Document:

ex101purchaseagreement.htm

Exhibit 10.1

AVIS BUDGET CAR RENTAL, LLC

(a Delaware limited liability company)

AVIS BUDGET FINANCE, INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

 

$300,000,000 4.875% Senior Notes due 2017

 

 

Purchase Agreement

 

 

As of November 5, 2012

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

 

As Representative of the

several Initial Purchasers listed

in Schedule 1 hereto

 

c/o Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

 

Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ABCR”), and Avis Budget Finance, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Avis Finance” and collectively with ABCR, the “Company”), propose to issue and sell to the several initial purchasers listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the “Initial Purchasers”), for whom you are acting as representative (the “Representative”), $300,000,000 principal amount of its 4.875% Senior Notes due 2017 (the “Securities”).  The Securities will be issued pursuant to an Indenture to be dated as of November 8, 2012 (the “Indenture”) among the Company, Avis Budget Group, Inc. a Delaware corporation (the “Indirect Parent”), Avis Budget Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Direct Parent” and together with the Indirect Parent, the “Parents”) and each of the entities listed in Schedule 2 hereto (collectively with the Parents, the “Guarantors”) and The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company of New York, as trustee (the “Trustee”), and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by each of the Guarantors (the “Guarantees”).

 

The Securities will be sold to the Initial Purchasers without being registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in reliance upon an exemption therefrom.  The Company and the Guarantors have prepared a preliminary offering memorandum dated November 5, 2012 (the “Preliminary Offering Memorandum”) and will prepare an offering memorandum dated the date hereof (the “Offering Memorandum”) setting forth information concerning the Company, the Guarantors and the Securities.  Copies of the Preliminary Offering Memorandum have been, and copies of the Offering Memorandum will be, delivered by the Company to the Initial Purchasers pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.  The Company hereby confirms that it has 

 

  

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authorized the use of the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, the other Time of Sale Information (as defined below) and the Offering Memorandum in connection with the offering and resale of the Securities by the Initial Purchasers in the manner contemplated by this Agreement.  Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum.  References herein to the “Preliminary Offering Memorandum,” the “Time of Sale Information” and the “Offering Memorandum” (each as defined below) shall be deemed to refer to and include any document incorporated by reference therein.

At or prior to the time when sales of the Securities were first made (the “Time of Sale”), the following information shall have been prepared (collectively, the “Time of Sale Information”): the Preliminary Offering Memorandum as supplemented and amended by the written communications listed on Annex A hereto.

Holders of the Securities (including the Initial Purchasers and their direct and indirect transferees) will be entitled to the benefits of a Registration Rights Agreement, to be dated the Closing Date (as defined below) and substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company and the Guarantors will agree to file one or more registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) providing for the registration under the Securities Act of the Securities or the Exchange Securities referred to (and as defined) in the Registration Rights Agreement.

The Company and the Guarantors hereby confirm their agreement with the several Initial Purchasers concerning the purchase and resale of the Securities, as follows:

 

1. Purchase and Resale of the Securities.  (a)  The Company agrees to issue and sell the Securities to the several Initial Purchasers as provided in this Agreement, and each Initial Purchaser, on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein, agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective principal amount of Securities set forth opposite such Initial Purchaser’s name in Schedule 1 hereto at a price equal to 98.375% of the aggregate principal amount of the Securities.  The Company will not be obligated to deliver any of the Securities except upon payment for all the Securities to be purchased as provided herein.

 

 

(b) The Company understands that the Initial Purchasers intend to offer the Securities for resale on the terms set forth in the Time of Sale Information.  Each Initial Purchaser, severally and not jointly, represents, warrants and agrees that:

 

 

(i) it is a qualified institutional buyer within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act (a “QIB”) and an accredited investor within the meaning of Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act;

 

 

(ii) it has not solicited offers for, or offered or sold, and will not solicit offers for, or offer or sell, the Securities by means of any form of general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) of Regulation D under the Securities Act (“Regulation D”) or in any manner involving a public offering within the meaning of Section 4(2) of the Securities Act; and

 

  

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(iii) it has not solicited offers for, or offered or sold, and will not solicit offers for, or offer or sell, the Securities as part of its initial offering except:

 

 

(A) within the United States to persons whom it reasonably believes to be QIBs in transactions pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act (“Rule 144A”) and in connection with each such sale, it has taken or will take reasonable steps to ensure that the purchaser of the Securities is aware that such sale is being made in reliance on Rule 144A; or

 

 

(B) in accordance with the restrictions set forth in Annex C hereto.

 

 

(c) Each Initial Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that the Company and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered to the Initial Purchasers pursuant to Sections 6(f)(i) and 6(h), counsel for the Company and counsel for the Initial Purchasers, respectively, may rely upon the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Initial Purchasers, and compliance by the Initial Purchasers with their agreements, contained in paragraph (b) above (including Annex C hereto), and each Initial Purchaser hereby consents to such reliance.

 

 

(d) The Company and the Guarantors acknowledge and agree that the Initial Purchasers may offer and sell Securities to or through any affiliate of an Initial Purchaser and that any such affiliate may offer and sell Securities purchased by it to or through any Initial Purchaser.

 

 

(e) The Company and the Guarantors acknowledge and agree that the Initial Purchasers are acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company and the Guarantors with respect to the offering of Securities contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of the offering) and not as financial advisors or fiduciaries to, or agents of, the Company, the Guarantors or any other person.  Additionally, neither the Representative nor any other Initial Purchaser is advising the Company, the Guarantors or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment, accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction.  The Company and the Guarantors shall consult with their own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making their own independent investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Representative nor any other Initial Purchaser shall have any responsibility or liability to the Company or the Guarantors with respect thereto. Any review by the Representative or any Initial Purchaser of the Company, the Guarantors, and the transactions contemplated hereby or other matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the Representative or such Initial Purchaser, as the case may be, and shall not be on behalf of the Company, the Guarantors or any other person.

 

 

2. Payment and Delivery.  (a)  Payment for and delivery of the Securities will be made at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Four Times Square, New York, New York 10036 at 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on November 8, 2012, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Representative and the Company may agree upon in writing.  The time and date of such payment and delivery is referred to herein as the “Closing Date”.

 

  

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(b) Payment for the Securities shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account(s) specified by the Company to the Representative against delivery to the nominee of The Depository Trust Company, for the respective accounts of the several Initial Purchasers, of one or more global notes representing the Securities (collectively, the “Global Note”), with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the sale of the Securities duly paid by the Company. The Global Note will be made available for inspection by the Representative not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date.

 

 

3. Representations and Warranties of the Company and the Guarantors.  The Company and the Guarantors jointly and severally represent and warrant to each Initial Purchaser that:

 

 

(a) Preliminary Offering Memorandum, Time of Sale Information and Offering Memorandum.  The Preliminary Offering Memorandum, as of its date, did not, the Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale, did not, and at the Closing Date, will not, and the Offering Memorandum, as of its date and as of the Closing Date, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company and the Guarantors  make no representation or warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Initial Purchaser furnished to the Company in writing by such Initial Purchaser through the Representative expressly for use in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, the Time of Sale Information or the Offering Memorandum, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Initial Purchaser consists of the information described as such in Section 7(b) hereof.

 

 

(b) Additional Written Communications.  Other than the Preliminary Offering Memorandum and the Offering Memorandum, the Company and the Guarantors (including their respective agents and representatives, other than the Initial Purchasers in their capacity as such) have not made, used, prepared, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Company and the Guarantors or their respective agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) below), an “Issuer Written Communication”) other than (i) the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, (ii) the Offering Memorandum, (iii) the documents listed on Annex A hereto, including a pricing supplement substantially in the form of Annex B hereto, which constitute part of the Time of Sale Information, (iv) each electronic road show and (v) any other written communication approved in writing in advance by the Representative.  Each such Issuer Written Communication, when taken together with all other Issuer Written Communications used on or prior to the date of first use of such Issuer Written Communication and the Time of Sale Information, did not, and at the Closing Date will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company and the Guarantors make no representation or warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Initial Purchaser furnished to the Company in writing by such Initial Purchaser through the Representative expressly for use in any Issuer Written Communication.

 

  

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(c) Incorporated Documents.  The documents incorporated by reference in the Offering Memorandum or the Time of Sale Information, to the extent filed with the Commission conformed or will conform, as the case may be, in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”) and such documents did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

 

(d) Financial Statements.  The financial statements and the related notes thereto of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum present fairly in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby; and the other financial information relating to Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum has been derived from the accounting records of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries and presents fairly in all material respects the information shown thereby; the assumptions underlying the pro forma financial information included or incorporated by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum are reasonable, have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of those statements and are set forth in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum; and the pro forma financial information and the related notes thereto filed with the Commission on October 25, 2011 and August 10, 2012 was prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidance with respect to pro forma financial information at the time such information was filed with the Commission, and the assumptions underlying such pro forma financial information are reasonable and are set forth in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(e) No Material Adverse Change.  Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Indirect Parent included or incorporated by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, (i) there has not been any material change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Indirect Parent or the Company on any class of capital stock, or any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position, results of operations or business prospects of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) none of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement that is material to the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries taken as a whole, or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries taken as a whole; and (iii) none of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries has sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case as otherwise disclosed in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

  

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(f) Organization and Good Standing.  The Company, the Guarantors and each of their respective subsidiaries have been duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization (to the extent such terms have meaning in such jurisdictions), are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified, be in good standing or have such power or authority could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, results of operations or business prospects of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company and the Guarantors of their respective obligations under the Transaction Documents (as defined below) (a “Material Adverse Effect”).  The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Schedule 3 to this Agreement.

 

 

(g) Capitalization.  Indirect Parent had the capitalization as of June 30, 2012, as set forth in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum under the heading “Capitalization” in the “Actual” column; and all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each subsidiary of Indirect Parent have been duly authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and non-assessable (except as otherwise described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum) and are owned directly or indirectly by Indirect Parent, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer (other than transfer restrictions under applicable securities laws) or any other claim of any third party, except as described in the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(h) Due Authorization.  The Company and each of the Guarantors have full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, the Securities (in the case of the Company), the Indenture (including, with respect to the Guarantors, each Guarantee and Exchange Securities Guarantee (as defined below) set forth therein), the Exchange Securities (in the case of the Company) and the Registration Rights Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) to which they are a party and to perform their respective obligations hereunder and thereunder; and all action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of each of the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby or by the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum has been duly and validly taken.

 

  

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(i) The Indenture.  The Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and each of the Guarantors and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the parties thereto, will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company and each of the Guarantors, enforceable against the Company and each of the Guarantors in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance or transfer, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally or by general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law) relating to enforceability (collectively, the “Enforceability Exceptions”); and on the Closing Date, the Indenture will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission applicable to an indenture that is qualified thereunder.

 

 

(j) The Securities and the Guarantees.  The Securities have been duly authorized by the Company and, when duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered as provided in the Indenture and paid for as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and outstanding and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture; and the Guarantees have been duly authorized by each of the Guarantors and, when the Indenture and Securities have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered as provided in the Indenture and the Securities have been paid for as provided herein, will be valid and legally binding obligations of, and enforceable against, each of the Guarantors in accordance with their terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture.

 

 

(k) The Exchange Securities.  The Exchange Securities (including the related guarantees (the “Exchange Securities Guarantees”)) have been duly authorized for issuance by the Company and each of the Guarantors and, when duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered as contemplated by the Indenture and the Registration Rights Agreement, the Exchange Securities will be duly and validly issued and outstanding and will constitute valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, as issuer, and each of the Guarantors, as guarantor, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture; and the Exchange Securities Guarantees have been duly authorized by each of the Guarantors and, when the Exchange Securities have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered as provided in the Indenture, will be valid and legally binding obligations of each of the Guarantors, enforceable against each of the Guarantors in accordance with their terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture.

 

 

(l) Purchase Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and each of the Guarantors.  When the Purchase Agreement has been duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the other parties thereto, this Agreement will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company and each of the Guarantors enforceable against the Company and each of the Guarantors in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and except that rights to indemnity and contribution thereunder may be limited by applicable law and public policy.

 

  

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(m) Registration Rights Agreement. The Registration Rights Agreement has been duly authorized by the Company and each of the Guarantors and, on the Closing Date, will be duly executed and delivered by the Company and each of the Guarantors and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its terms by each of the other parties thereto, the Registration Rights Agreement will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company and each of the Guarantors, enforceable against the Company and each of the Guarantors in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions, and except that rights to indemnity and contribution thereunder may be limited by applicable law and public policy.

 

 

(n) Descriptions of the Transaction Documents.  Each Transaction Document conforms or will conform as of the Closing Date in all material respects to the description thereof contained in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(o) No Violation or Default.  None of the Company and the Guarantors nor any of their respective subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is a party or by which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any applicable law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(p) No Conflicts.  The execution, delivery and performance by the Company and each of the Guarantors of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities (including the Guarantees) and the compliance by the Company and each of the Guarantors with the terms thereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents or the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries (other than any lien, charge or encumbrance created, imposed or intended to be created or imposed by the Transaction Documents) pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is a party or by which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is subject; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries or any of the Guarantors; or (iii) assuming the accuracy of, and the Initial Purchasers’ compliance with, the representations, warranties and agreements of the Initial Purchasers herein, and the compliance by the holders of the Securities with the offering and transfer restrictions set forth in the Offering Memorandum, result in the violation of any applicable law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, lien, charge, encumbrance or default that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

  

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(q) No Consents Required.  Assuming the accuracy of, and the Initial Purchasers’ compliance with, the representations, warranties and agreements of the Initial Purchasers herein, and the compliance by the holders of the Securities with the offering and transfer restrictions set forth in the Offering Memorandum, no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company and each of the Guarantors of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities (including the Guarantees) and compliance by the Company and each of the Guarantors with the terms thereof and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, except for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as have been obtained or as may be required (i) under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and resale of the Securities by the Initial Purchasers, (ii) with respect to the Exchange Securities (including the Exchange Securities Guarantees) under the Securities Act, the Trust Indenture Act and applicable state securities laws as contemplated by the Registration Rights Agreement or (iii) that if not obtained or made could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(r) Legal Proceedings.  Except as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits or proceedings pending to which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is or may be a party or to which any property of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries is or may be the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and no such investigations, actions, suits or proceedings are, to the best knowledge of the Company and each of the Guarantors, threatened or, to the best knowledge of the Company and each of the Guarantors (without having undertaken any independent inquiry outside of the Company and each of the Guarantors), contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or by others.

