Formation of Limited Partnership (a) The Partnership is formed as a limited partnership pursuant to the Certificate and this Agreement. The Partners agree that their rights, duties and liabilities will be as provided in the Delaware Act, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement. The General Partner will cause the Certificate to be executed and filed in accordance with the Delaware Act and will cause to be executed and filed with applicable governmental authorities any other instruments, documents and certificates that the General Partner concludes may from time to time be required by the laws of the United States of America, the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction in which the General Partner determines that the Partnership should do business, or any political subdivision or agency of any such jurisdiction, or that the General Partner determines is necessary or appropriate to effectuate, implement and continue the valid existence and business of the Partnership.
(b) The Partnership is formed for the object and purpose of (and the nature of the business to be conducted by the Partnership is) engaging in any lawful activity for which limited partnerships may be formed under the Delaware Act and engaging in any and all activities necessary or incidental to the foregoing.
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.
Substituted Limited Partners A. No Limited Partner shall have the right to substitute a transferee as a Limited Partner in his or her place (including any transferee permitted by Section 11.3). The General Partner shall, however, have the right to consent to the admission of a transferee of the interest of a Limited Partner pursuant to this Section 11.4 as a Substituted Limited Partner, which consent may be given or withheld by the General Partner in its sole and absolute discretion. The General Partner’s failure or refusal to permit a transferee of any such interests to become a Substituted Limited Partner shall not give rise to any cause of action, whether at law or in equity, against the Partnership or any Partner.
B. A transferee who has been admitted as a Substituted Limited Partner in accordance with this Article 11 shall have all the rights and powers and be subject to all the restrictions and liabilities of a Limited Partner under this Agreement. The admission of any transferee as a Substituted Limited Partner shall be subject to the transferee executing and delivering to the General Partner an acceptance of all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement (including without limitation, the provisions of Section 2.4 and such other documents or instruments as may be required to effect the admission), each in form and substance satisfactory to the General Partner) and the acknowledgment by such transferee that each of the representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.4 are true and correct with respect to such transferee as of the date of the transfer of the Partnership Interest to such transferee and will continue to be true to the extent required by such representations and warranties.
C. Upon the admission of a Substituted Limited Partner, the General Partner shall amend Exhibit A to reflect the name, address, number of OP Units, and Percentage Interest of such Substituted Limited Partner and to eliminate or adjust, if necessary, the name, address and interest of the predecessor of such Substituted Limited Partner.
Additional Limited Partners Subject to the other terms of this Agreement, the rights and obligations of an Additional Limited Partner to which Units are issued shall be set forth in such Additional Limited Partner’s Partner Agreement, the Unit Designation relating to the Units issued to such Additional Limited Partner or a written document thereafter attached to and made an exhibit to this Agreement, which exhibit shall be an amendment to this Agreement (but shall not require the approval of any Limited Partner) and shall be incorporated herein by this reference. Such rights and obligations may include, without limitation, provisions describing the vesting of the Units issued to such Additional Limited Partner and the reallocation of such Units or other consequences of the Withdrawal of such Additional Limited Partner other than due to a breach of any of the covenants in Section 2.13(b) or, if applicable, any of those provided in such Additional Limited Partner’s Partner Agreement.
Certificate of Limited Partnership The General Partner has caused the Certificate of Limited Partnership to be filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as required by the Delaware Act. The General Partner shall use all reasonable efforts to cause to be filed such other certificates or documents that the General Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate for the formation, continuation, qualification and operation of a limited partnership (or a partnership in which the limited partners have limited liability) in the State of Delaware or any other state in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. To the extent the General Partner determines such action to be necessary or appropriate, the General Partner shall file amendments to and restatements of the Certificate of Limited Partnership and do all things to maintain the Partnership as a limited partnership (or a partnership or other entity in which the limited partners have limited liability) under the laws of the State of Delaware or of any other state in which the Partnership may elect to do business or own property. Subject to the terms of Section 3.4(a), the General Partner shall not be required, before or after filing, to deliver or mail a copy of the Certificate of Limited Partnership, any qualification document or any amendment thereto to any Limited Partner.
