required in Ireland in order for the Company to pay dividends or other distributions declared by the Company to the holders of Shares. Under current laws and regulations of Ireland, any amount payable with respect to the Shares upon liquidation of the Company or upon redemption thereof and dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the share capital of the Company may be paid by the Company in United States dollars or euros and freely transferred out of Ireland, and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no such payments made to the holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of Ireland will be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of Ireland or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in Ireland or taxing authority thereof or therein.
(ccc) Legality. The legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence of any of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, this Agreement or the Shares in Ireland is not dependent upon such document being submitted into, filed or recorded with any court or other authority in any such jurisdiction on or before the date hereof or that any tax, imposition or charge be paid in any such jurisdiction on or in respect of any such document.
(ddd) Legal Action. A holder of the Shares and each Underwriter are each entitled to sue as plaintiff in the court of the jurisdiction of formation and domicile of the Company for the enforcement of their respective rights under this Agreement and the Shares and such access to such courts will not be subject to any conditions which are not applicable to residents of such jurisdiction or a company incorporated in such jurisdiction except that plaintiffs not residing in Ireland may be required to guarantee payment of a possible order for payment of costs or damages at the request of the defendant.
(eee) DAC6. No transaction contemplated by this Agreement nor any transaction to be carried out by the Company and the Selling Shareholder in connection with any transaction contemplated by this Agreement meets any hallmark set out in Annex IV of the Council Directive of 25 May 2018 (2018/822/EU) amending Council Directive 2011/16/EU.
-21-
4. Representations and Warranties of the Selling Shareholder. The Selling Shareholder represents and warrants to each Underwriter and the Company that:
(a) Required Consents; Authority. All consents, approvals, authorizations and orders necessary for the execution and delivery by the Selling Shareholder of this Agreement and for the sale and delivery of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder hereunder, have been obtained, except such that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to materially impair the ability of such Selling Shareholder to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and the Selling Shareholder has full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to sell, assign, transfer and deliver the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder hereunder; this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or on behalf of the Selling Shareholder.
(b) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Selling Shareholder of this Agreement, the sale of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder and the consummation by the Selling Shareholder of the transactions contemplated herein or therein will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, result in the termination, modification or acceleration of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property, right or asset of the Selling Shareholder pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Selling Shareholder is a party or by which the Selling Shareholder is bound or to which any of the property, right or asset of the Selling Shareholder is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Selling Shareholder or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute applicable to the Selling Shareholder or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory agency having jurisdiction over the Selling Shareholder, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Selling Shareholder to perform its obligations under this Agreement.
(c) Title to Shares. The Selling Shareholder is, and will be, immediately prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, the beneficial owner of, and has, and will have immediately prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, good and valid title to, the Shares to be sold at the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, by the Selling Shareholder hereunder, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or adverse claims and has all authorization and approval required by law to enter into this Agreement and to sell, transfer and deliver the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder; and, such Shares will, immediately prior to the Closing Date, be represented as book-entry interests representing the Shares through the securities settlement system operated by DTC upon the transfer of book-entry interests representing such Shares to the Underwriters and payment therefor pursuant hereto, good and valid title to such Shares, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or adverse claims, will pass to the several Underwriters.
(d) No Stabilization. The Selling Shareholder has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares.
-22-
(e) Pricing Disclosure Package. The Pricing Disclosure Package, at the Applicable Time did not, and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the representations and warranties set forth in this Section 4(e) are limited in all respects to statements and omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Selling Shareholder furnished to the Company in writing by the Selling Shareholder expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Selling Shareholder consists of (A) the legal name, address and the number and type of shares of capital stock owned by the Selling Shareholder (including any information about beneficial ownership, voting power and investment control of such shares) before and after the offering, and (B) the other information (excluding percentages) with respect to the Selling Shareholder which appears in the table (and corresponding footnotes) under the caption “Principal and Selling Shareholders” in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (the “Selling Shareholder Information”).
(f) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and Written Testing-the-Waters Communication. Other than the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Selling Shareholder (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not prepared, made, used, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act or (ii) the documents listed on Annex A or Annex B hereto, each electronic road show and any other written communications approved in writing in advance by the Company and the Representatives.
(g) Registration Statement and Prospectus. To the extent that any statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto are made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Selling Shareholder Information relating to the Selling Shareholder, such Registration Statement and Preliminary Prospectus did, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will, as of the date of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the representations and warranties set forth in this Section 4(g) are limited in all respects to the Selling Shareholder Information.
(h) Organization and Good Standing. The Selling Shareholder has, to the extent applicable, been duly incorporated or organized and is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of Guernsey.
-23-
(i) Private and Commercial Acts. The Selling Shareholder is subject to civil and commercial law with respect to its obligations under this Agreement and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by it constitutes private and commercial acts rather than public or governmental acts. It does not have immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from set-off, the jurisdiction of any court or any legal process in any court (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution or otherwise).
(j) Stamp Taxes. No stamp duties or other issuance or transfer taxes are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters in Ireland, the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof solely in connection with (A) the execution, delivery and performance by the Selling Shareholder of this Agreement, (B) the sale and delivery of the Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus or (C) the re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of such Shares as contemplated herein and in the Prospectus, where any sale and delivery of the Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters, and any such re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of such Shares, is effected by an instruction to transfer book-entry interests representing such Shares through the securities settlement system operated by DTC and the Shares are dealt in on the Exchange at the time of such sale and delivery by the Selling Shareholder or such re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters.
(k) Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Any final judgment for a fixed or determined sum of money rendered by any U.S. federal or New York state court located in the State of New York having jurisdiction under its own laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Selling Shareholder based upon this Agreement would be declared enforceable against the Selling Shareholder by the courts of Ireland, without reconsideration or reexamination of the merits.
(l) Valid Choice of Law. The Selling Shareholder has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 18(e) of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York state and United States federal court sitting in the City of New York and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in such court.
(m) [Reserved]
(n) Currency. To the extent any payment is to be made by the Selling Shareholder pursuant to this Agreement, the Selling Shareholder has access, subject to the laws of Ireland, to the internal currency market in Ireland and, to the extent necessary, valid agreements with Irish commercial banks for purchasing U.S. dollars to make payments of amounts which may be payable under this Agreement.
-24-
5. Further Agreements of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a) Required Filings. The Company will file the final Prospectus with the Commission within the time periods specified by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act, will file any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act; and the Company will furnish copies of the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters in New York City prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement (or such later time as may be agreed by the Company and the Representatives) in such quantities as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(b) Delivery of Copies. The Company will deliver, without charge, (i) to the Representatives, one signed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto, in each case including all exhibits and consents filed therewith; and (ii) to each Underwriter (A) a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (without exhibits) and (B) during the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), as many copies of the Prospectus (including all amendments and supplements thereto and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus) as the Representatives may reasonably request. As used herein, the term “Prospectus Delivery Period” means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of the Shares as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus relating to the Shares is required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Shares by any Underwriter or dealer.
(c) Amendments or Supplements, Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Before using, authorizing, approving, referring to or filing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and before filing any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company will furnish to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters a copy of the proposed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, amendment or supplement for review and will not use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representatives reasonably object in a timely manner.
(d) Notice to the Representatives. The Company will advise the Representatives promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) when the Registration Statement has become effective; (ii) when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective; (iii) when any supplement to the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or any amendment to the Prospectus has been filed or distributed; (iv) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement or any other request by the Commission for any additional information including, but not limited to, any request for information concerning any Testing-the-Waters Communication; (v) of the issuance by the Commission or any other governmental or regulatory authority of any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any of the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act; (vi) of the
-25-
occurrence of any event or development within the Prospectus Delivery Period as a result of which the Prospectus, any of the Pricing Disclosure Package or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure Package or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; and (vii) of the receipt by the Company of any notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offer, issue and sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any of the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or suspending any such qualification of the Shares and, if any such order is issued, will obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.
