EX-10.1 3 nc10013869x1_ex10-1.htm EXHIBIT 10.1

Exhibit 10.1

Confidential
Execution Version

SPONSOR LETTER AGREEMENT

This SPONSOR LETTER AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of July 29, 2020, is made by and among ARYA Sciences Holdings, a Cayman Islands exempted limited company (the “Sponsor”), the other holders of ARYA Class B Shares set forth on Schedule I hereto (the “Other Class B Holders”, and together with the Sponsor, collectively, the “Class B Holders”), ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“ARYA”), and Cerevel Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The Sponsor, the Other Class B Holders, ARYA and the Company shall be referred to herein from time to time collectively as the “Parties”. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Business Combination Agreement (as defined below).

WHEREAS, ARYA, the Company and certain other Persons party thereto entered into that certain Business Combination Agreement, dated as of the date hereof (as it may be amended, restated or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms, the “Business Combination Agreement”); and

WHEREAS, the Business Combination Agreement contemplates that the Parties will enter into this Agreement concurrently with the entry into the Business Combination Agreement by the parties thereto, pursuant to which, among other things, (a) the Class B Holders will vote in favor of approval of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby (including the Domestication and the Merger) and (b) the Class B Holders will agree to waive any adjustment to the conversion ratio set forth in the Governing Documents of ARYA or any other anti-dilution or similar protection with respect to all of the ARYA Class B Shares related to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual promises contained herein and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties, each intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

1.          Agreement to Vote.  Each Class B Holder hereby agrees to vote at any meeting of the shareholders of ARYA, and in any action by written resolution of the shareholders of ARYA, all of such Class B Holder’s ARYA Class B Shares (together with any other Equity Securities of ARYA that such Class B Holder holds of record or beneficially, as of the date of this Agreement, or acquires record or beneficial ownership after the date hereof, collectively, the “Subject ARYA Equity Securities”) in favor of the Transaction Proposals.

2.          Waiver of Anti-dilution Protection. Each Class B Holder hereby (a) waives, subject to, and conditioned upon, the occurrence of the Closing (for himself, herself or itself and for his, her or its, successors, heirs and assigns), to the fullest extent permitted by law and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of ARYA, and (b) agrees not to assert or perfect, any rights to adjustment or other anti-dilution protections with respect to the rate that the ARYA Class B Shares held by him, her or it convert into ARYA Class A Shares in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement.

3.          Transfer of Shares.

a.          Each Class B Holder hereby agrees that he, she or it shall not, directly or indirectly, (i) sell, assign, transfer (including by operation of law), place a lien on, pledge, dispose of or otherwise encumber any of his, her or its Subject ARYA Equity Securities or otherwise agree to do any of the foregoing (each, a “Transfer”), (ii) deposit any of his, her or its Subject ARYA Equity Securities into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or arrangement or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect to any of his, her or its Subject ARYA Equity Securities that conflicts with any of the covenants or agreements set forth in this Agreement, (iii) enter into any contract, option or other arrangement or undertaking with respect to the direct or indirect acquisition or sale, assignment, transfer (including by operation of law) or other disposition of any of his, her or its Subject ARYA Equity Securities, (iv) engage in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to, or which would (either alone or in connection with one or more events, developments or events (including the satisfaction or waiver of any conditions precedent)), lead to or result in a sale or disposition of his, her or its Subject ARYA Equity Securities even if such Subject ARYA Equity Securities would be disposed of by a person other than such Class B Holder or (v) take any action that would have the effect of preventing or materially delaying the performance of his, her or its obligations hereunder; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to any Transfer (A) to ARYA’s officers or directors, any affiliates or family member of any of ARYA’s officers or directors, any members or partners of the Sponsor or their affiliates, any affiliates of the Sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; (B) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (C) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (D) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (E) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement; and (F) by virtue of the Sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of the Sponsor; provided, that any transferee of any Transfer of the type set forth in clauses (A) through (F) must enter into a written agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company agreeing to be bound by this Agreement prior to the occurrence of such Transfer.

b.          In furtherance of the foregoing, ARYA hereby agrees to (i) place a revocable stop order on all Subject ARYA Equity Securities subject to Section 3(a), including those which may be covered by a registration statement, and (ii) notify ARYA’s transfer agent in writing of such stop order and the restrictions on such Subject ARYA Equity Securities under Section 3(a) and direct ARYA’s transfer agent not to process any attempts by the Class B Holder to Transfer any Subject ARYA Equity Securities except in compliance with Section 3(a); for the avoidance of doubt, the obligations of ARYA under this Section 3(b) shall be deemed to be satisfied by the existence of any similar stop order and restrictions currently existing on the Subject ARYA Equity Securities.

4.          Other Covenants. Each Class B Holder hereby agrees to be bound by and subject to (i) Sections 5.3(a) (Confidentiality) and 5.4(a) (Public Announcements) of the Business Combination Agreement to the same extent as such provisions apply to the parties to the Business Combination Agreement, as if such Class B Holder is directly a party thereto, and (ii) Section 5.6(b) (Exclusive Dealing) of the Business Combination Agreement to the same extent as such provisions apply to ARYA as if such Class B Holder is directly party thereto.

5.          Termination of ARYA Class B Shares Lock-up Period.  Each Class B Holder and ARYA hereby agree that effective as of the consummation of the Closing (and not before), Section 5 of that certain Letter Agreement, dated June 4, 2020, by and among ARYA, the Class B Holders and certain other parties thereto (the “Class B Holder Agreement”), shall be amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

“5.          Reserved.

