AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

between

GATEWAY ENERGY CORPORATION

and

GATEWAY ACQUISITION LLC.

and

GATEWAY ENERGY HOLDINGS LLC

dated as of

August 13, 2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Article I The Merger.. 1

Section 1.01 The Merger. 1

Section 1.02 Closing . 1

Section 1.03 Effective Time. 1

Section 1.04 Effects of the Merger. 1

Section 1.05 Certificate of Formation; Company Agreement 1

Section 1.06 Managers and Officers. 1

Article II Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock.. 1

Section 2.01 Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock. 1

Section 2.02 Surrender and Payment. 1

Section 2.03 Dissenting Shares. 1

Section 2.04 Adjustments . 1

Section 2.05 Withholding Rights. 1

Section 2.06 Lost Certificates. 1

Section 2.07 Treatment of Stock Options and Other Stock-based Compensation. 1

Article III Representations and Warranties of the Company.. 1

Section 3.01 Organization; Standing and Power; Charter Documents; Minutes; Subsidiaries. 1

Section 3.02 Capital Structure. 1

Section 3.03 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents. 1

Section 3.04 SEC Filings; Financial Statements; Internal Controls. 1

Section 3.05 Absence of Certain Changes or Events. 1

Section 3.06 Taxes . 1

Section 3.07 Information Statement 1

Article IV Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub 1

Section 4.01 Organization . 1

Section 4.02 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents. 1

Section 4.03 Information Statement 1

Section 4.04 Financial Capability. 1

Section 4.05 Legal Proceedings. 1

Article V Covenants. 1

Section 5.01 Conduct of Business of the Company. 1

Section 5.02 Other Actions. 1

Section 5.03 Access to Information; Confidentiality. 1

Section 5.04 No Solicitation. 1

Section 5.05 Stockholders’ Written Consent; Information Statement. 1

Section 5.06 Notices of Certain Events. 1

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Section 5.07 Reserved . 1

Section 5.08 Directors' and Officers' Indemnification and Insurance. 1

Section 5.09 Reasonable Best Efforts. 1

Section 5.10 Public Announcements. 1

Section 5.11 Takeover Statutes. 1

Section 5.12 Section 16 Matters. 1

Section 5.13 Further Assurances. 1

Article VI Conditions. 1

Section 6.01 Conditions to Each Party's Obligation to Effect the Merger. 1

Section 6.02 Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub. 1

Section 6.03 Conditions to Obligation of the Company. 1

Article VII Termination, Amendment and Waiver.. 1

Section 7.01 Termination By Mutual Consent 1

Section 7.02 Termination By Either Parent or the Company. 1

Section 7.03 Termination By Parent 1

Section 7.04 Termination By the Company. 1

Section 7.05 Notice of Termination; Effect of Termination. 1

Section 7.06 Fees and Expenses Following Termination. 1

Section 7.07 Amendment 1

Section 7.08 Extension; Waiver. 1

Article VIII Miscellaneous. 1

Section 8.01 Definitions . 1

Section 8.02 Interpretation; Construction. 1

Section 8.03 Survival 1

Section 8.04 Governing Law.. 1

Section 8.05 Submission to Jurisdiction. 1

Section 8.06 Waiver of Jury Trial 1

Section 8.07 Notices . 1

Section 8.08 Entire Agreement 1

Section 8.09 No Third Party Beneficiaries. 1

Section 8.10 Severability . 1

Section 8.11 Assignment 1

Section 8.12 Remedies . 1

Section 8.13 Specific Performance. 1

Section 8.14 Counterparts; Effectiveness. 1

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AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

This Agreement and Plan of Merger (this "Agreement"), is entered into as of August 13, 2013, by and among GATEWAY ENERGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), GATEWAY ENERGY HOLDINGS LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Parent"), and GATEWAY ACQUISITION LLC., a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned Subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub"). Capitalized terms used herein (including in the immediately preceding sentence) and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in Section 8.01 hereof.

RECITALS

WHEREAS, the parties intend that the Company be merged with and into Merger Sub, with the Merger Sub surviving that merger on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;

WHEREAS, in the Merger, upon the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the "Company Common Stock") will be converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration;

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Company Board") has unanimously (a) determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, and declared it advisable, to enter into this Agreement with Parent and Merger Sub, (b) approved the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger, and (c) resolved, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, to recommend adoption of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company;

WHEREAS, on the date and in connection with the execution hereof, the Company has entered into that certain Subscription, Exchange and Voting Agreement (the “Support Agreement”) among the Company, Parent and the Participating Stockholders, which agreement provides for, among other things, (a) the capitalization of Parent by the contribution to Parent of shares of Company Common Stock held by the Participating Stockholders; (b) the agreement by the Participating Stockholders to vote (or cause to be voted) all of the Participating Stockholders’ Company Common Stock in favor of the adoption and approval of this Agreement; and (c) the grant by the Participating Stockholders of an irrevocable proxy to Parent with respect to the matters described in clause (b) above for the term of the Support Agreement;

WHEREAS, the respective boards of managers of Parent and Merger Sub have, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, unanimously approved this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the parties desire to make certain representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in connection with the Merger and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and also to prescribe certain conditions to the Merger.

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NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement, the parties, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:

Article I
The Merger

Section 1.01 The Merger

. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, and in accordance with the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL") and Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the "DLLCA"), at the Effective Time, (a) the Company will merge with and into Merger Sub (the "Merger"), and (b) the separate corporate existence of the Company will cease and Merger Sub will continue its limited liability company existence under the DLLCA as the Surviving Company in the Merger (sometimes referred to herein as the "Surviving Company").

Section 1.02 Closing

. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the closing of the Merger (the "Closing") will take place at 12:00 p.m., Houston time, as soon as practicable (and, in any event, within three (3) Business Days) after satisfaction or, to the extent permitted hereunder, waiver of all conditions to the Merger set forth in Article VI (other than those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or, to the extent permitted hereunder, waiver of all such conditions), unless this Agreement has been terminated pursuant to its terms or unless another time or date is agreed to in writing by the parties hereto. The Closing shall be held at the offices of Porter Hedges LLP, 1000 Main Street, 36^th Floor, Houston, Texas, unless another place is agreed to in writing by the parties hereto, and the actual date of the Closing is hereinafter referred to as the "Closing Date".

Section 1.03 Effective Time

. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, at the Closing, the Company, Parent and Merger Sub will cause a certificate of merger (the "Certificate of Merger") to be executed, acknowledged and filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in accordance with the relevant provisions of the DGCL and DLLCA and shall make all other filings or recordings required under the DGCL and DLLCA. The Merger will become effective at such time as the Certificate of Merger has been duly filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware or at such later date or time as may be agreed by the Company and Parent in writing and specified in the Certificate of Merger in accordance with the DGCL and DLLCA (the effective time of the Merger being hereinafter referred to as the "Effective Time").

Section 1.04 Effects of the Merger

. The Merger shall have the effects set forth herein and in the applicable provisions of the DGCL and DLLCA. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and subject thereto, from and after the Effective Time, all property, rights, privileges, immunities, powers, franchises, licenses and authority of the Company and Merger Sub shall vest in the Surviving Company, and all debts, liabilities, obligations, restrictions and duties of each of the Company and Merger Sub shall become the debts, liabilities, obligations, restrictions and duties of the Surviving Company.

Section 1.05 Certificate of Formation; Company Agreement

. At the Effective Time, (a) the certificate of formation of Merger Sub shall be amended so as to change the name of the Surviving Company to “Gateway Energy Company”, and, as so amended, shall be the certificate of formation of the Surviving Company until thereafter amended in accordance with the terms thereof or as provided by applicable Law, and (b) the limited liability company agreement of Merger Sub as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be the limited liability company agreement of the Surviving Company until thereafter amended in accordance with the terms thereof or as provided by applicable Law.

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Section 1.06 Managers and Officers

. The managers and officers of Merger Sub, in each case, immediately prior to the Effective Time shall, from and after the Effective Time, be the managers and officers, respectively, of the Surviving Company until their successors have been duly elected or appointed and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or removal in accordance with the limited liability company agreement of the Surviving Company.

Article II
Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock

Section 2.01 Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock

. At the Effective Time, as a result of the Merger and without any action on the part of Parent, Merger Sub or the Company or the holder of any capital stock of Parent, Merger Sub or the Company:

(a) Cancellation of Certain Company Common Stock. Each of the Excluded Shares will automatically be cancelled and retired and will cease to exist, and no consideration will be delivered in exchange therefor.

(c) Cancellation of Shares. At the Effective Time, all shares of Company Common Stock will no longer be outstanding and all shares of Company Common Stock will be cancelled and retired and will cease to exist, and, subject to Section 2.03, each holder of a certificate formerly representing any such shares (each, a "Certificate") will cease to have any rights with respect thereto, except the right to receive the Merger Consideration in accordance with Section 2.02 hereof.

(d) Conversion of Merger Sub Membership Interests. Each unit of each series of the membership interests of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be converted into and become one newly issued, fully paid and non-assessable unit of the same series of the membership interests of the Surviving Company.

Section 2.02 Surrender and Payment.

(a) Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall appoint an exchange agent reasonably acceptable to the Company (the "Exchange Agent") to act as the agent for the purpose of exchanging for the Merger Consideration for: (i) the Certificates, or (ii) book-entry shares which immediately prior to the Effective Time represented the shares of Company Common Stock (the

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"Book-Entry Shares"). On and after the Effective Time, Parent shall deposit, or cause the Surviving Company to deposit, with the Exchange Agent, sufficient funds to pay the aggregate Merger Consideration that is payable in respect of all of the shares of Company Common Stock represented by the Certificates and the Book-Entry Shares (the "Payment Fund") in amounts and at the times necessary for such payments. If for any reason (including losses) the Payment Fund is inadequate to pay the amounts to which holders of shares shall be entitled under Section 2.01(b), Parent shall take all steps necessary to enable or cause the Surviving Company promptly to deposit in trust additional cash with the Exchange Agent sufficient to make all payments required under this Agreement, and Parent and the Surviving Company shall in any event be liable for the payment thereof. The Payment Fund shall not be used for any other purpose. The Surviving Company shall pay all charges and expenses, including those of the Exchange Agent, in connection with the exchange of Shares for the Merger Consideration. Promptly after the Effective Time, Parent shall send, or shall cause the Exchange Agent to send, to each record holder of shares of Company Common Stock at the Effective Time, a letter of transmittal and instructions (which shall specify that the delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title shall pass, only upon proper delivery of the Certificates or transfer of the Book-Entry Shares to the Exchange Agent) for use in such exchange.

(b) Each holder of shares of Company Common Stock that have been converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration shall be entitled to receive the Merger Consideration in respect of the Company Common Stock represented by a Certificate or Book-Entry Share upon (i) surrender to the Exchange Agent of a Certificate, together with a duly completed and validly executed letter of transmittal and such other documents as may reasonably be requested by the Exchange Agent, or (ii) receipt of an "agent's message" by the Exchange Agent (or such other evidence, if any, of transfer as the Exchange Agent may reasonably request) in the case of Book-Entry Shares. Until so surrendered or transferred, as the case may be, and subject to the terms set forth in Section 2.03, each such Certificate or Book-Entry Share, as applicable, shall represent after the Effective Time for all purposes only the right to receive the Merger Consideration payable in respect thereof. No interest shall be paid or accrued on the cash payable upon the surrender or transfer of any Certificate or Book-Entry Share. Upon payment of the Merger Consideration pursuant to the provisions of this Article II, each Certificate or Certificates so surrendered shall immediately be cancelled.

