EX-1.1 2 d844671dex11.htm EX-1.1 EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

[] Shares

BIGCOMMERCE HOLDINGS, INC.

SERIES 1 COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.0001 PER SHARE

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

[            ], 2020


[            ], 2020

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Barclays Capital Inc.

c/o    Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

c/o    Barclays Capital Inc.

745 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

Ladies and Gentlemen:

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) [●] shares of its Series 1 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Firm Shares”). The Company also proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters not more than an additional [●] shares of its Series 1 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Additional Shares”), if and to the extent that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) and Barclays Capital Inc., as representatives of the several Underwriters (the “Representatives”) of the offering, shall have determined to exercise, on behalf of the Underwriters, the right to purchase such shares of common stock granted to the Underwriters in Section 2 hereof. The Firm Shares and the Additional Shares are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Shares.” The shares of Series 1 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series 1 Common Stock”), and the Series 2 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company to be outstanding after giving effect to the sales contemplated hereby are hereinafter referred to as the “Common Stock.”

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-239838), including a preliminary prospectus, relating to the Shares. The registration statement as amended at the time it becomes effective, including the information (if any) deemed to be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus in the form first used to confirm sales of Shares (or in the form first made available to the Underwriters by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus.” If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional shares of Common Stock pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act (a “Rule 462 Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include such Rule 462 Registration Statement.


For purposes of this Agreement, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, “preliminary prospectus” shall mean each prospectus used prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and each prospectus that omitted information pursuant to Rule 430A under the Securities Act that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the preliminary prospectus contained in the Registration Statement at the time of its effectiveness together with the documents and pricing information set forth in Schedule II hereto, and “broadly available road show” means a “bona fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) under the Securities Act that has been made available without restriction to any person. As used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,” “preliminary prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus” shall include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein as of the date hereof.

1.    Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with each of the Underwriters that:

(a)    The Registration Statement has become effective; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission.

(b)    (i) The Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (iii) the Time of Sale Prospectus does not, and at the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and at the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4), the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (iv) each broadly available road show, if any, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and (v) the Prospectus does not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, any untrue

 

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statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph do not apply to statements or omissions in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus based upon information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein. No free writing prospectus conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

(c)    The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Each free writing prospectus, if any, that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or, if filed after the effective time of this Agreement, will comply as of the date of such filing, in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule II hereto, and broadly available road shows, if any, each furnished to the Representatives before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Representatives’ prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.

(d)    The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, has the corporate power and authority to own or lease its property and to conduct its business as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction) in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction) would not reasonably be expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(e)    Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated, organized or formed, is validly existing as a corporation or other business entity in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, organization or formation (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction), has the corporate or other business entity power and authority to own or lease its property and to conduct its business as described in each of the

 

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Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction) in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing (to the extent the concept of good standing is applicable in such jurisdiction) would not be reasonably expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; all of the issued shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims.

(f)    This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(g)    The authorized capital stock of the Company conforms as to legal matters to the description thereof contained in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.

(h)    The shares of Common Stock outstanding prior to the issuance of the Shares have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

(i)    The Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of the Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights that have not been validly waived.

(j)    The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement will not contravene any provision of (i) applicable law, (ii) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company, (iii) any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iv) any judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary, except, in the cases of clauses (i), (iii) and (iv), as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, and no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body, agency or court is required for the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, except such as have been previously obtained or waived, or may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states or foreign jurisdictions or the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares.

 

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(k)    There has not occurred any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

(l)    There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (i) other than proceedings accurately described in all material respects in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and proceedings that would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or on the power or ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated by each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus or (ii) that are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus and are not so described in all material respects; and there are no statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not described in all material respects or filed as required.

(m)    Each preliminary prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, complied when so filed in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

(n)    The Company is not, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(o)    The Company and each of its subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) have received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, singly or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

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(p)    There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which would, singly or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(q)    Except as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, or validly waived or complied with in connection with the sale of the Shares contemplated hereby, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.

(r)    (i) None of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or controlled affiliates, or any director, officer, or employee thereof, or, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent or representative of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or controlled affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment, giving or receipt of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any government official (including any officer or employee of a government or 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) (“Government Official”) in order to improperly influence official action, or to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; (ii) the Company and each of its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representations and warranties contained herein; and (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws.

(s)    The operations of the Company and each of its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material 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 Terrorism Act

 

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of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and each 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 having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries (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.

(t)    (i) None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or any director, officer, or employee thereof, or, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent, controlled affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by one or more Persons that are:

(A)    the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or

(B)    located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria).

(ii)    The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:

(A)    to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or

(B)    in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).