The amendment and restatement set forth in this Section 5 shall be void and of no force and effect with respect to the Class B Holder Agreement if the Business Combination Agreement shall be terminated for any reason in accordance with its terms.
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6.          Termination.  This Agreement shall automatically terminate, without any notice or other action by any Party, and be void ab initio upon the earlier of (a) the Effective Time; and (b) the termination of the Business Combination Agreement in accordance with its terms.  Upon termination of this Agreement as provided in the immediately preceding sentence, none of the Parties shall have any further obligations or Liabilities under, or with respect to, this Agreement.  Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary in this Agreement, (i) the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 6(b) shall not affect any Liability on the part of any Party for a Willful Breach of any covenant or agreement set forth in this Agreement prior to such termination or Fraud, (ii) Sections 2, 5 and 10 (solely to the extent related to the foregoing Sections 2 or 5) shall each survive the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 6(a), and (iii) Sections 7, 8, 9 and 10 (solely to the extent related to the following Sections 7 or 9) shall survive any termination of this Agreement.  For purposes of this Section 6, (x) “Willful Breach” means a material breach that is a consequence of an act undertaken or a failure to act by the breaching Party with the knowledge that the taking of such act or such failure to act would, or would reasonably be expected to, constitute or result in a breach of this Agreement and (y) “Fraud” means an act or omission by a Party, and requires: (A) a false or incorrect representation or warranty expressly set forth in this Agreement, (B) with actual knowledge (as opposed to constructive, imputed or implied knowledge) by the Party making such representation or warranty that such representation or warranty expressly set forth in this Agreement is false or incorrect, (C) an intention to deceive another Party, to induce him, her or it to enter into this Agreement, (D) another Party, in justifiable or reasonable reliance upon such false or incorrect representation or warranty expressly set forth in this Agreement, causing such Party to enter into this Agreement, and (E) causing such Party to suffer damage by reason of such reliance.  For the avoidance of doubt, “Fraud” does not include any claim for equitable fraud, promissory fraud, unfair dealings fraud or any torts (including a claim for fraud or alleged fraud) based on negligence or recklessness.

7.          No Recourse.  Except for claims pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement or any other Ancillary Document by any party(ies) thereto against any other party(ies) thereto, each Party agrees that (a) this Agreement may only be enforced against, and any action for breach of this Agreement may only be made against, the Parties, and no claims of any nature whatsoever (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) arising under or relating to this Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be asserted against any Company Non-Party Affiliate or any ARYA Non-Party Affiliate (other than the Class B Holders named as parties hereto, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein), and (b) none of the Company Non-Party Affiliates or the ARYA Non-Party Affiliates (other than the Class B Holders named as parties hereto, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein) shall have any Liability arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the negotiation hereof or its subject matter, or the transactions contemplated hereby, including with respect to any claim (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for breach of this Agreement or in respect of any written or oral representations made or alleged to be made in connection herewith, as expressly provided herein, or for any actual or alleged inaccuracies, misstatements or omissions with respect to any information or materials of any kind furnished in connection with this Agreement, the negotiation hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby.

8.          Fiduciary Duties.  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, (a) each Class B Holder makes no agreement or understanding herein in any capacity other than in such Class B Holder’s capacity as a record holder and beneficial owner of the Subject ARYA Equity Securities, and not, in the case of each Other Class B Holder in such Other Class B Holder’s capacity as a director, officer or employee of any ARYA Party, and (b) nothing herein will be construed to limit or affect any action or inaction by each Other Class B Holder or any representative of the Sponsor serving  as a member of the board of directors (or other similar governing body) of any ARYA Party or as an officer, employee or fiduciary of any ARYA Party, in each case, acting in such person’s capacity as a director, officer, employee or fiduciary of such ARYA Party.
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9.          No Third Party Beneficiaries.  This Agreement shall be for the sole benefit of the Parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not intended, nor shall be construed, to give any Person, other than the Parties and their respective successors and assigns, any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever by reason this Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to or shall constitute the Parties, partners or participants in a joint venture.

10.          Incorporation by Reference. Sections 8.1 (Non-Survival), 8.2 (Entire Agreement; Assignment). 8.3 (Amendment), 8.5 (Governing Law), 8.7 (Constructions; Interpretation), 8.10 (Severability), 8.11 (Counterparts; Electronic Signatures), 8.15 (Waiver of Jury Trial), 8.16 (Submission to Jurisdiction) and 8.17 (Remedies) of the Business Combination Agreement are incorporated herein and shall apply to this Agreement mutatis mutandis.

[signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Agreement to be duly executed on its behalf as of the day and year first above written.

 
ARYA SCIENCES HOLDINGS II
       
 
By:
/s/ Adam Stone
   
Name:
Adam Stone
   
Title:
Chief Executive Officer
       
 
ARYA SCIENCES ACQUISITION CORP II
       
 
By:
/s/ Adam Stone
   
Name:
Adam Stone
   
Title:
Chief Executive Officer
       
 
CEREVEL THERAPEUTICS, INC.:
       
 
By:
/s/ N. Anthony Coles
   
Name:
N. Anthony Coles
   
Title:
Chief Executive Officer

[Signature Page to Sponsor Letter Agreement]

 
CLASS B HOLDERS:
     
   
/s/ Todd Wider
   
Todd Wider
     
   
/s/ Chad Robins
   
Chad Robins
     
   
/s/ Jake Bauer
   
Jake Bauer

[Signature Page to Sponsor Letter Agreement]

SCHEDULE I

Other Class B Holders

1.
Todd Wider
2.
Chad Robins
3.
Jake Bauer