(c) If any portion of the Merger Consideration is to be paid to a Person other than the Person in whose name the surrendered Certificate or the transferred Book-Entry Share, as applicable, is registered, it shall be a condition to such payment that (i) such Certificate shall be properly endorsed or shall otherwise be in proper form for transfer or such Book-Entry Share shall be properly transferred, and (ii) the Person requesting such payment shall pay to the Exchange Agent any transfer or other Tax required as a result of such payment to a Person other than the registered holder of such Certificate or Book-Entry Share, as applicable, or establish to the reasonable satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such Tax has been paid or is not payable.

(d) All Merger Consideration paid upon the surrender of Certificates or transfer of Book-Entry Shares in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed to have been paid in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to the shares of Company Common Stock formerly represented by such Certificate or Book-Entry Shares, and from and after the Effective Time, there shall be no further registration of transfers of shares of Company Common Stock on the

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stock transfer books of the Surviving Company. If, after the Effective Time, Certificates or Book-Entry Shares are presented to the Surviving Company, they shall be cancelled and exchanged for the Merger Consideration provided for, and in accordance with the procedures set forth, in this Article II.

(e) Any portion of the Payment Fund that remains unclaimed by the holders of Shares six (6) months after the Effective Time shall be returned to Parent, upon demand, and any such holder who has not exchanged shares of Company Common Stock for the Merger Consideration in accordance with this Section 2.02 prior to that time shall thereafter look only to Parent for payment of the Merger Consideration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent shall not be liable to any holder of shares of Company Common Stock for any amounts paid to a public official pursuant to applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar Laws. Any amounts remaining unclaimed by holders of shares of Company Common Stock two (2) years after the Effective Time (or such earlier date, immediately prior to such time when the amounts would otherwise escheat to or become property of any Governmental Entity) shall become, to the extent permitted by applicable Law, the property of Parent free and clear of any claims or interest of any Person previously entitled thereto.

(f) Any portion of the Merger Consideration made available to the Exchange Agent in respect of any Dissenting Shares shall be returned to Parent, upon demand.

Section 2.03 Dissenting Shares

. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, including Section 2.01, shares of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than shares cancelled in accordance with Section 2.01(a)) and held by a holder who has not voted in favor of adoption of this Agreement or consented thereto in writing and who has properly exercised appraisal rights of such shares in accordance with Section 262 of the DGCL (such shares of Company Common Stock being referred to collectively as the "Dissenting Shares" until such time as such holder fails to perfect or otherwise loses such holder's appraisal rights under the DGCL with respect to such shares) shall not be converted into a right to receive the Merger Consideration, but instead shall be entitled to only such rights as are granted by Section 262 of the DGCL; provided, however, that if, after the Effective Time, such holder fails to perfect, withdraws or loses such holder's right to appraisal pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL or if a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that such holder is not entitled to the relief provided by Section 262 of the DGCL, such shares of Company Common Stock shall be treated as if they had been converted as of the Effective Time into the right to receive the Merger Consideration in accordance with Section 2.01(b), without interest thereon, upon surrender of such Certificate formerly representing such share or transfer of such Book-Entry Share, as the case may be. The Company shall provide Parent prompt written notice of any demands received by the Company for appraisal of shares of Company Common Stock, any withdrawal of any such demand and any other demand, notice or instrument delivered to the Company prior to the Effective Time pursuant to the DGCL that relates to such demand, and Parent shall have the opportunity and right to direct all negotiations and proceedings with respect to such demands. Except with the prior written consent of Parent, the Company shall not make any payment with respect to, or settle or offer to settle, any such demands.

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Section 2.04 Adjustments

. Without limiting the other provisions of this Agreement, if at any time during the period between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, any change in the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company shall occur (other than the issuance of additional shares of capital stock of the Company as permitted by this Agreement), including by reason of any reclassification, recapitalization, stock split (including reverse stock split) or combination, exchange or readjustment of shares, or any stock dividend or distribution paid in stock, the Merger Consideration and any other amounts payable pursuant to this Agreement shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect such change.

Section 2.05 Withholding Rights

. Each of the Exchange Agent, Parent, Merger Sub and the Surviving Company shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable to any Person pursuant to this Article II such amounts as may be required to be deducted and withheld with respect to the making of such payment under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and applicable Treasury Regulations issued pursuant thereto (the "Code"), or any provision of state, local or foreign Tax Law. To the extent that amounts are so deducted and withheld by the Exchange Agent, Parent, Merger Sub or the Surviving Company, as the case may be, such amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the Person in respect of which the Exchange Agent, Parent, Merger Sub or the Surviving Company, as the case may be, made such deduction and withholding.

Section 2.06 Lost Certificates

. If any Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the Person claiming such Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and, if required by Parent, the posting by such Person of a bond, in such reasonable amount as Parent may direct, as indemnity against any claim that may be made against it with respect to such Certificate, the Exchange Agent will issue, in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate, the Merger Consideration to be paid in respect of the Shares formerly represented by such Certificate as contemplated under this Article II.

Section 2.07 Treatment of Stock Options and Other Stock-based Compensation

(a) The Company shall take all requisite action so that, at the Effective Time, each option to acquire shares of Company Common Stock (each, a "Company Stock Option") that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether or not then vested or exercisable, shall be, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, the holder of that Company Stock Option or any other Person, cancelled and converted into the right to receive from Parent and the Surviving Company, as promptly as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time, an amount in cash, without interest, equal to the product of (x) the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to such Company Stock Option, multiplied by (y) the excess, if any, of the Merger Consideration over the per share exercise price under such Company Stock Option, less any Taxes required to be withheld in accordance with Section 2.05.

(b) The Company shall take all requisite action so that, at the Effective Time, each restricted stock unit award and other right, contingent or accrued, to acquire or receive shares of Company Common Stock or benefits measured by the value of such shares, and each award of any kind consisting of shares of Company Common Stock that may be held, awarded, outstanding, payable or reserved for issuance under any Company Stock Plan (as defined below),

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other than Company Stock Options (each, a "Company Stock Award") immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether or not then vested or exercisable, shall be, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, the holder of that Company Stock Award or any other Person, cancelled and converted into the right to receive from Parent and the Surviving Company, as promptly as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time, an amount in cash, without interest, equal to the product of (x) the aggregate number of shares of Company Common Stock in respect of such Company Stock Award multiplied by (y) the Merger Consideration, less any Taxes required to be withheld in accordance with Section 2.05.

(c) At or prior to the Effective Time, the Company, the Company Board and the compensation committee of such board, as applicable, shall adopt any resolutions and take any actions (including obtaining any employee consents) that may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section 2.07.

Article III
Representations and Warranties of the Company

Except as set forth in the correspondingly numbered Section of the disclosure letter, dated the date of this Agreement and delivered by the Company to Parent prior to the execution of this Agreement (the "Company Disclosure Letter"), the Company hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Merger Sub as follows:

Section 3.01 Organization; Standing and Power; Charter Documents; Minutes; Subsidiaries.

(a) Organization; Standing and Power. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries is a corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize the concept of good standing) under the Laws of its jurisdiction of organization, and has the requisite corporate, limited liability company or other organizational, as applicable, power and authority to own, lease and operate its assets and to carry on its business as now conducted. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified or licensed to do business as a foreign corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity and is in good standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize the concept of good standing) in each jurisdiction where the character of the assets and properties owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of its business makes such qualification or license necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or licensed or to be in good standing, would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(b) Charter Documents. The Company has made available to Parent a true and correct copy of the certificate of incorporation (including any certificate of designations), by-laws or like organizational documents, each as amended to date (collectively, the "Charter Documents"), of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any of the provisions of its Charter Documents.

(c) Minutes. The Company has made available to Parent true and correct copies of the minutes (or, in the case of minutes that have not yet been finalized, a brief summary of the

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meeting) of all meetings of stockholders, the Company Board and each committee of the Company Board since January 1, 2009.

(d) Subsidiaries. Section 3.01(d)(i) of the Company Disclosure Letter lists each of the Subsidiaries of the Company as of the date hereof and its place of organization. Section 3.01(d)(ii) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth, for each Subsidiary that is not, directly or indirectly, wholly-owned by the Company, (x) the number and type of any capital stock of, or other equity or voting interests in, such Subsidiary that is outstanding as of the date hereof and (y) the number and type of shares of capital stock of, or other equity or voting interests in, such Subsidiary that, as of the date hereof, are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity or voting interests in, each Subsidiary of the Company that is owned directly or indirectly by the Company have been validly issued, were issued free of pre-emptive rights and are fully paid and non-assessable, and are free and clear of all Liens, including any restriction on the right to vote, sell or otherwise dispose of such capital stock or other equity or voting interests, except for any Liens (x) imposed by applicable securities Laws or (y) arising pursuant to the Charter Documents of any non-wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company. Except for the capital stock of, or other equity or voting interests in, its Subsidiaries, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any capital stock of, or other equity or voting interests in, any Person.

Section 3.02 Capital Structure.

(a) Capital Stock. The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of: (i) one hundred fifty million (150,000,000) Shares and (ii) ten thousand (10,000) shares of preferred stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the Company (the "Company Preferred Stock"). As of the date of this Agreement, (x) 30,613,637 Shares were issued and outstanding, (y) no Shares were issued and held by the Company in its treasury and (z) no shares of Company Preferred Stock were issued and outstanding or held by the Company in its treasury. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are, and all shares of capital stock of the Company which may be issued as contemplated or permitted by this Agreement will be, when issued, duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to any pre-emptive rights. No Subsidiary of the Company owns any Shares.

(b) Stock Awards.

(i) As of the date of this Agreement, an aggregate of 725,612 shares of Company Common Stock were subject to issuance pursuant to Company Stock Options or Company Stock Awards granted under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the plan referred to immediately above and the award or other applicable agreements entered into thereunder, as amended, are collectively referred to herein as the "Company Stock Plans"), and since July 17, 2012 and through the date hereof, no Company Equity Awards have been granted and no additional shares of Company Common Stock have become subject to issuance under the Company Stock Plans. Section 3.02(b)(i) of the Company Disclosure Letter sets forth as of the close of business on August 6, 2013 a list of each outstanding Company Equity Award granted under the Company Stock Plans and (A) the name of the holder of such Company Equity Award, (B) the number of shares of Company Common Stock subject to such outstanding Company Equity Award, (C) the exercise price, purchase price or similar pricing of such Company Equity

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Award, (D) the date on which such Company Equity Award was granted or issued, (E) the applicable vesting schedule, and the extent to which such Company Equity Award is vested and exercisable as of the date hereof, and (F) with respect to Company Stock Options, the date on which such Company Stock Option expires. All shares of Company Common Stock subject to issuance under the Company Stock Plans, upon issuance in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the instruments pursuant to which they are issuable, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

(ii) Except for the Company Stock Plans and as set forth in Section 3.02(b)(ii) of the Company Disclosure Letter, there are no Contracts to which the Company is a party obligating the Company to accelerate the vesting of any Company Equity Award as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (whether alone or upon the occurrence of any additional or subsequent events). Other than the Company Equity Awards, as of the date hereof, there are no outstanding (A) securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries convertible into or exchangeable for Voting Debt or shares of capital stock of the Company, (B) options, warrants or other agreements or commitments to acquire from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to issue, any Voting Debt or shares of capital stock of (or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of) the Company or (C) restricted shares, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance shares, profit participation rights, contingent value rights, "phantom" stock or similar securities or rights that are derivative of, or provide economic benefits based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of, any shares of capital stock of the Company, in each case that have been issued by the Company or its Subsidiaries (the items in clauses (A), (B) and (C), together with the capital stock of the Company, being referred to collectively as "Company Securities"). All outstanding shares of Company Common Stock, all outstanding Company Equity Awards, and all outstanding shares of capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests in any Subsidiary of the Company, have been issued or granted, as applicable, in compliance in all material respects with all applicable securities Laws.