(iii)    For the past 5 years, the Company and each of its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not knowingly engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

(u)    Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, have not

 

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incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, nor entered into any material transaction; (ii) the Company has not purchased any of its outstanding capital stock, other than from employees or other service providers in connection with such person’s termination of service from the Company or its subsidiaries pursuant to the existing terms of the agreements or equity compensation plans described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or in exercise of the Company’s right of first refusal upon a proposed transfer, nor declared, paid or otherwise made any dividend or distribution of any kind on its capital stock other than ordinary and customary dividends; and (iii) there has not been any material change in the capital stock (other than the exercise of equity awards or grants of equity awards or forfeiture of equity awards outstanding as of such respective dates as of which information is given in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, in each case granted pursuant to the equity compensation plans described in the Time of Sale Prospectus), short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except in each case as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.

(v)    Neither the Company nor its subsidiaries own real property. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all personal property (which does not include intellectual property, which is addressed exclusively in Section 1(w)) owned by them which is material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and, to the knowledge of the Company, enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

(w)    Except as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and except as would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, individually or taken as a whole, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or possess or, to the Company’s knowledge, can obtain on reasonable terms, adequate rights to use all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights, software, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) and all goodwill and other technology and intellectual property rights, including registrations and applications for registration thereof (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) used in or reasonably necessary to the conduct of their businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Prospectus (collectively, “Company Intellectual Property”); (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any

 

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written notice of any infringement of, or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to, any Intellectual Property that would render any Company Intellectual Property invalid, unenforceable or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding; (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ conduct of their business does not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate, and has not infringed, misappropriated, or otherwise violated, asserted rights of any others with respect to any Intellectual Property; and (iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by any third party (A) challenging the ownership, validity, enforceability or scope of any Company Intellectual Property, or (B) alleging that the Company or any of its subsidiaries has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated asserted rights of any others with respect to any Intellectual Property or any of the foregoing.

(x)    (i) The Company and its subsidiaries use and have used any and all software and other materials distributed under a “free,” “open source,” or similar licensing model (including but not limited to the MIT License, Apache License, GNU General Public License, GNU Lesser General Public License and GNU Affero General Public License) (“Open Source Software”) in compliance with all license terms applicable to such Open Source Software except where the failure to comply would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; and (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries uses or distributes or has used or distributed any Open Source Software in any manner that requires or has required (A) the Company or any of its subsidiaries to permit reverse engineering of any software code or other technology owned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (B) any software code or other technology owned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries to be (1) disclosed or distributed in source code form, (2) licensed for the purpose of making derivative works or (3) redistributed at no charge, except as would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(y)    Except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and except as would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (i) to the Company’s knowledge, there has been no security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure, or other compromise of the Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, technology, data and databases (a “Breach”), including the data and information (including personal information) of their respective customers and employees and any sensitive third-party data collected, maintained, processed or stored by or on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”), and the Company and its subsidiaries have not been notified of and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any material Breach; (ii) the IT Systems and Data are adequate for, and operate and perform as required in connection with the operation of the business

 

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of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted; (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable physical, organizational, technical and administrative controls, policies, procedures, and technical safeguards and measures to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and Data, including, maintaining an information security management system that has been certified to conform to the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and materially complying with PCI-DSS; and (iv) the Company and its subsidiaries have complied with and are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws and 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 any personally identifiable information included in their IT Systems and Data, and the Company has not received any notification of or complaint regarding and is unaware of any other facts that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably indicate any material non-compliance with any of the foregoing.

(z)    Except as would not be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (A) each Plan (as defined below) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); (B) no non-exempt prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan; (C) for each Plan, no failure to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA), whether or not waived, has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (D) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than those events as to which notice is waived) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; and (E) neither the Company nor any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Code) has incurred, nor is reasonably expected to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to any Plan or any Multiemployer Plan or premiums to the PBGC, in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan or a Multiemployer Plan. For purposes of this paragraph, (x) the term “Plan” means an employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, subject to Title IV of ERISA, but excluding any Multiemployer Plan, for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” has any liability and (y) the term “Multiemployer Plan” means a multiemployer plan within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.

(aa)    No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists, or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent; and the Company is not aware of any existing, threatened or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers, manufacturers or contractors that would reasonably be expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

 

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(bb)    The Company and each of its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as, in the Company’s reasonable judgment, are prudent and customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has 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 from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not be reasonably expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(cc)    The Company and each of its subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses except where the failure to obtain such certificates, authorizations or permits would not be reasonably expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(dd)    The financial statements included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes thereto, comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and present fairly in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the dates shown and its results of operations and cash flows for the periods shown, and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby except for any normal year-end adjustments in the Company’s quarterly financial statements. The other financial information included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus the Prospectus and any free writing prospectus, if any, 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. The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate and such data is consistent with the sources from which they are derived, in each case in all material respects.

 

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(ee)    Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and delivered its report with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements and schedules filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement and included in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).