Reports to Limited Partners (a) As soon as practicable after the close of each fiscal quarter (other than the last quarter of the fiscal year), the General Partner shall cause to be mailed to each Limited Partner a quarterly report containing financial statements of the Partnership, or of the General Partner if such statements are prepared solely on a consolidated basis with the General Partner, for such fiscal quarter, presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. As soon as practicable after the close of each fiscal year, the General Partner shall cause to be mailed to each Limited Partner an annual report containing financial statements of the Partnership, or of the General Partner if such statements are prepared solely on a consolidated basis with the General Partner, for such fiscal year, presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The annual financial statements shall be audited by accountants selected by the General Partner.
(b) Any Partner shall further have the right to a private audit of the books and records of the Partnership at the expense of such Partner, provided such audit is made for Partnership purposes and is made during normal business hours.
Substituted Limited Partner In the event a Limited Partner transfers all or any part of such Limited Partner’s Limited Partnership Interest in compliance with the provisions of this Article VIII, the transferee of the Limited Partner shall take such Limited Partnership Interest subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, shall not be considered to have title to such Limited Partnership Interest and shall not have the right to be admitted to the Partnership as a substituted Limited Partner of the Partnership unless the transferring Limited Partner has given the transferee such right and unless:
(a) the Company consents in writing to the admission of the transferee into the Partnership as a substituted Limited Partner, which consent may be granted or denied in the sole discretion of the Company; and
(b) the transferring Limited Partner and the transferring Limited Partner’s transferee execute and deliver such instruments as the Company deems necessary or desirable to effect such substitution; and
(c) such transferee accepts, assumes and agrees in writing to be bound by all of the terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement; and
(d) such transferee pays all reasonable expenses connected with such substitution.
Amendment of Agreement and Certificate of Limited Partnership For the admission to the Partnership of any Partner, the General Partner shall take all steps necessary and appropriate under the Act to amend the records of the Partnership and, if necessary, to prepare as soon as practical an amendment of this Agreement (including an amendment of Exhibit A) and, if required by law, shall prepare and file an amendment to the Certificate and may for this purpose exercise the power of attorney granted pursuant to Section 2.4 hereof.
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.
Approval by Limited Partners of Merger or Consolidation (a) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d), the General Partner, upon its approval of the Merger Agreement, shall direct that the Merger Agreement be submitted to a vote of Limited Partners, whether at a special meeting or by written consent, in either case in accordance with the requirements of Article XIII. A copy or a summary of the Merger Agreement shall be included in or enclosed with the notice of a special meeting or the written consent.
(b) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d), the Merger Agreement shall be approved upon receiving the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a Unit Majority unless the Merger Agreement contains any provision that, if contained in an amendment to this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement or the Delaware Act would require for its approval the vote or consent of a greater percentage of the Outstanding Units or of any class of Limited Partners, in which case such greater percentage vote or consent shall be required for approval of the Merger Agreement.
(c) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d), after such approval by vote or consent of the Limited Partners, and at any time prior to the filing of the certificate of merger pursuant to Section 14.4, the merger or consolidation may be abandoned pursuant to provisions therefor, if any, set forth in the Merger Agreement.
(d) Notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article XIV or in this Agreement, the General Partner is permitted, in its discretion, without Limited Partner approval, to merge the Partnership or any Group Member into, or convey all of the Partnership’s assets to, another limited liability entity which shall be newly formed and shall have no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of such Merger other than those it receives from the Partnership or other Group Member if (i) the General Partner has received an Opinion of Counsel that the merger or conveyance, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner or any Group Member or cause the Partnership or any Group Member 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 previously treated as such), (ii) the sole purpose of such merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the legal form of the Partnership into another limited liability entity and (iii) the governing instruments of the new entity provide the Limited Partners and the General Partner with the same rights and obligations as are herein contained.