 

 

(s) Independent Accountants.  Deloitte & Touche LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act.

 

 

(t) Title to Real and Personal Property.  The Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property that are material to the respective businesses of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title except those that (i) are permitted under the Company’s amended and restated senior credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and the other parties thereto, dated as of May 3, 2011, as amended; (ii) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries; or (iii) could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

  

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(u) Title to Intellectual Property.  The Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries own or possess adequate rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses and know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) reasonably necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses except where the failure to own or possess such rights could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and the conduct of their respective businesses does not, and will not, conflict in any respect with any such rights of others except which conflict could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries have not received any notice of any claim of infringement of or conflict with any such rights of others which infringement or conflict, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(v) No Undisclosed Relationships.  No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders or other affiliates of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries, on the other, that would be required by the Securities Act to be described in a registration statement to be filed with the Commission and that is not so described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(w) Investment Company Act.  None of the Company and the Guarantors nor any of their subsidiaries is, and solely after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum none of them will be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”).

 

 

(x) Taxes.  Except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries have paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes, other than those being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings so long as there are adequate reserves for such taxes, and have filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof; and (ii) except as otherwise disclosed in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, there is no tax deficiency that has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets.

 

  

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(y) Licenses and Permits.  The Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries possess such licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made such declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, except where the failure to possess or make the same could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, none of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course, which, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(z) No Labor Disputes.  No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries exists or, to the best knowledge (without having undertaken any independent inquiry outside of the Company and Indirect Parent) of the Company and each of the Guarantors, is contemplated or threatened and neither the Company nor any Guarantor is aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees of any of the Indirect Parent’s, the Company ‘s or any of their respective subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(aa) Compliance With Environmental Laws.  (i) The Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries (x) are, and at all prior times were, in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, requirements, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health or safety, the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (y) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses, and (z) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to the Indirect Parent, the Company or their respective subsidiaries, except in the case of each of (i) and (ii) above, for any such failure to comply, or failure to receive required permits, licenses or approvals, or cost or liability, as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) except as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, (x) there are no proceedings that are pending, or that are known to be contemplated, against the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceedings regarding which it is reasonably believed no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed, (y) the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries are not aware of any issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (z) none of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws.

 

  

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(bb) Compliance With ERISA.  Except as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, (i) each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) that is subject to ERISA, for which the Indirect Parent, the Company or any member of their “Controlled Groups” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) would have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance in all material respects with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code, whether or not waived, has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; and (iv) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of ERISA or the Code, the fair market value of the assets of each such Plan is not less than the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan).

 

 

(cc) Disclosure Controls.  The Indirect Parent and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Indirect Parent in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Indirect Parent’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.  The Indirect Parent and its subsidiaries have carried out evaluations of the effectiveness of their disclosure controls and procedures as and when required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

(dd) Accounting Controls.  The Indirect Parent and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP, including but not limited to internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP, and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.  Except as disclosed the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, there are no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the Indirect Parent’s and its subsidiaries’ internal controls.

 

  

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(ee) No Unlawful Payments.  None of the Indirect Parent, the Company any of their respective subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company and each of the Guarantors, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the OECD convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions or any similar law of any other relevant jurisdictions; or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.

 

 

(ff) Insurance.  The Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the Indirect Parent’s management reasonably believes are adequate to protect the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries and their respective businesses; and none of the Indirect Parent, Company or any of their respective subsidiaries has  (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(gg) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws.  The operations of the Indirect Parent, the Company and their respective subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company and the Indirect Parent, threatened.

 

 

(hh) Compliance with OFAC and Sanctions.  None of the Indirect Parent, the Company, any of their respective subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company and each of the Guarantors, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC. 

 

  

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(ii) Solvency.  On and immediately after the Closing Date, the Company and the Guarantors (on a consolidated basis after giving effect to the issuance of the Securities and the other transactions related thereto as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum) will be Solvent.  As used in this paragraph, the term “Solvent” means, with respect to a particular date, that on such date (i) the present fair market value (or present fair saleable value) of the assets of such person is not less than the total amount required to pay the liabilities of such person on its total existing debts and liabilities (including contingent liabilities) as they become absolute and matured; (ii) such person is able to realize upon its assets and pay its debts and other liabilities, contingent obligations and commitments as they mature and become due in the normal course of business; (iii) assuming consummation of the issuance of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, such person is not incurring debts or liabilities beyond its ability to pay as such debts and liabilities mature; (iv) such person is not engaged in any business or transaction, and does not propose to engage in any business or transaction, for which its property would constitute unreasonably small capital after giving due consideration to the prevailing practice in the industry in which such person is engaged; and (v) such person is not a defendant in any civil action that would result in a judgment that such person is or would become unable to satisfy.

 

 

(jj) No Restrictions on Subsidiaries.  No subsidiary of the Indirect Parent or the Company is currently subject to any material prohibition, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, from paying any dividends to the Indirect Parent or the Company, as applicable, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock or membership interests, as applicable, from repaying to the Indirect Parent or the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Indirect Parent or the Company as applicable, or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries, as applicable, other than as disclosed in the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(kk) No Broker’s Fees.  None of the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their respective subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries or any Initial Purchaser for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities.

 

 

(ll) Rule 144A Eligibility.  On the Closing Date, the Securities will not be of the same class as securities listed on a national securities exchange registered under Section 6 of the Exchange Act or quoted in an automated inter-dealer quotation system; and each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, as of its respective date, contains or will contain all the information that, if requested by a prospective purchaser of the Securities, would be required to be provided to such prospective purchaser pursuant to Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities Act.

 

 

  

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(mm) No Integration.  Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates (as defined in Rule 501(b) of Regulation D) has, directly or through any agent, sold, offered for sale, solicited offers to buy or otherwise negotiated in respect of, any security (as defined in the Securities Act), that is or will be integrated with the sale of the Securities in a manner that would require registration of the Securities under the Securities Act.

 

 

(nn) No General Solicitation or Directed Selling Efforts.  None of the Company or any of its affiliates or any other person acting on its or their behalf (other than the Initial Purchasers, as to which no representation is made) has (i) directly or indirectly, solicited offers for, or offered or sold, the Securities by means of any form of general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) of Regulation D or in any manner involving a public offering within the meaning of Section 4(2) of the Securities Act or (ii) with respect to those Securities offered or sold in reliance upon Regulation S under the Securities Act (“Regulation S”), engaged in any directed selling efforts within the meaning of Regulation S, and assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Initial Purchasers herein, all such persons have complied with the offering restrictions requirement of Regulation S.

 

 

(oo) Securities Law Exemptions.  Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Initial Purchasers contained herein (including Annex C hereto) and their compliance with their agreements set forth therein, and the compliance by the holders of the Securities with the offering and transfer restrictions set forth in the Offering Memorandum, it is not necessary, in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities to the Initial Purchasers and the offer, resale and delivery of the Securities by the Initial Purchasers in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum, to register the Securities under the Securities Act or, until such time as the Exchange Securities are issued pursuant to an effective registration statement, to qualify the Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act.

 

 

(pp) No Stabilization.  Neither the Company nor any of the Guarantors has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.

 

 

(qq) Margin Rules.  Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Securities nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

 

 

(rr) Forward-Looking Statements.  No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained or incorporated by reference in any of the Time of Sale Information or the Offering Memorandum has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

 

(ss) Statistical and Market Data.  Nothing has come to the attention of the Company or any Guarantor that has caused the Company or any Guarantor to believe that the statistical and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

 

  

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4. Further Agreements of the Company and the Guarantors.  The Company and each of the Guarantors jointly and severally covenant and agree with each Initial Purchaser that:

 

 

(a) Delivery of Copies.  The Company will deliver, without charge, to the Initial Purchasers as many copies of the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, any other Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication and the Offering Memorandum (including all amendments and supplements thereto) as the Representative may reasonably request.

 

 

(b) Offering Memorandum, Amendments or Supplements.  Before finalizing the Offering Memorandum or making or distributing any amendment or supplement to any of the Time of Sale Information or the Offering Memorandum or the filing with the Commission any document that will be incorporated by reference therein, the Company will furnish to the Representative and counsel for the Initial Purchasers a copy of the proposed Offering Memorandum or such amendment or supplement or document to be incorporated by reference therein for review, and will not distribute any such proposed Offering Memorandum, amendment or supplement or allow to be filed any such document with the Commission to which the Representative reasonably objects; provided that, if in the opinion of the outside counsel of Indirect Parent and the Company, such proposed amendment or supplement is required by law, the Company can make such amendment or supplement, notwithstanding any such reasonable objection.

 

 

(c) Additional Written Communications.  Before using, authorizing, approving or referring to any Issuer Written Communication, the Company will furnish to the Representative and counsel for the Initial Purchasers a copy of such written communication for review and will not use, authorize, approve or refer to any such written communication to which the Representative reasonably objects.

 

 

(d) Notice to the Representative.  The Indirect Parent and the Company will advise the Representative promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) of the issuance by any governmental or regulatory authority of any order preventing or suspending the use of any of the Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose; (ii) of the occurrence of any event at any time prior to the completion of the initial offering of the Securities as a result of which any of the Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when such Time of Sale Information, such Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; and (iii) of the receipt by the Company of any notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offer and sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and the Indirect Parent and the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order preventing or suspending the use of any of the Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum or suspending any such qualification of the Securities and, if any such order is issued, will obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.

 

  

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(e) Ongoing Compliance of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.  (1) If at any time prior to the completion of the initial offering of the Securities by the Initial Purchasers (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Offering Memorandum as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Offering Memorandum is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Offering Memorandum to comply with law, the Indirect Parent and the Company will promptly notify the Initial Purchasers thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (b) above, furnish to the Initial Purchasers such amendments or supplements to the Offering Memorandum as may be necessary so that the statements in the Offering Memorandum as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Offering Memorandum is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Offering Memorandum will comply with law; and (2) if at any time prior to the Closing Date (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which any of the Time of Sale Information as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement any of the Time of Sale Information so that any of the Time of Sale Information will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, the Indirect Parent and the Company will promptly notify the Initial Purchasers thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to paragraph (b) above, furnish to the Initial Purchasers such amendments or supplements to any of the Time of Sale Information as may be necessary so that the statements in any of the Time of Sale Information as so amended or supplemented will not, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, be misleading.

 

 

(f) Blue Sky Compliance.  The Company will cooperate with the Initial Purchasers and counsel for the Initial Purchasers to qualify or register (or to obtain exemption from qualifying or registering) the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative shall reasonably request and will continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the offering and resale of the Securities; provided that neither the Company nor any of the Guarantors shall be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify; (ii) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction; or (iii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.

 

 

(g) Clear Market.  During the period from the date hereof through and including the date that is 90 days after the date hereof, none of the Company and the Guarantors will, without the prior written consent of the Representative, offer, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of any debt securities (other than loans pursuant to credit facilities described in the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum or loans paid off by the Company or any of its subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business) issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of the Guarantors and having a tenor of more than one year.

 

 

  

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(h) Use of Proceeds.  The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum under the heading “Use of proceeds”.

 

 

(i) Supplying Information.  While the Securities remain outstanding and are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act, the Company and each of the Guarantors will, during any period in which the Company is not subject to and in compliance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, furnish to holders of the Securities and prospective purchasers of the Securities designated by such holders, upon the request of such holders or such prospective purchasers, the information required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities Act.

 

 

(j) DTC.   The Company will assist the Initial Purchasers in arranging for the Securities to be eligible for clearance and settlement through The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”).

 

 

(k) No Resales by the Company.  The Company will not, and will not permit any of its affiliates (as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act) to, resell any of the Securities that have been acquired by any of them, except for Securities purchased by the Company or any of its affiliates and resold in a transaction registered under the Securities Act.

 

 

(l) No Integration.  Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates (as defined in Rule 501(b) of Regulation D) will, directly or through any agent, sell, offer for sale, solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of, any security (as defined in the Securities Act), that is or will be integrated with the sale of the Securities in a manner that would require registration of the Securities under the Securities Act.

 

 

(m) No General Solicitation or Directed Selling Efforts.  None of the Company or any of its affiliates or any other person acting on its or their behalf (other than the Initial Purchasers, as to which no covenant is given) will (i) solicit offers for, or offer or sell, the Securities by means of any form of general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) of Regulation D or in any manner involving a public offering within the meaning of Section 4(2) of the Securities Act or (ii) with respect to those Securities offered or sold in reliance upon Regulation S, engage in any directed selling efforts within the meaning of Regulation S, and all such persons will comply with the offering restrictions requirement of Regulation S.

 

 

(n) No Stabilization.  Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities.

 

 

(o) Legended Securities.  Each certificate for a Security will bear the applicable legend(s) contained in “Notice to investors” in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum for the time period and upon the other terms stated in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum.

 

  

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5. Certain Agreements of the Initial Purchasers.  Each Initial Purchaser hereby represents and agrees that it has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the planning for use of, any written communication that constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities other than (i) the Preliminary Offering Memorandum and the Offering Memorandum; (ii) a written communication that contains no “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433(h)(2) under the Securities Act) that was not included (including through incorporation by reference) in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum or the Offering Memorandum; (iii) any written communication listed on Annex A or prepared pursuant to Section 4(c) above (including any electronic road show); (iv) any written communication prepared by such Initial Purchaser and approved by the Company in advance in writing; or (iv) any written communication relating to or that contains the terms of the Securities and/or other information that was included (including through incorporation by reference) in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum or the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

6. Conditions of Initial Purchasers’ Obligations.  The obligation of each Initial Purchaser to purchase Securities on the Closing Date as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Company and each of the Guarantors of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:

 

 

(a) Representations and Warranties.  The representations and warranties of the Company and the Guarantors contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing Date; and the statements of the Company and the Guarantors and their respective officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true and correct on and as of the Closing Date.

 

 

(b) No Downgrade.  From and after the Time of Sale and prior to the Closing Date no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Securities or any other debt securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Indirect Parent, the Company or any of their subsidiaries by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization.

