Shareholders Voting Powers and Meetings The Shareholders shall have power to vote only (i) for the election or removal of Trustees as and to the extent provided in Section 4.1, (ii) with respect to such additional matters relating to the Trust as may be required by federal law including the 1940 Act, or any registration of the Trust with the Commission (or any successor agency) or any state and (iii) as the Trustees may otherwise consider necessary or desirable in their sole discretion. Provisions relating to meetings, quorum, required vote, record date and other matters relating to Shareholder voting rights are as provided in the By-Laws.
Shareholders Voting Powers and Meeting 11 Section 5.1 Voting Powers 11
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.
Voting Rights of Members The Members shall have voting rights as defined by the Membership Voting Interest of such Member and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Members do not have a right to cumulate their votes for any matter entitled to a vote of the Members, including election of Directors.
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.
Limited Partners The Limited Partners shall not participate in the general conduct or control of the Partnership’s affairs and shall have no right or authority to act for or to bind the Partnership. The Limited Partners shall not be required to assume, endorse or guarantee any liabilities of the Partnership.
New Members No person may be admitted as a member of the Company without the approval of the Member.
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.
THE MEMBERS Members are the owners of the Company. Members are not entitled to compensation for services furnished to the Company in the Member’s capacity as a Member. The name and residential address of each Member is contained in Exhibit 1 attached to this Agreement. Each Member’s initial membership interest is the percentage set forth in Exhibit 1. An unauthorized transfer of a Member’s interest could create a substantial hardship for the Company. Consequently, the Members agree to the restrictions and procedures affecting the ownership and transfer of the Members’ interests as identified in Article VII. The Members acknowledge these restrictions are not intended to penalize, but rather are intended to protect and preserve the existing trust-based relationships, the Company’s capital, and the Company’s financial ability to continue its operations.
Right to Acquire Limited Partner Interests (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if at any time the General Partner and its Affiliates hold more than 80% of the total Limited Partner Interests of any class then Outstanding, the General Partner shall then have the right, which right it may assign and transfer in whole or in part to the Partnership or any Affiliate of the General Partner, exercisable at its option, to purchase all, but not less than all, of such Limited Partner Interests of such class then Outstanding held by Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, at the greater of (x) the Current Market Price as of the date three days prior to the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed and (y) the highest price paid by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates for any such Limited Partner Interest of such class purchased during the 90-day period preceding the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed. As used in this Agreement, (i) “Current Market Price” as of any date of any class of Limited Partner Interests means the average of the daily Closing Prices (as hereinafter defined) per Limited Partner Interest of such class for the 20 consecutive Trading Days (as hereinafter defined) immediately prior to such date; (ii) “Closing Price” for any day means the last sale price on such day, regular way, or in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day, regular way, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal National Securities Exchange (other than the Nasdaq Stock Market) on which such Limited Partner Interests are listed or admitted to trading or, if such Limited Partner Interests of such class are not listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange (other than the Nasdaq Stock Market), the last quoted price on such day or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices on such day in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market or such other system then in use, or, if on any such day such Limited Partner Interests of such class are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class selected by the General Partner, or if on any such day no market maker is making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class, the fair value of such Limited Partner Interests on such day as determined by the General Partner; and (iii) “Trading Day” means a day on which the principal National Securities Exchange on which such Limited Partner Interests of any class are listed or admitted for trading is open for the transaction of business or, if Limited Partner Interests of a class are not listed or admitted for trading on any National Securities Exchange, a day on which banking institutions in New York City generally are open.