(ff)    The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintain a system of 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 U.S. 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. Since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (i) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (ii) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially and adversely affected, or is reasonably expected to materially and adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

(gg)    Except as described in the Registration Statement or the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Company has not sold, issued or distributed any shares of Common Stock during the six-month period preceding the date hereof, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulation D or S of, the Securities Act, other than shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants.

(hh)    The Company and each of its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or have requested extensions thereof (except where the failure to file would not be reasonably expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole) and have paid all taxes required to be paid thereon (except for cases in which the failure to file or pay would not be reasonably expected to, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or, except as currently being contested in good faith and for which reserves required by U.S. GAAP have been created in the financial statements of the Company), and no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries which, singly or in the aggregate, has had (nor does the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have any notice or knowledge of any tax deficiency which

 

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could reasonably be expected to be determined adversely to the Company or its subsidiaries and which could reasonably be expected to have) a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.

(ii)    From the time of initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”). “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act.

(jj)    The Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, it will be in compliance, to the extent required, with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to the Company at such time, and is taking steps designed to ensure that it will be in compliance, at all times, with the other provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they become applicable to the Company after the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.

(kk)    The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication with any person other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 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. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Schedule III hereto. “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.

(ll)    As of the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, none of (A) the Time of Sale Prospectus, (B) any free writing prospectus, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, and (C) any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will 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.

 

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(mm)    The Company has not 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.

2.    Agreements to Sell and Purchase. The Company hereby agrees to sell to the several Underwriters, and each Underwriter, upon the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter stated, agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective numbers of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I hereto opposite its name at $[●] a share (the “Purchase Price”).

On the basis of the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement, and subject to its terms and conditions, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters the Additional Shares, and the Underwriters shall have the right to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to [●] Additional Shares at the Purchase Price, provided, however, that the amount paid by the Underwriters for any Additional Shares shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on such Additional Shares. The Representatives may exercise this right on behalf of the Underwriters in whole or from time to time in part by giving written notice not later than 30 days after the date of this Agreement. Any exercise notice shall specify the number of Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters and the date on which such shares are to be purchased. Each purchase date must be at least one business day after the written notice is given and may not be earlier than the closing date for the Firm Shares or later than ten business days after the date of such notice. Additional Shares may be purchased as provided in Section 4 hereof solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments made in connection with the offering of the Firm Shares. On each day, if any, that Additional Shares are to be purchased (an “Option Closing Date”), each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of Additional Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representatives may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date as the number of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I hereto opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares.

3.    Terms of Public Offering. The Company is advised by the Representatives that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of their respective portions of the Shares as soon after the Registration Statement and this Agreement have become effective as in the Representatives’ judgment is advisable. The Company is further advised by the Representatives that the Shares are to be offered to the public initially at $[●] a share (the “Public Offering Price”) and to certain dealers selected by the Representatives at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $[●] a share under the Public Offering Price.

4.    Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Firm Shares shall be made to the Company in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Firm Shares for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on [Month] [●], 2020, or at such other time on the same or such other date, not later than [Month] [●], 2020, as shall be designated in writing by the Representatives. The time and date of such payment are hereinafter referred to as the “Closing Date.”

 

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Payment for any Additional Shares shall be made to the Company in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Additional Shares for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in Section 2 or at such other time on the same or on such other date, in any event not later than [Month] [●], 2020, as shall be designated in writing by the Representatives.

The Firm Shares and Additional Shares shall be registered in such names and in such denominations as the Representatives shall request not later than one full business day prior to the Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be. The Firm Shares and Additional Shares shall be delivered to Barclays Capital Inc. on the Closing Date or an Option Closing Date, as the case may be, for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters designated by the Representatives through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company, against payment of the Purchase Price therefor, reduced by any transfer taxes paid by or on behalf of the Underwriters in connection with the transfer of the Shares to the Underwriters.

5.    Conditions to the Underwriters Obligations. The obligations of the Company to sell the Shares to the Underwriters and the several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Shares on the Closing Date are subject to the condition that the Registration Statement shall have become effective not later than [●] [a][p].m. (New York City time) on the date hereof.

The several obligations of the Underwriters are subject to the following further conditions:

(a)    Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date:

(i)    no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and to the Company’s knowledge, no proceeding for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission;

(ii)    there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall the Company have received any notice of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any of the securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act; and

(iii)    there shall not have occurred any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in the condition, financial

 

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or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus that, in the Representatives’ judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in the Representatives’ judgment, impracticable to market the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

(b)    The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date a certificate, dated the Closing Date and signed by an executive officer of the Company, to the effect set forth in Sections 5(a)(i) and 5(a)(ii) above and to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct as of the Closing Date and that the Company has complied with all of the agreements and satisfied all of the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder on or before the Closing Date.