(e) Ongoing Compliance. (1) If during the Prospectus Delivery Period (i) any event or development shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with law, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representatives may designate such amendments or supplements to the Prospectus as may be necessary so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus will comply with law and (2) if at any time prior to the Closing Date (i) any event or development shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Pricing Disclosure Package as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Pricing Disclosure Package is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Pricing Disclosure Package to comply with law, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission (to the extent required) and furnish to the Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representatives may designate, such amendments or supplements to the Pricing Disclosure Package as may be necessary so that the statements in the Pricing Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Pricing Disclosure Package is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Pricing Disclosure Package will comply with law.
-26-
(f) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Representatives, to qualify the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for distribution of the Shares; provided that the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.
(g) Earning Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders and the Representatives as soon as practicable an earning statement that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement, provided that the Company will be deemed to have complied with such requirement by furnishing such earnings statement on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (or any successor system) (“EDGAR”).
(h) Clear Market. For a period of 180 days after the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not (i) offer, pledge, allot, issue sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to subscribe for, purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or submit to, or file with, the Commission a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to, any Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Stock, or publicly disclose the intention to undertake any of the foregoing, or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Stock or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, without the prior written consent of any two of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, other than the Shares to be issued and sold hereunder.
The restrictions described above do not apply to (i) the issuance of Ordinary Shares or securities convertible into or exercisable for Ordinary Shares pursuant to the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities or the exercise of warrants or options (including net exercise) or the settlement of RSUs (including net settlement), in each case outstanding on the date of this Agreement and described in the Prospectus; (ii) grants of stock options, stock awards, restricted stock, RSUs, or other equity awards and the issuance of Ordinary Shares or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares (whether upon the exercise of stock options or otherwise) to the Company’s employees, officers, directors, advisors, or consultants pursuant to the terms of an equity compensation plan in effect as of the Closing Date and described in the Prospectus; (iii) the issuance of up to 10% of the outstanding Ordinary Shares, or securities convertible into, exercisable for, or which are otherwise exchangeable for, Ordinary Shares, immediately following the Closing Date, in acquisitions or other similar strategic transactions, provided that such recipients enter into a substantially similar lock-up
-27-
agreement with the Underwriters; (iv) the filing of any registration statement on Form S-8 relating to securities granted or to be granted pursuant to any plan in effect on the date of this Agreement and described in the Prospectus or any assumed benefit plan pursuant to a merger, acquisition or similar strategic transaction; (v) the issuance of the Option Shares to the Selling Shareholder; or (vi) facilitating the establishment of a trading plan on behalf of a shareholder, officer or director of the Company pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of Ordinary Shares, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Ordinary Shares during the beginning on the date of this Agreement and ending at the close of business 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (such period, the “Restricted Period”), and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Ordinary Shares may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period.
If any two of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters agree to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up letter described in Section 8(o) hereof for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.
(i) Use of Proceeds. The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the heading “Use of proceeds”. The Company will not directly or knowingly indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions, Anti-Money Laundering Laws, or Anti-Corruption Laws.
(j) No Stabilization. Neither the Company, nor its subsidiaries nor any of its controlled affiliates will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Stock. To the Company’s knowledge, no other affiliates of the Company will take, directly or indirectly, any such action.
(k) Exchange Listing. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”).
-28-
(l) Reports. For a period of three years from the date of this Agreement, the Company will furnish to the Representatives, as soon as they are available, copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to holders of the Shares, and copies of any reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange or automatic quotation system; provided the Company will be deemed to have furnished such reports and financial statements to the Representatives to the extent they are filed on EDGAR.
(m) Record Retention. The Company will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
(o) Filings. The Company will file with the Commission such reports as may be required by Rule 463 under the Securities Act.
(p) Directed Share Program. The Company will comply with all applicable securities and other laws, rules and regulations in each jurisdiction in which the Directed Shares are offered in connection with the Directed Share Program.
(r) Tax Indemnity. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless, or cause one of its subsidiaries to indemnify and hold harmless, joint and severally, the Underwriters against any documentary, stamp, registration or similar issuance tax, including any interest and penalties (other than interest and penalties which would not have arisen but for the Underwriters’ failure to file any tax return and/or account for any such tax promptly after receiving an amount equal to such tax from the Company), arising on (i) the issuance, sale or transfer of the Shares by the Company to the Underwriters, including, for the avoidance of doubt, the issue by the Company of such Shares to Cede & Co. or any nominee designated by DTC, (ii) the re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Shares to be sold by the Company or the Selling Shareholder to the purchasers thereof in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus provided that such re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters is effected by an instruction to transfer book-entry interests representing the Shares through the securities settlement system operated by DTC and the Shares are dealt in on the Exchange at the time of such re-sale and delivery, and (iii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement. All indemnity payments to be made by the Company hereunder in respect of this Section 5(r) shall be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future Irish taxes, duties or governmental charges whatsoever unless the Company is compelled by law to deduct or withhold such taxes, duties or charges. In that event, except for any net income, capital gains or franchise taxes imposed on the Underwriters by Ireland or the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein as a result of any present or former connection (other than any connection resulting from the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) between the Underwriters and the jurisdiction imposing such withholding or deductions, the Company shall pay such additional amounts as may be necessary in order to ensure that the net amounts received after such withholding or deductions shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been made. If applicable, and upon reasonable request, the Company shall provide to the Representatives evidence of such payment of taxes, duties or charges made to the relevant governmental authority within thirty (30) days thereof and shall also provide to the Representatives any official tax receipt or other documentation issued by the appropriate governmental authorities with respect to such payment.
-29-
6. Further Agreements of the Selling Shareholder. The Selling Shareholder covenants and agrees with each Underwriter that:
(a) No Stabilization. The Selling Shareholder will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Stock.
(b) Tax Form. It will deliver to the Representatives prior to or at the Closing Date a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 (or other applicable form or statement specified by the Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof) in order to facilitate the Underwriters’ documentation of their compliance with the reporting and withholding provisions of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 with respect to the transactions herein contemplated.
(c) Tax Indemnity. It will indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriters against any documentary, stamp, registration or similar issuance tax, including any interest and penalties (other than interest and penalties which would not have arisen but for the Underwriters failing to file any tax return and/or account for any such tax promptly after receiving an amount equal to such tax from the Selling Shareholder), arising on (i) the sale and transfer of the Shares by the Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters, including, for the avoidance of doubt, the issue by the Company of such Shares to Cede & Co. or any nominee designated by DTC, (ii) the re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholder to the purchasers thereof in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Prospectus provided that such re-sale and delivery by the Underwriters is effected by an instruction to transfer book-entry interests representing the Shares through the securities settlement system operated by DTC and the Shares are dealt in on the Exchange at the time of such re-sale and delivery, and (iii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement. All indemnity payments to be made by the Selling Shareholder hereunder in respect of this Section 6(c) shall be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future Irish taxes, duties or governmental charges whatsoever unless the Selling Shareholder is compelled by law to deduct or withhold such taxes, duties or charges. In that event, except for any net income, capital gains or franchise taxes imposed on the Underwriters by Ireland or the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein as a result of any present or former connection (other than any connection resulting from the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) between the Underwriters and the jurisdiction imposing such withholding or deductions, the Selling Shareholder shall pay such additional amounts as may be necessary in order to ensure that the net amounts received after such withholding or deductions shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been made. If applicable, and upon reasonable request, the Selling Shareholder shall provide to the Representatives evidence of such payment of taxes, duties or charges made to the relevant governmental authority within thirty (30) days thereof and shall also provide to the Representatives any official tax receipt or other documentation issued by the appropriate governmental authorities with respect to such payment.
-30-
(d) Use of Proceeds. It will not directly or knowingly indirectly use any part of the proceeds of the sale of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to a subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions, Anti-Money Laundering Laws or Anti-Corruption Laws.
7. Certain Agreements of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter hereby severally represents and agrees that:
(a) It has not used, authorized use of, referred to or participated in the planning for use of and will not use, authorize use of, refer to or participate in the planning for use of, any “free writing prospectus”, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (which term includes use of any written information furnished to the Commission by the Company and not incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and any press release issued by the Company) other than (i) a free writing prospectus that contains no “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433(h)(2) under the Securities Act) that was not included (including through incorporation by reference) in the Preliminary Prospectus or a previously filed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (ii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Annex A or prepared pursuant to Section 3(c) or Section 4(c) above (including any electronic road show), or (iii) any free writing prospectus prepared by such Underwriter and approved by the Company in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus referred to in clauses (i) or (iii), an “Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus”).
