Transfer of the General Partner’s General Partner Interest (a) Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, prior to the first day of the first Quarter beginning after the tenth anniversary of the Closing Date, the General Partner shall not transfer all or any part of its General Partner Interest to a Person unless such transfer (i) has been approved by the prior written consent or vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates) or (ii) is of all, but not less than all, of its General Partner Interest to (A) an Affiliate of the General Partner (other than an individual) or (B) another Person (other than an individual) in connection with the merger or consolidation of the General Partner with or into such other Person or the transfer by the General Partner of all or substantially all of its assets to such other Person.
(b) Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, on or after the first day of the first Quarter beginning after the tenth anniversary of the Closing Date, the General Partner may at its option transfer all or any part of its General Partner Interest without Unitholder approval.
(c) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no transfer by the General Partner of all or any part of its General Partner Interest to another Person shall be permitted unless (i) the transferee agrees to assume the rights and duties of the General Partner under this Agreement and to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, (ii) the Partnership receives an Opinion of Counsel that such transfer would not result in the loss of limited liability under the Delaware Act of any Limited Partner or cause the Partnership to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise to be taxed as an entity for federal income tax purposes (to the extent not already so treated or taxed) and (iii) such transferee also agrees to purchase all (or the appropriate portion thereof, if applicable) of the partnership or membership interest held by the General Partner as the general partner or managing member, if any, of each other Group Member. In the case of a transfer pursuant to and in compliance with this Section 4.6, the transferee or successor (as the case may be) shall, subject to compliance with the terms of Section 10.2, be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner effective immediately prior to the transfer of the General Partner Interest, and the business of the Partnership shall continue without dissolution.
Transfer of the General Partner’s Partnership Interest (a) The General Partner shall not transfer all or any portion of its General Partnership Interest or withdraw as General Partner except as provided in or in connection with a transaction contemplated by Section 7.1(b), (c) or (d).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 7.1(c) or (d) hereof, the General Partner shall not engage in any merger, consolidation or other combination with or into another Person or sale of all or substantially all of its assets, (other than in connection with a change in the General Partner’s state of incorporation or organizational form) in each case which results in a change of control of the General Partner (a “Transaction”), unless:
(i) the approval of the holders of a majority of the Partnership Units (including the Partnership Units held by the General Partner or an Affiliate thereof) is obtained;
(ii) as a result of such Transaction all Limited Partners will receive for each Partnership Unit an amount of cash, securities, or other property equal to the product of the Conversion Factor and the greatest amount of cash, securities or other property paid in the Transaction to a holder of one REIT Share in consideration of one REIT Share, provided that if, in connection with the Transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer (“Offer”) shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding REIT Shares, each holder of Partnership Units shall be given the option to exchange its Partnership Units for the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which a Limited Partner would have received had it (A) exercised its Exchange Right and (B) sold, tendered or exchanged pursuant to the Offer the REIT Shares received upon exercise of the Exchange Right immediately prior to the expiration of the Offer; or
(iii) the General Partner is the surviving entity in the Transaction and either (A) the holders of REIT Shares do not receive cash, securities, or other property in the Transaction or (B) all Limited Partners (other than the General Partner or any Subsidiary) receive an amount of cash, securities, or other property (expressed as an amount per REIT Share) that is no less than the product of the Conversion Factor and the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property (expressed as an amount per REIT Share) received in the Transaction by any holder of REIT Shares.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b), the General Partner may merge with or into or consolidate with another entity if immediately after such merger or consolidation (i) substantially all of the assets of the successor or surviving entity (the “Surviving General Partner”), other than Partnership Units held by the General Partner, are contributed, directly or indirectly, to the Partnership as a Capital Contribution in exchange for Partnership Units with a fair market value equal to the value of the assets so contributed as determined by the Surviving General Partner in good faith and (ii) the Surviving General Partner expressly agrees to assume all obligations of the General Partner, as appropriate, hereunder. Upon such contribution and assumption, the Surviving General Partner shall have the right and duty to amend this Agreement as set forth in this Section 7.1(c). The Surviving General Partner shall in good faith arrive at a new method for the calculation of the Cash Amount, the REIT Shares Amount and Conversion Factor for a Partnership Unit after any such merger or consolidation