Interim Operations Except as (x) required by applicable Law, (y) expressly contemplated or required by this Agreement or (z) set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company Parties covenant and agree that, from and after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Company Merger Effective Time, except with the prior written consent of Parent (which consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), each of the Company Parties shall, and shall cause their Subsidiaries to, conduct their business in the ordinary course and shall, and shall cause their Subsidiaries to, use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to (1) preserve their business organizations intact and (2) maintain existing relations and goodwill with Governmental Entities and customers, suppliers, employees and business associates.
(a) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing and in furtherance thereof, from and after the execution and delivery of this Agreement until the Company Merger Effective Time, except as (x) required by applicable Law, (y) expressly contemplated or required by this Agreement, or (z) as set forth in the relevant subsection of Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter (it being understood and hereby agreed that if any action is expressly permitted by any of the following subsections such action shall be expressly permitted under the first sentence of Section 6.1), except with the prior written consent of Parent (which consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), none of the Company Parties will and the Company Parties will not permit any of their Subsidiaries to:
(i) adopt any change in the Company's certificate of incorporation or bylaws or DPA's limited liability company agreement, or adopt any material change in the applicable governing instruments of any of their Subsidiaries;
(ii) merge or consolidate with any other Person or restructure, reorganize or completely or partially liquidate, except for (A) the Mergers or (B) any such transaction between wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company Parties, or between any wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company Parties and the Company Parties, unless reasonably objected to by Parent following consultation;
(iii) acquire (by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets or otherwise) (x) any corporation, partnership or other business organization or (y) any assets from any other Person (excluding ordinary course purchases of goods, products and off-the-shelf Intellectual Property), except, following reasonable advanced consultation with Parent, where the consideration in such transaction is not in excess of $2,000,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate;
(iv) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant, transfer, encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition, grant, transfer, or encumbrance of, any shares of its capital stock or equity interests or the capital stock or equity interests of any of its Subsidiaries (other than (A) the issuance of Class A Shares upon the exercise of Company Options and settlement of Company RSAs and Director RSAs in accordance with the Stock Plan, in each case that are outstanding as of the date hereof or that are issued after the date hereof in compliance with this Agreement, (B) the issuance of Class A Shares pursuant to that certain Exchange Agreement dated as of October 3, 2007, as amended through the date hereof, by and among the Company Parties and certain unitholders of DPA (the “Exchange Agreement”), (C) between wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company Parties or between a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company Parties and a Company Party), or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for any shares of such capital stock, or any options, stock units, stock awards, warrants or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock, equity interests, convertible or exchangeable securities;
(v) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to or investments in any Person (other than the Company Parties or any direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company Parties) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (including business expense advances to employees) in amounts not in excess of $750,000;
(vi) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution, payable in cash, stock, property or otherwise, with respect to any of its capital stock or equity interests (except for (A) regular quarterly cash dividends at a rate not in excess of $0.09 per Class A Share and $0.09 per New Class A Unit, with record dates and payment dates consistent with the prior year, (B) tax distributions not in excess of those provided for pursuant to Section 4.4 of the limited liability company agreement of DPA or (C) dividends paid by any direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary to the Company Parties or to any other direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary) or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting of its capital stock;
(vii) reclassify, split, combine, subdivide or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of its capital stock or equity interests or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for any shares of its capital stock or equity interests (other than the acquisition in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice of any Class A Shares tendered by current or former Service Providers in connection with the cashless exercise of Company Options or in order to pay Taxes in connection with the exercise of Company Options or the vesting of Company RSAs and Director RSAs or in connection with any obligation under the Exchange Agreement);
(viii) incur any Indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee such Indebtedness of another Person (other than a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company Parties), or issue or sell any debt securities or warrants or other rights to acquire any debt security of the Company Parties or any of their Subsidiaries, in each case other than (A) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with a face value or principal amount not in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate, or (B) in the ordinary course under letters of credit, lines of credit or other credit facilities or arrangements in effect on the date hereof so long as the total Indebtedness incurred under all such letters of credit, lines of credit or credit facilities does not exceed $50,000,000 in the aggregate;