(iii) There are no outstanding Contracts requiring the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any voting agreement with respect to any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities.

(c) Voting Debt. No bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness issued by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (i) having the right to vote on any matters on which stockholders or equityholders of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries may vote (or which is convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities having such right), or (ii) the value of which is directly based upon or derived from the capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, are issued or outstanding (collectively, "Voting Debt").

(d) Company Subsidiary Securities. As of the date hereof, there are no outstanding (i) securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries convertible into or exchangeable for Voting Debt, capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests in any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) options, warrants or other agreements or commitments to acquire from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to

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issue, any Voting Debt, capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests in (or securities convertible into or exchangeable for capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests in) any Subsidiary of the Company, or (iii) restricted shares, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance shares, profit participation rights, contingent value rights, "phantom" stock or similar securities or rights that are derivative of, or provide economic benefits based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of, any capital stock or voting securities of, or other ownership interests in, any Subsidiary of the Company, in each case that have been issued by a Subsidiary of the Company (the items in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), together with the capital stock, voting securities or other ownership interests of such Subsidiaries, being referred to collectively as "Company Subsidiary Securities").

Section 3.03 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents.

(a) Authority. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to perform its obligations under this Agreement and, subject to, in the case of the consummation of the Merger, adoption of this Agreement by the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Company Common Stock (the "Requisite Company Vote"), to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company and no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby, subject only, in the case of consummation of the Merger, to the receipt of the Requisite Company Vote. The Requisite Company Vote is the only vote or consent of the holders of any class or series of the Company's capital stock necessary to approve and adopt this Agreement, approve the Merger and consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due execution and delivery by Parent and Merger Sub, constitutes the valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium and other similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity.

(b) Non-contravention. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Merger, do not and will not: (i) contravene or conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, the Charter Documents of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) subject to compliance with the requirements set forth in clauses (i) through (v) of Section 3.03(c) and, in the case of the consummation of the Merger, obtaining the Requisite Company Vote, conflict with or violate any Law applicable to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or alter the rights or obligations of any third party under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation, or require any Consent under, any Contract to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or otherwise bound as of the date hereof; or (iv) result in the creation of a Lien (other than Permitted Liens) on any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except, in the case of each of

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clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), for any conflicts, violations, breaches, defaults, alterations, terminations, amendments, accelerations, cancellations or Liens, or where the failure to obtain any Consents, in each case, would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(d) Board Approval. The Company Board, by resolutions duly adopted by unanimous vote at a meeting of all directors of the Company duly called and held and, as of the date hereof, not subsequently rescinded or modified in any way, has, as of the date hereof (i) determined that this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger, are fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company's stockholders, (ii) approved and declared advisable the "agreement of merger" (as such term is used in Section 251 of the DGCL) contained in this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Merger, in accordance with the DGCL, (iii) directed that the "agreement of merger" contained in this Agreement be submitted to Company's stockholders for adoption, and (iv) resolved to recommend that Company stockholders adopt the "agreement of merger" set forth in this Agreement (collectively, the "Company Board Recommendation") and directed that such matter be submitted for consideration of the stockholders of the Company in connection with obtaining the Written Consent.

Section 3.04 SEC Filings; Financial Statements; Internal Controls.

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(a) SEC Filings. The Company has timely filed with or furnished to, as applicable, the SEC all registration statements, prospectuses, reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents (including exhibits and all other information incorporated by reference) required to be filed or furnished by it with the SEC since January 1, 2009 (the "Company SEC Documents"). The Company has made available to Parent all such Company SEC Documents that it has so filed or furnished prior to the date hereof. As of their respective filing dates (or, if amended or superseded by a subsequent filing, as of the date of the last such amendment or superseding filing prior to the date hereof), each of the Company SEC Documents complied as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder applicable to such Company SEC Documents. None of the Company SEC Documents, including any financial statements, schedules or exhibits included or incorporated by reference therein at the time they were filed (or, if amended or superseded by a subsequent filing, as of the date of the last such amendment or superseding filing prior to the date hereof), contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. None of the Company's Subsidiaries is required to file or furnish any forms, reports or other documents with the SEC.

(b) Financial Statements. Each of the consolidated financial statements (including, in each case, any related notes thereto) contained in the Company SEC Documents: (i) complied as to form in all material respects with the published rules and regulations of the SEC with respect thereto as of their respective dates; (ii) was prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto and, in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, as may be permitted by the SEC for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q); and (iii) fairly presented in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries at the respective dates thereof and the consolidated results of the Company's operations and cash flows for the periods indicated therein, subject, in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, to normal and year-end audit adjustments as permitted by GAAP and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC.

(c) Undisclosed Liabilities. The unaudited balance sheet of the Company dated as of June 30, 2013 contained in the Company SEC Documents filed to be filed on August 14, 2013 is hereinafter referred to as the "Company Balance Sheet." Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any Liabilities other than Liabilities that (i) are reflected or recorded on the Company Balance Sheet (including in the notes thereto), (ii) were incurred since the date of the Company Balance Sheet in the ordinary course of business, (iii) are incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or (iv) would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(d) Reserved

Section 3.05 Absence of Certain Changes or Events

. Since the date of the Company Balance Sheet, except in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the business of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries has been conducted in the ordinary course of business and there has not been or occurred:

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(a) any Company Material Adverse Effect or any event, condition, change or effect that could reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect; or

(b) any event, condition, action or effect that, if taken during the period from the date of this Agreement through the Effective Time, would constitute a breach of Section 5.01.

Section 3.06 Taxes

. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have duly and timely filed or caused to be filed (taking into account any valid extensions) all material Tax Returns required to be filed by them. Such Tax Returns are true, complete and correct in all material respects. Neither Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is currently the beneficiary of any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return other than extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice. All material Taxes due and owing by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (whether or not shown on any Tax Return) have been timely paid or, where payment is not yet due, the Company has made an adequate provision for such Taxes in the Company's financial statements (in accordance with GAAP). The Company's most recent financial statements reflect an adequate reserve (in accordance with GAAP) for all material Taxes payable by the Company and its Subsidiaries through the date of such financial statements. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has incurred any material liability for Taxes since the date of the Company's most recent financial statements outside the ordinary course of business or otherwise inconsistent with past practice.

Section 3.07 Information Statement

. None of the information included or incorporated by reference in the letter to the stockholders or information statement (collectively, the "Company Information Statement"), to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Merger, will, at the date it is first mailed to the Company's stockholders or at the time of any amendment or supplement thereof, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no representation or warranty is made by the Company with respect to statements made or incorporated by reference therein based on information supplied by Parent or Merger Sub expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the Company Information Statement. The Company Information Statement will comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

Article IV
Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub

Parent and Merger Sub hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to the Company as follows:

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Section 4.01 Organization

. Each of Parent and Merger Sub is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation.

Section 4.02 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents

(a) Authority. Each of Parent and Merger Sub has all requisite limited liability company power and authority to enter into and to perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub and the consummation by Parent and Merger Sub of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by all necessary limited liability company action on the part of Parent and Merger Sub and no other limited liability company proceedings on the part of Parent or Merger Sub are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement or to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby, subject only to the filing of the Certificate of Merger pursuant to the DGCL and DLLCA. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by Parent and Merger Sub and, assuming due execution and delivery by the Company, constitutes the valid and binding obligation of Parent and Merger Sub, enforceable against Parent and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium and other similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity.

(b) Non-contravention. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub and the consummation by Parent and Merger Sub of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, do not and will not: (i) contravene or conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of Parent or Merger Sub; (ii) subject to compliance with the requirements set forth in clauses (i)-(iv) of Section 4.02(c), conflict with or violate any Law applicable to Parent or Merger Sub or any of their respective properties or assets; (iii) result in any breach of or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation, or require any Consent under any Contract to which Parent or its Subsidiaries, including Merger Sub, are a party or otherwise bound; or (iv) result in the creation of any Lien (other than Permitted Liens) on any of the properties or assets of Parent or Merger Sub, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), for any conflicts, violations, breaches, defaults, terminations, amendments, accelerations, cancellations or Liens, or where the failure to obtain any Consents, in each case, would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent's and Merger Sub's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

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Agreement; (iii) such Consents as may be required under applicable state securities or "blue sky" laws and the securities Laws of any foreign country; and (iv) such other Consents which if not obtained or made would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent's and Merger Sub's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

Section 4.03 Information Statement

. None of the information with respect to Parent or Merger Sub that Parent or any of its Representatives furnishes in writing to the Company expressly for use in the Company Information Statement, will, at the date such Company Information Statement is first mailed to the Company's stockholders or at the time of any amendment or supplement thereof, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no representation or warranty is made by Parent or Merger Sub with respect to statements made or incorporated by reference therein supplied by the Company or its Representatives expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the Company Information Statement.

Section 4.04 Financial Capability

. Parent has or will have, and will cause Merger Sub to have, prior to the Effective Time, sufficient funds to pay the aggregate Merger Consideration contemplated by this Agreement and to perform the other obligations of Parent and Merger Sub contemplated by this Agreement.