 

 

(c) No Material Adverse Change.  For the period from and after the signing of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date, no event or condition of a type described in Section 3(f) hereof shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in each of the Time of Sale Information (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the Offering Memorandum (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto), the effect of which in the judgment of the Representative makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum.

 

 

(d) Officer's Certificate.  The Representative shall have received on and as of the Closing Date a certificate of an executive officer of the Company and of each Guarantor who has specific knowledge of the Company's or such Guarantor's, as applicable, financial matters and is satisfactory to the Representative (i) confirming that such officer has carefully reviewed the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum and, to the best knowledge of such officer, the representations set forth in Sections 3(a) and 3(b) hereof are true and correct; (ii) confirming that the other representations and warranties of the Company and the Guarantors in this Agreement are true and correct and that the Company and the Guarantors have complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on their part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date; (iii) to the effect set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) above; and (iv) confirming which Guarantors, organized or incorporated outside the state of Delaware, are "significant subsidiaries," if any, of the Company as such term is defined under Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

  

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(e) Comfort Letters.  On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date, Deloitte & Touche LLP shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof and addressed to the Initial Purchasers, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporate by reference in each of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum; provided that the letter delivered on the Closing Date shall use a “cut-off” date no more than three business days prior to the Closing Date.

 

 

(f) Opinion and Negative Assurance Letter of Counsel for the Company and the Guarantors.  (i) Kirkland & Ellis LLP, counsel for the Company and the Guarantors, shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, their written opinion and Negative Assurance Letter, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Initial Purchasers, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Kirkland Opinions”),and (ii) Bryon L. Koepke, Senior Vice President and Chief Securities Counsel of the Company, shall have furnished to the Representative, at the request of the Company, his written opinion, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Initial Purchasers, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Company Opinion”).

 

 

(g) Additional Opinions with respect to the Guarantors.  The Initial Purchasers shall receive opinions covering the laws of organization or incorporation of those Guarantors organized or incorporated outside the State of Delaware if any such Guarantor is a “significant subsidiary” as such term is defined under Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act, either individually or taken together with other such Guarantors, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

 

 

(h) Opinion and 10b-5 Statement of Counsel for the Initial Purchasers.  The Representative shall have received on and as of the Closing Date an opinion and 10b-5 statement of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, counsel for the Initial Purchasers, with respect to such matters as the Representative may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such documents and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.

 

 

(i) No Legal Impediment.  No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or the issuance of the Guarantees; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or the issuance of the Guarantees.

 

  

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(j) Good Standing.  The Representative shall have received on and as of the Closing Date satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company and each of the Guarantors in their respective jurisdictions of organization and their good standing in such other jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication, from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions.

 

 

(k) Registration Rights Agreement.  The Initial Purchasers shall have received a counterpart of the Registration Rights Agreement that shall have been executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer of the Company and each of the Guarantors.

 

 

(l) DTC.  The Securities shall be eligible for clearance and settlement through DTC.

 

 

(m) Additional Documents.  On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company and the Guarantors shall have furnished to the Representative such further certificates and documents as the Representative may reasonably request.

 

 

All opinions, letters, certificates and evidence mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Initial Purchasers.

 

7. Indemnification and Contribution.

 

 

(a) Indemnification of the Initial Purchasers.  The Company and each of the Guarantors jointly and severally agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Initial Purchaser, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls such Initial Purchaser within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, any of the other Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum (or any amendment or supplement thereto) or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any Initial Purchaser furnished to the Company in writing by such Initial Purchaser through the Representative expressly for use therein

 

 

(b) Indemnification of the Company and the Guarantors.  Each Initial Purchaser agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of the Guarantors, each of their respective directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Company or any of the Guarantors within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to such Initial Purchaser furnished to the Company in writing by such Initial Purchaser through the Representative expressly for use in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, any of the other Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication or the Offering Memorandum (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Initial Purchaser consists of the following: the information contained in (i) the first sentence in the second paragraph, (ii) the second and third sentences under the sixth paragraph, (iii) the third and fourth sentences under the seventh paragraph, (iv) the ninth paragraph and (v) the nineteenth paragraph under the heading “Plan of Distribution” in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum and the Offering Memorandum.

 

  

21

  

 

(c) Notice and Procedures.  If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to either paragraph (a) or (b) above, such person (the “Indemnified Person”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnification may be sought (the “Indemnifying Person”) in writing; provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under paragraph (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Person otherwise than under paragraph (a) or (b) above.  If any such proceeding shall be brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified Person and any others entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Section 7 that the Indemnifying Person may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such proceeding and shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel related to such proceeding, as incurred.  In any such proceeding, any Indemnified Person shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person; (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them.  It is understood and agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnified Persons, and that all such reasonable fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred.  Any such separate firm for any Initial Purchaser, its affiliates, directors and officers and any control persons of such Initial Purchaser shall be designated in writing by the Representative and any such separate firm for the Company, the Guarantors, their respective directors and officers and any control persons of the Company and the Guarantors shall be designated in writing by ABCR.  The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment.  Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an Indemnified Person shall have requested that an Indemnifying Person reimburse the Indemnified Person for reasonable fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this paragraph, the Indemnifying Person shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by the Indemnifying Person of such request, (ii) the Indemnifying Person shall not have reimbursed the Indemnified Person in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement unless such fees and expenses are being disputed in good faith, and (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have given at least 30 days written notice of its intention to settle.  No Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified Person is or could have been a party and indemnification is or could have been sought hereunder by such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.

 

  

22

  

 

(d) Contribution.  If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) above is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an Indemnified Person or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each Indemnifying Person under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person, as incurred, as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Initial Purchasers on the other from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Initial Purchasers on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative benefits received by the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Initial Purchasers on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Company from the sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement and the total discounts and commissions received by the Initial Purchasers in connection therewith, as provided in this Agreement, bear to the aggregate initial offering price of the Securities.  The relative fault of the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Initial Purchasers on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or any Guarantor or by the Initial Purchasers and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

 

(e) Limitation on Liability.  The Company, the Guarantors and the Initial Purchasers agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Initial Purchasers were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above.  The amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with investigating, defending or preparing to defend any such action or claim.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, in no event shall an Initial Purchaser be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total discounts and commissions received by such Initial Purchaser with respect to the offering of the Securities exceeds the amount of any damages that such Initial Purchaser has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.  No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Initial Purchasers’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.

 

  

23

  

 

(f) Non-Exclusive Remedies.  The remedies provided for in this Section 7 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies that may otherwise be available to any Indemnified Person at law or in equity.

 

 

8. Effectiveness of Agreement.  This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.

 

 

9. Termination.  This Agreement may be terminated in the absolute discretion of the Representative, by notice to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and on or prior to the Closing Date (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Stock Market; (ii) trading of any securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of the Guarantors shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by federal or New York State authorities; (iv) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, that, in the judgment of the Representative, is material and adverse to, and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with, the offering, sale or delivery, of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum; or (v) the representation in Section 3(a) is incorrect in any respect.

 

 

10. Defaulting Initial Purchaser.  (a)  If, on the Closing Date, any Initial Purchaser defaults on its obligation to purchase the Securities that it has agreed to purchase hereunder, the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Securities by other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained in this Agreement.  If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Initial Purchaser, the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers to purchase such Securities on such terms.  If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Securities of a defaulting Initial Purchaser, either the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers or the Company may postpone the Closing Date for up to five full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Initial Purchasers may be necessary in the Time of Sale Information, the Offering Memorandum or in any other document or arrangement, and the Indirect Parent and the Company agree to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Time of Sale Information or the Offering Memorandum that effects any such changes.  As used in this Agreement, the term “Initial Purchaser” includes, for all purposes of this Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto that, pursuant to this Section 10, purchases Securities that a defaulting Initial Purchaser agreed but failed to purchase.

 

  

24

  

 

(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Initial Purchaser or Initial Purchasers by the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Initial Purchaser to purchase the principal amount of Securities that such Initial Purchaser agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Initial Purchaser’s pro rata share (based on the principal amount of Securities that such Initial Purchaser agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Initial Purchaser or Initial Purchasers for which such arrangements have not been made.

 

 

(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Initial Purchaser or Initial Purchasers by the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate principal amount of such Securities that remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate principal amount of all the Securities, or if the Company shall not exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Initial Purchasers.  Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 10 shall be without liability on the part of the Company or the Guarantors, except that the Company and each of the Guarantors will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 11 hereof and except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.

 

 

(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Initial Purchaser of any liability it may have to the Company, the Guarantors or any non-defaulting Initial Purchaser for damages caused by its default.

 

 

11. Payment of Expenses.  (a)  Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company and each of the Guarantors jointly and severally agree to pay or cause to be paid all costs and expenses incident to the performance of their respective obligations hereunder, including, without limitation, (i) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Securities and any taxes payable in that connection; (ii) the costs incident to the preparation and printing of the Preliminary Offering Memorandum, any other Time of Sale Information, any Issuer Written Communication and the Offering Memorandum (including any amendments or supplements thereto) and the distribution thereof; (iii) the costs of reproducing and distributing each of the Transaction Documents; (iv) the fees and expenses of the Company’s and the Guarantors’ counsel and independent accountants; (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the registration or qualification and determination of eligibility for investment of the Securities under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may designate and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum (including the related fees and expenses of counsel for the Initial Purchasers); (vi) any fees charged by rating agencies for rating the Securities; (vii) the fees and expenses of the Trustee and any paying agent (including related fees and expenses of any counsel to such parties); (viii) all expenses and application fees incurred in connection with the approval of the Securities for book-entry transfer by DTC; and (ix) 50% of all expenses incurred by the Company in connection with any “road show” presentation to potential investors.

 

  

25

  

 

(b) If (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9 (other than pursuant to clause (v) of Section 9 if the Company and the Initial Purchasers subsequently enter into another agreement for the Initial Purchasers to purchase the same or substantially similar securities of the Company), (ii) the Company for any reason fails to tender the Securities for delivery to the Initial Purchasers or (iii) the Initial Purchasers decline to purchase the Securities for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company and each of the Guarantors jointly and severally agree to reimburse the Initial Purchasers for all out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the fees and expenses of their counsel) reasonably incurred by the Initial Purchasers in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby.

 

 

12. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and any controlling persons referred to herein, and the affiliates, officers and directors of each Initial Purchaser referred to in Section 7 hereof.  Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein.  No purchaser of Securities from any Initial Purchaser shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such purchase.

 

 

13. Survival.  The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, the Guarantors and the Initial Purchasers contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of the Company, the Guarantors or the Initial Purchasers pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Securities and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Company, the Guarantors or the Initial Purchasers.

 

 

14. Certain Defined Terms.  For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise expressly provided, the term “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; (b) the term “business day” means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or required to be closed in New York City; and (c) the term “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

 

15. Governing Law Provisions.  (a)  Governing Law.  THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

 

  

26

  

 

(b) Consent to Jurisdiction.  Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the City and County of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for suits, actions, or proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any Specified Court in a Related Proceeding, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of the Specified Courts in any Related Proceeding.  Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any Related Proceeding brought in any Specified Court.  The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any Specified Proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any Specified Court that any Related Proceeding brought in any Specified Court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

 

 

16. Miscellaneous.  (a)  Authority of the Representative.  Any action by the Initial Purchasers hereunder may be taken by the Representative on behalf of the Initial Purchasers, and any such action taken by the Representative shall be binding upon the Initial Purchasers.

 

 

(b) Notices.  All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any standard form of telecommunication.  Notices to the Initial Purchasers shall be given to the Representative c/o Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Facsimile: (212) 901-7897, Attention: HY Legal Department.  Notices to the Company and the Guarantors shall be given to them at One Campus Drive, Parsippany, NJ 07054 (fax: 973-496-5080); Attention: Treasurer.

 

 

(c) Entire Agreement.  This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

 

(d) Counterparts.  This Agreement may be signed in counterparts (which may include counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall be an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.  Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Agreement by telecopier, facsimile or other electronic transmission (i.e., a “pdf” or “tif”) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart thereof.

 

 

(e) Amendments or Waivers.  No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.

 

 

(f) Headings.  The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.

 

  

27

  

 

(g) Partial Unenforceability.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof.  If any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

 

 

  

28

  

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	

AVIS BUDGET CAR RENTAL, LLC

 

/s/ David T. Calabria

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David T. Calabria

Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET FINANCE, INC.

 

/s/ David T. Calabria

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David T. Calabria

Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET GROUP, INC.

 

/s/ David T. Calabria

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David T. Calabria

Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET HOLDINGS, LLC

 

/s/ David T. Calabria

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David T. Calabria

Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

	
AB CAR RENTAL SERVICES, INC.

ARACS LLC

AVIS ASIA AND PACIFIC, LLC

AVIS CAR RENTAL GROUP, LLC

AVIS CARIBBEAN, LIMITED

AVIS ENTERPRISES, INC.

AVIS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC

AVIS INTERNATIONAL, LTD.

AVIS OPERATIONS, LLC

AVIS RENT A CAR SYSTEM, LLC

PF CLAIMS MANAGEMENT, LTD.

PR HOLDCO, INC.

WIZARD CO., INC.

 

/s/ David T. Calabria

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David T. Calabria

Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

	
BGI LEASING, INC.

BUDGET RENT A CAR SYSTEM, INC.

BUDGET RENT A CAR LICENSOR, LLC

BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL LLC

RUNABOUT, LLC

WIZARD SERVICES, INC.

 

/s/ David B. Wyshner

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	
David B. Wyshner

Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

	  	  

 

 

The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Initial Purchasers as of the date first written above.

 

 

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

                              INCORPORATED

 

 

For itself and on behalf of the

several Initial Purchasers listed 

in Schedule 1 hereto.

 

 

 

	
 

 

By:

	
 

 

/s/ Heather Lamberton

	  	  
	
 

	Authorized Signatory  	  	  

 

 

 

  

  

  

 

Schedule 1

	 	
Name of Initial Purchaser

	
Principal Amount of the Notes

	 	
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

                    Incorporated

	
$69,000,000

	 	
Barclays Capital Inc.

	
$50,250,000

	 	
Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc.

	
$50,250,000

	 	
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

	
$50,250,000

	 	
RBS Securities Inc.

	
$50,250,000

	 	
Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.

	
$30,000,000

	 	  	  
	 	
TOTAL

	
$300,000,000

  

  

  

 

Schedule 2

 

Subsidiary Guarantors

 

AB Car Rental Services, Inc.