so as to approximate the existing method for such calculation as closely as reasonably possible. Such calculation shall take into account, among other things, the kind and amount of securities, cash and other property that was receivable upon such merger or consolidation by a holder of REIT Shares or options, warrants or other rights relating thereto, and to which a holder of Partnership Units could have acquired had such Partnership Units been exchanged immediately prior to such merger or consolidation. Such amendment to this Agreement shall provide for adjustment to such method of calculation, which shall be as nearly equivalent as may be practicable to the adjustments provided for with respect to the Conversion Factor. The Surviving General Partner also shall in good faith modify the definition of REIT Shares and make such amendments to Section 8.4 hereof so as to approximate the existing rights and obligations set forth in Section 8.4 as closely as reasonably possible. The above provisions of this Section 7.1(c) shall similarly apply to successive mergers or consolidations permitted hereunder. In respect of any transaction described in the preceding paragraph, the General Partner is required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to structure such transaction to avoid causing the Limited Partners to recognize a gain for federal income tax purposes by virtue of the occurrence of or their participation in such transaction, provided such efforts are consistent with the exercise of the General Partner’s board of directors’ fiduciary duties to the stockholders of the General Partner under applicable law.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b),
(i) a General Partner may transfer all or any portion of its General Partnership Interest to (A) a wholly-owned Subsidiary of such General Partner or (B) the owner of all of the ownership interests of such General Partner, and following a transfer of all of its General Partnership Interest, may withdraw as General Partner; and
(ii) the General Partner may engage in Transactions not required by law or by the rules of any National Securities Exchange on which the REIT Shares are listed to be submitted to the vote of the holders of the REIT Shares.
Outside Activities of the Limited Partners Subject to the provisions of Section 7.5, which shall continue to be applicable to the Persons referred to therein, regardless of whether such Persons shall also be Limited Partners, any Limited Partner shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including business interests and activities in direct competition with the Partnership Group. Neither the Partnership nor any of the other Partners shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner.
Ownership by Limited Partner of Corporate General Partner or Affiliate No Limited Partner shall at any time, either directly or indirectly, own any stock or other interest in the General Partner or in any Affiliate thereof, if such ownership by itself or in conjunction with other stock or other interests owned by other Limited Partners would, in the opinion of counsel for the Partnership, jeopardize the classification of the Partnership as a partnership for federal tax purposes. The General Partner shall be entitled to make such reasonable inquiry of the Limited Partners as is required to establish compliance by the Limited Partners with the provisions of this Section.
Outside Activities of the General Partner (a) Without the Consent of the Limited Partners, the General Partner shall not directly or indirectly enter into or conduct any business other than in connection with the ownership, acquisition, and disposition of Partnership Interests and the management of its business and the business of the Partnership, and such activities as are incidental thereto.
(b) The General Partner and any Affiliates of the General Partner may acquire Limited Partner Interests and shall be entitled to exercise all rights of a Limited Partner relating to such Limited Partner Interests.
Outside Activities of Limited Partners Subject to any agreements entered into by a Limited Partner or its Affiliates with the General Partner, Partnership or a Subsidiary, any Limited Partner and any officer, director, employee, agent, trustee, Affiliate or stockholder of any Limited Partner shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including business interests and activities in direct competition with the Partnership or that are enhanced by the activities of the Partnership. Neither the Partnership nor any Partners shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner or Assignee. Subject to such agreements, none of the Limited Partners nor any other Person shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement or the partnership relationship established hereby in any business ventures of any other Person, other than the Limited Partners benefiting from the business conducted by the General Partner, and such Person shall have no obligation pursuant to this Agreement to offer any interest in any such business ventures to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or any such other Person, even if such opportunity is of a character which, if presented to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or such other Person, could be taken by such Person.
Ownership of the General Partner Interest in the Partnership The General Partner is the sole general partner of the Partnership with a 2% general partner interest in the Partnership; such general partner interest has been duly authorized and validly issued in accordance with the Partnership Agreement; and, to counsel’s knowledge, the General Partner owns its general partner interest free and clear of all Liens (except for restrictions on transferability contained in the Partnership Agreement, as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or under applicable securities laws).
Rights Obligations and Powers of the General Partner 6.1 Management of the Partnership.