(b) It has not and will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, use any free writing prospectus that contains the final terms of the Shares unless such terms have previously been included in a free writing prospectus filed with the Commission; provided that the Underwriters may use a term sheet substantially in the form of Annex C hereto without the consent of the Company; provided, further, that any Underwriter using such term sheet shall notify the Company, and provide a copy of such term sheet to the Company, prior to, or substantially concurrently with, the first use of such term sheet.
(c) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Company and the Selling Shareholder if any such proceeding against it is initiated or threatened during the Prospectus Delivery Period).
-31-
8. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligation of each Underwriter to purchase the Underwritten Shares on the Closing Date or the Option Shares on the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Company in the case of the Closing Date, and the Company and each of the Selling Shareholder, in the case of the Additional Closing Date, of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Compliance; No Stop Order. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission; the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act (in the case of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act) and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; and all requests by the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representatives.
(b) Representations and Warranties. The respective representations and warranties of the Company and the Selling Shareholder contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be; and the statements of the Company and its officers and the Selling Shareholder and its officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(c) No Downgrade. Subsequent to the earlier of (A) the Applicable Time and (B) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded any debt securities, convertible securities or preferred shares issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as such term is defined under Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, or has changed its outlook with respect to, its rating of any such debt securities or preferred shares issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than an announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading).
(d) No Material Adverse Change. No event or condition of a type described in Section 3(g) hereof shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in the Pricing Disclosure Package (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the effect of which in the judgment of the Representatives makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Shares on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(e) Officer’s Certificate. The Representatives shall have received on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, (x) a certificate, which shall be delivered on behalf of the Company and not the signatories in their individual capacity, of the chief financial officer or chief accounting officer of the Company and one additional senior executive officer of the Company who is reasonably satisfactory to the
-32-
Representatives (i) confirming that such officers have reviewed the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and, to the knowledge of such officers, the representations of the Company set forth in Sections 3(b) and 3(d) hereof are true and correct and that the other representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct, (ii) confirming that the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, and (iii) to the effect set forth in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) above and (y) in the case of the Additional Closing Date, a certificate of the Selling Shareholder, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, (A) confirming that the representations of the Selling Shareholder set forth in Section 4 hereof are true and correct and (B) confirming that the Selling Shareholder has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Additional Closing Date.
(f) Comfort Letters. On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, Ernst & Young LLP shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; provided, that the letter delivered on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall use a “cut-off” date no more than two business days prior to such Closing Date or such Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(ii) On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof and addressed to the Underwriters, of its chief financial officer with respect to certain financial data contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, providing “management comfort” with respect to such information, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(g) Opinion and 10b-5 Statement of U.S. Counsel for the Company. Ropes & Gray LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, their written opinion and 10b-5 statement, dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(h) Opinion of Irish Counsel for the Company. Arthur Cox LLP, Irish counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Company, their written opinion, dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
-33-
(i) Opinion of Counsel for the Selling Shareholders. If applicable, Carey Olsen (Guernsey) LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP, each counsel for the Selling Shareholder, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at the request of the Selling Shareholder, their written opinions, dated the Additional Closing Date and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(j) Opinion and 10b-5 Statement of U.S. Counsel for the Underwriters. The Representatives shall have received on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, an opinion and 10b-5 statement, addressed to the Underwriters, of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, U.S. counsel for the Underwriters, with respect to such matters as the Representatives may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such documents and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(l) No Legal Impediment to Issuance and/or Sale. No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any U.S. federal, state or non-U.S. governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares by the Company or the sale of the Shares by the Selling Shareholder, as applicable; and no injunction or order of any U.S. federal, state or non-U.S. court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent the issuance or sale of the Underwritten Shares by the Company or the sale of the Option Shares by the Selling Shareholder.
(m) Good Standing. The Representatives shall have received on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company, Nielsen Consumer Inc., Nielsen Consumer LLC and GfK SE in their respective jurisdictions of organization (or such equivalent concept to the extent it exists under the laws of such jurisdictions), in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions.
(n) Exchange Listing. The Shares to be delivered on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance.
(o) Lock-up Agreements. The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of Exhibit D hereto, between you and certain shareholders, officers and directors of the Company, including the Selling Shareholder, relating to sales and certain other dispositions of Stock or certain other securities, delivered to you on or before the date hereof, shall be in full force and effect on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(p) Additional Documents. On or prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, the Company and the Selling Shareholder shall have furnished to the Representatives such further certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request.
-34-
9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters by the Company. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, or cause one of its subsidiaries to indemnify and hold harmless, joint and severally, each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees and other reasonable expenses incurred and documented in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, not misleading, or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any road show as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act (a “road show”) or any Pricing Disclosure Package (including any Pricing Disclosure Package that has subsequently been amended), or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in paragraph (c) below.
The Company also agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, Citi, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls Citi within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities incurred as a result of Citi’s participation as the QIU in connection with the offering of the Shares.
(b) Indemnification of the Underwriters by the Selling Shareholder. The Selling Shareholder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Selling Shareholder Information; and provided further that the aggregate amount of the Selling Shareholder’s liability pursuant to this Section 9(b) and Section 9(e) or otherwise hereunder shall be limited to an amount equal to the aggregate net proceeds (after underwriting commissions and discounts but before expenses) received by the Selling Shareholder from the sale of Shares sold by the Selling Shareholder hereunder.
-35-
(c) Indemnification of the Company and the Selling Shareholder. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company or any Selling Shareholder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act and the Selling Shareholder to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, any road show or any Pricing Disclosure Package (including any Pricing Disclosure Package that has subsequently been amended), it being understood and agreed upon that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the [third] paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” and the information contained in the [fifteenth and sixteenth] paragraph under the caption “Underwriting”.
(d) Notice and Procedures. If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9, such person (the “Indemnified Person”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnification may be sought (the “Indemnifying Person”) in writing; provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9 except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Person otherwise than under the preceding paragraphs of this Section 9. If any such proceeding shall be brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified Person and any others entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Section that the Indemnifying Person may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the reasonable and documented fees and expenses in such proceeding and shall pay the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of such counsel related to such proceeding, as incurred. In any such proceeding, any Indemnified Person shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person; (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have reasonably concluded based on upon written advice of counsel that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person and representation of both parties by the same counsel would, in the opinion of counsel, be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood and
-36-
agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any necessary local counsel) for all Indemnified Persons, and that all such reasonable and documented fees and expenses shall be paid or reimbursed as they are incurred; provided, however, that if indemnity may be sought pursuant to the second paragraph of Section 9(a) above in respect of such proceeding, then in addition to one such separate firm of the Underwriters, their affiliates, directors, officers and such control persons of the Underwriters the Indemnifying Person shall be liable for the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of not more than one separate firm (in addition to any necessary local counsel) for Citi in its capacity as the QIU, its affiliates, directors, officers and all persons, if any, who control Citi within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act. Any such separate firm for any Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and any control persons of such Underwriter shall be designated in writing by the Representatives and any such separate firm for the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and any control persons of the Company shall be designated in writing by the Company and any such separate firm for the Selling Shareholders shall be designated in writing by the Selling Shareholder. The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an Indemnified Person shall have requested that an Indemnifying Person reimburse the Indemnified Person for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this paragraph, the Indemnifying Person shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by the Indemnifying Person of such request and (ii) the Indemnifying Person shall not have reimbursed the Indemnified Person in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement, unless, in each case, the amount of such fees and expenses is being actively contested in writing in good faith by such Indemnifying Person. No Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified Person is or could have been a party and indemnification could have been sought hereunder by such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.
