Registration Statement and Proxy Statement (a) None of the information supplied or to be supplied by or on behalf of WPL for inclusion or incorporation by reference in:
(i) the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed with the SEC by WPL in connection with the issuance of shares of WPL Common Stock in the Merger (the "Registration Statement") will, at the time the Registration Statement is filed with the SEC and at the time it becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and
(ii) the joint proxy statement, in definitive form, relating to the meetings of WPL, IES and Interstate shareholders to be held in connection with the Merger (the "Proxy Statement") will, at the date(s) mailed to shareholders and at the times of the meetings of shareholders to be held in connection with the Merger, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.
(b) The Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement will comply as to form in all material respects with the provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, respectively, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder.
Information Statement Fuse has provided prior to the date hereof all financial and other information relating to Fuse that TEEE has reasonably requested (including the Fuse Financial Statements and the Pro Formas) for preparation of an information statement on Schedule 14C relating to the approval and adoption of the 14C Amendments and the transactions contemplated hereby (as amended or supplemented, the “Information Statement”). As promptly as practicable following the date hereof, TEEE and Fuse shall prepare and file with the SEC the Information Statement. TEEE shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the Information Statement does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements contained therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, other than with respect to statements made based on information supplied or to be supplied in writing by Fuse specifically for inclusion therein. Fuse shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that none of the information it has supplied and will supply in writing specifically for inclusion in the Information Statement contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements contained therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Parties shall cooperate with each other in connection with the preparation of the foregoing documents and the SEC’s review of such documents. TEEE and Fuse shall promptly respond to any SEC comments on the Information Statement. TEEE and Fuse shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to have the Information Statement cleared by the SEC as promptly as practicable for mailing to the holders of Common Stock as promptly as practicable. TEEE and Fuse shall also take any and all actions required to satisfy the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
PROSPECTUS AND PROXY STATEMENTS 3.1 TRUST shall prepare and be responsible for filing with the SEC and any state regulators requiring such filing all shareholder reports, notices, proxy materials (or similar materials such as voting instruction solicitation materials), prospectuses and statements of additional information of TRUST. TRUST shall bear the costs of registration and qualification of shares of the Portfolios, preparation and filing of the documents listed in this Section 3.1 and all taxes and filing fees to which an issuer is subject on the issuance and transfer of its shares.
3.2 TRUST or its designee shall provide LIFE COMPANY, free of charge, with as many copies of the current prospectus (or prospectuses), statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports and proxy statements for the shares of the Portfolios as LIFE COMPANY may reasonably request for distribution to existing Variable Contract owners whose Variable Contracts are funded by such shares. TRUST or its designee shall provide LIFE COMPANY, at LIFE COMPANY's expense, with as many copies of the current prospectus (or prospectuses) for the shares as LIFE COMPANY may reasonably request for distribution to prospective purchasers of Variable Contracts. If requested by LIFE COMPANY, TRUST or its designee shall provide such documentation (including a "camera ready" copy of the current prospectus (or prospectuses) as set in type or, at the request of LIFE COMPANY, as a diskette in the form sent to the financial printer) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the parties hereto once a year (or more frequently if the prospectus (or prospectuses) for the shares is supplemented or amended) to have the prospectus for the Variable Contracts and the prospectus (or prospectuses) for the TRUST shares printed together in one document. The expenses of such printing will be apportioned between LIFE COMPANY and TRUST in proportion to the number of pages of the Variable Contract and TRUST prospectus, taking account of other relevant factors affecting the expense of printing, such as covers, columns, graphs and charts; TRUST shall bear the cost of printing the TRUST prospectus portion of such document for distribution only to owners of existing Variable Contracts funded by the TRUST shares and LIFE COMPANY shall bear the expense of printing the portion of such documents relating to the Separate Account; provided, however, LIFE COMPANY shall bear all printing expenses of such combined documents where used for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Variable Contracts not funded by the shares. In the event that LIFE COMPANY requests that TRUST or its designee provide TRUST's prospectus in a "camera ready" or diskette format, TRUST shall be responsible for providing the prospectus (or prospectuses) in the format in which it is accustomed to formatting prospectuses and shall bear the expense of providing the prospectus (or prospectuses) in such format (e.g. typesetting expenses), and LIFE COMPANY shall bear the expense of adjusting or changing the format to conform with any of its prospectuses.
