Exhibit 10.5
April 8, 2026
Zhibao Technology Inc.
Floor 3, Building 6, Wuxing Road, Lane 727
Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China
Attn: Botao Ma, CEO
Dear Mr. Ma:
Subject to the terms and conditions of this letter agreement (the “Agreement”) between R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. (the “Placement Agent” or “Lafferty”), as the sole placement agent, and Zhibao Technology Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), the parties hereby agree that the Placement Agent shall serve as the exclusive placement agent for the Company, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis, in connection with the proposed private placement (the ‘Placement’) of senior secured convertible notes of the Company in an aggregate original principal amount of up to $6,666,667 (the ‘Notes’), convertible into the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the ‘Ordinary Shares’, and collectively with the Notes, the “Placement Agent Securities”), pursuant to that certain Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 8, 2026, by and among the Company and the purchaser(s) named therein (the ‘Purchase Agreement’). The Placement Agent Securities shall be offered and sold pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and/or Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated thereunder. The terms of the Placement shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the purchasers (each, a “Purchaser” and collectively, the “Purchasers”), and nothing herein constitutes that the Placement Agent would have the power or authority to bind the Company or any Purchaser, or an obligation for the Company to issue any securities or complete the Placement. The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that Placement Agent’s obligations hereunder are on a reasonable best efforts basis only and that the execution of this Agreement does not constitute a commitment by the Placement Agent to purchase any securities and does not ensure the successful placement of the Placement Agent Securities or any portion thereof or the success of the Placement Agent with respect to securing any other financing on behalf of the Company. The Placement Agent may retain other brokers or dealers to act as sub-agents or selected-dealers on its behalf in connection with the Placement. Certain affiliates of the Placement Agent may participate in the Placement by purchasing some of the Placement Agent Securities. This Agreement constitutes the separate definitive agreement contemplated by that certain Financial Advisory Agreement, dated February 1, 2026, by and between the Company and the Placement Agent (the ‘Advisory Agreement’), solely with respect to the Placement, and any fees or expense reimbursements paid pursuant to this Agreement in respect of the Placement shall satisfy, and not be in addition to, any compensation otherwise payable under the Advisory Agreement in respect of the Placement. Capitalized terms that are not otherwise defined herein have the meanings given to such terms in the Purchase Agreement. Prior to the signing of any Purchase Agreement, officers of the Company will be available to answer inquiries from prospective Purchasers.
SECTION 1. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY. With respect to the Placement Agent Securities, each of the representations and warranties (together with any related disclosure schedules thereto) and covenants made by the Company to the Purchasers in the Purchase Agreement in connection with the Placement, is hereby incorporated herein by reference into this Agreement (as though fully restated herein) and is, as of the date of this Agreement and as of each Closing Date, hereby made to, and in favor of, the Placement Agent. In addition to the foregoing, the Company represents and warrants that there are no affiliations with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) member firm participating in the Placement among the Company’s officers, directors or, to the knowledge of the Company, any ten percent (10.0%) or greater securityholder of the Company, except as set forth in the Purchase Agreement.
SECTION 2. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PLACEMENT AGENT. The Placement Agent represents and warrants that it is (i) a member in good standing of FINRA, (ii) registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), (iii) licensed as a broker-dealer under the laws of the United States of America, applicable to the offers and sales of the Placement Agent Securities by the Placement Agent, (iv) is a corporate body validly existing under the laws of its place of incorporation, and (v) has full power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Placement Agent will immediately notify the Company in writing of any change in its status with respect to subsections (i) through (v) above. The Placement Agent covenants that it will use its reasonable best efforts to conduct the Placement hereunder in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement and the requirements of applicable law. The Placement Agent represents and warrants that, to its knowledge after reasonable investigation, each Purchaser introduced by it to the Placement is an ‘accredited investor’ within the meaning of Rule 501(a) under Regulation D.
SECTION 3. COMPENSATION.
A. In consideration of the services to be provided hereunder, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent, or its designees, at each Closing, a cash fee equal to seven and one-half percent (7.5%) of the aggregate gross proceeds actually received by the Company from the sale of the Notes at such Closing.
B. Upon the initial Closing, the Company shall reimburse the Placement Agent for the reasonable and documented legal fees and disbursements of counsel to the Placement Agent in connection with the Placement in an amount not to exceed $25,000.
C. The Placement Agent reserves the right to reduce any item of compensation or adjust the terms thereof as specified herein in the event that a determination shall be made by FINRA to the effect that the Placement Agent’s aggregate compensation is in excess of FINRA Rules or that the terms thereof require adjustment.
D. For the avoidance of doubt, any amounts paid to the Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement with respect to the Placement shall satisfy in full, and shall not be in addition to, any compensation otherwise payable under the Advisory Agreement in respect of the Placement.