(e) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) above is unavailable to an Indemnified Person or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein (other than as a result of the limitations imposed on indemnification set forth therein), then each Indemnifying Person under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company or the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, on the one hand, and the Underwriters or Citi in its capacity as the QIU, as the case may be, on the other, from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to
-37-
reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company or the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, on the one hand, and the Underwriters or Citi in its capacity as the QIU, as the case may be, on the other, in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company or the Selling Shareholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriters or Citi in its capacity as the QIU, as the case may be, on the other, shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Company or the Selling Shareholder from the sale of the Shares and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in connection therewith, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Prospectus bear to the aggregate offering price of the Shares. The relative fault of the Company or the Selling Shareholder, on the one hand, and the Underwriters or Citi in its capacity as the QIU, as the case may be, on the other, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Selling Shareholder or by the Underwriters or Citi in its capacity as the QIU, as the case may be, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(f) Limitation on Liability. The Company, the Selling Shareholder and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to paragraph (e) above were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Selling Shareholder or the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (e) above. The amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (e) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any reasonable and documented legal or other expenses incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (e) and (f), in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Shares exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. In no event shall the aggregate liability of the Selling Shareholder under this Agreement exceed the limit set forth in Section 9(b). No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to paragraphs (e) and (f) are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(g) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 9 paragraphs (a) through (f) are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any Indemnified Person at law or in equity.
(h) Directed Share Program Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Directed Share Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Directed Share Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each a “Directed Share Underwriter Entity”)
-38-
from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any reasonable and documented legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with defending or investigating any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred) (i) caused by any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any material prepared by or with the consent of the Company for distribution to Participants in connection with the Directed Share Program or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; (ii) caused by the failure of any Participant to pay for and accept delivery of Directed Shares that the Participant agreed to purchase; or (iii) related to, arising out of, or in connection with the Directed Share Program, other than losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or expenses relating thereto) that are finally judicially determined to have resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of the Directed Share Underwriter Entities.
(i) In case any proceeding (including any governmental investigation) shall be instituted involving any Directed Share Underwriter Entity in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to paragraph (g) above, the Directed Share Underwriter Entity seeking indemnity shall promptly notify the Company in writing and the Company, upon request of the Directed Share Underwriter Entity, shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Directed Share Underwriter Entity to represent the Directed Share Underwriter Entity and any others the Company may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any Directed Share Underwriter Entity shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Directed Share Underwriter Entity unless (i) the Company and such Directed Share Underwriter Entity shall have mutually agreed to the retention of such counsel, (ii) the Company has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Directed Share Underwriter Entity, (iii) the Directed Share Underwriter Entity shall have reasonably concluded, based on written advice of counsel, that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Company or (iv) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Company and the Directed Share Underwriter Entity and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate, in the opinion of counsel, due to actual or potential differing interests between them. The Company shall not, in respect of the legal expenses of the Directed Share Underwriter Entities in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any necessary local counsel) for all Directed Share Underwriter Entities. The Company shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent, the Company agrees to indemnify the Directed Share Underwriter Entities from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Directed Share Underwriter, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Directed Share Underwriter Entity is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such Directed Share Underwriter Entity, unless (x) such settlement includes an unconditional release of the Directed Share Underwriter Entities from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of the Directed Share Underwriter Entity.
-39-
(j) To the extent the indemnification provided for in paragraph (h) above is unavailable to a Directed Share Underwriter Entity or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein (other than as a result of the limitation imposed on indemnification set forth therein), then the Company in lieu of indemnifying the Directed Share Underwriter Entity thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the Directed Share Underwriter Entity as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (1) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Directed Share Underwriter Entities on the other hand from the offering of the Directed Shares or (2) if the allocation provided by clause 9(j)(1) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause 9(j)(1) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Directed Share Underwriter Entities on the other hand in connection with any statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Directed Share Underwriter Entities on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Directed Shares shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds from the offering of the Directed Shares (before deducting expenses) and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Directed Share Underwriter Entities for the Directed Shares, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Directed Shares. If the loss, claim, damage or liability is caused by an untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Directed Share Underwriter Entities on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement or the omission or alleged omission relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Directed Share Underwriter Entities and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(k) The Company and the Directed Share Underwriter Entities agree that it would be not just or equitable if contribution pursuant to paragraph (j) above were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Directed Share Underwriter Entities were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (j) above. The amount paid or payable by the Directed Share Underwriter Entities as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any reasonable and documented legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Directed Share Underwriter Entities in connection with investigating or defending such any action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (j) above, no Directed Share Underwriter Entity shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Directed Shares distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Directed Share Underwriter Entity has otherwise been required to pay. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The remedies provided for in paragraphs (h) through (k) are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any indemnified party at law or in equity.
-40-
(l) The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in paragraphs (h) through (k) shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Directed Share Underwriter Entity or the Company, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (iii) acceptance of and payment for any of the Directed Shares.
10. Effectiveness of Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above.
11. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated in the absolute discretion of the Representatives, by written notice to the Company and the Selling Shareholder, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and on or prior to the Closing Date or, in the case of the Option Shares, prior to the Additional Closing Date (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on or by any of the New York Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market; (ii) trading of any securities issued or guaranteed by the Company shall have been suspended on any national securities exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by U.S. federal or New York State authorities; or (iv) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, that, in the judgment of the Representatives, is material and adverse and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, issuance, sale or delivery of the Shares on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
12. Defaulting Underwriter.
(a) If, on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, any Underwriter defaults on its obligation to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase hereunder on such date, the non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Shares by other persons satisfactory to the Company and the Selling Shareholder on the terms contained in this Agreement. If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company and the Selling Shareholder shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Shares on such terms. If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company and the Selling Shareholder may postpone the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company, counsel for the Selling Shareholder or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in any other document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that effects any such changes. As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 12, purchases Shares that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to purchase.
-41-
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholder as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate number of Shares that remain unpurchased on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of Shares to be purchased on such date, then the Company and the Selling Shareholder shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder on such date plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the number of Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase on such date) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholder as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate number of Shares that remain unpurchased on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate amount of Shares to be purchased on such date, or if the Company and the Selling Shareholder shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement or, with respect to any Additional Closing Date, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase Shares on the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 12 shall be without liability on the part of the Company and the Selling Shareholder, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 13 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 9 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company, the Selling Shareholder or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
13. Payment of Expenses.
(a) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company will pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including without limitation, (i) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Shares and any stamp duties, similar taxes or duties or other taxes payable in that connection; (ii) the costs incident to the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto) and the distribution thereof; (iii) the fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel and independent accountants; (iv) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the registration or qualification and determination of eligibility for investment of the Shares under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may designate and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including the related reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters, which shall not exceed $10,000); (v) the cost of preparing share certificates; (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent and any registrar; (vii) all expenses and application fees incurred in
-42-
connection with any filing with, and clearance of the offering by, FINRA (including the fees and expenses of Citi, acting as the QIU), provided that disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to this clause (vii) shall not exceed $30,000; (viii) all expenses incurred by the Company in connection with any “road show” presentation to potential investors, provided, however, that the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show utilized for travel by personnel of the Company and personnel of one or more Representatives shall be paid 50% by the Underwriters and 50% by the Company; (ix) all expenses and application fees related to the listing of the Shares on the Exchange. and (x) all of the fees and disbursements of counsel incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program and stamp duties, similar taxes or duties or other taxes, if any, incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the Directed Share Program.
(b) If (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to clause (ii) of Section 11, (ii) the Company or the Selling Shareholder for any reason fail to tender the Shares for delivery to the Underwriters or (iii) the Underwriters decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of their counsel) reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby, provided that in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 12 hereto, the Company shall only reimburse the non-defaulting Underwriters.
(c) If the performance by the Underwriters of any of their obligations under this Agreement shall represent for VAT purposes under any applicable law the making by the Underwriters of any supply of goods or services to the Company or the Selling Shareholder and the Underwriters are required to account to the relevant tax authority for VAT (to the extent applicable), the Company and/or the Selling Shareholder shall pay to the Underwriters, in addition to the amounts otherwise payable by the Company and/or the Selling Shareholder pursuant to this Agreement, an amount equal to the VAT chargeable on any such supply of goods and services and the Underwriters shall issue the Company and/or the Selling Shareholder (to the extent applicable) with an appropriate VAT invoice in respect of the supply to which the payment relates. Where a sum (a “Relevant Sum”) is paid or reimbursed to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any cost, expense or other amount and that cost, expense or other amount includes an amount in respect of VAT where a part of the VAT amount is irrecoverable VAT, then the Company and the Selling Shareholder, to the extent applicable, shall, in addition, pay an amount equal to the irrecoverable VAT to the Underwriters. For the purposes of this Agreement, “VAT” means value added tax as provided for in the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (“VATCA”) and subordinate legislation made under VATCA as amended, modified or re-enacted (whether before or after the date of this Agreement) and any similar sales, consumption, use or turnover tax whether within Ireland or elsewhere in the world. For the purposes of this Agreement, “irrecoverable VAT” means any amount in respect of VAT which a party has incurred and in respect of which that party is not entitled to a refund (by way of credit or repayment) from the relevant Tax Authority pursuant to and determined in accordance with Chapter 1 of Part 8 of the VATCA and any regulations made under that Act or similar provisions elsewhere in the world.