(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, the General Partner shall have full, complete and exclusive discretion to manage and control the business of the Partnership for the purposes herein stated, and shall make all decisions affecting the business and assets of the Partnership. Subject to the restrictions specifically contained in this Agreement, the powers of the General Partner shall include, without limitation, the authority to take the following actions on behalf of the Partnership:
(i) to acquire, purchase, own, operate, lease and dispose of any Investments that the General Partner determines are necessary or appropriate or in the best interests of the business of the Partnership;
(ii) to authorize, issue, sell, redeem or otherwise purchase any Partnership Units or any securities (including secured and unsecured debt obligations of the Partnership, debt obligations of the Partnership convertible into any class or series of Partnership Units, or options, rights, warrants or appreciation rights relating to any Partnership Units) of the Partnership;
(iii) to borrow or lend money for the Partnership, issue or receive evidences of indebtedness in connection therewith, refinance, increase the amount of, modify, amend or change the terms of, or extend the time for the payment of, any such indebtedness, and secure such indebtedness by mortgage, deed of trust, pledge or other lien on the Partnership’s assets;
(iv) to pay, either directly or by reimbursement, for all operating costs and general administrative expenses of the Partnership to third parties or to the General Partner or its Affiliates as set forth in this Agreement;
(v) to guarantee or become a co-maker of indebtedness of the General Partner or any Subsidiary thereof, refinance, increase the amount of, modify, amend or change the terms of, or extend the time for the payment of, any such guarantee or indebtedness, and secure such guarantee or indebtedness by mortgage, deed of trust, pledge or other lien on the Partnership’s assets;
(vi) to use assets of the Partnership (including, without limitation, cash on hand) for any purpose consistent with this Agreement, including, without limitation, payment, either directly or by reimbursement, of all operating costs and general administrative expenses of the General Partner, the Partnership or any Subsidiary of either, to third parties or to the General Partner as set forth in this Agreement;
(vii) to lease all or any portion of any of the Partnership’s assets, whether or not the terms of such leases extend beyond the termination date of the Partnership and whether or not any portion of the Partnership’s assets so leased are to be occupied by the lessee, or, in turn, subleased in whole or in part to others, for such consideration and on such terms as the General Partner may determine;
(viii) to prosecute, defend, arbitrate, or compromise any and all claims or liabilities in favor of or against the Partnership, on such terms and in such manner as the General Partner may reasonably determine, and similarly to prosecute, settle or defend litigation with respect to the Partners, the Partnership, or the Partnership’s assets;
(ix) to file applications, communicate, and otherwise deal with any and all governmental agencies having jurisdiction over, or in any way affecting, the Partnership’s assets or any other aspect of the Partnership business;
(x) to make or revoke any election permitted or required of the Partnership by any taxing authority;
(xi) to maintain such insurance coverage for public liability, fire and casualty, and any and all other insurance for the protection of the Partnership, for the conservation of Partnership assets, or for any other purpose convenient or beneficial to the Partnership, in such amounts and such types, as it shall determine from time to time;
(xii) to determine whether or not to apply any insurance proceeds for any Property to the restoration of such Property or to distribute the same;
(xiii) to establish one or more divisions of the Partnership, to hire and dismiss employees of the Partnership or any division of the Partnership, and to retain legal counsel, accountants, consultants, real estate brokers, and such other persons, as the General Partner may deem necessary or appropriate in connection with the Partnership business and to pay therefor such remuneration as the General Partner may deem reasonable and proper;
(xiv) to retain other services of any kind or nature in connection with the Partnership business, and to pay therefor such remuneration as the General Partner may deem reasonable and proper;
(xv) to negotiate and conclude agreements on behalf of the Partnership with respect to any of the rights, powers and authority conferred upon the General Partner;
(xvi) to maintain accurate accounting records and to file promptly all federal, state and local income tax returns on behalf of the Partnership;
(xvii) to distribute Partnership cash or other Partnership assets in accordance with this Agreement;
(xviii) to form or acquire an interest in, and contribute Property to, any further limited or general partnerships, joint ventures or other relationships that it deems desirable (including, without limitation, the acquisition of interests in, and the contributions of Property to, its Subsidiaries and any other Person in which it has an equity interest from time to time);
(xix) to establish Partnership reserves for working capital, capital expenditures, contingent liabilities, or any other valid Partnership purpose;
(xx) to merge, consolidate or combine the Partnership with or into another Person;
(xxi) to do any and all acts and things necessary or prudent to ensure that the Partnership will not be classified as a “publicly traded partnership” that is taxable as a corporation under Section 7704 of the Code; and
(xxii) to take such other action, execute, acknowledge, swear to or deliver such other documents and instruments, and perform any and all other acts that the General Partner deems necessary or appropriate for the formation, continuation and conduct of the business and affairs of the Partnership (including, without limitation, all actions consistent with allowing the General Partner at all times to qualify as a REIT unless the General Partner voluntarily terminates its REIT status) and to possess and enjoy all of the rights and powers of a general partner as provided by the Act.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, to the extent the duties of the General Partner require expenditures of funds to be paid to third parties, the General Partner shall not have any obligations hereunder except to the extent that Partnership funds are reasonably available to it for the performance of such duties, and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or require the General Partner, in its capacity as such, to expend its individual funds for payment to third parties or to undertake any individual liability or obligation on behalf of the Partnership.