3.3 TRUST will provide LIFE COMPANY with at least one complete copy of all prospectuses, statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, exemptive applications and all amendments or supplements to any of the above that relate to the Portfolios promptly after the filing of each such document with the SEC or other regulatory authority. LIFE COMPANY will provide TRUST with at least one complete copy of all prospectuses, statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, exemptive applications and all amendments or supplements to any of the above that relate to a Separate Account promptly after the filing of each such document with the SEC or other regulatory authority.
Registration Statement; Proxy Statement (a) As promptly as practicable after the execution of this Agreement, Parent and the Company shall prepare and file with the SEC a joint proxy statement relating to the Company Stockholders’ Meeting and the Parent Stockholders’ Meeting (together with any amendments thereof or supplements thereto, the “Proxy Statement”) and Parent shall prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (together with all amendments thereto, the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus contained in the Registration Statement together with the Proxy Statement, the “Joint Proxy/Prospectus”), in which the Proxy Statement shall be included, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued to the stockholders of the Company in the Merger. Each of Parent and the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to cause the Registration Statement to become effective as promptly as practicable, and, prior to the effective date of the Registration Statement, Parent shall take all or any action reasonably required under any applicable federal or state securities Laws in connection with the issuance of shares of Parent Common Stock in the Merger. Each of Parent and the Company shall furnish all information concerning it and the holders of its capital stock as the other may reasonably request in connection with such actions and the preparation of the Registration Statement and Proxy Statement. As promptly as reasonably practicable after the Registration Statement shall have become effective and the Proxy Statement shall have been cleared by the SEC, the Company and Parent shall mail the Joint Proxy/Prospectus to their respective stockholders; provided, however, that the parties shall consult and cooperate with each other in determining the appropriate time for mailing the Joint Proxy/Prospectus in light of the date set for the Company Stockholders’ Meeting and the Parent Stockholders’ Meeting. No filing of, or amendment or supplement to, the Proxy Statement shall be made by Parent or the Company, and no filing of, or amendment or supplement to, the Registration Statement shall be made by Parent, in each case, without the prior written consent of the other party, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. Parent and the Company each shall advise the other, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when the Registration Statement has become effective or any supplement or amendment has been filed, of the issuance of any stop order, the suspension of the qualification of the Parent Common Stock issuable in connection with the Merger for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or any request by the SEC for amendment of the Proxy Statement or the Registration Statement or comments thereon and responses thereto or requests by the SEC for additional information.
(b) The information supplied by the Company and Parent for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement and the Proxy Statement shall not, at (i) the time the Registration Statement is declared effective, (ii) the time the Proxy Statement (or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto) is first mailed to the stockholders of the Company, (iii) the time the Proxy Statement (or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto) is first mailed to stockholders of Parent, (iv) the time of the Company Stockholders’ Meeting, and (v) the time of the Parent Stockholders’ Meeting, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading. If at any time prior to the Effective Time any event or circumstance relating to the Company or Parent, or any of their respective Subsidiaries, or their respective officers or directors, is discovered by such party which should be set forth in an amendment or a supplement to the Registration Statement or Proxy Statement, such party shall promptly inform the other party. All documents that either the Company or Parent is responsible for filing with the SEC in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby will comply as to form and substance in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Proxy Statement As promptly as practicable following the date of this Agreement, the Company shall prepare and file with the SEC the Proxy Statement, and each of the Company and Parent shall, or shall cause their respective Affiliates to, prepare and, after consultation with each other, file with the SEC all Other Filings that are required to be filed by such party in connection with the Transactions contemplated hereby. The Company shall consult with Parent and provide Parent and its counsel a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Proxy Statement and any amendments or supplements thereto (and to review and comment on any comments of the SEC or its staff on the Proxy Statement or any amendments or supplements thereto), and shall incorporate all reasonable comments and requests made by Parent, prior to the filing thereof. The Company shall cause the Proxy Statement to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and all other applicable Laws and shall directly or indirectly incorporate the fairness option referred to in Section 3.29 therein if requested by Parent. The Company shall promptly provide Parent and its counsel with a copy or a description of any comments received by the Company or its counsel from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, and shall respond as promptly as practicable to any such comments. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable best efforts to have the Proxy Statement cleared by the SEC as promptly as reasonably practicable after it is filed. The Company shall cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company’s stockholders as promptly as practicable after the earlier of (i) receiving notification that the SEC or its staff is not reviewing the Proxy Statement or (ii) the conclusion of any SEC or staff review of the Proxy Statement. If any event relating to any of the Company Entities occurs, or if the Company becomes aware of any information, that causes any information provided by it for use in the Proxy Statement to have become false or misleading in any material respect, then the Company shall promptly inform Parent thereof and shall promptly file an appropriate amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, mail such amendment or supplement to the stockholders of the Company. If any event relating to Parent or Merger Sub occurs, or if Parent becomes aware of any information, that causes any information provided by it for use in the Proxy Statement to have become false or misleading in any material respect, then Parent shall promptly inform the Company thereof and the Company shall promptly file an appropriate amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, mail such amendment or supplement to the stockholders of the Company.
PROSPECTUS AND PROXY STATEMENTS; VOTING 3.1. At least annually, the Trust or its designee shall provide the Company, free of charge, with as many copies of the current prospectus (describing only the Portfolios listed in Schedule A hereto) for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to existing Policy owners whose Policies are funded by such Shares. The Trust or its designee shall provide the Company, at the Company's expense, with as many copies of the current prospectus for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to prospective purchasers of Policies. If requested by the Company in lieu thereof, the Trust or its designee shall provide such documentation (including a "camera ready" copy of the new prospectus as set in type or, at the request of the Company, as a diskette in the form sent to the financial printer) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the parties hereto once each year (or more frequently if the prospectus for the Shares is supplemented or amended) to have the prospectus for the Policies and the prospectus for the Shares printed together in one document; the expenses of such printing to be apportioned between (a) the Company and (b) the Trust or its designee in proportion to the number of pages of the Policy and Shares' prospectuses, taking account of other relevant factors affecting the expense of printing, such as covers, columns, graphs and charts; the Trust or its designee to bear the cost of printing the Shares' prospectus portion of such document for distribution to owners of existing Policies funded by the Shares and the Company to bear the expenses of printing the portion of such document relating to the Accounts; provided, however, that the Company shall bear all printing expenses of such combined documents where used for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Policies not funded by the Shares. In the event that the Company requests that the Trust or its designee provides the Trust's prospectus in a "camera ready" or diskette format, the Trust shall be responsible for providing the prospectus in the format in which it or MFS is accustomed to formatting prospectuses and shall bear the expense of providing the prospectus in such format (e.g., typesetting expenses), and the Company shall bear the expense of adjusting or changing the format to conform with any of its prospectuses.
3.2. The prospectus for the Shares shall state that the statement of additional information for the Shares is available from the Trust or its designee. The Trust or its designee, at its expense, shall print and provide such statement of additional information to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to any owner of a Policy funded by the Shares. The Trust or its designee, at the Company's expense, shall print and provide such statement to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to a prospective purchaser who requests such statement or to an owner of a Policy not funded by the Shares.
3.3. The Trust or its designee shall provide the Company free of charge copies, if and to the extent applicable to the Shares, of the Trust's proxy materials, reports to Shareholders and other communications to Shareholders in such quantity as the Company shall reasonably require for distribution to Policy owners.
3.4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 above, or of Article V below, the Company shall pay the expense of printing or providing documents to the extent such cost is considered a distribution expense. Distribution expenses would include by way of illustration, but are not limited to, the printing of the Shares' prospectus or prospectuses for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Policies not funded by such Shares.
