Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement or designate another person (i) to perform all or part of its obligations under this Agreement or (ii) to have all or part of its rights and benefits under this Agreement, in each case without the prior written consent of the other party; provided that either Party may freely assign this Agreement to a successor to all or substantially all of its relevant assets, whether by sale, merger, or otherwise, and shall provide written notice of such assignment to the other party at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of the assignment.  In the event of any assignment in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the assignee shall specifically assume and be bound by the provisions of the Agreement by executing a writing agreeing to be bound by and subject to the provisions of this Agreement and shall deliver an executed counterpart signature page to this Agreement and, notwithstanding such assumption or agreement to be bound by this Agreement by an assignee, no such assignment shall relieve any party assigning any interest pursuant to this Agreement from its obligations or liability pursuant to this Agreement.