Section 4.05 Legal Proceedings

. As of the date hereof, there is no pending or, to the Knowledge of Parent, threatened, Legal Action against Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, including Merger Sub, nor is there any injunction, order, judgment, ruling or decree imposed upon Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, including Merger Sub, in each case, by or before any Governmental Entity, that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Parent's and Merger Sub's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

Article V
Covenants

Section 5.01 Conduct of Business of the Company

. The Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, during the period from the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or as required by applicable Law or with the prior written consent of Parent, conduct its business in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and, to the extent consistent therewith, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, use its reasonable best efforts to preserve substantially intact its and its Subsidiaries' business organization, to keep available the services of its and its Subsidiaries' current officers and employees, to preserve its and its Subsidiaries' present relationships with customers, suppliers, distributors, licensors, licensees and other Persons having business relationships with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, except as otherwise expressly contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Section 5.01 of the Company Disclosure Letter or as required by applicable Law, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed):

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(a) amend or propose to amend its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other comparable organizational documents);

(b) (i) split, combine or reclassify any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities, (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, or offer to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities, (iii) declare, set aside or pay any dividend or distribution (whether in cash, stock, property or otherwise) in respect of, or enter into any Contract with respect to the voting of, any shares of its capital stock (other than dividends from its direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary);

(c) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities, other than (i) the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock upon the exercise of any Company Equity Award outstanding as of the date of this Agreement in accordance with its terms, (ii) the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock in respect of other equity compensation awards outstanding under Company Stock Plans as of the date of this Agreement in accordance with their terms, or (iii) the issuance of Company Equity Awards and the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock upon the exercise of such Company Equity Awards (other than directors or executive officers of the Company) in accordance with their terms in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;

(d) acquire, by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets, or otherwise, any business or Person or division thereof or make any loans, advances or capital contributions to or investments in any Person in excess of $25,000 in the aggregate;

(e) (i) transfer, license, sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any assets (whether by way of merger, consolidation, sale of stock or assets, or otherwise), including the capital stock or other equity interests in any Subsidiary of the Company, provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit the Company and its Subsidiaries from transferring, licensing, selling, leasing or disposing of obsolete equipment or assets being replaced, in each case in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or (ii) adopt or effect a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization;

(f) repurchase, prepay or incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness of another Person, issue or sell any debt securities or options, warrants, calls or other rights to acquire any debt securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, guarantee any debt securities of another Person, enter into any "keep well" or other Contract to maintain any financial statement condition of any other Person (other than any wholly-owned Subsidiary of it) or enter into any arrangement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing, other than in connection with the financing of ordinary course trade payables consistent with past practice;

(g) enter into or amend or modify in any material respect, or consent to the termination of (other than at its stated expiry date), any Company Material Contract or any other

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Contract that, if in effect as of the date hereof would constitute a Company Material Contract hereunder;

(h) institute, settle or compromise any Legal Actions pending or threatened before any arbitrator, court or other Governmental Entity involving the payment of monetary damages by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any amount exceeding $25,000 in the aggregate, other than (i) any Legal Action brought against Parent or Merger Sub arising out of a breach or alleged breach of this Agreement by Parent or Merger Sub, and (ii) the settlement of claims, liabilities or obligations reserved against on the most recent balance sheet of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents; provided that neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall settle or agree to settle any Legal Action which settlement involves a conduct remedy or injunctive or similar relief or has a restrictive impact on the Company's business;

(i) make any material change in any method of financial accounting principles or practices, in each case except for any such change required by a change in GAAP or applicable Law;

(j) (i) settle or compromise any material Tax claim, audit or assessment, (ii) make or change any material Tax election, change any annual Tax accounting period, adopt or change any method of Tax accounting, (iii) amend any material Tax Returns or file claims for material Tax refunds, or (iv) enter into any material closing agreement, surrender in writing any right to claim a material Tax refund, offset or other reduction in Tax liability or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment relating to the Company or its Subsidiaries;

(k) enter into any material agreement, agreement in principle, letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or similar Contract with respect to any joint venture, strategic partnership or alliance;

(l) except in connection with actions permitted by Section 5.04 hereof, take any action to exempt any Person from, or make any acquisition of securities of the Company by any Person not subject to, any state takeover statute or similar statute or regulation that applies to Company with respect to a Takeover Proposal or otherwise, except for Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates, or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; or

(m) agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.

Section 5.02 Other Actions

. From the date of this Agreement until the earlier to occur of the Effective Time or the termination of this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth in Article VII, the Company and Parent shall not, and shall not permit any of their respective Subsidiaries to, take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, prevent, materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

Section 5.03 Access to Information; Confidentiality.

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(a) From the date of this Agreement until the earlier to occur of the Effective Time or the termination of this Agreement in accordance with the terms set forth in Article VII, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, afford to Parent and Parent's Representatives reasonable access, at reasonable times and in a manner as shall not unreasonably interfere with the business or operations of the Company or any Subsidiary thereof, to the officers, employees, accountants, agents, properties, offices and other facilities and to all books, records, contracts and other assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, furnish promptly to Parent such other information concerning the business and properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries as Parent may reasonably request from time to time. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall be required to provide access to or disclose information where such access or disclosure would jeopardize the protection of attorney-client privilege or contravene any Law (it being agreed that the parties shall use their reasonable best efforts to cause such information to be provided in a manner that would not result in such jeopardy or contravention). No investigation shall affect the Company's representations and warranties contained herein, or limit or otherwise affect the remedies available to Parent or Merger Sub pursuant to this Agreement.

Section 5.04 No Solicitation.

(a) The Company shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries not to, and shall not authorize or permit its and its Subsidiaries' directors, officers, employees, advisors and investment bankers (with respect to any Person, the foregoing Persons are referred to herein as such Person's "Representatives") to, directly or indirectly, solicit, initiate or knowingly take any action to facilitate or encourage the submission of any Takeover Proposal or the making of any proposal that could reasonably be expected to lead to any Takeover Proposal, or, subject to Section 5.04(b), (i) conduct or engage in any discussions or negotiations with, disclose any non-public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, afford access to the business, properties, assets, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, or knowingly assist, participate in, facilitate or encourage any effort by, any third party that is seeking to make, or has made, any Takeover Proposal, (ii) amend or grant any waiver or release under any standstill or similar agreement with respect to any class of equity securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iii) enter into any agreement in principle, letter of intent, term sheet, acquisition agreement, merger agreement, option agreement, joint venture agreement, partnership agreement or other Contract relating to any Takeover Proposal (each, a "Company Acquisition Agreement"). Subject to Section 5.04(b), neither the Company Board nor any committee thereof shall fail to make, withdraw, amend, modify or materially qualify, in a manner adverse to Parent or Merger Sub, the Company Board Recommendation, or recommend a Takeover Proposal, fail to recommend against acceptance of any tender offer or exchange offer for the shares of Company Common Stock within ten (10) Business Days after the commencement of such offer, or make any public statement inconsistent with the Company Board Recommendation, or resolve or agree to take any of the foregoing actions (any of the foregoing, a "Company Adverse Recommendation Change"). The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to cease immediately and cause to be terminated, and shall not authorize or knowingly permit any of its or their Representatives to continue, any and all existing activities, discussions or negotiations, if any, with any third party conducted prior to the date hereof with respect to any Takeover Proposal and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause any such third party (or its agents or advisors) in possession of non-public information in respect of the

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Company or any of its Subsidiaries that was furnished by or on behalf of the Company and its Subsidiaries to return or destroy (and confirm destruction of) all such information.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 5.04(a), prior to the receipt of the Company Requisite Vote, the Company Board, directly or indirectly through any Representative, may, subject to Section 5.04(c) (i) participate in negotiations or discussions with any third party that has made (and not withdrawn) a bona fide, unsolicited Takeover Proposal in writing that the Company Board believes in good faith, after consultation with outside legal counsel, constitutes or would reasonably be expected to result in a Superior Proposal, (ii) thereafter furnish to such third party non-public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to an executed confidentiality agreement that constitutes an Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement (a copy of which confidentiality agreement shall be promptly (in all events within twenty-four (24) hours) provided for informational purposes only to Parent), (iii) following receipt of and on account of a Superior Proposal, make a Company Adverse Recommendation Change, and/or (iv) take any action that any court of competent jurisdiction orders the Company to take (which order remains unstayed), but in each case referred to in the foregoing clauses (i) through (iv), only if the Company Board determines in good faith, after consultation with outside legal counsel, that the failure to take such action would reasonably be expected to cause the Company Board to be in breach of its fiduciary duties under applicable Law. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Company Board from disclosing to the Company's stockholders a position contemplated by Rule 14d-9 and Rule 14e-2(a) promulgated under the Exchange Act with regard to a Takeover Proposal, if the Company determines, after consultation with outside legal counsel, that failure to disclose such position would constitute a violation of applicable Law.

(c) The Company Board shall not take any of the actions referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) of Section 5.04(b) unless the Company shall have delivered to Parent a prior written notice advising Parent that it intends to take such action. The Company shall notify Parent promptly (but in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours) after it obtains Knowledge of the receipt by the Company (or any of its Representatives) of any Takeover Proposal, any inquiry that would reasonably be expected to lead to a Takeover Proposal, any request for non-public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or for access to the business, properties, assets, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries by any third party. In such notice, the Company shall identify the third party making, and details of the material terms and conditions of, any such Takeover Proposal, indication or request. The Company shall keep Parent fully informed, on a current basis, of the status and material terms of any such Takeover Proposal, indication or request, including any material amendments or proposed amendments as to price and other material terms thereof. The Company shall provide Parent with at least forty-eight (48) hours prior notice of any meeting of the Company Board (or such lesser notice as is provided to the members of the Company Board) at which the Company Board is reasonably expected to consider any Takeover Proposal. The Company shall promptly provide Parent with a list of any non-public information concerning the Company's business, present or future performance, financial condition or results of operations, provided to any third party, and, to the extent such information has not been previously provided to Parent, copies of such information.

(d) Except as set forth in this Section 5.04(d), the Company Board shall not make any Company Adverse Recommendation Change or enter into (or permit any Subsidiary to enter

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into) a Company Acquisition Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time prior to the receipt of the Company Requisite Vote, the Company Board may make a Company Adverse Recommendation Change or enter into (or permit any Subsidiary to enter into) a Company Acquisition Agreement, if: (i) the Company promptly notifies Parent, in writing, at least five (5) Business Days (the "Notice Period") before making a Company Adverse Recommendation Change or entering into (or causing a Subsidiary to enter into) a Company Acquisition Agreement, of its intention to take such action with respect to a Superior Proposal, which notice shall state expressly that the Company has received a Takeover Proposal that the Company Board intends to declare a Superior Proposal and that the Company Board intends to make a Company Adverse Recommendation Change and/or the Company intends to enter into a Company Acquisition Agreement; (ii) the Company attaches to such notice the most current version of the proposed agreement (which version shall be updated on a prompt basis) and the identity of the third party making such Superior Proposal; (iii) the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause its and its Subsidiaries' Representatives to, during the Notice Period, negotiate with Parent in good faith to make such adjustments in the terms and conditions of this Agreement so that such Takeover Proposal ceases to constitute a Superior Proposal, if Parent, in its discretion, proposes to make such adjustments (it being agreed that in the event that, after commencement of the Notice Period, there is any material revision to the terms of a Superior Proposal, including, any revision in price, the Notice Period shall be extended, if applicable, to ensure that at least three (3) Business Days remains in the Notice Period subsequent to the time the Company notifies Parent of any such material revision (it being understood that there may be multiple extensions)); and (iv) the Company Board determines in good faith, after consulting with outside legal counsel, that such Takeover Proposal continues to constitute a Superior Proposal after taking into account any adjustments made by Parent during the Notice Period in the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

(a) Subject to the terms set forth in this Agreement, including Section 5.04, the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to secure the written consent of the holders of Company Common Stock in favor of the adoption of this Agreement and approval of the Merger (the “Written Consent”) as soon as reasonably practicable after the date of this Agreement. Except to the extent that the Company Board shall have effected a Company Adverse Recommendation Change as permitted by Section 5.04(b) hereof, the Company Information Statement shall include the Company Board Recommendation. The Company shall have no obligation to call or hold a special meeting of the Stockholders of the Company to consider the adoption of this Agreement.