ARACS LLC

Avis Asia and Pacific, LLC

Avis Car Rental Group, LLC

Avis Caribbean, Limited

Avis Enterprises, Inc.

Avis Group Holdings, LLC

Avis International, Ltd.

Avis Operations, LLC

Avis Rent A Car System, LLC

BGI Leasing, Inc.

Budget Rent A Car System, Inc.

Budget Rent A Car Licensor, LLC

Budget Truck Rental LLC

PF Claims Management, Ltd.

PR Holdco, Inc.

Runabout, LLC

Wizard Co., Inc.

Wizard Services, Inc.

  

  

  

 

Schedule 3

 

Subsidiaries of the Company

2233516 Ontario, Inc.

AB Canada Holdings I Limited Partnership

AB Canada Holdings II Partnership

AB Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership

AB Car Rental Services, Inc.

AB FUNDING PTY LTD

AB Luxembourg Holdings S.á r.l.

ABG Car Services Holdings, LLC

Advance Ross Corporation

Advance Ross Intermediate Corporation

Advance Ross Sub Company

AE Consolidation Limited

AE Holdco Limited

Aegis Motor Insurance Limited

AESOP Leasing Corp.

AESOP Leasing, L.P.

Anji Car Rental & Leasing Company Limited

Apex Car Rentals

ARAC Management Services, Inc.

ARACS LLC

Arbitra S.A.

Asia Business Rentals Pte Limited

AU HoldCo Pty Ltd.

AU NewCo Pty Ltd

Auto Accident Consultants Pty. Limited

AUTO HALL S.A.

Avis (US) Holdings BV

Avis Africa Limited

Avis Alquile Un Coche SA

Avis Asia and Pacific, LLC

Avis Asia Limited

Avis Assistance Limited

Avis Autoverhuur BV

Avis Autovermietung Gesellschaft m.b.H.

Avis Belgium SA

Avis Budget Auto Service Gmbh

Avis Budget Autovermietung AG

Avis Budget Autovermietung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH

Avis Budget Autovermietung GmbH & Co. KG

Avis Budget Autovermietung Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH

Avis Budget Car Rental Canada ULC

Avis Budget Contact Centers, Inc.

 

 

  

  

  

Avis Budget De Puerto Rico, Inc.

Avis Budget EMEA Limited

Avis Budget Group Business Support Centre Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag

Avis Budget Group Pty Limited

Avis Budget Holdings, LLC

Avis Budget International Financing S.á r.l.

Avis Budget Italia S.P.A.

Avis Budget Italia S.P.A. FleetCo S.A.P.A.

Avis Budget Rental Car Funding (AESOP) LLC

Avis Budget Services Limited

Avis Car Rental Group, LLC

Avis Caribbean, Limited

Avis Commercial Holdings Limited

Avis Contact Centres Limited

ABG Contact Centre EMEA SA

Avis Enterprises, Inc.

Avis Europe and Middle East Limited

Avis Europe Group Holdings B.V.

Avis Europe Holdings Limited

Avis Europe International Reinsurance Limited

Avis Europe Investment Holdings Limited

Avis Europe Investments Limited

Avis Europe Overseas Limited

Avis Europe Risk Management Limited

Avis Finance Company (No.2) Limited

Avis Finance Company (No.3) Limited

Avis Finance Company Limited

Avis Financement Vehicules SAS

Avis Financial Services Limited

Avis Group Holdings, LLC

Avis Holdings Inc

Avis India Investments Private Limited

Avis International Holdings, LLC

Avis International, Ltd.

Avis Investment Services (No.2)

Avis Investment Services Limited

Avis IP Security Limited

Avis Leasing Corporation

Avis Leisure Services Limited

Avis Licence Holdings Limited

Avis Location de Voitures Sarl

Avis Location de Voitures SAS

Avis Lube, Inc.

Avis Management Pty. Limited

Avis Management Services, Ltd.

Avis New York General Partnership

 

  

  

  

Avis Operations, LLC

Avis Pension Trustees Limited

Avis Portugal, S.G.P.S., LDA

Avis Profit Share Trustees Limited

Avis Rent A Car (Isle Of Man) Limited

Avis Rent A Car Limited

Avis Rent A Car Sdn. Bhd.

Avis Rent A Car System, LLC

Avis Service, Inc.

Avis Truck Leasing Limited

AVISBUDGET GROUP LIMITED

Aviscar Inc.

B2B Leasing BV

Baker Car and Truck Rental, Inc.

Barcelsure Limited

Bell'Aria S.p.A.

BGI Leasing, Inc.

Budget Funding Corporation

Budget International, Inc.

Budget Locacao de Veiculos Ltda.

Budget Rent A Car Australia Pty. Ltd.

Budget Rent A Car Licensor, LLC

Budget Rent A Car Limited

Budget Rent a Car Operations Pty. Ltd.

Budget Rent A Car System, Inc.

Budget Truck Rental LLC

Budgetcar Inc.

Business Rent A Car GmbH

C.D. Bramall (Bingley) Limited

Camfox Pty. Ltd.

Caraway Travel Sarl

Carey Holdings, Inc.

CCRG Servicos De Auotmoveis LTDA.

CD Intellectual Property Holdings, LLC

Cellrent Limited

Cendant Finance Holding Company LLC

Centre Point Funding, LLC

Centrus Limited

Chaconne Pty. Limited

Cilva Holdings Limited

Cirrus Capital (Jersey) One Limited

Cirrus Capital (Jersey) Two Limited

Constellation Reinsurance Company Limited

Ecovale

Europe Leisure Holdings NV

Garage St Martin sas

 

  

  

  

Garep AG

HFS Truck Funding Corporation

Manor National Limited

Mercury Car Rentals Limited

Milton Location de Voitures SAS

Motorent, Inc.

National Car Rentals (Private) Limited

Pathfinder Insurance Company

Pause BV

Payhot Limited

PF Claims Management, Ltd.

PR Holdco, Inc.

PV Holding Corp.

PVI Kraftfahrzeug Leasing GmbH

Quartx Fleet Management, Inc.

Rent A Car Company, Incorporated

Runabout, LLC

Safeguard (Legal Expenses) Limited

SCA sas

Sceptre Europe Limited

Servicios Avis S.A.

Show Group Enterprises Pty. Ltd.

Show Group Enterprises Limited

Sistem Sewa Kereta Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Societe de Developpement et de Location Avis

Sovial Sociedade De Viaturas De Aluguer LDA

Sovialma Sociedade De Viaturas De Aluguer Da Madeira LDA

Strongdraw Limited

Team Fleet Financing Corporation

The Avis Budget Charitable Foundation

Upperextra (No. 2) Limited

Upperextra Limited

Virgin Islands Enterprises, Inc.

W.T.H. Fleet Leasing Pty. Limited

W.T.H. PTY. Limited

We Try Harder Pty. Limited

West Indies Car Rental Limited (joint venture)

Wizard Co., Inc.

Wizard Services, Inc.

WTH Canada, Inc.

WTH Car Rental ULC

WTH Funding Limited Partnership

Yourway Rent A Car Limited

Yourway Rent A Car Pty Limited

Zodiac Autovermietung AG

Zodiac Europe Finance Company Limited

 

 

  

  

  

Zodiac Europe Investments Limited

Zodiac Europe Limited

Zodiac Italia S.p.A

Zodiac Rent A Car Limited

  

  

  

ANNEX A

 

Additional Time of Sale Information

 

	
1.

	
The pricing supplement containing the terms of the Securities, substantially in the form of Annex B.

 

  

  

  

 

ANNEX B

 

[Form of Pricing Supplement]

 

Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC

and

Avis Budget Finance, Inc.

$300,000,000 4.875% Senior Notes due 2017

 

 November 5, 2012

 

	
Pricing Supplement

	
Pricing Supplement dated November 5, 2012 to the Preliminary Offering Memorandum dated November 5, 2012 of Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC and Avis Budget Finance, Inc.  This Pricing Supplement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Preliminary Offering Memorandum.  The information in this Pricing Supplement supplements the Preliminary Offering Memorandum and supersedes the information in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum to the extent it is inconsistent with the information in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum.  Capitalized terms used in this Pricing Supplement but not defined have the meanings given to them in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum.

	
Issuers                                                    

	
Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC and Avis Budget Finance, Inc. (together, the “Company”)

	
Guarantors                                                    

	
Avis Budget Group, Inc., Avis Budget Holdings, LLC and the Company’s existing and future direct and indirect domestic subsidiaries that also guarantee the Company’s senior credit facilities

	
Title of Securities                                                    

	
4.875% Senior Notes due 2017 (the “Notes”)

	
Aggregate Principal Amount                                                    

	
$300,000,000

	
Maturity Date                                                    

	
November 15, 2017

	
Issue Price                                                    

	
100%, plus accrued interest from November 8, 2012

	
Coupon                                                    

	
4.875%

	
Interest Payment Dates                                                    

	
November 15 and May 15 of each year, beginning on May 15, 2013

	
Record Dates                                                    

	
November 1 and May 1 of each year

	
Trade Date                                                    

	
November 5, 2012

	
Settlement Date                                                    

	
November 8, 2012 (T+3)

	
Make-Whole Redemption                                                    

	
Make-whole redemption at Treasury Rate + 50 basis points prior to May 15, 2015

 

 

  

  

  

 

	
Optional Redemption                                                    

	
On or after May 15, 2015  at the following redemption prices (expressed as a percentage of principal amount), plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on the Notes redeemed during the twelve-month period indicated beginning on May 15 of the years indicated below:

	  	
Year

	
Price

	  	
2015

	
102.438%

	  	
2016

	
101.219%

	  	
2017 and thereafter

	
100.000%

	
Equity Clawback                                                    

	
Up to 35% at 104.875% on or before May 15, 2015

	
Change of Control                                                    

	
101% plus accrued and unpaid interest

	
Joint Book-Running Managers

	
 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

Barclays Capital Inc.

Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

RBS Securities Inc.

 

	
Co-Manager                                                    

	
Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.

	
Distribution                                                    

	
144A/Regulation S with Registration Rights

	
CUSIP Numbers                                                    

	
Rule 144A: 053773 AS6

Regulation S: U05375 AH0

	
ISIN Numbers                                                    

	
Rule 144A: US053773AS69

Regulation S: USU05375AH00

__________________________________________________

This material is strictly confidential and has been prepared solely for use in connection with the proposed offering of the securities described in the Preliminary Offering Memorandum. This material is personal to each offeree and does not constitute an offer to any other person or the public generally to subscribe for or otherwise acquire the securities. Please refer to the Preliminary Offering Memorandum for a complete description.

The securities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and are being offered only to (1) “qualified institutional buyers” as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act and (2) outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act, and this communication is only being distributed to such persons.

This communication is not an offer to sell the securities and it is not a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.

  

  

  

 

ANNEX C

Restrictions on Offers and Sales Outside the United States

 

In connection with offers and sales of Securities outside the United States:

 

A.           Each Initial Purchaser acknowledges that the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in transactions not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

 

 

(h) Each Initial Purchaser, severally and not jointly, represents, warrants and agrees that:

 

 

(i) Such Initial Purchaser has offered and sold the Securities, and will offer and sell the Securities, (A) as part of their distribution at any time and (B) otherwise until 40 days after the later of the commencement of the offering of the Securities and the Closing Date, only in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act (“Regulation S”) or Rule 144A or any other available exemption from registration under the Securities Act.

 

 

(ii) None of such Initial Purchaser or any of its affiliates or any other person acting on its or their behalf has engaged or will engage in any directed selling efforts with respect to the Securities, and all such persons have complied and will comply with the offering restrictions requirement of Regulation S.

 

 

(iii) At or prior to the confirmation of sale of any Securities sold in reliance on Regulation S, such Initial Purchaser will have sent to each distributor, dealer or other person receiving a selling concession, fee or other remuneration that purchases Securities from it during the distribution compliance period a confirmation or notice to substantially the following effect:

 

“The Securities covered hereby have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (i) as part of their distribution at any time or (ii) otherwise until 40 days after the later of the commencement of the offering of the Securities and the date of original issuance of the Securities, except in accordance with Regulation S or Rule 144A or any other available exemption from registration under the Securities Act.  Terms used above have the meanings given to them by Regulation S.”

 

 

(iv) Such Initial Purchaser has not and will not enter into any contractual arrangement with any distributor with respect to the distribution of the Securities, except with its affiliates or with the prior written consent of the Company.

 

 

  

  

  

Terms used in paragraph (a) and this paragraph (b) and not otherwise defined in this Agreement have the meanings given to them by Regulation S.

 

 

(i) Each Initial Purchaser, severally and not jointly, represents, warrants and agrees that:

 

 

(i) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the United Kingdom Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “FSMA”)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any Securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Company or the Guarantors; and

 

 

(ii) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

 

 

(j) Each Initial Purchaser, severally and not jointly, represents, warrants and agrees that it will not offer or sell any Securities directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in Japan compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

 

 

(k) Each Initial Purchaser acknowledges that no action has been or will be taken by the Company that would permit a public offering of the Securities, or possession or distribution of any of the Time of Sale Information, the Offering Memorandum, any Issuer Written Communication or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Securities, in any country or jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required.

 

  

  

  

Exhibit A

 

REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT

 

 

This REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT dated November 8, 2012 (the “Agreement”) is entered into by and among Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and Avis Budget Finance, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together, the “Company”), the guarantors listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the “Guarantors”), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (the “Representative”), and the other initial purchasers listed on Schedule 2 hereto (collectively, with the Representative, the “Initial Purchasers”).

 

 

The Company, the Guarantors and the Initial Purchasers are parties to the Purchase Agreement dated November 5, 2012 (the “Purchase Agreement”), which provides for the sale by the Company to the Initial Purchasers of $300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 4.875% Senior Notes due 2017 (the “Securities”) which will be guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by each of the Guarantors.  As an inducement to the Initial Purchasers to enter into the Purchase Agreement, the Company and the Guarantors have agreed to provide to the Initial Purchasers and their direct and indirect transferees the registration rights set forth in this Agreement.  The execution and delivery of this Agreement is a condition to the closing under the Purchase Agreement.

 

 

In consideration of the foregoing, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

 

1. Definitions.  As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

 

 

“Additional Guarantor” shall mean any subsidiary of the Company that executes a Guarantee under the Indenture after the date of this Agreement.

 

 

“Business Day” shall mean any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed.