(ix) make or authorize any capital expenditures in excess of $500,000 individually or $1,500,000 in the aggregate, other than any capital expenditure (or series of related capital expenditures) consistent in all material respects with the 2013 capital expenditure budget of the Company Parties and their Subsidiaries in effect on the date of this Agreement (a copy of which has been previously provided to Parent);
(x) make any material changes with respect to any method of Tax or financial accounting policies or procedures, except as required by changes in GAAP or by a Governmental Entity;
(xi) compromise, settle or agree to settle any claims (A) involving amounts in excess of $250,000 individually or $1,000,000 in the aggregate, except to the extent reflected or reserved against in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2012 included in the Company Reports in respect of the claim being settled or (B) that would impose any material non-monetary obligations on the Company Parties or their Subsidiaries or Affiliates that would continue after the Company Merger Effective Time;
(xii) make any material Tax election, file any material amended Tax Return, settle or compromise any material Tax liability, enter into any closing agreement with respect to any material Tax or surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund;
(xiii) transfer, sell, lease, license, mortgage, pledge, surrender, encumber, divest, cancel, abandon or allow to lapse or expire, xxxxx x Xxxx (other than a Permitted Lien) on or otherwise dispose of any assets, properties or rights of the Company Parties or their Subsidiaries, including capital stock of any of their Subsidiaries that are material to the Company Parties and their Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, except (A) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (B) Liens granted in connection with any indebtedness permitted under this Section 6.1;
(xiv) except as required under applicable Law or the terms of any Benefit Plan in effect as of the date hereof (A) grant, provide or increase (or commit to grant, provide or increase) any severance or termination payments or benefits to any current or former Service Provider who is or was an executive officer, a director or other Service Provider earning annual compensation (base salary and incentive opportunities) in excess of $750,000 (any such Service Provider, a “Material Service Provider”), grant or provide for (or commit to grant or provide for) any severance or termination payments or benefits to any other current or former Service Provider other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or increase (or commit to increase) any severance or termination payments or benefits; (B) increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of any current or former Service Provider, except (x) for increases in base salary in the ordinary course where the aggregate increase does not exceed 4.5% percent of the aggregate annualized salaries in 2012 and (y) the payment of bonuses for the 2012 performance year in the ordinary course of business and, with respect to Material Service Providers consistent with past practice, and otherwise in the aggregate consistent with past practice, and not in excess of the amounts set forth in Section 6.1(a)(xiv) of the Company Disclosure Letter; (D) become a party to, establish, adopt, terminate, materially amend (or commit to become a party to, establish, adopt, terminate, or materially amend) any Benefit Plan or arrangement that would have been a Benefit Plan if in effect on the date hereof (other than routine changes to welfare plans) or accelerate the vesting of, or lapse of restrictions on, any compensation for the benefit of any current or former Material Service Provider; (E) cause the funding of any rabbi trust or similar arrangement or take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any Benefit Plan; or (F) terminate the employment or services of any Material Service Provider other than for cause, or hire any Person that would reasonably be expected to be a Material Service Provider;
(xv) abandon, convey title (in whole or in part), exclusively license or grant any right or other licenses to material Intellectual Property owned or exclusively licensed to the Company Parties or any of their Subsidiaries, or enter into licenses or agreements that impose material restrictions upon the Company Parties or any of their Subsidiaries with respect to its or their use of material Intellectual Property owned by any third party, in each case other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(A) except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (1) modify or amend, or voluntarily or prematurely terminate, any Material Contract (other than extensions at the end of term that do not materially modify or amend the terms of such Contract or modifications or amendments to reflect actual services performed), (2) enter into any successor agreement to an expiring Material Contract that materially modifies or amends the terms of such expiring Material Contract or (3) enter into any new agreement that would have been considered a Material Contract if it were entered into at or prior to the date hereof other than any such Contracts that may be cancelled, terminated or withdrawn without material liability to the Company Parties or their Subsidiaries upon notice of 90 days or less or (B) enter into any new agreement that would have been considered a Material Contract pursuant to clause (B), (I), (O) or (Q) of Section 5.1(q) if it were entered into at or prior to the date hereof;
(xvii) fail to maintain in full force and effect material insurance policies covering the Company Parties and their Subsidiaries and their respective properties, assets and businesses in a form and amount consistent with past practice; or
(xviii) agree, authorize or commit to do any of the foregoing.
