Pre-Closing Restructuring (a) Subject to Section 2.05(b), prior to the consummation of the Closing Seller shall, and shall cause its applicable Subsidiaries to, engage in restructuring activities necessary to effect a reorganization of certain assets, liabilities and legal entities to separate the Business from Seller’s other businesses (collectively, the “Pre-Closing Restructuring”), which such Pre-Closing Restructuring shall be undertaken in a manner consistent with Section 6.14 of the Seller Disclosure Letter (as the same may be modified in accordance with this Section 6.14) and otherwise in a manner, and pursuant to documentation, reasonably acceptable to Purchaser (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned) and in accordance with applicable Law. Following the Pre-Closing Restructuring, at the Closing, Purchaser shall (directly or indirectly) own and assume all the assets, properties, claims, rights and Liabilities of Seller and its Subsidiaries constituting Transferred Assets or Assumed Liabilities and neither Purchaser nor any of its Subsidiaries (including the Transferred Entities) shall (directly or indirectly) own any Excluded Assets or be liable for or have any responsibility with respect to any Retained Liabilities.
(b) Seller may propose changes to Section 6.14 of the Seller Disclosure Letter and Exhibit A (including in order to designate any additional Subsidiaries as a Transferred Entity (whether as an Auto Care Company or as an Auto Care Company Subsidiary) or to remove any Subsidiary from the universe of Auto Care Companies or Transferred Entities) at any time prior to the Closing and Purchaser shall consider any such proposal in good faith and shall not unreasonably object to, delay or condition its consent to such proposed changes. Any such agreed changes shall be incorporated into a revised, amended and restated Section 6.14 of the Seller Disclosure Letter or Exhibit A, as applicable.
(c) In connection with the Pre-Closing Restructuring, Seller shall, and shall cause its applicable Subsidiaries to (i) deliver all agreements, instruments, certificates and all other documents to effect the Pre-Closing Restructuring to Purchaser (with appropriate redaction for confidential information relating to Seller’s other businesses or third-parties) and (ii) keep Purchaser reasonably informed with respect to all material activity concerning the status of the Pre-Closing Restructuring and consult with Purchaser on a regular basis and cooperate in good faith in connection with all of Purchaser’s reasonable requests for information related to the Pre-Closing Restructuring. In the event that, at any time between the date of this Agreement and the Closing, Exhibit A is amended to designate any additional Subsidiaries as a Transferred Entity (whether as an Auto Care Company or as an Auto Care Company Subsidiary) or to remove any Subsidiary from the universe of Auto Care Companies or Transferred Entities, Seller shall be permitted to revise the Seller Disclosure Letter at such time to include any additional necessary disclosures related thereto.
(d) For the avoidance of doubt but subject to Section 2.05(a), the Pre-Closing Restructuring shall be completed by Seller or its applicable Subsidiaries prior to the Closing.
(e) At or prior to the Closing, Seller will deliver to Purchaser all agreements, instruments, certificates and other documents necessary to evidence the release or satisfaction of all Indebtedness of the Transferred Entities (other than Transferred Indebtedness) and the release of all Liens, guarantees or other encumbrances against the Transferred Entities and Transferred Assets, including without limitation, any guarantees of or Liens securing the (i) Credit Agreement, dated June 23, 2015, as amended, with Spectrum Brands Inc. as the Borrower and Royal Bank of Canada as administrative agent and collateral agent, (ii) Indenture dated December 4, 2014, as amended, with Spectrum Brands Inc. as the Issuer and US Bank National Association as Trustee, (iii) Indenture dated May 20, 2015, as amended, with Spectrum Brands Inc. as the Issuer and US Bank National Association as Trustee, and (iv) Indenture dated September 20, 2016, as amended, with Spectrum Brands Inc. as the Issuer and US Bank National Association as Trustee.
Termination in Connection with Change of Control If Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason within sixty (60) days prior to or twelve (12) months following a Change of Control, Executive shall be entitled to receive, in lieu of any severance benefits to which Executive may otherwise be entitled under any severance plan or program of the Company, the benefits provided below:
(A) the Company shall pay to Executive his or her fully earned but unpaid base salary, when due, through the date of termination at the rate then in effect, plus all other amounts to which Executive is entitled under any compensation plan or practice of the Company at the time of termination;
(B) on the first scheduled payment date pursuant to the usual payroll practices of the Company (or successor entity, as applicable) immediately after the 60th day following the date of termination or Change of Control, in the event the date of termination precedes a Change of Control, with respect to those payments the amount of which is not administratively practicable by the foregoing date because it is not yet known whether a Change of Control will occur within sixty (60) days following the date of termination, as applicable, Executive shall be entitled to receive a lump sum severance payment equal to the sum of:
(1) twelve (12) months of Executive’s monthly base salary as in effect immediately prior to the date of termination, plus
(2) an amount equal to Executive’s Bonus;
(C) The vesting and/or exercisability of all of Executive’s outstanding unvested Stock Awards shall be automatically accelerated on the date of termination;
(D) for the period beginning on the date of termination and ending on the date which is twelve (12) full months following the date of termination (or, if earlier, the date on which Executive accepts employment with another employer that provides comparable benefits in terms of cost and scope of coverage), the Company shall pay for and provide Executive and his or her dependents with healthcare and life insurance benefits which are substantially the same as the benefits provided to Executive immediately prior to the date of termination, including, if necessary, paying the costs associated with continuation coverage pursuant to COBRA;
(E) Executive shall be entitled to executive-level outplacement services at the Company’s expense, not to exceed $15,000. Such services shall be provided by a firm selected by Executive from a list compiled by the Company; and
(F) The payments and benefits provided for in this Section 4(d)(ii) shall only be payable in the event Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason within sixty (60) days prior to or twelve (12) months following a Change of Control. If Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason prior to a Change of Control and such Change of Control is not consummated within sixty (60) days following such termination, then Executive shall receive the payments and benefits described in Section 4(d)(i) and shall not be eligible to receive any of the payments and benefits described in this Section 4(d)(ii).