 

 

“Closing Date” shall mean November 8, 2012.

 

 

“Company” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble and shall also include the Company’s successors.

 

 

“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

 

“Exchange Dates” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(ii) hereof.

 

 

“Exchange Offer” shall mean the exchange offer by the Company and the Guarantors of Exchange Securities for Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof.

 

 

“Exchange Offer Registration” shall mean a registration under the Securities Act effected pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof.

 

  

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“Exchange Offer Registration Statement” shall mean an exchange offer registration statement on Form S-4 (or, if applicable, on another appropriate form) and all amendments and supplements to such registration statement, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein or deemed a part thereof, all exhibits thereto and any document incorporated by reference therein.

 

 

“Exchange Securities” shall mean senior notes issued by the Company and guaranteed by the Guarantors under the Indenture containing terms identical to the Securities (except that the Exchange Securities will not be subject to restrictions on transfer or to any increase in annual interest rate for failure to comply with this Agreement) and to be offered to Holders of Securities in exchange for Securities pursuant to the Exchange Offer.

 

 

“Free Writing Prospectus” means each free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) prepared by or on behalf of the Company or used or referred to by the Company in connection with the sale of the Securities.

 

 

“Guarantees” shall mean the guarantees of the Securities and Exchange Securities by the Guarantors under the Indenture.

 

 

“Guarantors” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble and shall also include any Guarantor’s successors and any Additional Guarantors.

 

 

“Holders” shall mean the Initial Purchasers, for so long as they own any Registrable Securities, and each of their successors, assigns and direct and indirect transferees who become owners of Registrable Securities under the Indenture; provided that for purposes of Sections 4 and 5 of this Agreement, the term “Holders” shall include Participating Broker-Dealers.

 

 

“Indemnified Person” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5(c) hereof.

 

 

“Indemnifying Person” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5(c) hereof.

 

 

“Indenture” shall mean the Indenture relating to the Securities dated as of November 8, 2012 among the Company, the Guarantors from time to time parties thereto and The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company of New York, as Trustee, and as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof.

 

 

“Initial Purchasers” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

 

“Inspector” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(a)(xiii) hereof.

 

 

“Issuer Information” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5(a) hereof.

 

 

“Majority Holders” shall mean the Holders of a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Registrable Securities; provided that whenever the consent or approval of Holders of a specified percentage of Registrable Securities is required hereunder, any Registrable Securities owned directly or indirectly by the Company or any of its affiliates shall not be counted in determining whether such consent or approval was given by the Holders of such required percentage or amount; and provided, further, that if the Company shall issue any additional Securities under the Indenture prior to consummation of the Exchange Offer or, if applicable, the effectiveness of any Shelf Registration Statement, such additional Securities and the Registrable Securities to which this Agreement relates shall be treated together as one class for purposes of determining whether the consent or approval of Holders of a specified percentage of Registrable Securities has been obtained.

 

 

  

2

  

“Participating Broker-Dealers” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(a) hereof.

 

 

“Person” shall mean an individual, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, trust or unincorporated organization, or a government or agency or political subdivision thereof.

 

 

“Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus included in a Registration Statement, including any preliminary prospectus, and any such prospectus as amended or supplemented by any prospectus supplement, including a prospectus supplement with respect to the terms of the offering of any portion of the Registrable Securities covered by a Shelf Registration Statement, and by all other amendments and supplements to such prospectus, and in each case including any document incorporated by reference therein.

 

 

“Purchase Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

 

“Registrable Securities” shall mean the Securities; provided that the Securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities when (i) a Registration Statement with respect to such Securities has become effective under the Securities Act and such Securities have been exchanged or disposed of pursuant to such Registration Statement, (ii) such Securities become eligible to be sold pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act by a Person that is not an “affiliate” (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act) of the Company or any Guarantor, (iii) such Securities are sold under circumstances in which any legend borne by such Securities relating to restrictions on transferability thereof, under the Securities Act or otherwise, is removed by the Company or (iv) such Securities cease to be outstanding.

 

 

“Registration Expenses” shall mean any and all expenses incident to performance of or compliance by the Company and the Guarantors with this Agreement, including without limitation: (i) all SEC, stock exchange or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. registration and filing fees, (ii) all fees and expenses incurred in connection with compliance with state securities or blue sky laws (including reasonable fees and disbursements of not more than one counsel for any Underwriters or Holders (whose counsel shall be selected by the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of Registrable Securities to be registered in the applicable Registration Statement) in connection with blue sky qualification of any Exchange Securities or Registrable Securities), (iii) all expenses of any Persons in preparing or assisting in preparing, word processing, printing and distributing any Registration Statement, any Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, any underwriting agreements, securities sales agreements or other similar agreements and any other documents relating to the performance of and compliance with this Agreement, (iv) all rating agency fees, (v) all fees and disbursements relating to the qualification of the Indenture under applicable securities laws, (vi) the fees and disbursements of the Trustee and its counsel, (vii) the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company and the Guarantors and, in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, the fees and disbursements of one counsel for the Holders (which counsel shall be selected by the Majority Holders and which counsel may also be counsel for the Initial Purchasers), and (viii) the fees and disbursements of the independent public accountants of the Company and the Guarantors, including the expenses of any special audits or “comfort” letters required by or incident to the performance of and compliance with this Agreement, but excluding any and all fees and expenses of advisors or counsel to the Underwriters (other than fees and expenses set forth in clause (ii) above) or the Holders and underwriting discounts and commissions, brokerage commissions and transfer taxes, if any, relating to the sale or disposition of Registrable Securities by a Holder pursuant to any Registration Statement.

 

 

  

3

  

“Registration Statement” shall mean any registration statement of the Company and the Guarantors that covers any of the Exchange Securities or Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement and all amendments and supplements to any such registration statement, including post-effective amendments, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein or deemed a part thereof, all exhibits thereto and any document incorporated by reference therein.

 

 

“Representative” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

 

“SEC” shall mean the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

“Securities” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

 

“Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

 

 

“Shelf Additional Interest Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(d) hereof.

 

 

“Shelf Effectiveness Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(b) hereof.

 

 

“Shelf Registration” shall mean a registration effected pursuant to Section 2(b) hereof.

 

 

“Shelf Registration Statement” shall mean a “shelf” registration statement of the Company and the Guarantors that covers all or a portion of the Registrable Securities (but no other securities unless approved by a majority of the Holders whose Registrable Securities are to be covered by such Shelf Registration Statement) on an appropriate form under Rule 415 under the Securities Act, or any similar rule that may be adopted by the SEC, and all amendments and supplements to such registration statement, including post-effective amendments, in each case including the Prospectus contained therein or deemed a part thereof, all exhibits thereto and any document incorporated by reference therein.

 

 

“Shelf Request” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(b) hereof.

 

  

4

  

 

“Staff” shall mean the staff of the SEC.

 

 

“Target Registration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(b) hereof.

 

 

“Trust Indenture Act” shall mean the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended from time to time.

 

 

“Trustee” shall mean the trustee with respect to the Securities under the Indenture.

 

 

“Underwriter” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(e) hereof.

 

 

“Underwritten Offering” shall mean an offering in which Registrable Securities are sold to an Underwriter for reoffering to the public.

 

 

2. Registration Under the Securities Act.  (a)  To the extent not prohibited by any applicable law or applicable interpretations of the Staff, the Company and the Guarantors shall use their reasonable best efforts to (i) cause to be filed with the SEC an Exchange Offer Registration Statement covering an offer to the Holders to exchange all the Registrable Securities for Exchange Securities and (ii) have such Registration Statement remain effective until 180 days after the last Exchange Date for use by one or more Participating Broker-Dealers.  The Company and the Guarantors shall commence the Exchange Offer promptly after the Exchange Offer Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC and use their reasonable best efforts to complete the Exchange Offer not later than 45 days after such effective date.

 

 

The Company and the Guarantors shall commence the Exchange Offer by mailing the related Prospectus, appropriate letters of transmittal and other accompanying documents to each Holder stating, in addition to such other disclosures as are required by applicable law, substantially the following:

 

 

(i) that the Exchange Offer is being made pursuant to this Agreement and that all Registrable Securities validly tendered and not properly withdrawn will be accepted for exchange;

 

 

(ii) the dates of acceptance for exchange (which shall be a period of at least 20 Business Days from the date such notice is mailed) (the “Exchange Dates”);

 

 

(iii) that any Registrable Security not tendered will remain outstanding and continue to accrue interest but will not retain any rights under this Agreement, except as otherwise specified herein;

 

 

(iv) that any Holder electing to have a Registrable Security exchanged pursuant to the Exchange Offer will be required to (A) surrender such Registrable Security, together with the appropriate letters of transmittal, to the institution and at the address (located in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York) and in the manner specified in the notice, or (B) effect such exchange otherwise in compliance with the applicable procedures of the depositary for such Registrable Security, in each case prior to the close of business on the last Exchange Date; and

 

  

5

  

 

(v) that any Holder will be entitled to withdraw its election, not later than the close of business on the last Exchange Date, by (A) sending to the institution and at the address (located in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York) specified in the notice, a telegram, telex, facsimile transmission or letter setting forth the name of such Holder, the principal amount of Registrable Securities delivered for exchange and a statement that such Holder is withdrawing its election to have such Securities exchanged or (B) effecting such withdrawal in compliance with the applicable procedures of the depositary for the Registrable Securities.

 

 

As a condition to participating in the Exchange Offer, each Holder will be required to represent to the Company and the Guarantors prior to the consummation of the Exchange Offer (which representation may be contained in the letter of transmittal contemplated by the Exchange Offer Registration Statement) that (i) any Exchange Securities to be received by it will be acquired in the ordinary course of its business, (ii) at the time of the commencement of the Exchange Offer it is not engaged in, and does not intend to engage in, and has no arrangement or understanding with any Person to participate in the distribution (within the meaning of the Securities Act) of the Exchange Securities in violation of the provisions of the Securities Act, (iii) it is not an “affiliate” (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act) of the Company or any Guarantor and (iv) if such Holder is a broker-dealer that will receive Exchange Securities for its own account in exchange for Registrable Securities that were acquired as a result of market-making or other trading activities, then such Holder will deliver a Prospectus (or, to the extent permitted by law, make available a Prospectus to purchasers) in connection with any resale of such Exchange Securities.

 

 

As soon as practicable after the last Exchange Date, the Company and the Guarantors shall:

 

 

(i) accept for exchange Registrable Securities or portions thereof validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Exchange Offer; and

 

 

(ii) deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Trustee for cancellation all Registrable Securities or portions thereof so accepted for exchange by the Company and issue, and cause the Trustee to promptly authenticate and deliver to each Holder, Exchange Securities equal in principal amount to the principal amount of the Registrable Securities validly tendered by such Holder and accepted for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offer.

 

 

The Company and the Guarantors shall use their reasonable best efforts to complete the Exchange Offer as provided above and shall comply with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and other applicable laws and regulations in connection with the Exchange Offer.  The Exchange Offer shall not be subject to any conditions, other than that the Exchange Offer does not violate any applicable law or applicable interpretations of the Staff.

 

 

(b) In the event that (i) the Company and the Guarantors determine that the Exchange Offer Registration provided for in Section 2(a) above is not available or may not be completed as soon as practicable after the last Exchange Date because it would violate any applicable law or applicable interpretations of the Staff, (ii) the Exchange Offer is not for any other reason completed by the 450th day after the issuance of the Securities (the “Target Registration Date”) or (iii) upon receipt of a written request (a “Shelf Request”) from any Initial Purchaser representing that it holds Registrable Securities that are or were ineligible to be exchanged in the Exchange Offer, the Company and the Guarantors shall use their reasonable best efforts to cause to be filed as soon as practicable after such determination, date or Shelf Request, as the case may be, a Shelf Registration Statement providing for the sale of all the Registrable Securities by the Holders thereof and to have such Shelf Registration Statement become effective (“Shelf Registration”).

 

  

6

  

 

In the event that the Company and the Guarantors are required to file a Shelf Registration Statement pursuant to clause (iii) of the preceding sentence, the Company and the Guarantors shall use their reasonable best efforts to file and have become effective both an Exchange Offer Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(a) with respect to all Registrable Securities and a Shelf Registration Statement (which may be a combined Registration Statement with the Exchange Offer Registration Statement) with respect to offers and sales of Registrable Securities held by the Initial Purchasers after completion of the Exchange Offer.

 

 

The Company and the Guarantors agree to use their reasonable best efforts to keep the Shelf Registration Statement continuously effective (i) until the expiration of the time period referred to in Rule 144(b)(i) under the Securities Act or (ii) for such shorter period that will terminate when all the Registrable Securities covered by the Shelf Registration Statement (x) have been sold pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement or (y) cease to be outstanding (the “Shelf Effectiveness Period”).  The Company and the Guarantors further agree to supplement or amend the Shelf Registration Statement and the related Prospectus if required by the rules, regulations or instructions applicable to the registration form used by the Company for such Shelf Registration Statement or by the Securities Act or by any other rules and regulations thereunder or if reasonably requested by a Holder of Registrable Securities with respect to information relating to such Holder, and to use their reasonable best efforts to cause any such amendment to become effective, if required, and such Shelf Registration Statement and Prospectus to become usable as soon as thereafter practicable.  The Company and the Guarantors agree to furnish to the Holders of Registrable Securities copies of any such supplement or amendment promptly after its being used or filed with the SEC.

 

 

(c) The Company and the Guarantors shall pay all Registration Expenses in connection with any registration pursuant to Section 2(a) or Section 2(b) hereof.  Each Holder shall pay all underwriting discounts and commissions, brokerage commissions and transfer taxes, if any, relating to the sale or disposition of such Holder’s Registrable Securities pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement.

 

 

(d) An Exchange Offer Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof will not be deemed to have become effective unless it has been declared effective by the SEC.  A Shelf Registration Statement pursuant to Section 2(b) hereof will not be deemed to have become effective unless it has been declared effective by the SEC or is automatically effective upon filing with the SEC as provided by Rule 462 under the Securities Act.