(b) Each of the Buyer Parties agrees that, from and after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and until the Company Merger Effective Time, it shall not consummate or agree to consummate any purchase or other acquisition of any assets, licenses, operations, rights or businesses (other than as expressly contemplated by this Agreement) that, individually or in the aggregate with any other such purchase or acquisition, is reasonably likely to (i) prevent or materially delay from obtaining any consents, registrations, approvals, permits or authorizations required to be obtained from any Governmental Entity in connection with the consummation of the Mergers and the other transactions contemplated hereby, (ii) result in the imposition of a condition or conditions on any such consents, registrations, approvals, permits or authorizations, or (iii) otherwise prevent or materially delay any party hereto from performing its obligations hereunder or consummating the Mergers and the other transactions contemplated hereby.
(c) Nothing contained in this Agreement is intended to give any Buyer Party, directly or indirectly, the right to control or direct the Company Parties' or their Subsidiaries' operations prior to the Company Merger Effective Time, and nothing contained in this Agreement is intended to give the Company Parties or their Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, the right to control or direct the Buyer Parties' operations. Prior to the Company Merger Effective Time, each of the Buyer Parties and the Company Parties shall exercise, consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, complete control and supervision over its and its Subsidiaries' respective operations.
(d) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties hereto, following the date hereof and prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to make available to Parent:
(i) an estimate of the amounts potentially payable to each Service Provider under any Benefit Plan in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the adoption of this Agreement by holders of shares constituting the Company Requisite Vote or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (either alone or in conjunction with any other event, including as a result of a termination of employment or service), including the amount of any “excess parachute payments” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and any excise tax gross-up that could become payable under any Benefit Plans;
(ii) complete and correct copies of each Lease; and
(iii) true and complete current copies of all material Benefit Plans and, where applicable, (A) the most recently prepared actuarial report or financial statement with respect thereto, (B) the most recent summary plan description, and all material modifications thereto with respect thereto, (C) the most recent annual report (Form 5500 Series) and accompanying schedule with respect thereto, (D) the most recent determination letter with respect thereto, (E) copies of any material written correspondence with a Governmental Entity with respect thereto and (F) any related funding arrangements with respect thereto.
Environmental Management (a) The Operator must, prior to the commencement of any Train Services (including any new or varied Train Services):
(i) cause a suitably qualified person reasonably acceptable to both Parties to prepare a report (“Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report”) containing an environmental investigation component and an environmental risk management component which respectively identify:
(A) possible risks of Environmental Harm arising out of the proposed use of the Nominated Network by the Operator, including risks associated with those matters identified in Part 3 of Schedule 6; and
(B) the manner in which the Operator proposes to address the possible risks of Environmental Harm identified in the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report as well as the roles and responsibilities, including financial responsibility, for the control measures proposed and an audit regime, provided that if the Operator has an existing Environmental Management System it proposes to use in connection with the proposed Train Services on the Nominated Network, the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report should also detail the extent to which the Operator believes its existing Environmental Management System addresses the risks identified in the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report; and
(ii) provide a copy of the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report to Aurizon Network for its consideration and, if requested by Aurizon Network, a copy of the relevant parts of the Operator’s existing Environmental Management System referred to in the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report.