-43-
14. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors and any controlling persons referred to herein and the affiliates of each Underwriter referred to in Section 9 hereof. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No purchaser of Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.
15. Survival. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, the Selling Shareholder and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of the Company, the Selling Shareholder or the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Shares and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Company, the Selling Shareholder or the Underwriters or the directors, officers, controlling persons or affiliates referred to in Section 9 hereof.
16. Certain Defined Terms. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise expressly provided, the term “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; (b) the term “business day” means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or required to be closed in New York City; (c) the term “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and (d) the term “significant subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act.
17. Compliance with USA Patriot Act. In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company and the Selling Shareholder, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.
18. Miscellaneous.
(a) Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be given to the Representatives: c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179 (fax: (212) 622-8358), Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk; c/o BofA Securities, Inc., One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, email: dg.ecm_execution_services@bofa.com, Attention: Syndicate Department, with a copy to dg.ecm_legal@bofa.com, attention: ECM Legal; and c/o UBS Securities LLC, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Syndicate (tel.: 212-713-2626). Notices to the Company shall be given to it at NIQ Global Intelligence plc, 200 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60606; Attention: John Blenke (John.Blenke@nielseniq.com). Notices to the Selling Shareholder shall be given at AI Global Investments (Netherlands) PCC Limited—Pave Cell, c/o Advent International, L.P. 800 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02199; Attention: S. Christopher Egan; Amanda M. Morrison.
-44-
(b) Governing Law. This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
(c) Submission to Jurisdiction. Each of the Company and the Selling Shareholder hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. federal and New York state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Each of the Company and the Selling Shareholder waive any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit or proceeding in such courts. Each of the Company and the Selling Shareholder agree that final judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, and may be enforced in any court to the jurisdiction of which Company and the Selling Shareholder, as applicable, is subject by a suit upon such judgment. The Company and the Selling Shareholder irrevocably appoint Cogency Global Inc., located 122 E. 42nd Street, 18th Floor, , New York, New York 10168, as its authorized agent in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceeding, and agrees that service of process upon such authorized agent, and written notice of such service to the Company or the Selling Shareholder, as the case may be, by the person serving the same to the address provided in this Section 18(c), shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company and the Selling Shareholder in any such suit or proceeding. Each of the Company and the Selling Shareholder hereby represent and warrant that such authorized agent has accepted such appointment and has agreed to act as such authorized agent for service of process. Each of the Company and the Selling Shareholder further agree to take any and all action as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such authorized agent in full force and effect for a period of three years from the date of this Agreement.
(d) Judgment Currency. The Company and the Selling Shareholder agree to indemnify each Underwriter, its directors, officers, affiliates and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any loss incurred by such Underwriter as a result of any judgment or order being given or made for any amount due hereunder and such judgment or order being expressed and paid in a currency (the “judgment currency”) other than U.S. dollars and as a result of any variation as between (i) the rate of exchange at which the U.S. dollar amount is converted into the judgment currency for the purpose of such judgment or order, and (ii) the rate of exchange at which such indemnified person is able to purchase U.S. dollars with the amount of the judgment currency actually received by the indemnified person. The foregoing indemnity shall constitute a separate and independent obligation of the Company and the Selling Shareholder and shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any such judgment or order as aforesaid. The term “rate of exchange” shall include any premiums and costs of exchange payable in connection with the purchase of, or conversion into, the relevant currency.
(e) Waiver of Immunity. To the extent that the Company or the Selling Shareholder has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from jurisdiction of any court of (i) Ireland, (ii) the United States or the State of New York, (iii) any jurisdiction in which it owns or leases property or assets or from any legal process (whether through service of notice,
-45-
attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution, set-off or otherwise) with respect to themselves or their respective property and assets or this Agreement, the Company and the Selling Shareholder hereby irrevocably waives such immunity in respect of its obligations under this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
(f) Waiver of Jury Trial. Each of the parties hereto hereby waives any right to trial by jury in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement.
(g) Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(i) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(ii) In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
As used in this Section 18(g):
“BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k).
“Covered Entity” means any of the following:
(i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b);
(ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or
(iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).
“Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.
“U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
-46-
(h) Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in counterparts (which may include counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall be an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
(i) Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.
(j) Headings. The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
-47-
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement by signing in the space provided below.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| NIQ GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE PLC | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| SELLING SHAREHOLDER | ||
| AI GLOBAL INVESTMENTS (NETHERLANDS) PCC LIMITED—PAVE CELL | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| Accepted: As of the date first written above | ||
| J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC | ||
| BOFA SECURITIES, INC. | ||
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||
| Acting severally on behalf of themselves and on behalf of the several Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto. | ||
| J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
-48-
| BOFA SECURITIES, INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| UBS SECURITIES LLC | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
-49-
Schedule 1
| Underwriter |
Number of Shares | |
| J.P. Morgan Securities LLC | ||
| BofA Securities, Inc. | ||
| UBS Securities LLC | ||
| Barclays Capital Inc. | ||
| RBC Capital Markets, LLC | ||
| BMO Capital Markets Corp. | ||
| BNP Paribas Securities Corp. | ||
| Citigroup Global Markets Inc. | ||
| Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. | ||
| KKR Capital Markets LLC | ||
| Wells Fargo Securities, LLC | ||
| Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated | ||