 

 

  

7

  

In the event that either the Exchange Offer is not completed or the Shelf Registration Statement, if required pursuant to Section 2(b)(i) or 2(b)(ii) hereof, has not become effective on or prior to the Target Registration Date, the interest rate on the Registrable Securities will be increased by (i) 0.25% per annum for the first 90-day period immediately following the Target Registration Date and (ii) an additional 0.25% per annum with respect to each subsequent 90-day period, in each case until the Exchange Offer is completed or the Shelf Registration Statement, if required hereby, becomes effective or the Securities become freely tradable under the Securities Act, up to a maximum total increase of 0.50% per annum.  In the event that the Company receives a Shelf Request pursuant to Section 2(b)(iii), and the Shelf Registration Statement required to be filed thereby has not become effective by the later of (x) the Target Registration Date or (y) 90 days after delivery of such Shelf Request (such later date, the “Shelf Additional Interest Date”), then the interest rate on the Registrable Securities will be increased by (i) 0.25% per annum for the first 90-day period payable commencing from one day after the Shelf Additional Interest Date and (ii) an additional 0.25% per annum with respect to each subsequent 90-day period, in each case until the Shelf Registration Statement becomes effective or the Securities become freely tradable under the Securities Act, up to a maximum total increase of 0.50% per annum.

 

 

If the Shelf Registration Statement, if required hereby, has become effective and thereafter either ceases to be effective or the Prospectus contained therein ceases to be usable, in each case whether or not permitted by this Agreement, at any time during the Shelf Effectiveness Period, and such failure to remain effective or usable exists for more than 75 days (whether or not consecutive) in any 12-month period, then the interest rate on the Registrable Securities will be increased commencing on the 75th day in such 12-month period by (i) 0.25% per annum for the first 90-day period immediately following such 75th day, and (ii) an additional 0.25% per annum with respect to each subsequent 90-day period, up to a maximum total increase of 0.50% per annum, and ending on such date that the Shelf Registration Statement has again become effective or the Prospectus again becomes usable.

 

 

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the increased interest rate described in Section 2(d) above is the sole and exclusive remedy available to Holders due to a registration default, so long as the Company and the Guarantors are acting in good faith hereunder, including, without limitation, with respect to satisfying their obligations.

 

 

(f) The Company represents, warrants and covenants that, unless it obtains the prior consent of counsel for the Majority Holders or the consent of the managing underwriter(s) in connection with any Underwritten Offering of Registrable Securities, it (including its agents and representatives) will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) in connection with the Securities or the Exchange Securities, other than any communication pursuant to Rule 134 under the Securities Act or any document constituting an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities or the Exchange Securities that falls within the exception from the definition of prospectus in Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act.

 

 

3. Registration Procedures.  (a)  In connection with their obligations pursuant to Section 2(a) and Section 2(b) hereof, the Company and the Guarantors shall as soon as practicable (unless otherwise stated below):

 

 

  

8

  

(i) prepare and file with the SEC a Registration Statement on the appropriate form under the Securities Act, which form (x) shall be selected by the Company and the Guarantors, (y) shall, in the case of a Shelf Registration, be available for the sale of the Registrable Securities by the Holders thereof and (z) shall comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the applicable form and include all financial statements required by the SEC to be filed therewith; and use their reasonable best efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective and remain effective for the applicable period in accordance with Section 2 hereof;

 

 

(ii) prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and post-effective amendments to each Registration Statement as may be necessary to keep such Registration Statement effective for the applicable period in accordance with Section 2 hereof and cause each Prospectus to be supplemented by any required prospectus supplement and, as so supplemented, to be filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act; and keep each Prospectus current during the period described in Section 4(3) of and Rule 174 under the Securities Act that is applicable to transactions by brokers or dealers with respect to the Registrable Securities or Exchange Securities;

 

 

(iii) in the case of a Shelf Registration, upon written request, furnish to each Holder of Registrable Securities, to counsel for the Initial Purchasers, to counsel for all such Holders and to each Underwriter of an Underwritten Offering of Registrable Securities, if any, without charge, as many copies of each Prospectus or preliminary prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, as such Holder, counsel or Underwriter may reasonably request in writing in order to facilitate the sale or other disposition of the Registrable Securities thereunder; and the Company and the Guarantors consent to the use of such Prospectus, preliminary prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto in accordance with applicable law by each of the Holders of Registrable Securities and any such Underwriters in connection with the offering and sale of the Registrable Securities covered by and in the manner described in such Prospectus, preliminary prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto in accordance with applicable law;

 

 

(iv) use their reasonable best efforts to register or qualify the Registrable Securities under all applicable state securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdictions as any Holder of Registrable Securities covered by a Registration Statement shall reasonably request in writing by the time the applicable Registration Statement becomes effective; cooperate with such Holders in connection with any filings required to be made with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; and use their reasonable best efforts to do any and all other acts and things that may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable each Holder to complete the disposition in each such jurisdiction of the Registrable Securities owned by such Holder; provided that neither the Company nor any Guarantor shall be required to (1) qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (2) file any general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction, (3) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not so subject, or (4) make any changes to its incorporating or organizational documents or limited liability agreement, if applicable, or any other agreement between it and its stockholders or members, if any;

 

  

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(v) notify counsel for the Initial Purchasers and, in the case of a Shelf Registration, notify each Holder of Registrable Securities and counsel for such Holders promptly and, if requested by any such Holder or counsel, confirm such advice in writing (1) when a Registration Statement has become effective, when any post-effective amendment thereto has been filed and becomes effective and when any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed, (2) of any request by the SEC or any state securities authority for amendments and supplements to a Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information after the Registration Statement has become effective, (3) of the issuance by the SEC or any state securities authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of a Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose, including the receipt by the Company of any notice of objection of the SEC to the use of a Shelf Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act, (4) if, between the applicable effective date of a Shelf Registration Statement and the closing of any sale of Registrable Securities covered thereby, the representations and warranties of the Company or any Guarantor contained in any underwriting agreement, securities sales agreement or other similar agreement, if any, relating to an offering of such Registrable Securities cease to be true and correct in all material respects or if the Company or any Guarantor receives any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Registrable Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation of any proceeding for such purpose, (5) of the happening of any event during the period a Shelf Registration Statement is effective that makes any statement made in such Shelf Registration Statement or the related Prospectus untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in such Shelf Registration Statement or Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, with respect to a Prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading, and (6) of any determination by the Company or any Guarantor that a post-effective amendment to a Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus would be appropriate;

 

 

(vi) use their reasonable best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of any order suspending the effectiveness of a Registration Statement or, in the case of a Shelf Registration, the resolution of any objection of the SEC pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2), including by promptly filing an amendment to such Shelf Registration Statement on the proper form, and provide notice promptly to each Holder of the withdrawal of any such order or such resolution;

 

 

(vii) in the case of a Shelf Registration, furnish to each Holder of Registrable Securities, without charge, at least one conformed copy of each Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto (without any documents incorporated therein by reference or exhibits thereto, unless requested);

 

 

(viii) in the case of a Shelf Registration, cooperate with the Holders of Registrable Securities to facilitate the timely preparation and delivery of certificates representing Registrable Securities to be sold and not bearing any restrictive legends and enable such Registrable Securities to be issued in such denominations and registered in such names (consistent with the provisions of the Indenture) as such Holders may reasonably request at least three Business Days prior to the closing of any sale of Registrable Securities made by such Holders;

 

  

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(ix) in the case of a Shelf Registration, upon the occurrence of any event contemplated by Section 3(a)(v)(5) hereof, use their reasonable best efforts to prepare and file with the SEC a supplement or post-effective amendment to such Shelf Registration Statement or the related Prospectus or any document incorporated therein by reference or file any other required document so that, as thereafter delivered (or, to the extent permitted by law, made available) to purchasers of the Registrable Securities, such Prospectus will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and the Company shall notify the Holders of Registrable Securities to suspend use of the Prospectus as promptly as practicable after the occurrence of such an event, and such Holders hereby agree to suspend use of the Prospectus until the Company and the Guarantors have amended or supplemented the Prospectus to correct such misstatement or omission;

 

 

(x) a reasonable time prior to the filing of any Registration Statement, any Prospectus, any amendment to a Registration Statement or amendment or supplement to a Prospectus (other than any document that is to be incorporated by reference into a Registration Statement or a Prospectus after initial filing of a Registration Statement and doesn’t name the Holders of Registrable Securities in their capacity as such), provide copies of such document to the Initial Purchasers and their counsel (if the Initial Purchasers holds any Registrable Securities) (and, in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, to the Holders of Registrable Securities and their counsel) and make such of the representatives of the Company and the Guarantors as shall be reasonably requested by the Initial Purchasers or their counsel (if the Initial Purchasers holds any Registrable Securities) (and, in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, the Holders of Registrable Securities or their counsel) available for discussion of such document; and the Company and the Guarantors shall not, at any time after initial filing of a Registration Statement, use or file any Prospectus, any amendment of or supplement to a Registration Statement or a Prospectus (other than any document that is to be incorporated by reference into a Registration Statement or a Prospectus and doesn’t name the Holders of Registrable Securities in their capacity as such), of which the Initial Purchasers and their counsel (if the Initial Purchasers holds any Registrable Securities) (and, in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, the Holders of Registrable Securities and their counsel) shall not have previously been advised and furnished a copy or to which the Initial Purchasers or their counsel (if the Initial Purchasers hold any Registrable Securities) (and, in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, the Holders of Registrable Securities or their counsel) shall reasonably object within five Business Days after receipt thereof, unless the Company believes such Prospectus, amendment or supplement to a Prospectus is required by applicable law;

 

 

(xi) obtain a CUSIP number for all Exchange Securities or Registrable Securities, as the case may be, not later than the initial effective date of a Registration Statement covering such Exchange Securities or Registrable Securities;

 

 

  

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(xii) cause the Indenture to be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act in connection with the registration of the Exchange Securities or Registrable Securities, as the case may be; cooperate with the Trustee and the Holders to effect such changes to the Indenture as may be required for the Indenture to be so qualified in accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture Act; and execute, and use their reasonable best efforts to cause the Trustee to execute, all documents as may be required to effect such changes and all other forms and documents required to be filed with the SEC to enable the Indenture to be so qualified in a timely manner;

 

 

(xiii) in the case of a Shelf Registration, make available for inspection by a representative of the Holders of a majority of the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Registrable Securities to be included in such Shelf Registration (an “Inspector”), any Underwriter participating in any disposition pursuant to such Shelf Registration Statement, any attorneys and one firm of accountants designated by such Holders and any attorneys (but not more than one counsel acting for all such Holders) and accountants designated by such Underwriter, at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, all pertinent financial and other records, documents and properties of the Company, the Guarantors and their subsidiaries, and cause the respective officers, directors and employees of the Company and the Guarantors to supply all information reasonably requested by any such Inspector, Underwriter, attorney or accountant to conduct reasonable investigation within the meaning of Section 11 of the Securities Act in connection with a Shelf Registration Statement; provided that the foregoing investigation and information gathering shall be coordinated on behalf of such parties by one counsel designated by and on behalf of such parties; and provided further that if any such information is identified by the Company or any Guarantor as being confidential or proprietary, each Person receiving such information shall take such actions as are reasonably necessary to protect the confidentiality of such information to the extent such action is otherwise not inconsistent with, an impairment of or in derogation of the rights and interests of any Inspector, Holder or Underwriter);

 

 

(xiv) in the case of a Shelf Registration, use their reasonable best efforts to cause all Registrable Securities to be listed on any securities exchange or any automated quotation system on which similar securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or any Guarantor are then listed if requested by the Majority Holders, to the extent such Registrable Securities satisfy applicable listing requirements;

 

 

(xv) if reasonably requested by any Holder of Registrable Securities covered by a Shelf Registration Statement, promptly include in a Prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment such information with respect to such Holder as such Holder reasonably requests to be included therein and make all required filings of such Prospectus supplement or such post-effective amendment promptly after the Company has received notification of the matters to be so included in such filing;

 

 

(xvi) in the case of a Shelf Registration, enter into such customary agreements, including, but not limited to, an underwriting agreement which contains indemnities substantially similar to those contained in the Purchase Agreement, and use its reasonable best efforts to take all such other actions in connection therewith (including those requested by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Registrable Securities covered by the Shelf Registration Statement) in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of such Registrable Securities including, but not limited to, an Underwritten Offering and in such connection, (1) to the extent possible, make such representations and warranties to the Holders and any Underwriters of such 

 

 

  

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Registrable Securities with respect to the business of the Company, the Guarantors and their subsidiaries and the Registration Statement, Prospectus and documents incorporated by reference or deemed incorporated by reference, if any, in each case, in form, substance and scope as are customarily made by issuers and guarantors to underwriters in Underwritten Offerings and confirm the same if and when required by the applicable underwriting agreement, (2) obtain opinions of counsel to the Company and the Guarantors (which counsel and opinions, in form, scope and substance, shall be reasonably satisfactory to such Underwriters and their counsel) addressed to each Underwriter of Registrable Securities, in customary form subject to customary limitations, assumptions and exclusions and covering the matters customarily covered in opinions requested in Underwritten Offerings, (3) obtain “comfort” letters from the independent certified public accountants of the Company and the Guarantors (and, if necessary, any other certified public accountant of any subsidiary of the Company or any Guarantor, or of any business acquired by the Company or any Guarantor for which financial statements and financial data are or are required to be included in the Registration Statement) addressed to each selling Holder (to the extent permitted by applicable professional standards) and Underwriter of Registrable Securities, such letters to be in customary form and covering matters of the type customarily covered in “comfort” letters in connection with Underwritten Offerings, including but not limited to financial information contained in any preliminary prospectus or Prospectus and (4) deliver such documents and certificates as may be reasonably requested by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Registrable Securities being sold or the Underwriters, and which are customarily delivered in Underwritten Offerings, to evidence the continued validity of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Guarantors made pursuant to clause (1) above and to evidence compliance with any customary conditions contained in the applicable underwriting agreement; and

 

 

(xvii) so long as any Registrable Securities remain outstanding, cause each Additional Guarantor upon the creation or acquisition by the Company of such Additional Guarantor, to execute a counterpart to this Agreement in the form attached hereto as Annex A and to deliver such counterpart to the Initial Purchasers no later than five Business Days following the execution thereof.

 

 

(b) In the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, the Company may require each Holder of Registrable Securities to furnish to the Company such information regarding such Holder and the proposed disposition by such Holder of such Registrable Securities as the Company and the Guarantors may from time to time reasonably request in writing.  The Company and the Guarantors shall be entitled to refuse to include for registration the Registrable Securities held by any Holder who fails to comply with such request and provide the requested information after being given 15 Business Days notice of such request to the extent such information is required by applicable law to be included in the Shelf Registration Statement, and such Holder shall not be entitled to additional interest pursuant to Section 2(d) above.