(b) If the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report discloses areas of risk which, in the reasonable opinion of Aurizon Network, cannot be adequately managed by the proposals set out in the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report or, in the reasonable opinion of Aurizon Network, fails to identify and adequately deal with additional relevant environmental risks, then Aurizon Network may give notice to that effect to the Operator within thirty (30) days after the date on which the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report was received by Aurizon Network (or such other period as the Parties, acting reasonably, may agree), detailing the risks not so adequately managed or not so identified or adequately dealt with. If Aurizon Network does not give such notice, the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report, subject to Clause 9.1(k), shall be included in Part 1 of Schedule 9 and amendments made to this Agreement [(including variations to the Base Access Charges)] if applicable. [Bracketed text is only included where Operator pays non-TOP Access Charges]
(c) If Aurizon Network gives notice pursuant to Clause 9.1 (b) the Operator may respond, by a date agreed by the Parties, with a written proposal which demonstrates how the Operator proposes to manage those risks (“Operator’s Proposal”). The Operator’s Proposal must:
(i) contain an investigation of the areas of risk and/or additional relevant environmental risks referred to in Clause 9.1(b);
(A) specify risk abatement or attenuation measures which the Operator proposes to undertake in relation to them; and/or
(B) specify how the Access Charges might contain a component reflecting the cost to Aurizon Network of assuming all or some portion of the risk;
(ii) in relation to paragraph (ii)(A) specify a timeframe for implementation of those measures; and
(iii) specify details of any public consultation the Operator proposes to undertake in connection with the implementation of any such measures.
(d) Aurizon Network may, acting reasonably, accept or reject all or part of the Operator’s Proposal.
(e) If Aurizon Network accepts the Operator’s Proposal, then it will be incorporated into and form part of the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report which, subject to Clause 9.1(k), shall be included in Part 1 of Schedule 9 and amendments made to the Agreement [(including variations to the Base Access Charges)] if applicable. [Bracketed text is only included where Operator pays non-TOP Access Charges]
(f) If the Operator fails to submit to Aurizon Network an Operator’s Proposal by the date agreed by the Parties or if Aurizon Network rejects all or part of the Operator’s Proposal, Aurizon Network may advise the Operator of the risks not adequately managed or not identified or adequately dealt with and then either Party may refer the issue of whether the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report and/or the Operator’s Proposal does or does not adequately manage or does or does not identify or adequately deal with the relevant environmental risks to an expert for determination in accordance with Clause 18.3.
(g) If the expert determines that the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report and/or Operator’s Proposal does adequately manage the risks or identifies and adequately deals with the risks, then the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report as modified by the Operator’s Proposal (if applicable) will, subject to Clause 9.1(k), be accepted and included in Part 1 of Schedule 9 and amendments made to this Agreement [(including variations to the Base Access Charges)] if applicable. [Bracketed text is only included where Operator pays non-TOP Access Charges]
(h) If the expert determines that the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report and/or Operator’s Proposal does not adequately manage the risks or does not identify and adequately deal with the risks, then provided the Operator amends the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report in accordance with the expert’s determination and/or recommendations within the time frame specified by the expert, the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report as amended will, subject to Clause 9.1(k), be accepted and included in Part 1 of Schedule 9 and amendments made to the Agreement [(including variations to the Base Access Charges)] if applicable. [Bracketed text is only included where Operator pays non-TOP Access Charges]
(i) If the expert determines that the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report and/or Operator’s Proposal does not adequately manage the risks or does not identify and adequately deal with the risks and the Operator fails to amend the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report in accordance with the expert’s determination and/or recommendations within the time frame specified by the expert, Aurizon Network may terminate this Agreement by written notice to the Operator and the End User.
(j) The Parties agree to implement the determination of the expert.
(k) If:
(i) an Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report is included in Part 1 of Schedule 9; and
(ii) amendments (if any) are made to this Agreement as a result of or in connection with that inclusion of the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report, then the commencement of the amendment of this Agreement to include the Environmental Investigation and Risk Management Report and those amendments is subject to and conditional upon the Operator being notified by Aurizon Network that all necessary amendments (if any) to the End User Access Agreement (including variations to the amounts payable by the End User) have been made in respect of such matters and any relevant nomination of the Operator by the End User in accordance with the End User Access Agreement has, if necessary, been varied.