3.5. The Trust hereby notifies the Company that it may be appropriate to include in the prospectus pursuant to which a Policy is offered disclosure regarding the potential risks of mixed and shared funding.
3.6. If and to the extent required by law, the Company shall:
(a) solicit voting instructions from Policy owners;
(b) vote the Shares in accordance with instructions received from Policy owners; and
(c) vote the Shares for which no instructions have been received in the same proportion as the Shares of such Portfolio for which instructions have been received from Policy owners; so long as and to the extent that the SEC continues to interpret the 1940 Act to require pass through voting privileges for variable contract owners. The Company will in no way recommend action in connection with or oppose or interfere with the solicitation of proxies for the Shares held for such Policy owners. The Company reserves the right to vote shares held in any segregated asset account in its own right, to the extent permitted by law. Participating Insurance Companies shall be responsible for assuring that each of their separate accounts holding Shares calculates voting privileges in the manner required by the Mixed and Shared Funding Exemptive Order. The Trust and MFS will notify the Company of any changes of interpretations or amendments to the Mixed and Shared Funding Exemptive Order.
Registration Statement; Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus Subject to the accuracy of the representations of Parent in Section 2.13, the information supplied by the Company for inclusion in the Registration Statement shall not, at the time the Registration Statement (including any amendments or supplements thereto) is declared effective by the SEC, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements included therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The information supplied by the Company for inclusion in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will not, on the date the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus is first mailed to shareholders, at the time of the Shareholders Meetings and at the Effective Time, contain any statement which, at such time and in light of the circumstances under which it shall be made, is false or misleading with respect to any material fact, or will omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not false or misleading; or omit to state any material fact necessary to correct any statement in any earlier communication with respect to the solicitation of proxies for the Shareholders Meetings which has become false or misleading. If at any time prior to the Effective Time any event relating to the Company or any of its affiliates, officers or directors should be discovered by the Company which should be set forth in an amendment to the Registration Statement or a supplement to the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus, the Company will promptly inform Parent. The Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus shall comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company makes no representation or warranty with respect to any information supplied by Parent or Merger Sub which is contained or incorporated by reference in, or furnished in connection with the preparation of, the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus.
Offer Documents; Proxy Statement The Offer Documents, as filed pursuant to Section 1.1, will not, at the time such Offer Documents are filed with the SEC or are first published, sent or given to stockholders, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated or incorporated by reference therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The information supplied by Parent for inclusion in the Proxy Statement shall not, on the date the Proxy Statement is first mailed to stockholders, at the time of the Stockholders Meeting (as defined in Section 6.1) or at the Effective Time, contain any statement which, at such time and in light of the circumstances under which it shall be made, is false or misleading with respect to any material fact, or shall omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not false or misleading or necessary to correct any statement in any earlier communication with respect to the solicitation of proxies for the Stockholders Meeting which has become false or misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent and Purchaser make no representation or warranty with respect to any information supplied by the Company or any of its representatives which is contained in or incorporated by reference in any of the foregoing documents or the Offer Documents. The Offer Documents, as amended and supplemented, will comply in all material respects as to form with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Prospectuses and Proxy Statements; Voting 3.1. The Underwriter shall provide the Company with as many copies of the Fund's current prospectus (describing only the Designated Portfolios listed on Schedule B) as the Company may reasonably request. If requested by the Company in lieu thereof, the Fund shall provide such documentation (including a final copy of the new prospectus on computer diskette or other electronic means at the Fund's expense) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the Company once each year (or more frequently if the prospectus for a Designated Portfolio is amended) to have the prospectus for the Contracts and the prospectus for the Designated Portfolios printed together in one document. Expenses with respect to the foregoing shall be borne as provided under Article V.
3.2. The Fund's prospectus shall state that the current Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") for the Fund is available from the Fund and the Fund shall provide a copy of such SAI to any owner of a Contract who requests such SAI and to the Company in such quantities as the Company may reasonably request. Expenses with respect to the foregoing shall be borne as provided under Article V.