Interest of Departing General Partner and Successor General Partner (a) In the event of (i) withdrawal of the General Partner under circumstances where such withdrawal does not violate this Agreement or (ii) removal of the General Partner by the holders of Outstanding Units under circumstances where Cause does not exist, if the successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 11.1 or Section 11.2, the Departing General Partner shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the withdrawal or removal of such Departing General Partner, to require its successor to purchase its General Partner Interest and its or its Affiliates’ general partner interest (or equivalent interest), if any, in the other Group Members and all of its or its Affiliates’ Incentive Distribution Rights (collectively, the “Combined Interest”) in exchange for an amount in cash equal to the fair market value of such Combined Interest, such amount to be determined and payable as of the effective date of its withdrawal or removal. If the General Partner is removed by the Unitholders under circumstances where Cause exists or if the General Partner withdraws under circumstances where such withdrawal violates this Agreement, and if a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 11.1 or Section 11.2 (or if the business of the Partnership is continued pursuant to Section 12.2 and the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner), such successor shall have the option, exercisable prior to the effective date of the withdrawal or removal of such Departing General Partner (or, in the event the business of the Partnership is continued, prior to the date the business of the Partnership is continued), to purchase the Combined Interest for such fair market value of such Combined Interest. In either event, the Departing General Partner shall be entitled to receive all reimbursements due such Departing General Partner pursuant to Section 7.4, including any employee-related liabilities (including severance liabilities), incurred in connection with the termination of any employees employed by the Departing General Partner or its Affiliates (other than any Group Member) for the benefit of the Partnership or the other Group Members. For purposes of this Section 11.3(a), the fair market value of the Combined Interest shall be determined by agreement between the Departing General Partner and its successor or, failing agreement within 30 days after the effective date of such Departing General Partner’s withdrawal or removal, by an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert selected by the Departing General Partner and its successor, which, in turn, may rely on other experts, and the determination of which shall be conclusive as to such matter. If such parties cannot agree upon one independent investment banking firm or other independent expert within 45 days after the effective date of such withdrawal or removal, then the Departing General Partner shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, the Departing General Partner’s successor shall designate an independent investment banking firm or other independent expert, and such firms or experts shall mutually select a third independent investment banking firm or independent expert, which third independent investment banking firm or other independent expert shall determine the fair market value of the Combined Interest. In making its determination, such third independent investment banking firm or other independent expert may consider the then current trading price of Units on any National Securities Exchange on which Units are then listed or admitted to trading, the value of the Partnership’s assets, the rights and obligations of the Departing General Partner, the value of the Incentive Distribution Rights and the General Partner Interest and other factors it may deem relevant.
(b) If the Combined Interest is not purchased in the manner set forth in Section 11.3(a), the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) shall become a Limited Partner and its Combined Interest shall be converted into Common Units pursuant to a valuation made by an investment banking firm or other independent expert selected pursuant to Section 11.3(a), without reduction in such Partnership Interest (but subject to proportionate dilution by reason of the admission of its successor). Any successor General Partner shall indemnify the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) as to all debts and liabilities of the Partnership arising on or after the date on which the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) becomes a Limited Partner. For purposes of this Agreement, conversion of the Combined Interest of the Departing General Partner to Common Units will be characterized as if the Departing General Partner (or its transferee) contributed its Combined Interest to the Partnership in exchange for the newly issued Common Units.