The officer signing and delivering such certificate may rely upon his or her knowledge as to proceedings threatened.

(c)    The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date an opinion and negative assurance letter of DLA Piper LLP (US), outside counsel for the Company, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.

(d)    The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date an opinion and negative assurance letter of Cooley LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.

With respect to the negative assurance letters to be delivered pursuant to Sections 5(c) and 5(d) above, DLA Piper LLP (US) and Cooley LLP, respectively, may state that their opinions and beliefs are based upon their participation in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and review and discussion of the contents thereof, but are without independent check or verification, except as specified.

The opinion of DLA Piper LLP (US) described in Section 5(c) above shall be rendered to the Underwriters at the request of the Company and shall so state therein.

(e)    The Underwriters shall have received, on each of the date hereof and the Closing Date, a letter dated the date hereof or the Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, from Ernst & Young LLP, independent public accountants, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus; provided that the letter delivered on the Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than the date hereof.

 

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(f)    The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, among the Representatives and certain shareholders, officers and directors of the Company relating to restrictions on sales and certain other dispositions of shares of Common Stock or certain other securities, delivered to the Representatives on or before the date hereof (the “Lock-up Agreements”), shall be in full force and effect on the Closing Date.

(g)    The Underwriters shall have received, on each of the date hereof and the Closing Date, a certificate signed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in his capacity as such, with respect to certain financial and accounting information in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters.

(h)    The several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase Additional Shares hereunder are subject to the delivery to the Representatives on the applicable Option Closing Date of the following:

(i)    a certificate, dated the Option Closing Date and signed by an executive officer of the Company, confirming that the certificate delivered on the Closing Date pursuant to Section 5(b) hereof remains true and correct as of such Option Closing Date;

(ii)    an opinion and negative assurance letter of DLA Piper LLP (US), outside counsel for the Company, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof;

(iii)    an opinion and negative assurance letter of Cooley LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated the Option Closing Date, relating to the Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(d) hereof;

(iv)    a letter dated the Option Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, from Ernst & Young LLP, independent public accountants, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Underwriters pursuant to Section 5(e) hereof; provided that the letter delivered on the Option Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than three business days prior to such Option Closing Date;

(v)    a certificate, dated the Option Closing Date and signed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, substantially in the same form and substance as the certificate delivered to the Underwriters pursuant to Section 5(g) hereof; and

 

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(vi)    such other documents as the Representatives may reasonably request with respect to the good standing of the Company, the due authorization and issuance of the Additional Shares to be sold on such Option Closing Date and other matters related to the issuance of such Additional Shares.

6.    Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

(a)    To furnish to the Representatives, at their request, without charge, five signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and for delivery to each other Underwriter, at its request, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and to furnish to the Representatives in New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period mentioned in Section 6(e) or 6(f) below, as many copies of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as the Representatives may reasonably request.

(b)    Before amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, to furnish to the Representatives a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement and not to file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representatives reasonably object, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.

(c)    To furnish to the Representatives a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and not to use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus to which the Representatives reasonably object.

(d)    Not to take any action that would result in an Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

(e)    If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being used to solicit offers to buy the Shares at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement then on file, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to

 

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amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Time of Sale Prospectus is delivered to a prospective purchaser, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will no longer conflict with the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.

(f)    If, during such period after the first date of the public offering of the Shares as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is required by law to be delivered in connection with sales by an Underwriter or dealer, any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to the dealers (whose names and addresses the Representatives will furnish to the Company) to which Shares may have been sold by the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters and to any other dealers upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.

(g)    To endeavor to qualify the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives shall reasonably request; provided however, that nothing contained herein shall require the Company to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction, execute a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction or to subject itself to taxation in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise subject.

(h)    To make generally available (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commission on its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System) to the Company’s security holders and to the Representatives as soon as practicable an earnings statement covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

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(i)    Whether or not the transactions contemplated in this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and the Company’s accountants in connection with the registration and delivery of the Shares under the Securities Act and all other fees or expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and amendments and supplements to any of the foregoing, including all printing costs associated therewith, and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers, in the quantities hereinabove specified, (ii) all costs and expenses related to the transfer and delivery of the Shares to the Underwriters, including any transfer or other taxes payable thereon, (iii) the cost of printing or producing any Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares under state securities laws and all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 6(g) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum, (iv) all filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters incurred in connection with the review and qualification of the offering of the Shares by FINRA (provided, that, the amount payable by the Company with respect to fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters pursuant to subsections (iii) and (iv) shall not exceed $35,000), (v) all fees and expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the registration statement on Form 8-A relating to the Series 1 Common Stock and all costs and expenses incident to listing the Shares on the Nasdaq Global Market, (vi) the cost of printing certificates representing the Shares, (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent, registrar or depositary, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any broadly available road show, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and 50% the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show (the remaining 50% of the cost of such aircraft to be paid by the Underwriters), (ix) the document production charges and expenses associated with printing this Agreement and (x) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company hereunder for which provision is not otherwise made in this Section. Notwithstanding anything in the previous sentence to the contrary, it is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section, Section 8 entitled “Indemnity and Contribution” and the last paragraph of Section 10 below, the Underwriters will pay all of their costs