(b) As soon as reasonably practicable following receipt of the Written Consent, the Company shall prepare and file the Company Information Statement with the SEC. Parent, Merger Sub and the Company will cooperate and consult with each other in the preparation of the Company Information Statement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each of Parent and Merger Sub will furnish the Company the information relating to it required by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder to be set forth in the Company Information Statement. The Company shall not file the Company Information Statement, or any amendment or supplement thereto, without providing Parent a reasonable opportunity to review and comment thereon (which comments shall be reasonably considered by

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the Company). The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to resolve, and each party agrees to consult and cooperate with the other party in resolving, all SEC comments with respect to the Company Information Statement as promptly as practicable after receipt thereof and to cause the Company Information Statement in definitive form to be cleared by the SEC and mailed to the Company's stockholders as promptly as reasonably practicable following filing with the SEC. The Company agrees to consult with Parent prior to responding to SEC comments with respect to the preliminary Company Information Statement. Each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company agree to correct any information provided by it for use in the Company Information Statement which shall have become false or misleading and the Company shall promptly prepare and mail to its stockholders an amendment or supplement setting forth such correction. The Company shall as soon as reasonably practicable (i) notify Parent of the receipt of any comments from the SEC with respect to the Company Information Statement and any request by the SEC for any amendment to the Company Information Statement or for additional information and (ii) provide Parent with copies of all written correspondence between the Company and its Representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC, on the other hand, with respect to the Company Information Statement.

Section 5.06 Notices of Certain Events

. The Company shall notify Parent and Merger Sub, and Parent and Merger Sub shall notify the Company, promptly of (i) any notice or other communication from any Person alleging that the consent of such Person is or may be required in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) any notice or other communication from any Governmental Entity in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (iii) any Legal Actions commenced, or to such party's knowledge, threatened, against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Parent or its Subsidiaries, as applicable, that are related to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and (iv) any event, change or effect between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time which causes or is reasonably likely to cause the failure of the conditions set forth in Section 6.02(a), Section 6.02(b) or Section 6.02(c) of this Agreement (in the case of the Company and its Subsidiaries) or Section 6.03(a) or Section 6.03(b) of this Agreement (in the case of Parent and Merger Sub), to be satisfied. In no event shall (x) the delivery of any notice by a party pursuant to this Section 5.06 limit or otherwise affect the respective rights, obligations, representations, warranties, covenants or agreements of the parties or the conditions to the obligations of the parties under this Agreement, or (y) disclosure by the Company or Parent be deemed to amend or supplement the Company Disclosure Letter or constitute an exception to any representation or warranty. This Section 5.06 shall not constitute a covenant or agreement for purposes of Section 6.02(b) or Section 6.03(b).

Section 5.07 Reserved

Section 5.08 Directors' and Officers' Indemnification and Insurance

(a) Parent and Merger Sub agree that all rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and exculpation by the Company now existing in favor of each Person who is now, or has been at any time prior to the date hereof or who becomes prior to the Effective Time an officer or director of the Company and its Subsidiaries (each an "Indemnified Party") as provided in the Company Charter Documents, in each case as in effect on the date of this Agreement, or pursuant to any other Contracts in effect on the date hereof and disclosed in

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Section 5.08, shall be assumed by the Surviving Company in the Merger, without further action, at the Effective Time and shall survive the Merger and shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms, and, in the event that any proceeding is pending or asserted or any claim made during such period, until the final disposition of such proceeding or claim.

(b) For six years after the Effective Time, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable Law, Parent and the Surviving Company (the "Indemnifying Parties") shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Indemnified Party against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, fees, expenses, judgments and fines arising in whole or in part out of actions or omissions in their capacity as such occurring at or prior to the Effective Time (including in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement), and shall reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending any such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, fees, expenses, judgments and fines as such expenses are incurred, subject to the Surviving Company's receipt of an undertaking by such Indemnified Party to repay such legal and other fees and expenses paid in advance if it is ultimately determined in a final and non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction that such Indemnified Party is not entitled to be indemnified under applicable Law; provided, however, that the Surviving Company will not be liable for any settlement effected without the Surviving Company's prior written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed).

(c) The Surviving Company shall, and Parent shall cause the Surviving Company to, (i) maintain in effect for a period of six (6) years after the Effective Time, if available, the current policies of directors' and officers' liability insurance maintained by the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time (provided that the Surviving Company may substitute therefor policies, of at least the same coverage and amounts and containing terms and conditions that are not less advantageous to the directors and officers of the Company and its Subsidiaries when compared to the insurance maintained by the Company as of the date hereof), or (ii) obtain as of the Effective Time "tail" insurance policies with a claims period of six (6) years from the Effective Time with at least the same coverage and amounts and containing terms and conditions that are not less advantageous to the directors and officers of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in each case with respect to claims arising out of or relating to events which occurred before or at the Effective Time (including in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement); provided, however, that in no event will the Surviving Company be required to expend an annual premium for such coverage in excess of 125% of the last annual premium paid by the Company for such insurance prior to the date of this Agreement, which amount is set forth on Section 5.08(c) of the Company Disclosure Letter (the "Maximum Premium"). If such insurance coverage cannot be obtained at an annual premium equal to or less than the Maximum Premium, the Surviving Company will obtain, and Parent will cause the Surviving Company to obtain, that amount of directors' and officers' insurance (or "tail" coverage) obtainable for an annual premium equal to the Maximum Premium.

(d) The obligations of Parent and the Surviving Company under this Section 5.08 shall survive the consummation of the Merger and shall not be terminated or modified in such a manner as to adversely affect any Indemnified Party to whom this Section 5.08 applies without the consent of such affected Indemnified Party (it being expressly agreed that the Indemnified

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Parties to whom this Section 5.08 applies shall be third party beneficiaries of this Section 5.08, each of whom may enforce the provisions of this Section 5.08).

(e) In the event Parent, the Surviving Company or any of their respective successors or assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other Person and shall not be the continuing or Surviving Company or entity in such consolidation or merger or (ii) transfers all or substantially all of its properties and assets to any Person, then, and in either such case, proper provision shall be made so that the successors and assigns of Parent or the Surviving Company, as the case may be, shall assume all of the obligations set forth in this Section 5.08. The agreements and covenants contained herein shall not be deemed to be exclusive of any other rights to which any Indemnified Party is entitled, whether pursuant to Law, Contract or otherwise. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to, shall be construed to or shall release, waive or impair any rights to directors' and officers' insurance claims under any policy that is or has been in existence with respect to the Company or its officers, directors and employees, it being understood and agreed that the indemnification provided for in this Section 5.08 is not prior to, or in substitution for, any such claims under any such policies.

Section 5.09 Reasonable Best Efforts.

(a) Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement (including those contained in this Section 5.09), each of the parties hereto shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, use its reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions, and to do, or cause to be done, and to assist and cooperate with the other parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate and make effective, and to satisfy all conditions to, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including (i) the obtaining of all necessary permits, waivers, consents, approvals and actions or nonactions from Governmental Entities and the making of all necessary registrations and filings (including filings with Governmental Entities) and the taking of all steps as may be necessary to obtain an approval or waiver from, or to avoid an action or proceeding by, any Governmental Entities, (ii) the obtaining of all necessary consents or waivers from third parties, and (iii) the execution and delivery of any additional instruments necessary to consummate the Merger and to fully carry out the purposes of this Agreement. Parent will take all action necessary to cause Merger Sub to perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the Merger on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. The Company and Parent shall, subject to applicable Law, promptly (x) cooperate and coordinate with the other in the taking of the actions contemplated by clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) immediately above and (y) supply the other with any information that may be reasonably required in order to effectuate the taking of such actions. Each party hereto shall promptly inform the other party or parties hereto, as the case may be, of any communication from any Governmental Entity regarding any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. If the Company or Parent receives a request for additional information or documentary material from any Governmental Entity with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, then it shall use reasonable best efforts to make, or cause to be made, as soon as reasonably practicable and after consultation with the other party, an appropriate response in compliance with such request, and, if permitted by applicable Law and by any applicable Governmental Entity, provide the other party's counsel with advance notice and the opportunity to attend and participate in any meeting with any Governmental Entity

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in respect of any filing made thereto in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(b) Reserved.

(c) In the event that any administrative or judicial action or proceeding is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by a Governmental Entity or private party challenging the Merger or any other transaction contemplated by this Agreement, or any other agreement contemplated hereby, the Company shall cooperate in all respects with Parent and Merger Sub and shall use its reasonable best efforts to contest and resist any such action or proceeding and to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any Order, whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that prohibits, prevents or restricts consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, none of Parent, Merger Sub or any of their Affiliates shall be required to defend, contest or resist any action or proceeding, whether judicial or administrative, or to take any action to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any Order, in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, none of Parent, Merger Sub or any of their Subsidiaries shall be required to, and the Company may not, without the prior written consent of Parent, become subject to, consent to, or offer or agree to, or otherwise take any action with respect to, any requirement, condition, limitation, understanding, agreement or order to (i) sell, license, assign, transfer, divest, hold separate or otherwise dispose of any assets, business or portion of business of the Company, the Surviving Company, Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Subsidiaries, (ii) conduct, restrict, operate, invest or otherwise change the assets, business or portion of business of the Company, the Surviving Company, Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Subsidiaries in any manner, or (iii) impose any restriction, requirement or limitation on the operation of the business or portion of the business of the Company, the Surviving Company, Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective Subsidiaries; provided that, if requested by Parent, the Company will become subject to, consent to, or offer or agree to, or otherwise take any action with respect to, any such requirement, condition, limitation, understanding, agreement or order so long as such requirement, condition, limitation, understanding, agreement or order is only binding on the Company in the event the Closing occurs.

Section 5.10 Public Announcements

. The initial press release with respect to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be a release mutually agreed to by the Company and Parent. Thereafter, each of the Company, Parent and Merger Sub agrees that no public release or announcement concerning the transactions contemplated hereby shall be issued by any party without the prior written consent of the Company and Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), except as such release or announcement may be permitted by Section 5.04 or required by applicable Law or the rules or regulations of any applicable United States securities exchange or Governmental Entity to which the relevant party is subject, wherever situated, in which case the party required to make the release or announcement shall consult with the other party about, and allow the other party reasonable time to comment on such release or announcement in advance of such issuance.

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Section 5.11 Takeover Statutes

. If any "control share acquisition", "fair price", "moratorium" or other anti-takeover Law becomes or is deemed to be applicable to the Company, Parent, Merger Sub, the Merger or any other transaction contemplated by this Agreement, then each of the Company, Parent, Merger Sub, and their respective board of directors shall grant such approvals and take such actions as are necessary so that the transactions contemplated hereby may be consummated as promptly as practicable on the terms contemplated hereby and otherwise act to render such anti-takeover Law inapplicable to the foregoing.

Section 5.12 Section 16 Matters

. Prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall take all such steps as may be required to cause to be exempt under Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act any dispositions of shares of Company Common Stock (including derivative securities with respect to such shares) that are treated as dispositions under such rule and result from the transactions contemplated by this Agreement by each director or officer of the Company who is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act with respect to the Company.