 

 

  

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(c) In the case of a Shelf Registration Statement, each Holder of Registrable Securities covered in such Shelf Registration Statement agrees that, upon receipt of any notice from the Company and the Guarantors of the happening of any event of the kind described in Section 3(a)(v)(3), (5), or (6) hereof, such Holder will forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement until such Holder’s receipt of the copies of the supplemented or amended Prospectus contemplated by Section 3(a)(ix) hereof, or until it is advised in writing by the Company that the use of the Prospectus may be resumed, and, if so directed by the Company and the Guarantors, such Holder will deliver to the Company and the Guarantors all copies in its possession, other than permanent file copies then in such Holder’s possession, of the Prospectus covering such Registrable Securities that is current at the time of receipt of such notice.

 

 

(d) If the Company and the Guarantors shall give any notice pursuant to Section 3(c) hereof to suspend the disposition of Registrable Securities pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement, the Company and the Guarantors shall extend the period during which such Shelf Registration Statement shall be maintained effective pursuant to this Agreement by the number of days equal to the number of days in the period from and including the date of the giving of such notice to and including the date when the Holders of such Registrable Securities shall have received copies of the supplemented or amended Prospectus necessary to resume such dispositions.  The Company and the Guarantors may give any such notice pursuant to Section 3(c) only twice during any 365-day period and any such suspensions shall not exceed 75 days in any 365-day period and there shall not be more than two suspensions in effect during any 365-day period.

 

 

(e) In the case of an Underwritten Offering, the investment bank or investment banks and manager or managers (each an “Underwriter”) that will administer the offering will be selected by the Holders of a majority of the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Registrable Securities included in such offering, subject to the Company’s consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.  Such Holders shall be responsible for all underwriting commissions and discounts in connection therewith.  No Holder of Registrable Securities may participate in any Underwritten Offering unless such Holder (i) agrees to sell such Holder’s Registrable Securities on the basis provided in any underwriting arrangements approved by the Persons entitled hereunder to approve such arrangements and (ii) completes and executes all questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, underwriting agreements and other documents required under the terms of such underwriting arrangements, provided that the Holders are given 15 Business Days notice of such requests.

 

 

(f) Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the Holders may only sell their Registrable Securities in an Underwritten Offering with the Company’s consent, which may be granted or withheld in the Company’s sole discretion.

 

 

4. Participation of Broker-Dealers in Exchange Offer.  (a)  The Staff has taken the position that any broker-dealer that receives Exchange Securities for its own account in the Exchange Offer in exchange for Securities that were acquired by such broker-dealer as a result of market-making or other trading activities (a “Participating Broker-Dealer”) may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and must deliver a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act in connection with any resale of such Exchange Securities.

 

 

  

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The Company and the Guarantors understand that it is the Staff’s position that if the Prospectus contained in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement includes a plan of distribution containing a statement to the above effect and the means by which Participating Broker-Dealers may resell the Exchange Securities, without naming the Participating Broker-Dealers or specifying the amount of Exchange Securities owned by them, such Prospectus may be delivered by Participating Broker-Dealers (or, to the extent permitted by law, made available to purchasers) to satisfy their prospectus delivery obligation under the Securities Act in connection with resales of Exchange Securities for their own accounts, so long as the Prospectus otherwise meets the requirements of the Securities Act.

 

 

(b) In light of the above, and notwithstanding the other provisions of this Agreement, the Company and the Guarantors agree to use their reasonable best efforts to amend or supplement the Prospectus contained in the Exchange Offer Registration Statement for a period of up to 180 days after the last Exchange Date (as such period may be extended pursuant to Section 3(d) of this Agreement (in the case of a Shelf Registration Statement that is combined with an Exchange Offer Registration Statement)), if requested by the Initial Purchasers or by one or more Participating Broker-Dealers, in order to expedite or facilitate the disposition of any Exchange Securities by Participating Broker-Dealers consistent with the positions of the Staff recited in Section 4(a) above.  The Company and the Guarantors further agree that Participating Broker-Dealers shall be authorized to deliver such Prospectus (or, to the extent permitted by law, make available) during such period in connection with the resales contemplated by this Section 4.  The Participating Broker-Dealers shall not be authorized by the Company to deliver and shall not deliver such Prospectus after such period in connection with the resales contemplated by this Section 4.

 

 

(c) The Initial Purchasers shall have no liability to the Company, any Guarantor or any Holder with respect to any request that they may make pursuant to Section 4(b) above.

 

 

5. Indemnification and Contribution.  (a)  The Company and each Guarantor, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify and hold harmless (i) each Initial Purchaser and each Holder, their respective affiliates, directors and officers and each Person, if any, who controls any Initial Purchaser or any Holder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (1) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Registration Statement or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, or (2) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus used in violation of this Agreement or any “issuer information” (“Issuer Information”) filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any Initial Purchaser or information relating to any Holder furnished to the Company in writing through the Representative or any selling Holder respectively expressly for use therein.  In connection with any Underwritten Offering permitted by Section 3, the Company and the Guarantors, jointly and severally, will also indemnify the Underwriters, if any, selling brokers, dealers and similar securities industry professionals participating in the distribution, their respective affiliates and each Person who controls such Persons(within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act) to the same extent as provided above with respect to the indemnification of the Holders, if requested in connection with any Registration Statement, any Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus or any Issuer Information.)

 

  

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(b) Each Holder agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Guarantors, the Initial Purchasers and the other selling Holders, the directors of the Company and the Guarantors, each officer of the Company and the Guarantors who signed the Registration Statement and each Person, if any, who controls the Company, the Guarantors, any Initial Purchaser and any other selling Holder within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to such Holder furnished to the Company in writing by or on behalf of such Holder expressly for use in any Registration Statement and any Prospectus.

 

 

(c) If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any Person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to either paragraph (a) or (b) above, such Person (the “Indemnified Person”) shall promptly notify the Person against whom such indemnification may be sought (the “Indemnifying Person”) in writing; provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under paragraph (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an Indemnified Person otherwise than under paragraph (a) or (b) above.  If any such proceeding shall be brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified Person and any others entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Section 5 that the Indemnifying Person may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such counsel related to such proceeding, as incurred.  In any such proceeding, any Indemnified Person shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Person; (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Person; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified Person and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them.  It is understood and agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all Indemnified Persons, and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred.  Any such separate firm (x) for any Initial Purchaser, its affiliates, directors and officers and any control Persons of such Initial Purchaser shall be designated in writing by the Representative, (y) for any Holder, its directors and officers and any control Persons of such Holder shall be designated in writing by the Majority Holders and (z) in all other cases shall be designated in writing by the Company.  The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment.  Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an Indemnified 

 

  

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Person shall have requested that an Indemnifying Person reimburse the Indemnified Person for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this paragraph, the Indemnifying Person shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by the Indemnifying Person of such request; (ii) the Indemnifying Person shall not have reimbursed the Indemnified Person in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement and (iii) the Indemnified Person shall have given at least 30 days prior written notice of its intention to settle.  No Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified Person is or could have been a party and indemnification could have been sought hereunder by such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (A) includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (B) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.

 

 

(d) If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) above is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an Indemnified Person in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each Indemnifying Person under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Guarantors from the offering of the Securities and the Exchange Securities, on the one hand, and by the Holders from receiving Securities or Exchange Securities registered under the Securities Act, on the other hand, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Holders  on the other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  The relative fault of the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand and the Holders on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company and the Guarantors on the one hand or by the Holders on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

 

  

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(e) The Company, the Guarantors and the Holders agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 5 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Holders were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above.  The amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with investigating, preparing to defend, or defending any such action or claim.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5, in no event shall a Holder be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities or Exchange Securities sold by such Holder exceeds the amount of any damages that such Holder has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.  No Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  The Holders’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 5 are several in proportion to the respective principal amount of the Registrable Securities held by each Holder and not joint.

 

 

(f) The remedies provided for in this Section 5 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies that may otherwise be available to any Indemnified Person at law or in equity.

 

 

(g) The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in this Section 5 shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Initial Purchasers or any Holder or any Person controlling any Initial Purchaser or any Holder, or by or on behalf of the Company or the Guarantors or the officers or directors of or any Person controlling the Company or the Guarantors, (iii) acceptance of any of the Exchange Securities and (iv) any sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to a Shelf Registration Statement .

 

 

6. General.  (a)  No Inconsistent Agreements.  The Company and the Guarantors represent, warrant and agree that (i) the rights granted to the Holders hereunder do not in any way conflict with and are not inconsistent with the rights granted to the holders of any other outstanding securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or any Guarantor under any other agreement and (ii) neither the Company nor any Guarantor has entered into, or on or after the date of this Agreement will enter into, any agreement that is inconsistent with the rights granted to the Holders of Registrable Securities in this Agreement or otherwise conflicts with the provisions hereof.

 

 

(b) Amendments and Waivers.  The provisions of this Agreement, including the provisions of this sentence, may not be amended, modified or supplemented, and waivers or consents to departures from the provisions hereof may not be given unless the Company and the Guarantors have obtained the written consent of Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Registrable Securities affected by such amendment, modification, supplement, waiver or consent; provided that no amendment, modification, supplement, waiver or consent to any departure from the provisions of Section 5 hereof shall be effective as against any Holder of Registrable Securities unless consented to in writing by such Holder.  Any amendments, modifications, supplements, waivers or consents pursuant to this Section 6(b) shall be by a writing executed by each of the parties hereto.

 

  

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(c) Notices.  All notices and other communications provided for or permitted hereunder shall be made in writing by hand-delivery, registered first-class mail, telex, telecopier, or any courier guaranteeing overnight delivery (i) if to a Holder, at the most current address given by such Holder to the Company by means of a notice given in accordance with the provisions of this Section 6(c), which address initially is, with respect to the Initial Purchasers, the address set forth in the Purchase Agreement; (ii) if to the Company and the Guarantors, initially at the Company’s address set forth in the Purchase Agreement and thereafter at such other address, notice of which is given in accordance with the provisions of this Section 6(c); and (iii) to such other persons at their respective addresses as provided in the Purchase Agreement and thereafter at such other address, notice of which is given in accordance with the provisions of this Section 6(c).  All such notices and communications shall be deemed to have been duly given: at the time delivered by hand, if personally delivered; five Business Days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, if mailed; when answered back, if telexed; when receipt is acknowledged, if telecopied; and on the next Business Day if timely delivered to an air courier guaranteeing overnight delivery.  Copies of all such notices, demands or other communications shall be concurrently delivered by the Person giving the same to the Trustee, at the address specified in the Indenture.

 

 

(d) Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors, assigns and transferees of each of the parties, including, without limitation and without the need for an express assignment, subsequent Holders; provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to permit any assignment, transfer or other disposition of Registrable Securities in violation of the terms of the Purchase Agreement or the Indenture.  If any transferee of any Holder shall acquire Registrable Securities in any manner, whether by operation of law or otherwise, such Registrable Securities shall be held subject to all the terms of this Agreement, and by taking and holding such Registrable Securities such Person shall be conclusively deemed to have agreed to be bound by and to perform all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement and such Person shall be entitled to receive the benefits hereof.  The Initial Purchasers (in their capacity as Initial Purchasers) shall have no liability or obligation to the Company or the Guarantors with respect to any failure by a Holder to comply with, or any breach by any Holder of, any of the obligations of such Holder under this Agreement.

 

 

(e) Third Party Beneficiaries.  Each Holder shall be a third party beneficiary to the agreements made hereunder between the Company and the Guarantors, on the one hand, and the Initial Purchasers, on the other hand, and shall have the right to enforce such agreements directly to the extent it deems such enforcement necessary or advisable to protect its rights or the rights of other Holders hereunder.

 

 

(f) Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.

 

  

19

  

 

(g) Headings.  The headings in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only, are not a part of this Agreement and shall not limit or otherwise affect the meaning hereof.

 

 

(h) Governing Law.  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

 

(i) Entire Agreement; Severability.  This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all oral statements and prior writings with respect thereto.  If any term, provision, covenant or restriction contained in this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or unenforceable or against public policy, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions contained herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.  The Company, the Guarantors and the Initial Purchasers shall endeavor in good faith negotiations to replace the invalid, void or unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which comes as close as possible to that of the invalid, void or unenforceable provisions.

 

  

20

  

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	

AVIS BUDGET CAR RENTAL, LLC

 

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET FINANCE, INC.

 

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET GROUP, INC.

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

By:

	
AVIS BUDGET HOLDINGS, LLC

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

	
AB CAR RENTAL SERVICES, INC.

ARACS LLC

AVIS ASIA AND PACIFIC, LLC

AVIS CAR RENTAL GROUP, LLC

AVIS CARIBBEAN, LIMITED

AVIS ENTERPRISES, INC.

AVIS GROUP HOLDINGS, LLC

AVIS INTERNATIONAL, LTD.

AVIS OPERATIONS, LLC

AVIS RENT A CAR SYSTEM, LLC

PF CLAIMS MANAGEMENT, LTD.

PR HOLDCO, INC.

WIZARD CO., INC.

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

	  	  	
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

	
BGI LEASING, INC.

BUDGET RENT A CAR SYSTEM, INC.

BUDGET RENT A CAR LICENSOR, LLC

BUDGET TRUCK RENTAL LLC

RUNABOUT, LLC

WIZARD SERVICES, INC.

 

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

 

 

Confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written:

 

 

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

                              INCORPORATED

 

 

For itself and on behalf of the

several Initial Purchasers

 

 

	
 

 

By:

	  	  	  
	
Name:

Title:

	  	  	  

 

 

  

  

  

Annex A

 

Counterpart to Registration Rights Agreement

 

 

The undersigned hereby absolutely, unconditionally and irrevocably agrees as a Guarantor (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of November 8, 2012 by and among the Company, a Delaware limited liability company, the guarantors party thereto and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, on behalf of itself and the other Initial Purchasers) to be bound by the terms and provisions of such Registration Rights Agreement.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this counterpart as of           .

 

 

	  	  	
 

 

 

By:

	

[NAME]

	  	  
	  	  	
Name:

Title:

	 	  	  

 

  

  

  

 

Schedule 1

 

AB Car Rental Services, Inc.

