Rights of Limited Partners Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Limited Partner shall look solely to the assets of the Partnership for the return of its Capital Contributions and shall have no right or power to demand or receive property other than cash from the Partnership. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Limited Partner shall have priority over any other Partner as to the return of its Capital Contributions, distributions, or allocations.
Restrictions on Transfer of Limited Partnership Interests (a) Subject to the provisions of 9.2(b), (c) and (d), no Limited Partner may offer, sell, assign, hypothecate, pledge or otherwise transfer all or any portion of its Limited Partnership Interest, or any of such Limited Partner’s economic rights as a Limited Partner, whether voluntarily or by operation of law or at judicial sale or otherwise (collectively, a “Transfer”) without the consent of the General Partner, which consent may be granted or withheld in its sole and absolute discretion. Any such purported transfer undertaken without such consent shall be considered to be null and void ab initio and shall not be given effect. The General Partner may require, as a condition of any Transfer to which it consents, that the transferor assume all costs incurred by the Partnership in connection therewith.
(b) No Limited Partner may withdraw from the Partnership other than as a result of a permitted Transfer (i.e., a Transfer consented to as contemplated by clause (a) above or clause (c) below or a Transfer pursuant to Section 9.5 below) of all of its Partnership Units pursuant to this Article 9 or pursuant to an exchange of all of its Partnership Units pursuant to Section 8.4. Upon the permitted Transfer or redemption of all of a Limited Partner’s Partnership Interest, such Limited Partner shall cease to be a Limited Partner.
(c) Subject to 9.2(d), (e) and (f) below, a Limited Partner may Transfer, with the consent of the General Partner, all or a portion of its Partnership Units to (i) a parent or parent’s spouse, natural or adopted descendant or descendants, spouse of such descendant, or brother or sister, or a trust created by such Limited Partner for the benefit of such Limited Partner and/or any such Person(s), of which trust such Limited Partner or any such Person(s) is a trustee, (ii) a corporation controlled by a Person or Persons named in (i) above, or (iii) if the Limited Partner is an entity, its beneficial owners.
(d) No Limited Partner may effect a Transfer of its Limited Partnership Interest, in whole or in part, if, in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, such proposed Transfer would otherwise violate any applicable federal or state securities or blue sky law (including investment suitability standards).
(e) No Transfer by a Limited Partner of its Partnership Units, in whole or in part, may be made to any Person if (i) in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, the transfer would result in the Partnership’s being treated as an association taxable as a corporation (other than a qualified REIT subsidiary within the meaning of Section 856(i) of the Code), (ii) in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, it would adversely affect the ability of the General Partner to continue to qualify as a REIT or subject the General Partner to any additional taxes under Section 857 or Section 4981 of the Code, or (iii) such transfer is effectuated through an “established securities market” or a “secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code.
(f) No transfer of any Partnership Units may be made to a lender to the Partnership or any Person who is related (within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.752-4(b)) to any lender to the Partnership whose loan constitutes a nonrecourse liability (within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.752-1(a)(2)), without the consent of the General Partner, which may be withheld in its sole and absolute discretion, provided that as a condition to such consent the lender will be required to enter into an arrangement with the Partnership and the General Partner to exchange or redeem for the Cash Amount any Partnership Units in which a security interest is held simultaneously with the time at which such lender would be deemed to be a partner in the Partnership for purposes of allocating liabilities to such lender under Section 752 of the Code.
(g) Any Transfer in contravention of any of the provisions of this Article 9 shall be void and ineffectual and shall not be binding upon, or recognized by, the Partnership.
(h) Prior to the consummation of any Transfer under this Article 9, the transferor and/or the transferee shall deliver to the General Partner such opinions, certificates and other documents as the General Partner shall request in connection with such Transfer.
Limitation on Liability of Limited Partners No Limited Partner shall be liable for any debts, liabilities, contracts or obligations of the Partnership. A Limited Partner shall be liable to the Partnership only to make payments of its Capital Contribution, if any, as and when due hereunder. After its Capital Contribution is fully paid, no Limited Partner shall, except as otherwise required by the Act, be required to make any further Capital Contributions or other payments or lend any funds to the Partnership.