SECTION 4. INDEMNIFICATION. The Company agrees to the indemnification and other agreements set forth in the Indemnification Provisions (the “Indemnification”) attached hereto as Addendum A, the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference and shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement
SECTION 5. ENGAGEMENT TERM. The Placement Agent’s engagement hereunder will commence on the date hereof and continue until the earlier of (i) the final closing of the Placement and (ii) termination by either party upon written notice (the date of any such termination, the “Termination Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if during the term of this Agreement or within six (6) months after the Termination Date the Company consummates the Placement or any financing involving the Company and any investor introduced or contacted by the Placement Agent in connection with the Placement, the Placement Agent shall be entitled to the compensation provided in Section 3 hereof with respect thereto. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the provisions concerning the Company’s obligation to pay any fees and expenses actually earned pursuant to Section 3 hereof, and the provisions concerning confidentiality, indemnification and contribution contained herein will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement. The Placement Agent agrees not to use any confidential information concerning the Company provided to the Placement Agent by the Company for any purposes other than those contemplated under this Agreement.
SECTION 6. PLACEMENT AGENT INFORMATION. The Company agrees that any information or advice rendered by the Placement Agent in connection with this engagement is for the confidential use of the Company only in their evaluation of the Placement and, except as otherwise required by law, the Company will not disclose or otherwise refer to the advice or information in any manner without the Placement Agent’s prior written consent.
SECTION 7. NO FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP. This Agreement does not create and shall not be construed as creating rights enforceable by any person or entity not a party hereto, except those entitled hereto by virtue of the indemnification provisions hereof. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agent is not and shall not be construed as a fiduciary of the Company and shall have no duties or liabilities to the equity holders or the creditors of the Company or any other person by virtue of this Agreement or the retention of the Placement Agent hereunder, all of which are hereby expressly waived.
SECTION 8. CLOSING. The obligations of the Placement Agent, and the closing of the sale of the Placement Agent Securities hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on the date hereof and as of each Closing Date, of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein and in the Purchase Agreement, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and in the Purchase Agreement, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions, except as otherwise disclosed to and acknowledged and waived by the Placement Agent:
A. All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form, execution, delivery and validity of each of this Agreement, the Placement Agent Securities, and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby with respect to the Placement Agent Securities shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to the Placement Agent.
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B. The Placement Agent shall have received from [ ], outside U.S. Counsel to the Company, such counsel’s form of written opinion with respect to the Placement Agent Securities, addressed to the Purchaser, which will be issued in accordance with the Purchase Agreement and may be relied on by the Placement Agent.
C. The Placement Agent shall have received customary certificates of the Company’s executive officers, as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties contained in the Purchase Agreement, and a certificate of the Company’s secretary certifying that (i) the Company’s memorandum and articles of association are true and complete, have not been modified and are in full force and effect; (ii) that the resolutions of the Company’s Board of Directors relating to the Placement are in full force and effect and have not been modified; and (iii) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. For purposes of this Section 8(C), the Placement Agent may rely on the certificates delivered by the Company to the Purchaser (the “Company Certificates”) in accordance with the Purchase Agreement, and the condition set forth herein shall be deemed satisfied upon the delivery of the Company Certificates to the Placement Agent.
D. The Ordinary Shares shall be listed for trading on the Trading Market or other applicable U.S. national exchange.
E. No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Placement Agent Securities or materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued as of the Closing Date which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Placement Agent Securities or materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company.
F. The Company shall have entered into the Purchase Agreement with the Purchaser(s) of the Notes.
If any of the conditions specified in this Section 8 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement, all obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder may be cancelled by the Placement Agent at, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or orally. Any such oral notice shall be confirmed promptly thereafter in writing.
SECTION 9. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely in such State. This Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the prior written consent of the other party. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Any right to trial by jury with respect to any dispute arising under this Agreement or any transaction or conduct in connection herewith is waived. Any dispute arising under this Agreement may be brought into the courts of the State of New York or into the Federal Court located in New York, New York and, by execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company hereby accepts for itself and in respect of its property, generally and unconditionally, the jurisdiction of aforesaid courts. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by delivering a copy thereof via overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action or proceeding to enforce any provisions of this Agreement, then the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.
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SECTION 10. ENTIRE AGREEMENT/MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, relating to the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such determination will not affect such provision in any other respect or any other provision of this Agreement, which will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement may not be amended or otherwise modified or waived except by an instrument in writing signed by both the Placement Agent and the Company. The representations, warranties, agreements and covenants contained herein shall survive the Closing Date of the Placement and delivery of the Placement Agent Securities. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or a .pdf format file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or .pdf signature page were an original thereof. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Advisory Agreement shall continue to be effective and the terms therein shall continue to survive and be enforceable by the Placement Agent in accordance with its terms, provided that, in the event of a conflict between the terms of the Advisory Agreement and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail.
SECTION 11. NOTICES. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is sent to the email address specified on the signature pages attached hereto prior to 6:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a business day, (b) the next business day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is sent to the email address on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a business day or later than 6:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any business day, (c) the third business day following the date of mailing, if sent by a U.S. internationally recognized air courier service, or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages hereto.
SECTION 12. PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS. The Company agrees that the Placement Agent shall, on and after the Closing Date, have the right to reference the Placement and the Placement Agent’s role in connection therewith in the Placement Agent’s marketing materials and on its website and to place advertisements in financial and other newspapers and journals, in each case at its own expense.