ARACS LLC

Avis Asia and Pacific, LLC

Avis Budget Group, Inc.

Avis Budget Holdings, LLC

Avis Car Rental Group, LLC

Avis Caribbean, Limited

Avis Enterprises, Inc.

Avis Group Holdings, LLC

Avis International, Ltd.

Avis Operations, LLC

Avis Rent A Car System, LLC

BGI Leasing, Inc.

Budget Rent A Car System, Inc.

Budget Rent A Car Licensor, LLC

Budget Truck Rental LLC

PF Claims Management, Ltd.

PR Holdco, Inc.

Runabout, LLC

Wizard Co., Inc.

Wizard Services, Inc.

  

  

  

 

Schedule 2

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

Barclays Capital Inc.

Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

RBS Securities Inc.

Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.

1

  

  

  

Exhibit B

 

[Form of Kirkland Opinions]

 

1.           Based solely upon the Delaware Certificates, ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors is a corporation or limited liability company existing duly incorporated or formed, as applicable, and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware.

 

2.           Each of ABCR, Avis Finance and the Guarantors has the corporate or limited liability company power, as applicable, to enter into and perform its obligations under the Exchange Securities, Exchange Guarantees and Transaction Documents to which it is a party and to consummate the transactions contemplated thereby.

 

3.           The Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors.

 

4.           The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors.  Assuming due execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee, the Indenture is a valid and binding obligation of ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors and is enforceable against ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors in accordance with its terms.

 

5.           The Notes have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each of ABCR and Avis Finance, and when paid for by the Initial Purchasers in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement (assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and due authentication and delivery of the Notes by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture), will constitute the valid and binding obligations of each of ABCR and Avis Finance, and will be enforceable against each of ABCR and Avis Finance in accordance with their terms.

 

6.           The Guarantees have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by each of the Guarantors and, when the Securities have been paid for by the Initial Purchasers in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement (assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and due authentication and delivery of the Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture), the Guarantees will constitute the valid and binding obligations of each of the Guarantors and will be enforceable against each of the Guarantors in accordance with their terms.

 

7.           The Registration Rights Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors and assuming due execution by the Initial Purchasers is a valid and binding obligation of ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors, and is enforceable against ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors in accordance with its terms.

 

  

B-1

  

8.           The issuance of the Exchange Securities has been duly authorized by each of ABCR and Avis Finance and the Exchange Guarantees have been duly authorized by the Guarantors, and, when the Exchange Securities have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered in exchange for the Securities in accordance with the terms of the Indenture (assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee and due authentication and delivery of the Exchange Securities by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture), the Registration Rights Agreement and the Exchange Offer (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement), (i) the Exchange Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of each of ABCR and Avis Finance and will be enforceable against each of ABCR and Avis Finance in accordance with their terms and (ii) the Exchange Guarantees will constitute valid and binding obligations of each of the Guarantors and will be enforceable against each of the Guarantors in accordance with their terms.

 

9.           The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents by ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors, as applicable, the performance by ABCR, Avis Finance and each of the Guarantors of their respective obligations thereunder and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby (including, without limitation, each of ABCR’s, Avis Finance’s and the Guarantors’ issuance and sale of the Securities in accordance with the Purchase Agreement) do not and will not conflict with or constitute or result in a breach or default under or violation of: (i) any Formation Document or Organizational Document, (ii) any statute or governmental rule or regulation which, in our experience, is normally applicable both to general business corporations or limited liability companies that are not engaged in regulated business activities and to transactions of the type contemplated by the Transaction Documents (but without our having made any special investigation as to other laws and provided that we express no opinion in this paragraph with respect to (a) any laws, rules or regulations to which ABCR, Avis Finance or the Guarantors may be subject as a result of the Initial Purchasers’ legal or regulatory status or the involvement of the Initial Purchasers in such transactions, (b) any laws, rules or regulations relating to misrepresentations or fraud, (c) the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or the Trust Indenture Act) or (iii) the terms or provisions of any contract set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto (provided that in each case we express no opinion as to compliance with any financial covenant or test or cross-default provision in any such agreement) (the “Applicable Contracts”), except in the case of items (ii) and (iii), any such conflict, breach, violation, default or event which would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or to materially impair the ability of ABCR, Avis Finance or the Guarantors to perform their respective obligations under the Transaction Documents.

 

10.           No consent, approval, authorization or order, or registration or filing with, of any court or other governmental, administrative or regulatory authority or agency, which has not been obtained or made and is in full force and effect, is required under any Specified Law (as defined below) for the execution or delivery by ABCR, Avis Finance and the Guarantors of each of the Transaction Documents to which it is a party or the consummation by such party of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents to which it is a party, except such as may be required under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Trust Indenture Act, the security or blue sky laws of the various states (and the rules and regulations thereunder) or the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, as to which we express no opinion in this paragraph.

 

  

B-2

  

11.           No registration under the Securities Act of the Securities is required in connection with the sale of the Securities to the Initial Purchasers in the manner contemplated by the Purchase Agreement and the Offering Memorandum or in connection with the initial resale of the Securities by the Initial Purchasers in the manner contemplated by the Purchase Agreement and the Offering Memorandum, and the Indenture is not required to be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act, in each case assuming (i) that the purchasers who buy such Securities in the initial resale thereof are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act, or persons other than U. S. persons in connection with offers and sales made in reliance upon Regulation S under the Securities Act, (ii) the accuracy and completeness of the Initial Purchasers’ representations set forth in Section 1(b) of the Purchase Agreement (including Annex C thereto), and those of ABCR, Avis Finance and the Guarantors set forth in the Purchase Agreement regarding, among other things, the absence of a general solicitation in connection with the sale of such Securities to the Initial Purchasers and the initial resales thereof, and (iii) the compliance with the procedures set forth in the Purchase Agreement by the Initial Purchasers, ABCR, Avis Finance and the Guarantors

 

12.           The information included in the Time of Sale Information and in the Offering Memorandum under the headings “Description of notes,” “Exchange offer; registration rights” and “Certain United States federal income tax considerations” to the extent that it summarizes laws, governmental rules or regulations or documents referred to therein is correct in all material respects.

 

13.           None of ABCR, Avis Finance or the Guarantors is and, immediately after the sale of the Securities to the Initial Purchasers and application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Time of Sale Information and in the Offering Memorandum under the caption “Use of proceeds”, none of ABCR, Avis Finance or the Guarantors will be, an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.

 

14.           Neither the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities nor the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Offering Memorandum under the caption “Use of proceeds” will contravene Regulation T (12 C.F.R. Part 220), Regulation U (12 C.F.R. Part 221) or Regulation X (12 C.F.R. Part 224) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

 

15.           To our actual knowledge, except for legal or governmental proceedings described in documents incorporated by reference in the Offering Memorandum, there is no legal or governmental proceeding that is pending or threatened against ABCR, Avis Finance or any Guarantor that has caused us to conclude that such proceeding would be required to be described by Item 103 of the Regulation S-K under the Securities Act if the issuance of the Securities were being registered under the Securities Act but is not so described in the Offering Memorandum.

 

  

B-3

  

 

We can, however, confirm that we have participated in the preparation of the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum and have participated in conferences with representatives of the Note Parties, representatives of the independent accountants of ABCR and the Guarantors, you and your representatives and counsel during which disclosures in the Time of Sale Information and the Offering Memorandum and related matters were discussed, and have reviewed such other documents as we deemed appropriate.

 

Based on the foregoing, we advise you that nothing has come to our attention that has caused us to conclude that the Time of Sale Information, as of 4:22 pm Eastern Time on November 5, 2012, or the Offering Memorandum, at the date it bears or on the date of this letter, contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

  

B-4

  

Exhibit C

 

[Form of Company Opinions]

 

1.           To my knowledge, there are no material legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Companies, the Guarantors or any of their respective subsidiaries are a party or to which any property of the Companies, the Guarantors or any of their respective subsidiaries is subject that are of a type that would have been required to be disclosed in the Offering Memorandum pursuant to Item 103 of Regulation S-K of the rules and regulations under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended as of the date hereof (the “Securities Act”), had the Offering Memorandum been a registration statement under the Securities Act that are not so disclosed.

 

2.           The execution and delivery by each of the Companies and each of the Guarantors of the Purchase Agreement, the Securities, the Exchange Securities, the Indenture and the Registration Rights Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) to which such entity is a party and the consummation by each such entity of the transactions contemplated thereby, will not (i) result in any violation of the provisions of such entity’s Organizational Documents, (ii) constitute a violation of, or a breach or default under, the terms of any agreements or instruments to which such entity is a party (except for such violations, breaches or defaults that are not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Companies and the Guarantors, taken as a whole) or (iii) violate or conflict with, or result in any contravention of, any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over such entity (except for such violations that are not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Companies and the Guarantors, taken as a whole). I do not express any opinion however, as to whether the execution, delivery or performance by the Companies and the Guarantors of the Purchase Agreement will constitute a violation of or default under, any covenant, restriction or provision with respect to financial ratios or tests or any aspect of the financial condition or results of operations of the Companies, the Guarantors or any of their subsidiaries.

 

 

  

C-1ex10-1.htm

Exhibit 10.1

November 5, 2012

Hickory Tech Corporation

221 East Hickory Street

P.O. Box 3248

Mankato, MN 56002-3248

Attn:  The Office of the Chief Financial Officer,

            David A. Christensen

 

    Re:  Waiver Letter

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Reference is made to that certain Credit Agreement, dated as of August 11, 2011, among Hickory Tech Corporation (the “Borrower”), CoBank, ACB, as Administrative Agent, Lead Arranger, Bookrunner, Swingline Lender, Issuing Lender and a Lender, Union Bank, N.A., as Syndication Agent and a Lender, SunTrust Bank, as Documentation Agent and a Lender, and such other Lenders as from time to time may become a party thereto (as amended by that certain Incremental Term Loan Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2012, and as the same has otherwise been and may further be amended, modified, supplemented, extended or restated, the “Credit Agreement”).  Capitalized terms used and not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Credit Agreement.

Waiver

Pursuant to Section 8.01(o)(i) of the Credit Agreement, the Borrower has represented and warranted to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that all financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been furnished to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Credit Agreement are complete and correct and have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of unaudited interim financial statements.  Pursuant to Sections 9.1(a) and 9.1(b) of the Credit Agreement, all financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries that are required to be furnished to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the Credit Agreement are required to be prepared in accordance with GAAP.  Pursuant to Section 10.4 of the Credit Agreement, the Borrower is required to, and to cause its Subsidiaries to, maintain a system of accounting as may be required or may be necessary to permit the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP.  The Borrower has notified the Administrative Agent that its accounting for interest rate swaps in the financial statements of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries that have been furnished to the Administrative Agent was not in accordance with GAAP, and, as a result, the Borrower has breached the provisions of the Credit Agreement described in this letter agreement (such breaches, collectively, the “Specified Defaults”).  The Borrower has requested that the Required Lenders waive the Specified Defaults.  In reliance on the written representations, warranties and confirmations of the Loan Parties contained herein, upon the effectiveness of this letter agreement as set forth below, the Required Lenders hereby waive the Specified Defaults.

  

  

  

 

Reaffirmation

 

 

By its execution hereof, each of the Guarantors listed below hereby consents and agrees to the terms and provisions of this letter agreement and consents and agrees that its guaranty of the Guaranteed Obligations set forth in the Guaranty Agreement and the pledge of its assets to secure such guaranty set forth in the Collateral Agreement, the Mortgages and each other Security Document remain in full force and effect and continue to be the legal, valid and binding obligation of it, enforceable against it in accordance with the terms thereof.

 

General

 

Except as expressly provided by this letter agreement, the terms and provisions of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents are hereby ratified and confirmed and shall continue in full force and effect.  By agreeing to this letter agreement as acknowledged below, the Borrower hereby certifies and warrants to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders that after giving effect to the waiver herein, each of the representations and warranties contained herein, in the Credit Agreement and in the other Loan Documents are true and correct as of the effective date of this letter agreement with the same effect as though made on such effective date (except to the extent any such representation or warranty is expressly stated to have been made as of a specific date, in which case such representation or warranty shall be true and correct as of such specific date) and that no event has occurred and is continuing that would constitute a Default or an Event of Default.  The waiver contained herein shall not constitute a course of dealing among the Borrower or any other Loan Party and the Administrative Agent or any Lender, and, except as expressly set forth herein, shall not constitute a waiver of any Default or Event of Default, now or hereafter arising, or an amendment of any provision of the Credit Agreement or the other Loan Documents.  The Borrower hereby reconfirms its obligation to reimburse the Administrative Agent and the Lenders for all costs associated with the negotiation, execution, enforcement and administration of this letter agreement and the Credit Agreement, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent and the Lenders  This letter agreement shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with all provisions of the Credit Agreement, including choice of law provisions, and may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the different parties hereto on separate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts shall constitute one and the same agreement.  Any such counterpart may be delivered by facsimile, e-mail or similar electronic transmission and shall be deemed the equivalent of an originally signed counterpart and shall be fully admissible in any enforcement proceedings regarding this letter agreement.

 

 

 [Signatures commence on following page.]

 

 

  

  

  

 

       Please evidence your acknowledgment of and agreement to the foregoing by executing this letter agreement in the place indicated below.

 

 

	 	 	Sincerely, 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	COBANK, ACB, as the Administrative Agent and a Lender 	 
	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	By:  	/s/ Ted Koerner 	 
	 	 	 	Ted Koerner 	 
	 	 	 	Managing Director 	 

 

 

 

Acknowledged and agreed to:

HICKORY TECH CORPORATION,

as the Borrower

 

	By:  	/s/ David A. Christensen 	 	 
	 	

David A. Christensen

	 	 
	 	

Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

	 	 

 

    

	
MANKATO CITIZENS TELEPHONE COMPANY,

HEARTLAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY OF IOWA,

CABLE NETWORK, INC.,

CRYSTAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,

NATIONAL INDEPENDENT BILLING, INC.,

MID-COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,

ENVENTIS TELECOM, INC.,

IDEAONE TELECOM, INC., and

ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION SERVICES, INC.,

each as a Guarantor

 

 

 

	By: 	/s/ David A. Christensen 	 	 
	Name:	

   David A. Christensen 

	 	 
	Title:	

   Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

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