Approval by Limited Partners (a) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d) and Section 14.3(e), the General Partner, upon its approval of the Merger Agreement or the Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall direct that the Merger Agreement or the Plan of Conversion, as applicable, 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 or the Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall be included in or enclosed with the notice of a special meeting or the written consent and, subject to any applicable requirements of Regulation 14A pursuant to the Exchange Act or successor provision, no other disclosure regarding the proposed merger, consolidation or conversion shall be required.
(b) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d) and Section 14.3(e), the Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, shall be approved upon receiving the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a Unit Majority unless the Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be, effects an amendment to any provision of this Agreement that, if contained in an amendment to this Agreement adopted pursuant to Article XIII, 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 or the Plan of Conversion, as the case may be.
(c) Except as provided in Section 14.3(d) and Section 14.3(e), after such approval by vote or consent of the Limited Partners, and at any time prior to the filing of the certificate of merger or articles of conversion pursuant to Section 14.4, the merger, consolidation or conversion may be abandoned pursuant to provisions therefor, if any, set forth in the Merger Agreement or Plan of Conversion, as the case may be.
(d) Notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article XIV or in this Agreement, the General Partner is permitted, without Limited Partner approval, to convert the Partnership or any Group Member into a new limited liability entity, to merge the Partnership or any Group Member into, or convey all of the Partnership’s assets to, another limited liability entity that shall be newly formed and shall have no assets, liabilities or operations at the time of such conversion, merger or conveyance 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 conversion, merger or conveyance, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of limited liability under the laws of the jurisdiction governing the other limited liability entity (if that jurisdiction is not Delaware) of any Limited Partner as compared to its limited liability under the Delaware Act 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 previously treated as such), (ii) the sole purpose of such conversion, merger, or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the legal form of the Partnership into another limited liability entity and (iii) the General Partner determines that the governing instruments of the new entity provide the Limited Partners and the General Partner with substantially the same rights and obligations as are herein contained.
(e) Additionally, notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article XIV or in this Agreement, the General Partner is permitted, without Limited Partner approval, to merge or consolidate the Partnership with or into another limited liability entity if (i) the General Partner has received an Opinion of Counsel that the merger or consolidation, as the case may be, would not result in the loss of the limited liability of any Limited Partner under the laws of the jurisdiction governing the other limited liability entity (if that jurisdiction is not Delaware) as compared to its limited liability under the Delaware Act 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 previously treated as such), (ii) the merger or consolidation would not result in an amendment to this Agreement, other than any amendments that could be adopted pursuant to Section 13.1, (iii) the Partnership is the Surviving Business Entity in such merger or consolidation, (iv) each Unit outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the merger or consolidation is to be an identical Unit of the Partnership after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, and (v) the number of Partnership Interests to be issued by the Partnership in such merger or consolidation does not exceed 20% of the Partnership Interests (other than Incentive Distribution Rights) Outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of such merger or consolidation.
(f) Pursuant to Section 17-211(g) of the Delaware Act, an agreement of merger or consolidation approved in accordance with this Article XIV may (i) effect any amendment to this Agreement or (ii) effect the adoption of a new partnership agreement for the Partnership if it is the Surviving Business Entity. Any such amendment or adoption made pursuant to this Section 14.3 shall be effective at the effective time or date of the merger or consolidation.
Limited Liability of Limited Partners (1) Each Unit of Limited Partnership Interest, when purchased by a Limited Partner, subject to the qualifications set forth below, shall be fully paid and non-assessable.
(2) A Limited Partner shall have no liability in excess of his obligation to make contributions to the capital of the Partnership and his share of the Partnership’s assets and undistributed profits, subject to the qualifications provided in the Partnership Act.