Section 5.13 Further Assurances

. At and after the Effective Time, the officers and directors of the Surviving Company shall be authorized to execute and deliver, in the name and on behalf of the Company or Merger Sub, any deeds, bills of sale, assignments or assurances and to take and do, in the name and on behalf of the Company or Merger Sub, any other actions and things to vest, perfect or confirm of record or otherwise in the Surviving Company any and all right, title and interest in, to and under any of the rights, properties or assets of the Company acquired or to be acquired by the Surviving Company as a result of, or in connection with, the Merger.

Article VI
Conditions

Section 6.01 Conditions to Each Party's Obligation to Effect the Merger

. The respective obligations of each party to this Agreement to effect the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver on or prior to the Closing Date of each of the following conditions:

(a) Company Stockholder Approval. This Agreement will have been duly adopted by the Requisite Company Vote.

(b) Reserved.

(c) No Injunctions, Restraints or Illegality. No Governmental Entity having jurisdiction over any party hereto shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Laws or Orders, whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that make illegal, enjoin or otherwise prohibit consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(d) Governmental Consents. All consents, approvals and other authorizations of any Governmental Entity set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Letter, including SEC clearance of the definitive form of the Company Information Statement, and required to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement (other than

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the filing of the Certificate of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware) shall have been obtained, free of any condition that would reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect or a material adverse effect on Parent's and Merger Sub's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

Section 6.02 Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub

. The obligations of Parent and Merger Sub to effect the Merger are also subject to the satisfaction or waiver by Parent and Merger Sub on or prior to the Closing Date of the following conditions:

(a) Representations and Warranties. (i) The representations and warranties of the Company (other than in Section 3.01(a), Section 3.02(a) (second sentence), Section 3.02(b)(i) (first sentence), Section 3.02(c) (last sentence), Section 3.03(a), Section 3.04(b) and Section 3.05(a) set forth in Article III of this Agreement shall be true and correct in all respects (without giving effect to any limitation indicated by the words "Company Material Adverse Effect," "in all material respects," "in any material respect," "material" or "materially") when made and as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, as if made at and as of such time (except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct in all respects as of that date), except where the failure of such representations and warranties to be so true and correct would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 3.02(a) (second sentence), Section 3.02(b)(i) (first sentence), and Section 3.02(c) (last sentence) shall be true and correct (other than de minimis inaccuracies) when made and as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, as if made at and as of such time (except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct in all material respects as of that date), and (iii) the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.01(a), Section 3.03(a), Section 3.04(b), and Section 3.05(a) shall be true and correct in all respects when made and as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, as if made at and as of such time (except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct in all respects as of that date).

(b) Performance of Covenants. The Company shall have performed in all material respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by it hereunder.

(c) Company Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have been any Company Material Adverse Effect or any event, change or effect that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(d) Officers Certificate. Parent will have received a certificate, signed by the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of the Company, certifying as to the matters set forth in Section 6.02(a), Section 6.02(b) and Section 6.02(c) hereof.

Section 6.03 Conditions to Obligation of the Company

. The obligation of the Company to effect the Merger is also subject to the satisfaction or waiver by the Company on or prior to the Closing Date of the following conditions:

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(a) Representations and warranties. The representations and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub set forth in Article IV of this Agreement shall be true and correct in all respects (without giving effect to any limitation indicated by the words "material adverse effect," "in all material respects," "in any material respect," "material" or "materially") when made and as of immediately prior to the Effective Time, as if made at and as of such time (except those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date, which shall be true and correct in all respects as of that date), except where the failure of such representations and warranties to be so true and correct would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent's and Merger Sub's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(b) Performance of covenants. Parent and Merger Sub shall have performed in all material respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by them hereunder.

(c) Officers certificate. The Company will have received a certificate, signed by an officer of Parent, certifying as to the matters set forth in Section 6.03(a) and Section 6.03(b).

Article VII
Termination, Amendment and Waiver

. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding any approval of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company) by mutual written consent of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company.

Section 7.02 Termination By Either Parent or the Company

. This Agreement may be terminated by either Parent or the Company at any time prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding any approval of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company):

(a) if the Merger has not been consummated on or before December 31, 2013 (the "End Date"); provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.02(a) shall not be available to any party whose breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Merger to be consummated on or before the End Date;

(b) if any Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Law or Order making illegal, permanently enjoining or otherwise permanently prohibiting the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and such Law or Order shall have become final and nonappealable; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.02(b) shall not be available to any party whose breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the issuance, promulgation, enforcement or entry of any such Law or Order; or

(c) if this Agreement has been submitted to the stockholders of the Company for adoption in connection with obtaining the Requisite Company Vote shall not have been obtained at such meeting (including any adjournment or postponement thereof).

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Section 7.03 Termination By Parent

. This Agreement may be terminated by Parent at any time prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding any approval of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company):

(a) if (i) a Company Adverse Recommendation Change shall have occurred, (ii) the Company shall have entered into, or publicly announced its intention to enter into, a Company Acquisition Agreement (other than an Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement), (iii) the Company shall have breached or failed to perform in any material respect any of the covenants and agreements set forth in Section 5.04, (iv) the Company Board fails to reaffirm (publicly, if so requested by Parent) the Company Board Recommendation within ten (10) Business Days after the date any Takeover Proposal (or material modification thereto) is first publicly disclosed by the Company or the Person making such Takeover Proposal, (v) a tender offer or exchange offer relating to Company Common Stock shall have been commenced by a Person unaffiliated with Parent and the Company shall not have sent to its stockholders pursuant to Rule 14e-2 under the Securities Act, within ten (10) Business Days after such tender offer or exchange offer is first published, sent or given, a statement reaffirming the Company Board Recommendation and recommending that stockholders reject such tender or exchange offer, or (vi) the Company or the Company Board (or any committee thereof) shall publicly announce its intentions to do any of actions specified in this Section 7.03(a); or

(b) if there shall have been a breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of the Company set forth in this Agreement such that the conditions to the Closing of the Merger set forth in Section 6.02(a) or Section 6.02(b), as applicable, would not be satisfied and, in either such case, such breach is incapable of being cured by the End Date; provided that Parent shall have given the Company at least 30 days written notice prior to such termination stating Parent's intention to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.03(b).

Section 7.04 Termination By the Company

. This Agreement may be terminated by the Company at any time prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding, in the case of Section 7.04(b) immediately below, any approval of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company):

(a) if prior to the receipt of the Requisite Company Vote, the Company Board authorizes the Company, in full compliance with the terms of this Agreement, including Section 5.04(b) hereof, to enter into a Company Acquisition Agreement (other than an Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement) in respect of a Superior Proposal; provided that the Company shall have paid any amounts due pursuant to Section 7.06(b) hereof in accordance with the terms, and at the times, specified therein; and provided further that in the event of such termination, the Company substantially concurrently enters into such Company Acquisition Agreement; or

(b) if there shall have been a breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of Parent or Merger Sub set forth in this Agreement such that the conditions to the Closing of the Merger set forth in Section 6.03(a) or Section 6.03(b), as applicable, would not be satisfied and, in either such case, such breach is incapable of being cured by the End Date; provided that the Company shall have given Parent at least 30 days

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written notice prior to such termination stating the Company's intention to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.04(b).

Section 7.05 Notice of Termination; Effect of Termination

. The party desiring to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Article VII (other than pursuant to Section 7.01) shall deliver written notice of such termination to each other party hereto specifying with particularity the reason for such termination, and any such termination in accordance with Section 7.05 shall be effective immediately upon delivery of such written notice to the other party. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Article VII, it will become void and of no further force and effect, with no liability on the part of any party to this Agreement (or any stockholder, director, officer, employee, agent or Representative of such party) to any other party hereto, except (i) with respect to Error! Reference source not found., this Section 7.05, Section 7.06 and Article VIII (and any related definitions contained in any such Sections or Article), which shall remain in full force and effect and (ii) with respect to any liabilities or damages incurred or suffered by a party, to the extent such liabilities or damages were the result of fraud or the breach by another party of any of its representations, warranties, covenants or other agreements set forth in this Agreement.

Section 7.06 Fees and Expenses Following Termination.

(a) If this Agreement is terminated by Parent pursuant to Section 7.03(a), then the Company shall pay to Parent (by wire transfer of immediately available funds), within two (2) Business Days after such termination, a fee in an amount equal to the Termination Fee, plus, Parent's Expenses actually incurred by Parent on or prior to the termination of this Agreement.

(b) If this Agreement is terminated by the Company pursuant to Section 7.04(a), then the Company shall pay to Parent (by wire transfer of immediately available funds), at or prior to such termination, the Termination Fee, plus, Parent's Expenses actually incurred by Parent on or prior to the termination of this Agreement.

(c) If this Agreement is terminated (i) by Parent pursuant to Section 7.03(b), provided that the Requisite Company Vote shall not have been obtained or (ii) by the Company or Parent pursuant to (x) Section 7.02(a) hereof and provided that the Requisite Company Vote shall not have been obtained or (y) Section 7.02(c) hereof and, in the case of clauses (i) and (ii) immediately above, (A) prior to such termination (in the case of termination pursuant to Section 7.02(a) or Section 7.03(b)), a Takeover Proposal shall (1) in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 7.02(a) or Section 7.02(c), have been publicly disclosed and not withdrawn or (2) in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 7.03(b), have been publicly disclosed or otherwise made or communicated to the Company or the Company Board, and not withdrawn, and (B) within 12 (twelve) months following the date of such termination of this Agreement the Company shall have entered into a definitive agreement with respect to any Takeover Proposal, or any Takeover Proposal shall have been consummated (in each case whether or not such Takeover Proposal is the same as the original Takeover Proposal made, communicated or publicly disclosed), then in any such event the Company shall pay to Parent (by wire transfer of immediately available funds), immediately prior to and as a condition to consummating such transaction, the Termination Fee, plus, Parent's Expenses actually incurred by Parent on or prior to the termination of this Agreement (it being understood for all purposes of this Section 7.06(c),

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all references in the definition of Takeover Proposal to 15% shall be deemed to be references to "more than 50%" instead). If a Person (other than Parent) makes a Takeover Proposal that has been publicly disclosed and subsequently withdrawn prior to such termination or the Company Stockholder Meeting, as applicable, and, within 12 (twelve) months following the date of the termination of this Agreement, such Person or any of its controlled Affiliates makes a Takeover Proposal that is publicly disclosed, such initial Takeover Proposal shall be deemed to have been "not withdrawn" for purposes of clauses (1) and (2) of this paragraph (c).

(d) The Company acknowledges and hereby agrees that the provisions of this Section 7.06 are an integral part of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including the Merger), and that, without such provisions, Parent and Merger Sub would not have entered into this Agreement. If the Company shall fail to pay in a timely manner the amounts due pursuant to this Section 7.06, and, in order to obtain such payment, Parent makes a claim against the Company that results in a judgment against the Company, the Company shall pay to Parent the reasonable costs and expenses of Parent (including its reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses) incurred or accrued in connection with such suit, together with interest on the amounts set forth in this Section 7.06 at the prime lending rate prevailing during such period as published in The Wall Street Journal. Any interest payable hereunder shall be calculated on a daily basis from the date such amounts were required to be paid until (but excluding) the date of actual payment, and on the basis of a 360-day year. The parties acknowledge and agree that in no event shall the Company be obligated to pay the Termination Fee on more than one occasion.