 

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and expenses, including fees and disbursements of their counsel, stock transfer taxes payable on resale of any of the Shares by them and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make, and all travel and other expenses of the Underwriters or any of their employees incurred by them in connection with participation in investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, other than the cost of aircraft chartered in connection with the roadshow, for which the Underwriters agree to pay for the other fifty percent (50%) not paid for by the Company, as described above.

(j)    The Company will promptly notify the Representatives if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) completion of the distribution of the Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act and (ii) completion of the Restricted Period (as defined in this Section 6).

(k)    If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or 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 Company will promptly notify the Representatives 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.

(l)    The Company will deliver to each Underwriter (or its agent), on the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as each Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing Certification.

The Company also covenants with each Underwriter that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, and will not publicly disclose an intention to, during the period ending 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (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 shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (3) file any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.

 

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The restrictions contained in the preceding paragraph shall not apply to (A) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (B) the issuance by the Company of shares of Series 1 Common Stock upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, (C) the issuance by the Company of shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock 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 restricted stock units (including net settlement), in each case outstanding on the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, (D) grants of stock options, stock awards, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other equity awards and the issuance of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock (whether upon the exercise of stock options or otherwise) to employees, officers, directors, advisors, or consultants of the Company pursuant to the terms of a plan in effect on the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, provided that, prior to the issuance of any such shares or the grant of any such options or restricted stock units, the Company shall cause each recipient of such grant or issuance to execute and deliver a “lock-up” agreement, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto covering the remainder of the Restricted Period, (E) the sale or issuance of, or entry into an agreement providing for the sale or issuance of Common Stock or securities convertible into, exercisable for or which are otherwise exchangeable for or represent the right to receive Common Stock in connection with (x) the acquisition by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of the securities, business, technology, property or other assets of another person or entity or pursuant to an employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection with such acquisition, and the issuance of any Common Stock or securities convertible into, exercisable for or which are otherwise exchangeable for or represent the right to receive Common Stock pursuant to any such agreement or (y) the Company entering into joint ventures, commercial relationships, and other strategic transactions, provided that the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock securities convertible into, exercisable for or which are otherwise exchangeable for or represent the right to receive Common Stock that the Company may sell or issue or agree to sell or issue pursuant to this clause (E) shall not exceed 5.0% of the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the Closing Date immediately following the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement to be completed as of that date, and all recipients of any such securities shall execute and deliver a “lock-up” agreement, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto covering the remainder of the Restricted Period, (F) the establishment or amendment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan or amendment does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by the Company regarding the establishment or amendment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period, or (G) the filing of any registration statement on Form S-8 relating to securities granted or to be granted pursuant to any plan described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or any assumed benefit plan contemplated by clause (E).

 

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In addition, during the Restricted Period, the Company agrees to (a) enforce any market standoff provisions and any similar transfer restrictions contained in any agreement between the Company and any of its securityholders through the issuance of stop transfer instructions to the Company’s transfer agent, or any additional commercially reasonable measures, with respect to any transaction that would constitute a breach of, or default under, the transfer restrictions, except that this provision shall not prevent the Company from effecting such a waiver or amendment to permit a transfer of securities that would be permissible under the terms of a Lock-up Agreement and (b) not amend or waive any such transfer restrictions with respect to any such holder without the prior written consent of the Representatives.

If the Representatives, in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions on the transfer of Shares set forth in a Lock-up Agreement for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.

7.    Covenants of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the Company being required to file with the Commission under Rule 433(d) a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of such Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company thereunder, but for the action of the Underwriter.

8.    Indemnity and Contribution. (a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act and each affiliate of any Underwriter within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act, any Company information that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any road show as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act (a “road show”), the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication that arise out of, or are based upon, any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any such 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 the Underwriters through the Representatives consists of the information contained in the [[●] paragraph[s] under the caption “Underwriting” in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.]

 

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(b)    Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who sign the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to such Underwriter, but only with reference to information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any issuer free writing prospectus, road show, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication.

(c)    In case any proceeding (including any governmental investigation) shall be instituted involving any person in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to Section 8(a) or 8(b), such person (the “indemnified party”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnity may be sought (the “indemnifying party”) in writing and the indemnifying party, upon request of the indemnified party, shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party and any others the indemnifying party may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the reasonably incurred, documented fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any indemnified party 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 party unless (i) the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed in writing to the retention of such counsel or (ii) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood that the indemnifying party shall not, in respect of the legal expenses of any indemnified party 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 local counsel) for all such indemnified parties and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Such firm shall be designated in writing by the Representatives, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 8(a), and by the Company, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 8(b). The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by the second

 

24


and third sentences of this paragraph, the indemnifying party agrees that it 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 such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding.