3.3. The Fund shall provide the Company with copies of its proxy material, reports to shareholders, and other communications to shareholders of the Designated Portfolios in such quantity as the Company shall reasonably require for distributing to Contract owners. Expenses with respect to the foregoing shall be borne as provided under Article V.
3.4. The Company shall:
(i) solicit voting instructions from Contract owners;
(ii) vote the shares of each Designated Portfolio in accordance with instructions received from Contract owners; and
(iii) vote shares of each Designated Portfolio for which no instructions have been received in the same proportion as fund shares of such Designated Portfolio for which instructions have been received, so long as and to the extent that the SEC continues to interpret the 1940 Act to require pass-through voting privileges for variable contract owners or to the extent otherwise required by law. The Company reserves the right to vote shares of each Designated Portfolio held in any segregated asset account in its own right, to the extent permitted by law.
3.5. The Fund reserves the right, upon prior written notice to the Company (given at the earliest practicable time), to take all actions, including but not limited to, the dissolution, termination, merger and sale of all assets of the Fund or any Designated Portfolio upon the sole authorization of the Board, to the extent permitted by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the 1940 Act.
3.6. Participating Insurance Companies shall be responsible for assuring that each of their separate accounts participating in a Designated Portfolio calculates voting privileges as required by the Mixed and Shared Funding Exemptive Order and consistent with any reasonable standards that the Fund may adopt and provide in writing.
3.7. It is understood and agreed that, except with respect to information regarding the Fund, the Underwriter, the Adviser or Designated Portfolios provided in writing by the Fund, the Underwriter or the Adviser, none of the Fund, the Underwriter or the Adviser is responsible for the content of the prospectus or statement of additional information for the Contracts.
Registration Statement; Joint Proxy Statement (a) As promptly as practicable after the date of this Agreement, Parent and the Company shall prepare and cause to be filed with the SEC the Joint Proxy Statement and simultaneously or thereafter Parent shall prepare and cause to be filed with the SEC the Form S-4 Registration Statement, in which the Joint Proxy Statement will be included as a prospectus. Each of Parent and the Company shall use all reasonable efforts to cause the Form S-4 Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement to comply with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, to respond promptly to any comments of the SEC or its staff and to have the Form S-4 Registration Statement declared effective under the Securities Act as promptly as practicable after it is filed with the SEC. Parent will use all reasonable efforts to cause the Joint Proxy Statement to be mailed to Parent's stockholders, and the Company will use all reasonable efforts to cause the Joint Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company's shareholders, as promptly as practicable after the Form S-4 Registration Statement is declared effective under the Securities Act. Each of the Company and Parent shall promptly furnish to the other all information concerning the Acquired Corporations and the Company's shareholders and the Parent Corporations, respectively, that may be required or reasonably requested in connection with any action contemplated by this Section 5.1. Each of the Company and Parent shall notify the other promptly of the receipt of any comments from the SEC or its staff and of any request by the SEC or its staff for any amendment or supplement to the Form S-4 Registration Statement or Joint Proxy Statement or for any other information and shall supply the other with copies of all correspondence between such party and the SEC or its staff or other governmental officials with respect to the S-4 Registration Statement or Joint Proxy Statement. The information supplied by each of Parent and the Company for inclusion in the Form S-4 Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement shall not (i) at the time the Form S-4 Registration Statement is declared effective, (ii) at the time the Joint Proxy Statement is first mailed to the shareholders and shareholders of Parent and the Company, respectively, (iii) at the time of the Company Shareholders' Meeting and at the time of the Parent Stockholders' Meeting, and (iv) at the Effective Time, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If Parent or the Company becomes aware of any information, that should be disclosed in an amendment or supplement to the Form S-4 Registration Statement or the Joint Proxy Statement, then Parent or the Company, as the case may be, shall promptly inform the Company or Parent thereof and shall cooperate with the other in filing such amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, in mailing such amendment or supplement to the shareholders of the Company or the stockholders of Parent.
(b) Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall use reasonable efforts to obtain all regulatory approvals needed to ensure that the Parent Common Stock to be issued in the Merger (i) will be registered or qualified under the securities law of every jurisdiction of the
