Houlihan Lokey was not requested to, and did not, (a) initiate or participate in any discussions or negotiations with, or solicit any indications of interest from, third parties with respect to the Merger, or the securities, assets, business or operations of the Company or any other party, or any alternatives to the Merger, (b) negotiate the terms of the Merger, or (c) advise the Special Committee, the Board, or any other party with respect to alternatives to the Merger. Houlihan Lokey’s opinion was necessarily based on financial, economic, market, and other conditions as in effect on, and the information made available to Houlihan Lokey as of, the date of such opinion. Houlihan Lokey did not undertake, and is under no obligation, to update, revise, reaffirm, or withdraw its opinion, or otherwise comment on or consider events occurring or coming to its attention after the date of such opinion.
Houlihan Lokey’s opinion was furnished for the use of the Special Committee (in its capacity as such) in connection with the Special Committee’s evaluation of the Merger, and may not be used for any other purpose without Houlihan Lokey’s prior written consent. Houlihan Lokey’s opinion was not intended to be, and did not constitute, a recommendation to the Special Committee, the Board, any security holder, or any other party as to how to act or vote with respect to any matter relating to the Merger or otherwise.
Houlihan Lokey was not requested to opine as to, and its opinion did not express an opinion as to or otherwise address, among other things: (i) the underlying business decision of the Special Committee, the Board, the Company, or Parent, their respective security holders, or any other party to proceed with or effect the Merger, (ii) the terms of any arrangements, understandings, agreements, or documents related to, or the form, structure, or any other portion or aspect of, the Merger or otherwise (other than the Merger Consideration to the extent expressly specified in Houlihan Lokey’s opinion), (iii) the fairness of any portion or aspect of the Merger to the holders of any class of securities, creditors, or other constituencies of the Company or Parent, or to any other party, except if and only to the extent expressly set forth in the last sentence of Houlihan Lokey’s opinion, (iv) the relative merits of the Merger as compared to any alternative business strategies or transactions that might be available for the Company, Parent or any other party, (v) the fairness of any portion or aspect of the Merger to any one class or group of the Company’s, Parent’s or any other party’s security holders or other constituents vis-à-vis any other class or group of the Company’s, Parent’s or such other party’s security holders or other constituents (including, without limitation, the allocation of any consideration amongst or within such classes or groups of security holders or other constituents), (vi) whether or not the Company or its security holders, Parent, or its security holders, or any other party is receiving or paying reasonably equivalent value in the Merger, (vii) the solvency, creditworthiness, or fair value of the Company, Parent, or any other participant in the Merger, or any of their respective assets, under any applicable laws relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, or similar matters, (viii) the fairness, financial or otherwise, of the amount, nature, or any other aspect of any compensation to or consideration payable to or received by any officers, directors, or employees of any party to the Merger, any class of such persons or any other party, relative to the Merger Consideration or otherwise. Furthermore, no opinion, counsel, or interpretation was intended in matters that require legal, regulatory, accounting, insurance, tax, or other similar professional advice. Houlihan Lokey assumed that such opinions, counsel, or interpretations were or would be obtained from appropriate professional sources. Furthermore, Houlihan Lokey relied, with the consent of the Special Committee, on the assessments by the Special Committee, the Board, the Company, Parent, and their respective advisors as to all legal, regulatory, accounting, insurance, tax, and other similar matters with respect to the Company and the Merger or otherwise.
In performing its analyses, Houlihan Lokey considered general business, economic, industry, and market conditions, financial and otherwise, and other matters as they existed on, and could be evaluated as of, the date of its opinion. No company, transaction or business used in Houlihan Lokey’s analyses for comparative purposes is identical to the Company or the proposed Merger and an evaluation of the results of those analyses is not entirely mathematical. The estimates contained in the financial projections prepared by members of the management of the Company and the implied reference range values indicated by Houlihan Lokey’s analyses are not necessarily indicative of actual values or predictive of future results or values, which may be significantly more or less favorable than those suggested by the analyses. In addition, any analyses relating to the value of assets, businesses, or securities do not purport to be appraisals or to reflect the prices at which businesses or securities actually may be sold, which may depend on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Much of the information used in, and accordingly the results of, Houlihan Lokey’s analyses are inherently subject to substantial uncertainty.
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