(d)    To the extent the indemnification provided for in Section 8(a) or 8(b) is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party 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 on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause 8(d)(i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause 8(d)(i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand 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 on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate Public Offering Price of the Shares. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand 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 by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 8 are several in proportion to the respective number of Shares they have purchased hereunder, and not joint.

(e)    The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just or equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable

 

25


considerations referred to in Section 8(d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The remedies provided for in this Section 8 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.

(f)    The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in this Section 8 and the representations, warranties and other statements of the Company contained in this Agreement 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 Underwriter, any person controlling any Underwriter or any affiliate of any Underwriter or by or on behalf of the Company, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (iii) acceptance of and payment for any of the Shares.

9.    Termination. The Underwriters may terminate this Agreement by notice given by the Representatives to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to or on the Closing Date or any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on, or by, as the case may be, any of the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or the Chicago Board of Trade or other relevant exchanges, (ii) trading of any securities of the Company shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market, (iii) a material disruption in securities settlement, payment or clearance services in the United States or other relevant jurisdiction shall have occurred, (iv) any moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by Federal or New York State authorities or (v) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis that, in the Representatives’ judgment, is material and adverse and which, singly or together with any other event specified in this clause (v), makes it, in the Representatives’ judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offer, sale or delivery of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus.

10.    Effectiveness; Defaulting Underwriters. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.

 

26


If, on the Closing Date or an Option Closing Date, as the case may be, any one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Shares that it has or they have agreed to purchase hereunder on such date, and the aggregate number of Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase is not more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of the Shares to be purchased on such date, the other Underwriters shall be obligated severally in the proportions that the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule I bears to the aggregate number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the names of all such non-defaulting Underwriters, or in such other proportions as the Representatives may specify, to purchase the Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase on such date; provided that in no event shall the number of Shares that any Underwriter has agreed to purchase pursuant to this Agreement be increased pursuant to this Section 10 by an amount in excess of one-ninth of such number of Shares without the written consent of such Underwriter. If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Firm Shares and the aggregate number of Firm Shares with respect to which such default occurs is more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased on such date, and arrangements satisfactory to the Representatives and the Company for the purchase of such Firm Shares are not made within 36 hours after such default, this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company. In any such case either the Representatives or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date, but in no event for longer than seven days, in order that the required changes, if any, in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Prospectus, in the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be effected. If, on an Option Closing Date, any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Additional Shares and the aggregate number of Additional Shares with respect to which such default occurs is more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date, the non-defaulting Underwriters shall have the option to (i) terminate their obligation hereunder to purchase the Additional Shares to be sold on such Option Closing Date or (ii) purchase not less than the number of Additional Shares that such non-defaulting Underwriters would have been obligated to purchase in the absence of such default. Any action taken under this paragraph shall not relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.

If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Underwriters, or any of them, because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any reason the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement (other than by reason of a default by the Underwriters or for any failure or non-performance by the Company due to or in connection with the events described in clauses (i), (iii), (iv) or (v) of Section 9), the Company will reimburse the Underwriters or such Underwriters as have so terminated this Agreement with respect to themselves, severally, for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and disbursements of their counsel) reasonably incurred by such Underwriters in connection with this Agreement or the offering contemplated hereunder. If the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement for any failure or non-performance by the Company due to or in connection with the events described in clauses (i), (iii), (iv) or (v) of Section 9, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters or such Underwriters as have so terminated this Agreement with respect to themselves, severally, for 50% of all out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and disbursements of their counsel) reasonably incurred by such Underwriters in connection with this Agreement or the offering contemplated hereunder.

 

27


11.    Entire Agreement. (a) This Agreement, together with any contemporaneous written agreements and any prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement) that relate to the offering of the Shares, represents the entire agreement between the Company and the Underwriters with respect to the preparation of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, the conduct of the offering, and the purchase and sale of the Shares.

(b)    The Company acknowledges that in connection with the offering of the Shares: (i) the Underwriters have acted at arm’s length, are not agents of, and owe no fiduciary duties to, the Company or any other person, (ii) the Underwriters owe the Company only those duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement, any contemporaneous written agreements and prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement), if any, (iii) the Underwriters may have interests that differ from those of the Company, and (iv) 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 waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Underwriters arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Shares.

12.    Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. (a) 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.

(b)    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.

For purposes of this Section a “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.

 

28


13.    Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

14.    Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.