| Capital One Securities, Inc. | ||
| Fifth Third Securities, Inc. | ||
| Needham & Company, LLC | ||
| SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. | ||
| Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | ||
| William Blair & Company, L.L.C. | ||
| Academy Securities, Inc. | ||
| Loop Capital Markets LLC | ||
| Roberts & Ryan, Inc. | ||
| Total | ||
Schedule 2
| Selling Shareholder: |
Number of | |
| AI Global Investments (Netherlands) PCC Limited—Pave Cell | ||
Schedule 3
Subsidiaries of the Registrant
| Entity | Jurisdiction | |
| A.C. Nielsen (N.Z.) ULC | New Zealand | |
| A.C. Nielsen Chile Limitada | Chile | |
| A.C. Nielsen Company Limited | United Kingdom | |
| A.C. Nielsen Company, S.L. | Spain | |
| A.C. Nielsen de Colombia Ltda. | Colombia | |
| A.C. Nielsen do Brasil Ltda. | Brazil | |
| A.C. Nielsen Finland Oy | Finland | |
| A.C. Nielsen Gesellschaft m.b.H. | Austria | |
| A.C. Nielsen of Ireland Limited | Ireland | |
| A.C. Nielsen P.R. LLC | Puerto Rico | |
| A.C. Nielsen Portugal- Estudos de Mercado- Unipessoal, Lda. | Portugal | |
| A3 Distrib SAS | France | |
| AC Nielsen de Venezuela S.A. | Venezuela | |
| AC Nielsen El Salvador, S.A. de C.V. | El Salvador | |
| AC Nielsen Mexico LLC | Delaware | |
| AC Nielsen SAS | France | |
| Acceleratio Holdco S.à r.l. | Luxembourg | |
| ACNielsen (Nederland) B.V. | Netherlands | |
| ACNielsen (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | |
| ACNielsen (Tanzania) Ltd. | Tanzania | |
| ACNielsen AB | Sweden | |
| ACNielsen AMER Algeria EURL | Algeria | |
| ACNielsen Bel | Belarus | |
| ACNielsen Bulgaria Ltd | Bulgaria | |
| ACNielsen Cayman Islands Colombia Ltd. | Cayman Islands | |
| ACNielsen Centroamerica, S.A. | Guatemala | |
| ACNielsen Company of Canada | Canada | |
| ACNielsen Costa Rica S.A. | Costa Rica | |
| ACNielsen Cyprus Limited | Cyprus | |
-2-
| ACNielsen Czech Republic s.r.o. | Czech Republic | |
| ACNielsen d.o.o. | Croatia | |
| ACNielsen d.o.o. | Serbia | |
| ACNielsen Dominicana, SRL | Dominican Republic | |
| ACNielsen Ecuador S.A. | Ecuador | |
| ACNielsen Eesti OÜ | Estonia | |
| ACNielsen Group Limited | Hong Kong | |
| ACNielsen Holdings Limited | Hong Kong | |
| ACNielsen Honduras S.A. de C.V. | Honduras | |
| ACNielsen Kazakhstan LLP | Kazakhstan | |
| ACNielsen Kenya Limited | Kenya | |
| ACNielsen Latvia SIA | Latvia | |
| ACNIELSEN Limited Liability Company | Russia | |
| ACNielsen Nicaragua, S.A. | Nicaragua | |
| ACNielsen Nigeria Limited | Nigeria | |
| ACNielsen Norge AS | Norway | |
| ACNielsen Pakistan (Private) Limited | Pakistan | |
| ACNielsen Panama, S.A. | Panama | |
| ACNielsen Piackutató Kft. | Hungary | |
| ACNielsen Polska Sp. z o.o. | Poland | |
| ACNielsen raziskovalna druzba, d.o.o. | Slovenia | |
| ACNielsen Romania srl | Romania | |
| ACNielsen SARL | Morocco | |
| ACNielsen Slovakia s.r.o. | Slovakia | |
| ACNielsen Uganda Limited | Uganda | |
| ACNielsen Ukraine Limited Liability Company | Ukraine | |
| AMER Research Limited | Cyprus | |
| Art Holding (Brazil) C.V. | Netherlands | |
| Brandbank Limited | United Kingdom | |
| CGA Nielsen (Global) Limited | United Kingdom | |
| CGA Strategy Limited | United Kingdom | |
-3-
| China Market Monitor Co., Ltd. | China | |
| CiValue Systems Ltd. | Israel | |
| Consumer Canvas, LLC | Delaware | |
| DataMia LLC | Delaware | |
| Empresa de Servicios AC Nielsen S.A. | Bolivia | |
| G F K Egypt LTD | Egypt | |
| GfK Adimark Chile S.A. | Chile | |
| GfK ANZ PTY LTD | Australia | |
| GfK Arastirma Hizmetleri A.S. | Turkey | |
| GfK Asia Pte Ltd | Singapore | |
| GfK Australia Fieldwork Pty. Ltd. | Australia | |
| GfK Austria GmbH | Austria | |
| GfK Bangladesh Pvt. Ltd. | Bangladesh | |
| GfK Belgium N.V. | Belgium | |
| GfK Bulgaria Market Research Institute EOOD | Bulgaria | |
| GfK CE Argentina S.A. | Argentina | |
| GfK Custom Research Brasil Pesquisa de Mercado Ltda. | Brazil | |
| GfK Czech, s r.o. | Czech Republic | |
| GfK Danmark A/S | Demark | |
| GfK Ecuador Investigacion de Mercado Cia. Ltda. | Ecuador | |
| GfK EMER Ad Hoc Research, S.L. | Spain | |
| GfK Entertainment AG | Switzerland | |
| GfK Entertainment GmbH | Germany | |
| GfK Etilize (Private) Limited | Pakistan | |
| GfK Etilize, Inc. | Delaware | |
| GfK GeoMarketing GmbH | Germany | |
| GfK GmbH | Germany | |
| GfK GmbH | Germany | |
| GFK HELLAS E.P.E. | Greece | |
| GfK Hungária Piackutató Kft. | Hungary | |
| GfK Insight Japan KK | Japan | |
-4-
| GfK Italia S.r.l. | Italy | |
| GFK LATINOAMERICA HOLDING, S.L. | Spain | |
| GfK Malta Holding Limited | Malta | |
| GfK Market Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd. | China | |
| GfK Marketing Services Japan Ltd | Japan | |
| GfK Mexico S.A.P.I. de C.V. | Mexico | |
| GfK Middle East and Africa FZ-LLC | United Arab Emirates | |
| GfK Middle East CR Holding GmbH | Germany | |
| GfK Middle East FZ-LLC | United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia | |
| GfK Mode Pvt Ltd | India | |
| GfK Myanmar Company Limited | Myanmar | |
| GfK Netherlands B.V. | Netherlans | |
| Gfk Nielsen India Private Limited | India | |
| GfK Philippines Corporation | Philippines | |
| GfK Polonia Sp. z o.o. | Poland | |
| GfK PORTUGAL - Marketing Services SA | Portugal | |
| GfK Research Dynamics, Inc. | Canada | |
| GfK Retail & Technology Israel Ltd. | Israel | |
| GFK Retail &Technology Egypt, L.L.C. | Egypt | |
| GfK Retail and Technology (Cyprus) LTD | Cyprus | |
| GfK Retail and Technology (Thailand) Ltd. | Thailand | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Argentina S.A. | Argentina | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Asia Holding B.V. | Netherlands | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Chile Limitada | Chile | |
| GfK Retail and Technology China Co. Ltd. | China | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Colombia Limitada | Colombia | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Espana, S.A. | Spain | |
| GfK Retail and Technology France SAS | France | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Hong Kong Limited | Hong Kong | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Korea Ltd. | South Korea | |
-5-
| GfK Retail and Technology Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. | Malaysia | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Market Research Vietnam Limited | Vietnam | |
| GfK Retail and Technology North Africa SARL | Morocco | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Panama, S.A. | Panama | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Peru S.A.C. | Peru | |
| GfK Retail and Technology Taiwan Ltd | Taiwan | |
| GfK Retail and Technology UK Holding Limited | United Kingdom | |
| GfK Retail and Technology UK Ltd. | United Kingdon | |
| GfK Romania-Institut de Cercetare de Piata S.R.L. | Romania | |
| GFK SLOVENIJA, tržne raziskave d.o.o. | Slovenia | |
| GfK South Africa (Pty) Ltd | South Africa | |
| GfK Sverige Aktiebolag | Sweden | |
| GfK Switzerland AG | Switzerland | |
| GfK Turkey Danismanlik ve Pazar Arastirma Hizmetleri A.S. | Turkey | |
| GfK U.K. Holding Limited | United Kingdom | |
| GfK U.K. Limited | United Kingdom | |
| GfK Ukraine | Ukraine | |
| GfK US MRI, LLC | Delaware | |
| Grace BidCo GmbH | Germany | |
| Grace HoldCo GmbH | Germany | |
| IFR South America, S.A. | Argentina | |
| Indy Dutch Bidco B.V. | Netherlands | |
| Indy US Holdco, LLC | Delaware | |
| Institut Français de Recherche-I.F.R. S.A.S | France | |
| Intercampus-Recolha, Tratamento E Distribuição De Informação, S.A. | Portugal | |
| Intermediate Dutch Holdings B.V. | Netherlands | |
| Limited Liability Company International Institute of Marketing and Social Research | Russia | |
| Marketingscan (France) SAS | France | |
| Media Focus Schweiz GmbH | Switzerland | |
| Memrb Retail Tracking Services Limited | Cyprus | |
| Metris-Métodos De Recolha E Investigação Social, S.A. | Portugal | |
-6-
| National Consumer Panel, LLC | Delaware | |
| Nielsen Arastirma Hizmetleri Limited Sirket | Turkey | |
| Nielsen Book Services Limited | United Kingdom | |
| Nielsen Connect Australia Pty Ltd | Australia | |
| Nielsen Consultancy LLC | Qatar | |
| Nielsen Consumer Greece Single Member S.A. | Greece | |
| Nielsen Consumer LLC | Delaware | |
| Nielsen Consumer, Inc. | Delaware | |
| Nielsen Data Factory LLC | Russia | |
| Nielsen Egypt LLC | Egypt | |
| Nielsen for Consultancies Limited Liability Company | Jordan | |
| Nielsen for Market Research LLC | Oman | |
| Nielsen Holding Saudi Limited or Nielsen Holding Saudi Company Limited | Saudi Arabia | |
| Nielsen I Q Lanka (Private) Limited | Sri Lanka | |
