Document:

Exhibit 4.16

 

GUARANTEE

 

BY WASTE MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS, INC.

 

(formerly known as Waste Management, Inc.)

 

in Favor of The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee for the Holders
 of Certain Debt Securities of

 

WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC.

 

$1,000,000,000
 4.150% Senior Notes due 2049

 

May 22, 2019

 

 

GUARANTEE, dated as of May 22, 2019 (as amended from time to time, this “Guarantee”), made by Waste Management Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as Waste Management, Inc.), a Delaware corporation (the “Guarantor”), in favor of The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee for the holders of the $1 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.150% Senior Notes due 2049 (the “Debt Securities”) of Waste Management, Inc. (formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc.), a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”).

 

WITNESSETH:

 

SECTION 1.  Guarantee

 

(a)                                 The Guarantor hereby unconditionally guarantees the punctual payment when due, whether at stated maturity, by acceleration or otherwise, of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the Debt Securities and any amounts and obligations due and payable with respect to the Debt Securities under Section 607 of the Indenture (as amended, modified or otherwise supplemented from time to time, the “Indenture”), dated as of September 10, 1997, between the Issuer, as successor to USA Waste Services, Inc., and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (the current successor to Texas Commerce Bank National Association), as trustee (the “Trustee”) (the “Obligations”), according to the terms of the Debt Securities and the Indenture, as applicable.

 

(b)                                 It is the intention of the Guarantor that this Guarantee not constitute a fraudulent transfer or conveyance for purposes of Bankruptcy Law, the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act or any similar federal or state law to the extent applicable to this Guarantee. To effectuate the foregoing intention, the amount guaranteed by the Guarantor under this Guarantee shall be limited to the maximum amount as will, after giving effect to such maximum amount and all other contingent and fixed liabilities of the Guarantor (other than guarantees of the Guarantor in respect of subordinated debt) that are relevant under such laws, result in the Obligations of the Guarantor under this Guarantee not constituting a fraudulent transfer or conveyance. For purposes hereof, “Bankruptcy Law” means Title 11, U.S. Code, or any similar Federal or state law for the relief of debtors.

 

SECTION 2.  Guarantee Absolute.  The Guarantor guarantees that the Obligations will be paid strictly in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, regardless of any law, regulation or order now or hereafter in effect in any jurisdiction affecting any of such terms or the rights of holders of the Debt Securities with respect thereto. The liability of the Guarantor under this Guarantee shall be absolute and unconditional irrespective of:

 

(i)                                     any lack of validity or enforceability of the Indenture, the Debt Securities or any other agreement or instrument relating thereto;

 

(ii)                                  any change in the time, manner or place of payment of, or in any other term of, all or any of the Obligations, or any other amendment or waiver of or any consent to departure from the Indenture;

 

(iii)                               any exchange, release or non-perfection of any collateral, or any release or amendment or waiver of or consent to departure from any other guaranty, for all or any of the Obligations; or

 

 

(iv)                              any other circumstance which might otherwise constitute a defense available to, or a discharge of, the Issuer or a guarantor.

 

SECTION 3.  Subordination.  The Guarantor covenants and agrees that its obligation to make payments of the Obligations hereunder constitutes an unsecured obligation of the Guarantor ranking (a) pari passu with all existing and future senior indebtedness of the Guarantor and (b) senior in right of payment to all existing and future subordinated indebtedness of the Guarantor.

 

SECTION 4.  Waiver; Subrogation

 

(a)                                 The Guarantor hereby waives notice of acceptance of this Guarantee, diligence, presentment, demand of payment, filing of claims with a court in the event of merger or bankruptcy of the Issuer, any right to require a proceeding filed first against the Issuer, protest or notice with respect to the Debt Securities or the indebtedness evidenced thereby and all demands whatsoever.

 

(b)                                 The Guarantor shall be subrogated to all rights of the Trustee or the holders of any Debt Securities against the Issuer in respect of any amounts paid to the Trustee or such holder by the Guarantor pursuant to the provisions of this Guarantee; provided, however, that the Guarantor shall not be entitled to enforce, or to receive any payments arising out of, or based upon, such right of subrogation until all Obligations shall have been paid in full.

 

SECTION 5.  No Waiver, Remedies.  No failure on the part of the Trustee or any holder of the Debt Securities to exercise, and no delay in exercising, any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right. The remedies herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any remedies provided by law.

 

SECTION 6.  Continuing Guarantee; Transfer of Interest.  This Guarantee is a continuing guaranty and shall (i) remain in full force and effect until the earliest to occur of (A) the date, if any, on which the Guarantor shall consolidate with or merge into the Issuer or any successor thereto, (B) the date, if any, on which the Issuer or any successor thereto shall consolidate with or merge into the Guarantor, (C) payment in full of the Obligations and (D) the release by the lenders under the Fourth Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of June 26, 2018 by and among the Issuer, Waste Management of Canada Corporation, WM Quebec Inc. and the Guarantor (as guarantor), certain banks party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent (or under any replacement or new principal credit facility of the Issuer) of the guarantee of the Guarantor thereunder, (ii) be binding upon the Guarantor, its successors and assigns, and (iii) inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by any holder of Debt Securities, the Trustee, and by their respective successors, transferees, and assigns.

 

SECTION 7.  Reinstatement.  This Guarantee shall continue to be effective or be reinstated, as the case may be, if at any time any payment of any of the Obligations is rescinded or must otherwise be returned by any holder of the Debt Securities or the Trustee upon the insolvency, bankruptcy or reorganization of the Issuer or otherwise, all as though such payment had not been made.

