ambulance chaser, page-45

I don't quite understand this "Clayton's" capital raising. I thought a company went to an underwriter who guranteed their funds in return for a whopping great commission. If the placement was too risky, the underwriter would not underwrite the issue. So I believed the funds to be money in the bank.
But now we are hearing experts talk of "get out clauses" etc because the sp has slipped. I would have thought this is tough titty for the underwriter. That is why they demand and get such large underwriting commissions, to balance the risk.
Anybody in the industry who can enlighten me that this is normal practice to underwrite an issue with a get out clause?? If so, management has shanked it in my opinion by not taking advantage of the strong market when they could, instead of placing all their eggs in the manipulative Canadian basket.