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Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth our agreement by signing and returning to the Placement Agent the enclosed copy of this Agreement.
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Very truly yours, |
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| R.F. LAFFERTY & CO., INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Address for notice:
Accepted and Agreed to as of the date first written above:
| ZHIBAO TECHNOLOGY INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Address for notice:
[Signature Page to Placement Agent Agreement.]
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ADDENDUM A
Indemnification Provisions
Capitalized terms used in this Addendum shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Agreement to which this Addendum is attached.
The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Lafferty and each of the other Indemnified Parties (as hereinafter defined) from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, obligations, penalties, judgments, awards, liabilities, costs, expenses and disbursements, and any and all actions, suits, proceedings and investigations in respect thereof and any and all legal and other costs, expenses and disbursements in giving testimony or furnishing documents in response to a subpoena or otherwise (including, without limitation, the costs, expenses and disbursements, as and when incurred, of investigating, preparing, pursing or defending any such action, suit, proceeding or investigation (whether or not in connection with litigation in which any Indemnified Party is a party)) (collectively, “Losses”), directly or indirectly, caused by, relating to, based upon, arising out of, or in connection with, Lafferty’s acting for the Company, including, without limitation, any act or omission by Lafferty in connection with its acceptance of or the performance or non-performance of its obligations under the Agreement between the Company and Lafferty to which these indemnification provisions are attached and form a part, any breach by the Company of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement contained in the Agreement (or in any instrument, document or agreement relating thereto, including any Agency Agreement), or the enforcement by Lafferty of its rights under the Agreement or these indemnification provisions, except to the extent that any such Losses are found in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction (not subject to further appeal) to have resulted primarily and directly from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Indemnified Party seeking indemnification hereunder. The Company also agrees that no Indemnified Party shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with the engagement of Lafferty by the Company or for any other reason, except to the extent that any such liability is found in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction (not subject to further appeal) to have resulted primarily and directly from such Indemnified Party’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.
These Indemnification Provisions shall extend to the following persons (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”): Lafferty, its present and former affiliated entities, managers, members, officers, employees, legal counsel, agents and controlling persons (within the meaning of the federal securities laws), and the officers, directors, partners, stockholders, members, managers, employees, legal counsel, agents and controlling persons of any of them. These indemnification provisions shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have to any Indemnified Party.
If any action, suit, proceeding or investigation is commenced, as to which an Indemnified Party proposes to demand indemnification, it shall notify the Company with reasonable promptness; provided, however, that any failure by an Indemnified Party to notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from its obligations hereunder. An Indemnified Party shall have the right to retain counsel of its own choice to represent it, and the fees, expenses and Members FINRA/SIPC/MSRB 40 Wall Street, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10005 https://www.rflafferty.com/ disbursements of such counsel shall be borne by the Company. Any such counsel shall, to the extent consistent with its professional responsibilities, cooperate with the Company and any counsel designated by the Company. The Company shall be liable for any settlement of any claim against any Indemnified Party made with the Company’s written consent. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of Lafferty, settle or compromise any claim, or permit a default or consent to the entry of any judgment in respect thereof, unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes, as an unconditional term thereof, the giving by the claimant to all of the Indemnified Parties of an unconditional release from all liability in respect of such claim, and (ii) does not contain any factual or legal admission by or with respect to an Indemnified Party or an adverse statement with respect to the character, professionalism, expertise or reputation of any Indemnified Party or any action or inaction of any Indemnified Party.
In order to provide for just and equitable contribution, if a claim for indemnification pursuant to these indemnification provisions is made but it is found in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction (not subject to further appeal) that such indemnification may not be enforced in such case, even though the express provisions hereof provide for indemnification in such case, then the Company shall contribute to the Losses to which any Indemnified Party may be subject (i) in accordance with the relative benefits received by the Company and its stockholders, subsidiaries and affiliates, on the one hand, and the Indemnified Party, on the other hand, and (ii) if (and only if) the allocation provided in clause (i) of this sentence is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as to reflect not only the relative benefits, but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Indemnified Party, on the other hand, in connection with the statements, acts or omissions which resulted in such Losses as well as any relevant equitable considerations. No person found liable for a fraudulent misrepresentation shall be entitled to contribution from any person who is not also found liable for fraudulent misrepresentation. The relative benefits received (or anticipated to be received) by the Company and its stockholders, subsidiaries and affiliates shall be deemed to be equal to the aggregate consideration payable or receivable by such parties in connection with the transaction or transactions to which the Agreement relates relative to the amount of fees actually received by Lafferty in connection with such transaction or transactions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the amount contributed by all Indemnified Parties exceed the amount of fees previously received by Lafferty pursuant to the Agreement.
Neither termination nor completion of the Agreement shall affect these Indemnification Provisions which shall remain operative and in full force and effect. The Indemnification Provisions shall be binding upon the Company and its successors and assigns and shall inure to the benefit of the Indemnified Parties and their respective successors, assigns, heirs and personal representatives.
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