(c) If a successor General Partner is elected in accordance with the terms of Section 11.1 or Section 11.2 (or if the business of the Partnership is continued pursuant to Section 12.2 and the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner) and the option described in Section 11.3(a) is not exercised by the party entitled to do so, the successor General Partner shall, at the effective date of its admission to the Partnership, contribute to the Partnership cash in the amount equal to the product of (x) the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest of the Departing General Partner by (B) a percentage equal to 100% less the Percentage Interest of the General Partner Interest of the Departing General Partner and (y) the Net Agreed Value of the Partnership’s assets on such date. In such event, such successor General Partner shall, subject to the following sentence, be entitled to its Percentage Interest of all Partnership allocations and distributions to which the Departing General Partner was entitled. In addition, the successor General Partner shall cause this Agreement to be amended to reflect that, from and after the date of such successor General Partner’s admission, the successor General Partner’s interest in all Partnership distributions and allocations shall be its Percentage Interest.
Transfer of General Partner’s Partnership Interest A. Except in connection with a Termination Transaction permitted under Section 11.2.B, the General Partner shall not withdraw from the Partnership and shall not transfer all or any portion of its interest in the Partnership (whether by sale, statutory merger or consolidation, liquidation or otherwise), other than to an Affiliate, without the Consent of the Limited Partners, which may be given or withheld by each Limited Partner in its sole and absolute discretion, and only upon the admission of a successor General Partner pursuant to Section 12.1. Upon any transfer of a Partnership Interest in accordance with the provisions of this Section 11.2, the transferee shall become a substitute General Partner for all purposes herein, and shall be vested with the powers and rights of the transferor General Partner, and shall be liable for all obligations and responsible for all duties of the General Partner, once such transferee has executed such instruments as may be necessary to effectuate such admission and to confirm the agreement of such transferee to be bound by all the terms and provisions of this Agreement with respect to the Partnership Interest so acquired. It is a condition to any transfer otherwise permitted hereunder that the transferee assumes, by operation of law or express agreement, all of the obligations of the transferor General Partner under this Agreement with respect to such transferred Partnership Interest, and no such transfer (other than pursuant to a statutory merger or consolidation wherein all obligations and liabilities of the transferor General Partner are assumed by a successor corporation by operation of law) shall relieve the transferor General Partner of its obligations under this Agreement without the Consent of the Limited Partners, in their reasonable discretion. In the event the General Partner withdraws from the Partnership, in violation of this Agreement or otherwise, or otherwise dissolves or terminates, or upon the Incapacity of the General Partner, all of the remaining Partners may elect to continue the Partnership business by selecting a substitute General Partner in accordance with the Act.
B. The General Partner shall not engage in any merger, consolidation or other combination with or into another person, sale of all or substantially all of its assets or any reclassification, recapitalization or change of its outstanding equity interests (“Termination Transaction”) unless (1) the Termination Transaction has been approved by a Consent of the Partners and (2) either clause (a) or (b) below is satisfied:
(a) in connection with such Termination Transaction all Limited Partners either will receive, or will have the right to elect to receive, for each Common Unit an amount of cash, securities, or other property equal to the product of the REIT Shares Amount and the greatest amount of cash, securities or other property paid to a holder of one REIT Share in consideration of one REIT Share in connection with the Termination Transaction; provided, that, if, in connection with the Termination Transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding REIT Shares, each Holder of Common Units shall receive, or shall have the right to elect to receive, the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which such holder would have received had it exercised its right to Redemption (as set forth in Section 8.6) and received REIT Shares in exchange for its Common Units immediately prior to the expiration of such purchase, tender or exchange offer and had thereupon accepted such purchase, tender or exchange offer and then such Termination Transaction shall have been consummated; or
(b) the following conditions are met: (i) substantially all of the assets directly or indirectly owned by the surviving entity are held directly or indirectly by the Partnership or another limited partnership or limited liability company which is the survivor of a merger, consolidation or combination of assets with the Partnership (in each case, the “Surviving Partnership”); (ii) the holders of Common-Equivalent Units own a percentage interest of the Surviving Partnership based on the relative fair market value of the net assets of the Partnership and the other net assets of the Surviving Partnership immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction; (iii) the rights, preferences and privileges of such holders in the Surviving Partnership are at least as favorable as those in effect immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction and as those applicable to any other limited partners or non-managing members of the Surviving Partnership; and (iv) such rights of the Limited Partners include at least one of the following: (a) the right to redeem their interests in the Surviving Partnership for the consideration available to such persons pursuant to Section 11.2.B(a); or (b) the right to redeem their Common Units for cash on terms equivalent to those in effect with respect to their Common Units immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction, or, if the ultimate controlling person of the Surviving Partnership has publicly traded common equity securities, such common equity securities, with an exchange ratio based on the determination of relative fair market value of such securities and the REIT Shares.