Limitation on Restrictions on Subsidiary Distributions Enter into or suffer to exist or become effective any consensual encumbrance or restriction on the ability of any Subsidiary to (a) make Restricted Payments in respect of any Capital Stock of such Subsidiary held by, or pay or subordinate any Indebtedness owed to, the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, (b) make Investments in the Borrower or any other Subsidiary or (c) transfer any of its assets to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary, except for such encumbrances or restrictions existing under or by reason of (i) any restrictions existing under the Loan Documents, (ii) any restrictions existing under the New Senior Note Indenture, the New Senior Note Indenture and any agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Sections 6.2(f), to the extent such restrictions are no more restrictive than those in the Senior Note Indenture or the New Senior Note Indenture, (iii) any restrictions with respect to a Subsidiary imposed pursuant to an agreement that has been entered into in connection with the Disposition of all or substantially all of the Capital Stock or assets of such Subsidiary, (iv) customary net worth provisions contained in real property leases entered into in by any Loan Party so long as such net worth provisions would not reasonably be expected to impair materially the ability of the Loan Parties to meet their ongoing obligations under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, and (v) with respect to clause (c) only, (i) customary non-assignment provisions in licenses or sublicenses by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business (in which case such prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the Intellectual Property subject thereto), (ii) customary provisions in joint venture agreements and similar agreements that restrict transfers of assets of, or equity interests in, such joint venture, (iii) agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Sections 6.2(g), (h) and (m) (provided that, in the case of such agreements governing Indebtedness permitted by Section 6.2(h), such prohibition or limitation shall be effective only against the property acquired thereby), (iv) agreements entered into by a Subsidiary that is not a Subsidiary Guarantor governing Liens permitted by Section 6.3(m) or the Indebtedness secured thereby (in which case such prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets of such Subsidiary subject to such Lien) and (v) any agreements governing any purchase money Liens or Capital Lease Obligations otherwise permitted hereby (in which case, any prohibition or limitation shall only be effective against the assets financed thereby).
Transfers of Limited Partnership Interests 9.1 Restrictions on Transfer of Limited Partnership Interests.
(a) No Limited Partner may offer, sell, assign, hypothecate, pledge or otherwise transfer all or any portion of his Limited Partnership Interest, or any of such Limited Partner’s economic rights as a Limited Partner, whether voluntarily or by operation of law or at judicial sale or otherwise (collectively, a “Transfer”) without the consent of the General Partner, which consent may be granted or withheld in its sole and absolute discretion. Any such purported Transfer undertaken without such consent shall be considered to be null and void ab initio and shall not be given effect.
(b) No Limited Partner may withdraw from the Partnership other than as a result of a permitted Transfer of all of its Partnership Interest pursuant to this Article 9. Upon the permitted Transfer or redemption of all of a Limited Partner’s Partnership Interest, such Limited Partner shall cease to be a Limited Partner.
Nature of Limited Partner Interests All Limited Partner Interests issued pursuant to, and in accordance with the requirements of, this Article V shall be fully paid and non-assessable Limited Partner Interests in the Partnership, except as such non-assessability may be affected by Sections 17-303, 17-607 or 17-804 of the Delaware Act.
Liability of Limited Partners Except as provided in the following sentence, notwithstanding the provisions hereof for the allocation of the Partnership’s net losses and for the distribution of cash to the Partners by the Partnership, the Limited Partners shall not be responsible or obligated to any third parties for any debts or liabilities of the Partnership in excess of such Limited Partner’s unrecovered contributions to the capital of the Partnership and such Limited Partner’s share of any undistributed profits of the Partnership.
Limitations upon Participant Rights A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Section 3.01 or 3.04 than the applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the participation sold to such Participant, unless the sale of the participation to such Participant is made with the Borrower’s prior written consent. A Participant that would be a Foreign Lender if it were a Lender shall not be entitled to the benefits of Section 3.01 unless the Borrower is notified of the participation sold to such Participant and such Participant agrees, for the benefit of the Borrower, to comply with Section 3.01(e) as though it were a Lender.