 

 

SECTION 8.  Amendment.  The Guarantor may amend this Guarantee at any time for any purpose without the consent of the Trustee or any holder of the Debt Securities; provided, however, that if such amendment adversely affects the rights of the Trustee or any holder of the Debt Securities, the prior written consent of the Trustee shall be required.

 

SECTION 9.  Governing Law.  THIS GUARANTEE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PROVISIONS THEREOF RELATING TO CONFLICT OF LAWS.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Guarantor has caused this Guarantee to be duly executed and delivered by its officer thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above written.

 

	
 
    	
 WASTE MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS, INC.
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
David   L. Reed 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Vice   President and Treasurer
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Jeff   Bennett 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Assistant   Treasurer
    

 

Signature Page to GuaranteeJONATHAN BONNETTE 

2485 Village View Drive, Suite 180 

Henderson, NV 89074 

(702) 830-7919 

 

 

May 15, 2019

 

 

James Olson, Chairman

Grow Capital, Inc.

 

Re: Fee Agreement

 

Gentlemen,

 

Set forth below are the terms and conditions regarding compensation for services to be provided during fiscal year May 15, 2019 to May 15, 2019, and the fee arrangement for services to be provided by my firm to Grow Capital, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively "GRWC") for periods after May 14, 2019, along with our agreement regarding payment of fees for those services. The effective date of this agreement is and shall be May 15, 2019. 

 

 

COMPENSATION FOR PAST SERVICES

 

It is acknowledged, both by GRWC and by Jonathan Bonnette, that there are no amounts that GRWC currently owes Jonathan Bonnette for any period prior to May 15, 2019 and that in consideration of this agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, Jonathan Bonnette hereby waives any claim or cause of action, whether in equity or at law, he has or may have against GRWC for fees for services provided prior to May 15, 2019. 

 

 

BASIC FEE ARRANGEMENT

 

For the twelve months beginning May 15, 2019, GRWC hereby agrees to pay Jonathan Bonnette (“Bonnette”) a fixed fee of Three Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($320,000) for the services of Bonnette in consideration of providing CEO/President officer services valued at $245,000 and outside business management and consulting services valued at $75,000.  It is also understood and agreed that Mr. Bonnette is providing and intends to continue to provide services to other clients of his firm or to otherwise be individually employed by another entity or entities and that Mr. Bonnette shall devote only so much time and effort as is reasonably necessary to meet the needs of GRWC within his other time constraints.  

The basic free arrangement noted above of $320,000 shall be paid through Stock Based Compensation which shall be valued at $.07758 per share based on the average of the 3 lowest closing share market prices over the previous 30 market trading days at an applied discount of 30% to that calculated average closing share market price, and equaling Four Million One Hundred Twenty Four Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety Seven (4,124,597) shares of Grow Capital, Inc. restricted "144" common stock.  The shares are to be issued within 10 days of executing this agreement and vest immediately upon issuance. Any such shares of Stock under this basic fee arrangement will be issued to Jonathan Bonnette, or, upon request, his designee.  

 

Because of the nature of the services to be provided is in the nature of a fee retainer arrangement, it is understood and agreed that no detailed billing statements with respect to the  

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fixed monthly fee are required nor will they be provided and Mr. Bonnette and other firm personnel shall have no obligation and shall not be required to account for their time. The firm will not provide GRWC a monthly invoice for the monthly fixed fee.  

 

The above stated fees do not include expenses and GRWC agrees to timely pay any authorized expenses separately billed to GRWC.  GRWC further agrees that Mr. Bonnette or the firm may also utilize other employees or subcontractors to perform services for GRWC or in support of matters assigned by you to the firm, all subject to the time limitations set forth above. To the extent a matter requires or may require the expertise of a business services other than what Mr. Bonnette or other firm personnel can provide, GRWC agrees to separately engage and pay for such business services and expenses, and Mr. Bonnette will provide business oversight of said services within the parameters of this Fee Agreement and all as directed by you. 

 

Charges for expenses may and shall include, but not be limited to, expenditures for office expenses, travel, business meals, mileage, and other expenses incurred by us in the proper performance of consulting services for you. 

 

 

AVAILABILITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES; TERM

 

With regard to any matter that GRWC may wish to refer to the firm that is within the capability and expertise of Mr. Bonnette or other firm personnel to perform, Mr. Bonnette and the firm will make himself/itself reasonably available on a priority/first call basis to respond to the needs of GRWC or to perform the tasks requested in regard to providing CEO/President officer services and outside business consulting services, subject to the time limitations set forth above.  

 

The firm will perform general business consulting services for GRWC and, in the case of specific matters identified by GRWC, only when reasonably requested to do so either by you or by other employees or agents of GRWC acting under your direction.  The scope of our responsibility for each such matter will be specified by you; if no such specification is made, we will perform such services as we believe appropriate for the particular matter, in the circumstances of the request.  We will not be responsible for any specific business management matters relating to GRWC unless they are covered by such a request. 

 

If any of the above terms do not meet with your approval, please let me know immediately, and I will review them with you.  If you agree with the foregoing, please sign the duplicate original of this letter and return it to me at your earliest convenience. 

 

The term of this agreement shall be and is 12 months from the effective date of May 15, 2019, and may be terminated during such initial term “for cause” only.

 

Sincerely, 

 

 

/s/Jonathan Bonnette 

Jonathan Bonnette 

Acknowledged and Agreed:

 

Grow Capital, Inc.

 

 

By: /s/ James Olson

      James Olson, Chairman

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