15.    Headings. The headings of the sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed a part of this Agreement.

16.    Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and effective only upon receipt and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered, mailed or sent to Morgan Stanley at 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department; or Barclays Capital Inc. at 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Syndicate Registration, and in each case with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to Cooley LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001, Attention: Nicole Brookshire and Darren DeStefano; and if to the Company shall be delivered, mailed or sent to 11305 Four Points Drive, Building II, Third Floor, Austin, Texas 78726, Attention: Jeff Mengoli, with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to DLA Piper LLP (US), 401 Congress Avenue, Suite 2500, Austin, Texas 78701, Attention: Samer M. Zabaneh PC.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

29


Very truly yours,

 

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc.

By:  

    

  Name:
  Title:

 

Accepted as of the date hereof

 

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Barclays Capital Inc.

 

Acting severally on behalf of themselves and the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto.

By:   Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
By:  

    

  Name:
  Title:
By:   Barclays Capital Inc.
By:  

    

  Name:
  Title:

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]


SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriter

   Number of Firm Shares To
Be Purchased

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

   [●]

Barclays Capital Inc.

   [●]

Jefferies LLC

   [●]

KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.

   [●]

Canaccord Genuity LLC

   [●]

Needham & Company, LLC

   [●]

Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

   [●]

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

   [●]
  

 

Total:

   [●]
  

 

 

I-1


SCHEDULE II

Time of Sale Prospectus

 

1.

Preliminary Prospectus issued July     , 2020

 

2.

Orally communicated pricing information:

Price per share to the public: $        

Number of Firm Shares:

Number of Additional Shares:

 

II-1


SCHEDULE III

Written Testing-the-Waters Communications

[Testing-the-Waters presentation dated             , 2020]

 

III-1


EXHIBIT A

FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

            , 2020

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Barclays Capital Inc.

c/o    Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

c/o    Barclays Capital Inc.

745 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned understands that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) and Barclays Capital Inc. (together with Morgan Stanley, the “Representatives”) propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with BigCommerce Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) by the several Underwriters, including the Representatives (the “Underwriters”), of a number of shares (the “Shares”) of the Series 1 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (the “Series 1 Common Stock” and together with the Series 2 common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (the “Series 2 Common Stock”), the “Common Stock”).

To induce the Underwriters that may participate in the Public Offering to continue their efforts in connection with the Public Offering, the undersigned hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, and will not publicly disclose an intention to, during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending 180 days after the date of the final prospectus (the “Prospectus”) relating to the Public Offering (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 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned (as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), by the undersigned or any other securities so owned convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership


of the Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to:

(a) transfers of shares of Common Stock or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering;

(b) transfers of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (i) as a bona fide gift, (ii) upon death or by will, testamentary document or intestate succession, (iii) to an immediate family member of the undersigned or to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this agreement, “immediate family member” shall mean any spouse or domestic partner and relationship by blood, current or former marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin) or (iv) if the undersigned is a trust, to any beneficiary of the undersigned or the estate of any such beneficiary;

(c) distributions, transfers or dispositions of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock to (i) 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 controlled or managed by the undersigned or affiliates of the undersigned, or (ii) as part of a distribution, transfer or disposition without consideration by the undersigned to its stockholders, current or former partners (general or limited), members, beneficiaries or other equity holders, or to the estates of any such stockholders, partners, beneficiaries or other equity holders;

(d) (i) the receipt by the undersigned from the Company of shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of options, settlement of restricted stock units or other equity awards granted under a stock incentive plan or other equity award plan, which plan is described in the registration statement related to the Public Offering (the “Registration Statement”), or the exercise of warrants outstanding and which are described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or (ii) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into Common Stock to the Company upon a vesting or settlement event of the Company’s securities or upon the exercise of options, restricted stock units or warrants to purchase the Company’s securities on a “cashless” or “net exercise” basis to the extent permitted by the instruments representing such options, restricted stock units or warrants (and any transfer to the Company necessary in respect of such amount needed for the payment of taxes, including estimated taxes, due as a result of such vesting or exercise whether by means of a “net settlement” or otherwise) so long as such “cashless” exercise or “net exercise” is effected solely by the surrender of outstanding options, restricted stock units or warrants (or the Common Stock issuable upon the exercise thereof) to the Company and the Company’s cancellation of all or a portion thereof to pay the exercise price and/or withholding tax and remittance obligations; provided that in the case of either (i) or (ii), (x) the shares received upon exercise or settlement of the option, restricted stock unit or warrant are subject to the terms of this agreement, and (y) , no public announcement or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, or any other public filing or disclosure of such receipt or transfer, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made by or on behalf of the undersigned;


(e) the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period, and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by or on behalf of the undersigned or the Company regarding the establishment of such plan during the Restricted Period, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period;

(f) the transfer of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock that occurs by operation of law pursuant to a qualified domestic order in connection with a divorce settlement or other court order;