(e) Except as expressly set forth in this Section 7.06, all Expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby will be paid by the party incurring such Expenses.

Section 7.07 Amendment

. At any time prior to the Effective Time, this Agreement may be amended or supplemented in any and all respects, whether before or after receipt of the Requisite Company Vote, by written agreement signed by each of the parties hereto; provided, however, that following the receipt of the Requisite Company Vote, there shall be no amendment or supplement to the provisions of this Agreement which by Law or in accordance with the rules of any relevant self regulatory organization would require further approval by the holders of Company Common Stock without such approval.

Section 7.08 Extension; Waiver

. At any time prior to the Effective Time, Parent or Merger Sub, on the one hand, or the Company, on the other hand, may (a) extend the time for the performance of any of the obligations of the other party(ies), (b) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and warranties of the other party(ies) contained in this Agreement or in any document delivered under this Agreement, or (c) unless prohibited by applicable Law, waive compliance with any of the covenants, agreements or conditions contained in this Agreement. Any agreement on the part of a party to any extension or waiver will be valid only if set forth in an instrument in writing signed by such party. The failure of any party to assert any of its rights under this Agreement or otherwise will not constitute a waiver of such rights.

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Article VIII
Miscellaneous

Section 8.01 Definitions

. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms will have the following meanings when used herein with initial capital letters:

"Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement" means a confidentiality and standstill agreement that is in a form reasonably acceptable to the Company and Parent.

"Affiliate" means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, such first Person. For the purposes of this definition, "control" (including, the terms "controlling," "controlled by" and "under common control with"), as applied to any Person, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of that Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by Contract or otherwise.

"Agreement" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

"Book-Entry Shares" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.02(a).

"Business Day" means any day, other than Saturday, Sunday or any day on which banking institutions located in Houston, Texas are authorized or required by Law or other governmental action to close.

"Certificate" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.01(c).

"Certificate of Merger" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.03.

"Charter Documents" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.01(b).

"Closing" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.02.

"Closing Date" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.02.

"Code" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.05.

"Company" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

"Company Acquisition Agreement" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04(a).

"Company Adverse Recommendation Change" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04(a).

"Company Balance Sheet" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04(c).

"Company Board" has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

"Company Board Recommendation" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(d).

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"Company Common Stock" has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

"Company Disclosure Letter" has the meaning set forth in the introductory language in Article III.

"Company Equity Award" means a Company Stock Option or a Company Stock Award or a phantom stock award, as the case may be.

"Company Information Statement" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.07.

"Company Material Adverse Effect" means any event, occurrence, fact, condition or change that is, or would reasonably be expected to become, individually or in the aggregate, materially adverse to (i) the business, results of operations, prospects, condition (financial or otherwise), or assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby on a timely basis; provided, however, that, for the purposes of clause (i), a Company Material Adverse Effect shall not be deemed to include events, occurrences, facts, conditions or changes arising out of, relating to or resulting from: (a) changes generally affecting the economy, financial or securities markets; (b) the announcement of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (c) any outbreak or escalation of war or any act of terrorism; or (d) general conditions in the industry in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate; provided further, however, that any event, change and effect referred to in clauses (a), (c) or (d) immediately above shall be taken into account in determining whether a Company Material Adverse Effect has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur to the extent that such event, change or effect has a disproportionate effect on the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, compared to other participants in the industries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct their businesses.

"Company Material Contract" shall mean any "material contract" (as such term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act), whether or not filed by the Company with the SEC.

"Company Preferred Stock" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.02(a).

"Company SEC Documents" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04(a).

"Company Securities" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.02(b).

"Company Stock Award" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.07(b).

"Company Stock Option" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.07(a).

"Company Stock Plans" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.02(b).

"Company Subsidiary Securities" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.02(d).

"Consent" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(c).

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"Contracts" means any contracts, agreements, licenses, notes, bonds, mortgages, indentures, leases or other binding instruments or binding commitments, whether written or oral.

"DGCL" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.01.

"DLLCA" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.01.

"Dissenting Shares" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.03.

"Effective Time" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.03.

"End Date" has the meaning set forth in Section 7.02(a).

"Exchange Act" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(c).

"Exchange Agent" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.02(a).

"Excluded Shares" means the shares of Company Common Stock owned by Parent, Merger Sub, the Company (as treasury stock or otherwise), any of their respective direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiaries, and all shares of Company Common Stock owned of record or beneficially by the Participating Stockholders.

"Expenses" means, with respect to any Person, all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket fees and expenses (including all fees and expenses of counsel, accountants, financial advisors and investment bankers of such Person and its Affiliates), incurred by such Person or on its behalf in connection with or related to the authorization, preparation, negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement and any transactions related thereto, any litigation with respect thereto, the preparation, printing, filing and mailing of the Company Information Statement, the filing of any required notices regulatory approvals, in any, and all other matters related to the Merger other transactions contemplated hereby.

"GAAP" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04(b).

"Governmental Entity" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(c).

"Indemnified Party" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.08(a).

"Indemnifying Parties" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.08(b).

"IRS" means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

"Knowledge" means, when used with respect to the Company, the actual or constructive knowledge of any officer or director, after due inquiry.

"Laws" means any domestic or foreign laws, common law, statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, codes, Orders or legally enforceable requirements enacted, issued, adopted, promulgated, enforced, ordered or applied by any Governmental Entity.

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"Legal Action" shall mean any claim, action, suit, arbitration, proceeding or, to the Knowledge of the Company, governmental investigation.

"Liability" shall mean any liability, indebtedness or obligation of any kind (whether accrued, absolute, contingent, matured, unmatured or otherwise, and whether or not required to be recorded or reflected on a balance sheet under GAAP).

"Liens" means, with respect to any property or asset, all pledges, liens, mortgages, charges, encumbrances, hypothecations, options, rights of first refusal, rights of first offer and security interests of any kind or nature whatsoever.

"Maximum Premium" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.08(c).

"Merger" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.01.

"Merger Sub" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

"Merger Consideration" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.01(b).

"Notice Period" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04(d).

"Order" shall mean any order, writ, assessment, decision, injunction, decree, ruling or judgment of a Governmental Entity.

"Parent" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

"Participating Stockholders" means Frederick M. Pevow, Jr, John O. Niemann, Jr., John A. Raasch, GreyCap Energy LLC, Crosscap Management, Inc., Brady E. Crosswell, Christopher Robert Sis, Chauncey J. Gundelfinger, Jr., Brett C. Rule, John E. O’Shea, Jr., Steven Scheler and each additional investor made a party to the Support Agreement after the date hereof.

"Payment Fund" has the meaning set forth in Section 2.02(a).

"Permitted Liens" means (a) statutory Liens for current Taxes or other governmental charges not yet due and payable or the amount or validity of which is being contested in good faith (provided appropriate reserves required pursuant to GAAP have been made in respect thereof), (b) mechanics', carriers', workers', repairers' and similar statutory Liens arising or incurred in the ordinary course of business for amounts which are not delinquent or which are being contested by appropriate proceedings (provided appropriate reserves required pursuant to GAAP have been made in respect thereof), (c) zoning, entitlement, building and other land use regulations imposed by Governmental Entities having jurisdiction over such Person's owned or leased real property, which are not violated by the current use and operation of such real property, (d) covenants, conditions, restrictions, easements and other similar non-monetary matters of record affecting title to such Person's owned or leased real property, which do not materially impair the occupancy or use of such real property for the purposes for which it is currently used in connection with such Person's businesses, (e) any right of way or easement related to public roads and highways, which do not materially impair the occupancy or use of such real property for the purposes for which it is currently used in connection with such Person's businesses, and (f) Liens arising under workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, social security, retirement and similar legislation.

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"Person" means any individual, corporation, limited or general partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, trust, association, joint venture, Governmental Entity and other entity and group (which term will include a "group" as such term is defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act).

"Representatives" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04(a).

"Requisite Company Vote" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(a).

"SEC" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.03(c).

"Securities Act" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.04(a).

"Subsidiary" means, when used with respect to any party, and except as set forth on Section 8.01(iii) of the Company Disclosure Letter, any corporation or other organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, a majority of the securities or other interests of which having by their terms ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or others performing similar functions with respect to such corporation or other organization is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by such party or by any one or more of its subsidiaries, or by such party and one or more of its subsidiaries.

"Superior Proposal" means a bona fide written Takeover Proposal involving the direct or indirect acquisition pursuant to a tender offer, exchange offer, merger, consolidation or other business combination, of all or substantially all of the Company's consolidated assets or a majority of the outstanding Company Common Stock, that the Company Board determines in good faith (after consultation with outside legal counsel) is more favorable from a financial point of view to the holders of Company Common Stock than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, taking into account (a) all financial considerations, (b) the identity of the third party making such Takeover Proposal, (c) the anticipated timing, conditions (including any financing condition or the reliability of any debt or equity funding commitments) and prospects for completion of such Takeover Proposal, (d) the other terms and conditions of such Takeover Proposal and the implications thereof on the Company, including relevant legal, regulatory and other aspects of such Takeover Proposal deemed relevant by the Company Board and (e) any revisions to the terms of this Agreement and the Merger proposed by the Parent during the Notice Period set forth in Section 5.04(d).

"Support Agreement" has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

"Surviving Company" has the meaning set forth in Section 1.01.

"Takeover Proposal" means a proposal or offer from, or indication of interest in making a proposal or offer by, any Person (other than Parent and its Subsidiaries, including Merger Sub) relating to any (a) direct or indirect acquisition of assets of the Company or its Subsidiaries (including any voting equity interests of Subsidiaries, but excluding sales of assets in the ordinary course of business) equal to fifteen percent (15%) or more of the fair market value of the Company's consolidated assets or to which fifteen percent (15%) or more of the Company's net revenues or net income on a consolidated basis are attributable, (b) direct or indirect acquisition of fifteen percent (15%) or more of the voting equity interests of the Company, (c) tender offer or exchange offer that if consummated would result in any Person beneficially owning (within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) fifteen percent (15%) or more of the voting equity interests of the Company, (d) merger, consolidation, other business combination or similar transaction involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, pursuant to which such Person would own fifteen percent (15%) or more of the consolidated assets, net revenues or net income of the Company, taken as a whole, or (e) liquidation or dissolution (or the adoption of a plan of liquidation or dissolution) of the Company or the declaration or payment of an extraordinary dividend (whether in cash or other property) by the Company.

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"Taxes" means all federal, state, local, foreign and other income, gross receipts, sales, use, production, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, registration, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, unemployment, estimated, excise, severance, environmental, stamp, occupation, premium, property (real or personal), real property gains, windfall profits, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments or charges of any kind whatsoever, together with any interest, additions or penalties with respect thereto and any interest in respect of such additions or penalties.

"Tax Returns" means any return, declaration, report, claim for refund, information return or statement or other document required to be filed with or provided to any taxing authority in respect of Taxes, including any schedule or attachment thereto, and including any amendment thereof.