| Nielsen Innovate B.V. | Netherlands | |
| Nielsen Innovate Fund, LP | Israel | |
| Nielsen Innovate Ltd. | Israel | |
| Nielsen Innovate Singapore Pte. Ltd | Singapore | |
| Nielsen Market Research Services FZ-LLC | United Arab Emirates | |
| Nielsen MMRD (Myanmar) Company., Ltd. | Myanmar | |
| Nielsen MMRD Holdings Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | |
| Nielsen Precima B.V. | Netherlands | |
| Nielsen Precima, LLC | Delaware | |
| Nielsen S.R.L. | Peru | |
| Nielsen Services Japan GK | Japan | |
| Nielsen Services Poland Sp. z o.o. | Poland | |
| Nielsen Tunisie SARL | Tunisia | |
| Nielsen Uruguay (US), LLC | Delaware | |
| NielsenIQ (Belgium) SRL | Belgium | |
| NielsenIQ (Denmark) ApS | Denmark | |
-7-
| NielsenIQ (Germany) GmbH | Germany | |
| NielsenIQ (Guangzhou) LTD | China | |
| NielsenIQ (Hong Kong) Limited | Hong Kong | |
| NielsenIQ (India) Private Limited | India | |
| NielsenIQ (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. | Malaysia | |
| NielsenIQ (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | |
| NielsenIQ (Singapore) Pte. Ltd | Singapore | |
| NielsenIQ (Switzerland) GmbH | Switzerland | |
| NielsenIQ (Thailand) Limited | Thailand | |
| NielsenIQ (Vietnam), Ltd. | Vietnam | |
| NielsenIQ Holding France SAS | France | |
| NielsenIQ Holdings, L.L.C. | Delaware | |
| NielsenIQ Italy S.r.l. | Italy | |
| NielsenIQ Japan | Japan | |
| NielsenIQ Korea Ltd | South Korea | |
| NielsenIQ México Services, S. de R.L. de C.V. | Mexico | |
| NielsenIQ Philippines, Inc. | Philippines | |
| NielsenIQ Services France SAS | France | |
| NielsenIQ Services Germany GmbH | Germany | |
| NielsenIQ Services Italy S.r.l. | Italy | |
| NielsenIQ Services Korea Ltd. | South Korea | |
| NielsenIQ Services Sweden AB | Sweden | |
| NielsenIQ South Africa (Pty) Ltd | South Africa | |
| NielsenIQ South America S.R.L. | Argentina | |
| NielsenIQ Sub Holding Company | Canada | |
| NielsenIQ Sub Holdings I B.V. | Netherlands | |
| NielsenIQ Taiwan Ltd. | Taiwan | |
| Panel International SA LLC | Delaware | |
| PT. GfK Retail and Technology Indonesia | Indonesia | |
| PT. Nielseniq Services Indonesia | Indonesia | |
| Simmons Research, LLC | Delaware | |
| The Nielsen Company (Bangladesh) Ltd. | Bangladesh | |
-8-
| The Nielsen Company (Europe) Sàrl | Switzerland | |
| The Nielsen Company Nepal Pvt Ltd. | Nepal | |
| The Nielsen Company Paraguay S.R.L. | Paraguay | |
| TNC Europe B.V. | Netherlands | |
| UAB ACNielsen Baltics | Lithuania | |
| Unrollme LLC | Delaware | |
| Viewerslogic Ltd | Israel | |
Annex A
a. Pricing Disclosure Package
[To include each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to be included in the Pricing Disclosure Package]
b. Pricing Information Provided Orally by Underwriters
$[•] per share
Number of Underwritten Shares: [•]
Number of Option Shares: [•]
-9-
Annex B
Written Testing-the-Waters Communications
Testing-the-waters presentation dated March 2025.
Testing-the-waters presentation dated April 2025.
Testing-the-waters presentation dated June 2025.
Annex C
Pricing Term Sheet
Exhibit A
AUTHORIZATION LETTER
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
BofA Securities, Inc.
UBS Securities LLC
In reliance on Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), NIQ Global Intelligence Limited (the “Issuer”) hereby authorizes each of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“J.P. Morgan”), BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofA”) and UBS Securities LLC (“UBS”) and each of their affiliates and their respective employees, to engage on behalf of the Issuer in oral and written communications with potential investors that are reasonably believed to be “qualified institutional buyers”, as defined in Rule 144A under the Act, or institutions that are “accredited investors”, within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (a)(12) or (a)(13) under the Act, to determine whether such investors might have an interest in the Issuer’s contemplated initial public offering (“Testing-the-Waters Communications”).
A “Written Testing-the Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act. Each of J.P. Morgan, BofA and UBS, individually and not jointly, agrees that it shall not distribute any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication that has not been approved by the Issuer, other than communications that are purely logistical in nature.
Until the earlier of the Issuer informing J.P. Morgan, BofA and UBS that it is no longer proceeding with an initial public offering and the consummation of such offering, if at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Issuer will promptly notify each of J.P. Morgan, BofA and UBS and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.
Nothing in this authorization is intended to limit or otherwise affect the ability of each of J.P. Morgan, BofA and UBS and each of their affiliates and their respective employees, to engage in communications in which they could otherwise lawfully engage in the absence of this authorization, including, without limitation, any written communication containing only one or more of the statements specified under Rule 134(a) under the Act. This authorization shall remain in effect until the Issuer has provided to J.P. Morgan, BofA and UBS a written notice revoking this authorization. All notices as described herein shall be sent by email to the attention of [***].
Exhibit B
[Form of Waiver of Lock-up]
[ ]
NIQ Global Intelligence plc
Public Offering of Ordinary Shares
, 20__
[Name and Address of
Officer or Director
Requesting Waiver]
Dear Mr./Ms. [Name]:
This letter is being delivered to you in connection with the offering by NIQ Global Intelligence plc (the “Company”) of ______ ordinary shares, $___ nominal value (the “Ordinary Shares”), of the Company and the lock-up letter dated __________________, 2025 (the “Lock-up Letter”), executed by you in connection with such offering, and your request for a [waiver] [release] dated __________________, 2025, with respect to ______Ordinary Shares (the “Shares”).
[ ] hereby agree to [waive] [release] the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-up Letter, but only with respect to the Shares, effective __________________, 20__; provided, however, that such [waiver] [release] is conditioned on the Company announcing the impending [waiver] [release] by press release through a major news service at least two business days before effectiveness of such [waiver] [release]. This letter will serve as notice to the Company of the impending [waiver] [release].
Except as expressly [waived] [released] hereby, the Lock-up Letter shall remain in full force and effect.
| Yours very truly, |
cc: Company
Exhibit C
[Form of Press Release*]
NIQ Global Intelligence plc
[Date]
NIQ Global Intelligence plc (“NIQ”) announced today that [ ], [the lead book-running manager] in the Company’s recent public sale of ordinary shares, is [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to of the Company’s ordinary shares held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on ____________________, 20__, and the ordinary shares may be sold on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit D
FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT
____ __, 2025
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
BofA Securities, Inc.
UBS Securities LLC
As Representatives of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule 1 to the Underwriting
Agreement referred to below
c/o J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
383 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10179
c/o BofA Securities, Inc.
One Bryant Park
New York, New York, 10036
c/o UBS Securities LLC
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019
| Re: | NIQ Global Intelligence plc — Public Offering |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that you, as representatives (the “Representatives) of the several Underwriters (as defined below), propose to enter into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with NIQ Global Intelligence plc, an Irish public limited company (the “Company”) and the Selling Shareholders listed on Schedule 2 to the Underwriting Agreement, providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) by the several Underwriters named in Schedule 1 to the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriters”), of ordinary shares, with a nominal value of $0.00001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), of the Company (the “Securities”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.