(g) any transfer of Common Stock to the Company pursuant to arrangements under which the Company has the right or option to repurchase such shares or a right of first refusal with respect to transfers of such shares and which are described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus;

(h) the conversion of the outstanding preferred stock of the Company into shares of Common Stock prior to or in connection with the consummation of the Public Offering or the conversion of shares of Series 2 Common Stock into shares of Series 1 Common Stock, provided that any such shares of Common Stock received upon such conversion shall be subject to the terms of this agreement; and

(i) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock 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, made to all holders of Common Stock involving a Change of Control (as defined below), provided that in the event that the tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Common Stock owned by the undersigned shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in this agreement;

provided that in the case of any transfer, distribution or disposition pursuant to clause (b), (c) or (f), each transferee, donee or distributee shall sign and deliver a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this agreement;

provided further that in the case of any transfer, distribution or disposition pursuant to clause (b) or (c) shall not involve a transfer, distribution or disposition for value;

provided further that in the case of any transfer, distribution or disposition pursuant to clause (a), (b) or (c), no public announcement or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, or any other public filing or disclosure shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period; and


provided further that in the case of any transfer pursuant to clause (f) or (g), no public announcement or filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, or any other public filing or disclosure shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period, unless such filing is required and clearly indicates in the footnotes thereto in the case of clause (f) or (g) that the transfer is by operation of law, court or regulatory order, or in connection with a divorce settlement, or a repurchase by the Company, as the case may be.

For the purposes of clause (i) of the second paragraph hereof, “Change of Control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction after the consummation of the Public Offering the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of greater than 50% of the total voting power of the voting stock of the Company.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (i) at least 120 days have elapsed after the date of the Prospectus and (ii) the 180th day after the date of the Prospectus (the “Expiration Date”) will occur during or within five trading days of a Company “black-out” period under its insider trading policy (or similar period when trading is not permitted by insiders under the Company’s insider trading policy) (a “Blackout Period”), the Expiration Date will instead be the sixth trading day immediately preceding the commencement of such Blackout Period (the “Blackout-Related Release”). For the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event shall the Blackout-Related Release occur earlier than 120 days after the date of the Prospectus.

In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the Restricted Period, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.

The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) the Representatives agree that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Common Stock, the Representatives 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 by press release 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 the Representatives hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (i) (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same


terms described in this agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer or (ii) for the avoidance of doubt, in the case of a Blackout-Related Release.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, this agreement will automatically terminate and the undersigned will be released from all of his, her or its obligations hereunder upon the earliest to occur, if any, of (i) the date that the Company, on the one hand, or the Representatives, on the other hand, advises in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that it has determined not to proceed with the Public Offering, (ii) the date, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that the Company withdraws the Registration Statement, (iii) the date that the Underwriting Agreement is terminated (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, or (iv) September 30, 2020, in the event that the Underwriting Agreement has not been executed by such date (provided that the Company may by written notice to the undersigned prior to September 30, 2020 extend such date for a period of up to an additional three months).

The undersigned hereby consents to receipt of this agreement in electronic form and understand and agree that this letter agreement may be signed electronically. If any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or otherwise by electronic transmission evidencing an intent to sign this agreement (including any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com), such facsimile transmission, electronic mail or other electronic transmission shall create a valid and binding obligation of the undersigned with the same force and effect as if such signature were an original. Execution and delivery of this agreement by facsimile transmission, electronic mail or other electronic transmission is legal, valid and binding for all purposes.

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.

Whether or not the Public Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Public Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.

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, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof.

[the remainder of the page intentionally blank]


Very truly yours,

 

Name of Security Holder (Print exact name)
By:  

 

  (Signature)
If not signing in an individual capacity:

 

Name of Authorized Signatory (Print)

 

Title of Authorized Signatory (Print)
(indicate capacity of person signing if signing as custodian, trustee, or on behalf of an entity)


EXHIBIT B

FORM OF WAIVER OF LOCK-UP

            , 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 BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) of                  shares of Series 1 common stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”), of the Company and the lock-up agreement dated             , 2020 (the “Lock-up Agreement”), executed by you in connection with such offering, and your request for a [waiver] [release] dated             , 20  , with respect to                  shares of Common Stock (the “Shares”).

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Barclays Capital Inc. hereby agree to [waive] [release] the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-up Agreement, 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 Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

 

Very truly yours,

 

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Barclays Capital Inc.

 

Acting severally on behalf of themselves and the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to the Underwriting Agreement

By:   Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

B-1


By: Barclays Capital Inc.

By:  

    

  Name:
  Title:

cc: Company

 

B-2


FORM OF PRESS RELEASE

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc.

[Date]

BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Barclays Capital Inc., lead book-running managers in the Company’s recent public sale of                  shares of its Series 1 common stock are [waiving][releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to              shares of the Company’s [Series 1] common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver][release] will take effect on             , 20  , and the 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.

 

B-3