"Termination Fee" means $75,000.

"Treasury Regulations" means the Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code.

"Voting Debt" has the meaning set forth in Section 3.02(c).

"Written Consent" has the meaning set forth in Section 5.05(a).

Section 8.02 Interpretation; Construction.

(a) The table of contents and headings herein are for convenience of reference only, do not constitute part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or otherwise affect any of the provisions hereof. Where a reference in this Agreement is made to a Section or Schedule, such reference shall be to a Section or Schedule of this Agreement unless otherwise indicated. Whenever the words "include," "includes" or "including" are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words "without limitation." A reference in this Agreement to $ or dollars is to U.S. dollars. The words "hereof," "herein" and "hereunder" and words of similar import when used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. References to "this Agreement" shall include the Company Disclosure Letter.

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(b) The parties have participated jointly in negotiating and drafting this Agreement. In the event that an ambiguity or a question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.

Section 8.03 Survival

. None of the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or in any instrument delivered under this Agreement will survive the Effective Time. This Section 8.03 does not limit any covenant of the parties to this Agreement which, by its terms, contemplates performance after the Effective Time.

Section 8.04 Governing Law

. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of Laws of any jurisdiction other than those of the State of Delaware.

Section 8.05 Submission to Jurisdiction

. Each of the parties hereto irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding with respect to this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment in respect of this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder brought by any other party hereto or its successors or assigns shall be brought and determined exclusively in the state courts of the State of Texas sitting in Houston, Texas, or in the event (but only in the event) that such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over such action or proceeding, in any court of the United States located in Houston, Texas. Each of the parties hereto agrees that mailing of process or other papers in connection with any such action or proceeding in the manner provided in Section 8.07 or in such other manner as may be permitted by applicable Laws, will be valid and sufficient service thereof. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably submits with regard to any such action or proceeding for itself and in respect of its property, generally and unconditionally, to the personal jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts and agrees that it will not bring any action relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in any court or tribunal other than the aforesaid courts. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense, counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding with respect to this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment in respect of this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder (i) any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the above named courts for any reason other than the failure to serve process in accordance with this Section 8.05, (ii) any claim that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise), and (iii) to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable Law, any claim that (x) the suit, action or proceeding in such court is brought in an inconvenient forum, (y) the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper, or (z) this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such courts.

Section 8.06 Waiver of Jury Trial

. EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY ARISE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES AND, THEREFORE, EACH SUCH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LEGAL ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT. EACH PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT CERTIFIES AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT (A) NO REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER IN THE EVENT OF A LEGAL ACTION, (B) SUCH PARTY HAS CONSIDERED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WAIVER, (C) SUCH PARTY MAKES THIS WAIVER VOLUNTARILY, AND (D) SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION 8.06.

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Section 8.07 Notices

. All notices, requests, consents, claims, demands, waivers and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given (a) when delivered by hand (with written confirmation of receipt), (b) when received by the addressee if sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier (receipt requested), (c) on the date sent by facsimile or e-mail of a PDF document (with confirmation of transmission) if sent during normal business hours of the recipient, and on the next Business Day if sent after normal business hours of the recipient, or (d) on the third day after the date mailed, by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid. Such communications must be sent to the respective parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified in a notice given in accordance with this Section 8.07):

If to Parent or Merger Sub, to:

Gateway Energy Holdings LLC

1415 Louisiana Street, Suite 4100

Houston, Texas 77002
Attention: Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.
Facsimile:

If to the Company, to:

Gateway Energy Corporation
1415 Louisiana Street, Suite 4100

Houston, Texas 77002

Attention: David Huff
Facsimile:

with a copy (which will not constitute notice to the Company) to:

Porter Hedges, LP
1000 Main Street, 36^th Floor

Houston, Texas 77002

Facsimile: 713.226.6244
Attention: Corey C. Brown

or to such other Persons, addresses or facsimile numbers as may be designated in writing by the Person entitled to receive such communication as provided above.

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Section 8.08 Entire Agreement

. This Agreement, the Company Disclosure Letter and the Support Agreement constitute the entire agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersede all other prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, among the parties to this Agreement with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between the statements in the body of this Agreement, the Support Agreement and the Company Disclosure Letter (other than an exception expressly set forth as such in the Company Disclosure Letter), the statements in the body of this Agreement will control.

Section 8.09 No Third Party Beneficiaries

. Except as provided in Section 5.08 hereof (which shall be to the benefit of the parties referred to in such section), this Agreement is for the sole benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted assigns and respective successors and nothing herein, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any other Person or entity any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement.

Section 8.10 Severability

. If any term or provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other term or provision of this Agreement or invalidate or render unenforceable such term or provision in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as possible in a mutually acceptable manner in order that the transactions contemplated hereby be consummated as originally contemplated to the greatest extent possible.

Section 8.11 Assignment

. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided, however, that prior to the Effective Time, Merger Sub may, without the prior written consent of the Company, assign all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to Parent or to one or more of Parent's direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. No assignment shall relieve the assigning party of any of its obligations hereunder.

Section 8.12 Remedies

. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any and all remedies expressly conferred upon a party to this Agreement will be cumulative with, and not exclusive of, any other remedy contained in this Agreement, at Law or in equity. The exercise by a party to this Agreement of any one remedy will not preclude the exercise by it of any other remedy.

Section 8.13 Specific Performance

. The parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur if any provision of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with the terms hereof and that the parties shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches or threatened breaches of this Agreement or to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions hereof in any federal court located in Houston, Texas or any Texas state court sitting in Houston, Texas, in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at Law or in equity.

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Section 8.14 Counterparts; Effectiveness

. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which will be one and the same agreement. This Agreement will become effective when each party to this Agreement will have received counterparts signed by all of the other parties.

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written above by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized.

“TARGET COMPANY”

GATEWAY ENERGY CORPORATION

By: /s/ Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Name: Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Title: President & CEO

“PARENT”

GATEWAY ENERGY HOLDINGS LLC

By: /s/ Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Name: Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Title: President

“MERGER SUB”

GATEWAY ACQUISITION LLC

By: /s/ Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Name: Frederick M. Pevow, Jr.

Title: President

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DISCLOSURE SCHEDULES

Article I The Merger

Section 1.01 The Merger

Section 1.02 Closing

Section 1.03 Effective Time

Section 1.04 Effects of the Merger

Section 1.05 Certificate of Formation; Company Agreement

Section 1.06 Managers and Officers

Article II Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock

Section 2.01 Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock

(a) Cancellation of Certain Company Common Stock. Each of the Excluded Shares will automatically be cancelled and retired and will cease to exist, and no consideration will be delivered in exchange therefor.

Section 2.02 Surrender and Payment.

(f) Any portion of the Merger Consideration made available to the Exchange Agent in respect of any Dissenting Shares shall be returned to Parent, upon demand.

Section 2.03 Dissenting Shares

Section 2.04 Adjustments

Section 2.05 Withholding Rights

Section 2.06 Lost Certificates

Section 2.07 Treatment of Stock Options and Other Stock-based Compensation

Article III Representations and Warranties of the Company

Section 3.01 Organization; Standing and Power; Charter Documents; Minutes; Subsidiaries.

(c) Minutes. The Company has made available to Parent true and correct copies of the minutes (or, in the case of minutes that have not yet been finalized, a brief summary of the

meeting) of all meetings of stockholders, the Company Board and each committee of the Company Board since January 1, 2009.

Section 3.02 Capital Structure.

(b) Stock Awards.

Section 3.03 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents.

Section 3.04 SEC Filings; Financial Statements; Internal Controls.

(d) Reserved

Section 3.05 Absence of Certain Changes or Events

(a) any Company Material Adverse Effect or any event, condition, change or effect that could reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect; or

(b) any event, condition, action or effect that, if taken during the period from the date of this Agreement through the Effective Time, would constitute a breach of Section 5.01.

Section 3.06 Taxes

Section 3.07 Information Statement

Article IV Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub

Section 4.01 Organization

Section 4.02 Authority; Non-contravention; Governmental Consents

Section 4.03 Information Statement

Section 4.04 Financial Capability

Section 4.05 Legal Proceedings

Article V Covenants

Section 5.01 Conduct of Business of the Company

(a) amend or propose to amend its certificate of incorporation or by-laws (or other comparable organizational documents);

(d) acquire, by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets, or otherwise, any business or Person or division thereof or make any loans, advances or capital contributions to or investments in any Person in excess of $25,000 in the aggregate;

(g) enter into or amend or modify in any material respect, or consent to the termination of (other than at its stated expiry date), any Company Material Contract or any other

Contract that, if in effect as of the date hereof would constitute a Company Material Contract hereunder;

(i) make any material change in any method of financial accounting principles or practices, in each case except for any such change required by a change in GAAP or applicable Law;

(k) enter into any material agreement, agreement in principle, letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or similar Contract with respect to any joint venture, strategic partnership or alliance;

(m) agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.

Section 5.02 Other Actions

Section 5.03 Access to Information; Confidentiality.

Section 5.04 No Solicitation.

Company or any of its Subsidiaries that was furnished by or on behalf of the Company and its Subsidiaries to return or destroy (and confirm destruction of) all such information.

(d) Except as set forth in this Section 5.04(d), the Company Board shall not make any Company Adverse Recommendation Change or enter into (or permit any Subsidiary to enter

Section 5.05 Stockholders’ Written Consent; Information Statement.

Section 5.06 Notices of Certain Events

Section 5.07 Reserved

Section 5.08 Directors' and Officers' Indemnification and Insurance

Parties to whom this Section 5.08 applies shall be third party beneficiaries of this Section 5.08, each of whom may enforce the provisions of this Section 5.08).

Section 5.09 Reasonable Best Efforts.

in respect of any filing made thereto in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(b) Reserved.

Section 5.10 Public Announcements

Section 5.11 Takeover Statutes

Section 5.12 Section 16 Matters

Section 5.13 Further Assurances

Article VI Conditions

Section 6.01 Conditions to Each Party's Obligation to Effect the Merger

(a) Company Stockholder Approval. This Agreement will have been duly adopted by the Requisite Company Vote.

(b) Reserved.

Section 6.02 Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub

(b) Performance of Covenants. The Company shall have performed in all material respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by it hereunder.

(c) Company Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have been any Company Material Adverse Effect or any event, change or effect that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.

(d) Officers Certificate. Parent will have received a certificate, signed by the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of the Company, certifying as to the matters set forth in Section 6.02(a), Section 6.02(b) and Section 6.02(c) hereof.

Section 6.03 Conditions to Obligation of the Company

(b) Performance of covenants. Parent and Merger Sub shall have performed in all material respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by them hereunder.

(c) Officers certificate. The Company will have received a certificate, signed by an officer of Parent, certifying as to the matters set forth in Section 6.03(a) and Section 6.03(b).

Article VII Termination, Amendment and Waiver

Section 7.01 Termination By Mutual Consent

Section 7.02 Termination By Either Parent or the Company

Article I
The Merger

Article II
Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock

Article III
Representations and Warranties of the Company

Article IV
Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub

Article V
Covenants

Article VI
Conditions

Article VII
Termination, Amendment and Waiver

GATEWAY ENERGY CORP/NE 8-K