In consideration of the Underwriters’ agreement to purchase and make the Public Offering of the Securities, and for other good and valuable consideration receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of any two of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, and will not cause any direct or indirect affiliate to, during the period beginning on the date of this letter agreement (this “Letter Agreement”) and ending at the close of business 180 days after the date of the final prospectus relating to the Public Offering (the “Prospectus”) (such period, the “Restricted Period”), (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Ordinary Shares or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares (including without limitation, Ordinary Shares or such other securities which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant) (collectively with the Ordinary Shares, the “Lock-Up Securities”), (2) enter into any hedging, swap or other agreement or transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Lock-Up Securities, in cash or otherwise, (3) make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Lock-Up Securities, or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing. The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the foregoing precludes the undersigned from
2
engaging in any hedging or other transactions or arrangements (including, without limitation, any short sale or the purchase or sale of, or entry into, any put or call option, or combination thereof, forward, swap or any other derivative transaction or instrument, however described or defined) designed or intended, or which could reasonably be expected to lead to or result in, a sale or disposition or transfer (whether by the undersigned or any other person) of any economic consequences of ownership, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction or arrangement (or instrument provided for thereunder) would be settled by delivery of Lock-Up Securities, in cash or otherwise. The undersigned further confirms that it has furnished the Representatives with the details of any transaction the undersigned is a party to as of the date hereof (or that the undersigned caused a direct or indirect affiliate to enter into), which transaction would have been restricted by this Letter Agreement if it had been entered into by the undersigned (or such affiliate) during the Restricted Period.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may:
(a) transfer or dispose of the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities:
(i) as a bona fide gift or gifts, or for bona fide estate planning purposes,
(ii) by will, other testamentary document, or intestacy,
(iii) to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, or if the undersigned is a trust, to a trustor or beneficiary of the trust or to the estate of a beneficiary of such trust (for purposes of this Letter Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, current or former marriage, domestic partnership or adoption, not more remote than first cousin),
3
(iv) to a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other entity of which the undersigned and the immediate family of the undersigned are, directly or indirectly, the legal and beneficial owner of all of the outstanding equity securities or similar interests,
(v) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (i) through (iv) above,
(vi) if the undersigned is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity, (A) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity that is an affiliate (as defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of the undersigned, or to any investment fund or other entity controlling, controlled by, managing or managed by or under common control with the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned (including, for the avoidance of doubt, where the undersigned is a partnership, to its general partner or a successor partnership or fund, or any other funds managed by such partnership or any of its affiliates), or (B) as part of a distribution or other transfer to general or limited partners, members or shareholders of, or other holders of equity interests in, the undersigned,
(vii) by operation of law, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order, divorce settlement, divorce decree, separation agreement or court order,
(viii) to the Company from an employee of the Company upon death, disability or termination of employment, in each case, of such employee,
(ix) as part of a sale of the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Company-directed securities purchased by the undersigned in the Public Offering (any such securities, the “Directed Shares”); provided, however, that if the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, this clause (ix) shall not permit sales of any Directed Shares so acquired by the undersigned,
4
(x) to the Company in connection with the vesting, settlement, exercise of restricted stock units, options, warrants or other rights to purchase Ordinary Shares (including, in each case, by way of “net” or “cashless” exercise) or any cancellation and reissuance or similar transaction, including for the payment of exercise price and tax and remittance payments due as a result of the vesting, settlement, or exercise of such restricted stock units, options, warrants or rights, provided that any such Ordinary Shares received upon such exercise, vesting, settlement or cancellation and reissuance or similar transaction (other than any such shares as are transferred or surrendered to the Company in connection with such exercise, vesting or settlement event) shall be subject to the terms of this Letter Agreement, and provided further that any such restricted stock units, options, warrants or rights are held by the undersigned pursuant to an agreement or equity awards granted under a stock incentive plan, other equity award plan or other equity compensation arrangement, each such agreement, plan or other equity compensation arrangement which is described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, or
(xi) pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction that is approved by the Board of Directors of the Company and made to all holders of the Company’s share capital involving a Change of Control (as defined below) of the Company (for purposes hereof, “Change of Control” shall mean the transfer (whether by tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to a person or group of affiliated persons, of share capital if, after such transfer, such person or group of affiliated persons would hold at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company (or the surviving entity)); provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction is not completed, the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities shall remain subject to the provisions of this Letter Agreement;
5
provided that (A) in the case of any transfer pursuant to clause (a)(i) and (ii), such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (B) in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (a)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii), each donee, devisee, transferee or distributee shall execute and deliver to the Representatives a lock-up letter in the form of this Letter Agreement, (C) in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (a) (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), and (ix), no filing by any party (donor, donee, devisee, transferor, transferee, distributer or distributee) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer or distribution (other than a filing on a Form 5 made after the expiration of the Restricted Period referred to above or any required Schedule 13F, Schedule 13G or Schedule 13D filings and any amendments thereto, provided that any such filing that is required to be filed during the Restricted Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature and conditions of such transfer, and that such shares remain subject to the restrictions set forth herein) and (D) in the case of any transfer, disposition or distribution pursuant to clause (a) (i), (vi), (vii),(viii), and (x) it shall be a condition to such transfer that no public filing, report or announcement shall be voluntarily made and if any filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, or other public filing, report or announcement reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of Ordinary Shares in connection with such transfer or distribution shall be legally required during the Restricted Period, such filing, report or announcement shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto the nature and conditions of such transfer (and in connection with such transfer each donee, devisee, transferee or distributee shall execute and deliver to the Representatives a lock-up letter in the form of this Letter Agreement);
6
(b) exercise outstanding options, settle restricted stock units or other equity awards or exercise warrants pursuant to plans or other equity compensation arrangements described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; provided that any Lock-Up Securities received upon such exercise, vesting or settlement shall be subject to the terms of this Letter Agreement;
(c) convert outstanding preferred stock, warrants to acquire preferred stock or convertible securities into Ordinary Shares or warrants to acquire Ordinary Shares; provided that any such Ordinary Shares or warrants received upon such conversion shall be subject to the terms of this Letter Agreement;
(d) establish trading plans pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer or disposition of shares of Lock-Up Securities; provided that (1) such plans do not provide for the transfer or disposition of Lock-Up Securities during the Restricted Period and (2) no filing by any party under the Exchange Act or other public announcement shall be required or made voluntarily in connection with such trading plan unless such filing, announcement or other disclosure is required and includes a statement to the effect that no transfer of Ordinary Shares may be made under the plan during the Restricted Period;
(e) sell the Securities to be sold by the undersigned pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement; and
(f) the transfer, conversion, reclassification, redemption or exchange of any securities pursuant to the Reorganization (as defined in the Prospectus); provided that any Lock-Up Securities received in the Reorganization remain subject to the terms of this Letter Agreement.
7
If the undersigned is not a natural person, the undersigned represents and warrants that no single natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the common equity interests, or 50% or more of the voting power, in the undersigned.
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of Lock-Up Securities, any two of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (ii) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by any two of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such announcement. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration or that is to an immediate family member as defined in FINRA Rule 5130(i)(5) and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company, and any duly appointed transfer agent for the registration or transfer of the securities described herein, are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Letter Agreement.
8
The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Letter Agreement. All authority herein conferred or agreed to be conferred and any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the successors, assigns, heirs or personal representatives of the undersigned.
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters have not provided any recommendation or investment advice nor have the Underwriters solicited any action from the undersigned with respect to the Public Offering of the Securities and the undersigned has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate. The undersigned further acknowledges and agrees that, although the Representatives may be required or choose to provide certain Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS disclosures to you in connection with the Public Offering, the Representatives and the other Underwriters are not making a recommendation to you to participate in the Public Offering, enter into this Letter Agreement, or sell any Shares at the price determined in the Public Offering, and nothing set forth in such disclosures is intended to suggest that the Representatives or any Underwriter is making such a recommendation.
The undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective by August 15, 2025 (provided, however, that the undersigned agrees that this Letter Agreement shall be automatically extended by three months if the Company provides written notice to the undersigned that the Company is still pursuing the Public Offering contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement), or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment
9
for and delivery of the Ordinary Shares to be sold thereunder, the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this Letter Agreement. The undersigned understands that the Underwriters are entering into the Underwriting Agreement and proceeding with the Public Offering in reliance upon this Letter Agreement.
10
This Letter Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| [NAME OF SHAREHOLDER] | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
11