Potential Change in Control A “Potential Change in Control” shall exist during any period in which the circumstances described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) or (d), below, exist (provided, however, that a Potential Change in Control shall cease to exist not later than the occurrence of a Change in Control):
(a) The Company enters into an agreement, the consummation of which would result in the occurrence of a Change in Control, provided that a Potential Change in Control described in this paragraph (a) shall cease to exist upon the expiration or other termination of all such agreements;
(b) Any Person (without regard to the exclusions set forth in subsections (i) through (iv) of such definition) publicly announces an intention to take or to consider taking actions the consummation of which would constitute a Change in Control; provided that a Potential Change in Control described in this paragraph (b) shall cease to exist upon the withdrawal of such intention, or upon a determination by the Board that there is no reasonable chance that such actions would be consummated;
(c) Any Person becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 20% or more of either the then outstanding shares of common stock of the Company or the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities;
(d) The Board adopts a resolution to the effect that, for purposes of this Agreement, a Potential Change in Control exists; provided that a Potential Change in Control described in this paragraph (d) shall cease to exist upon a determination by the Board that the reasons that gave rise to the resolution providing for the existence of a Potential Change in Control have expired or no longer exist.
Change in Agreement Any change deemed necessary in this Agreement may be made by mutual agreement at any time during the life of this Agreement.
Divestiture If Grantee’s employment with the Company or a Subsidiary terminates as the result of a divestiture, then the Common Shares covered by this Agreement and any Deferred Cash Dividends then accumulated with respect thereto shall become nonforfeitable in accordance with the terms and conditions of Section 1(a) as if Grantee had remained in the continuous employ of the Company or a Subsidiary from the Date of Grant until the fifth anniversary of the Date of Grant or the occurrence of a circumstance referenced in Section 2(a) or 2(b), whichever occurs first. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “divestiture” shall mean a permanent disposition to a Person other than the Company or any Subsidiary of a plant or other facility or property at which Grantee performs a majority of Grantee’s services whether such disposition is effected by means of a sale of assets, a sale of Subsidiary stock or otherwise.
No Legal Impediment to Issuance and/or Sale No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares by the Company; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares by the Company.
Termination in Connection with a Change of Control If during the two (2) year period that begins on the date that is one (1) year prior to a Change of Control and ends on that date which is one (1) year following a Change of Control, Conn’s (or its successor) terminates Executive’s employment other than for Cause or as a result of Executive’s death or Disability, or Executive voluntarily terminates his employment for Good Reason, Conn’s will pay the following amounts and provide the following benefits:
(i) A lump-sum cash payment in an amount equal to three (3) times the Executive’s Base Salary, payable not later than ten (10) days following (A) Executive’s termination (if Executive’s employment terminates on or after the date of the Change of Control), or (B) the date of the Change of Control (if Executive’s employment terminates during the one-year period prior to the date of the Change of Control). Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3(c)(i)(B), the amount payable to Executive under this Section 3(c)(i) shall be reduced by the payments, if any, received by Executive pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).
(ii) During the eighteen (18) month period following such termination (the “Change of Control Severance Period”), Executive shall receive continued coverage under the Conn’s medical, dental, life, disability, and other employee welfare benefit plans in which senior executives of Conn’s are eligible to participate, to the extent Executive is eligible under the terms of such plans immediately prior to Executive’s termination. For purposes of clarity, during the term of this Agreement Conn’s shall provide Executive coverage under a major medical plan. Conn’s obligation to provide the foregoing benefits shall terminate upon Executive’s becoming eligible for comparable employee welfare benefits under a plan or arrangement provided by a new employer. Executive agrees to promptly notify Conn’s of any such employment and the material terms of any employee welfare benefits offered to Executive in connection with such employment.
(iii) All awards held by Executive under the Conn’s Amended and Restated 2003 Incentive Stock Option Plan and/or the Conn’s 2011 Omnibus Incentive Plan shall immediately vest and, if applicable, continue to be exercisable during the Change of Control Severance Period as if Executive had remained an employee of Conn’s. The terms of this Section 3(c) are continuing in nature and shall survive until the one (1) year anniversary of the earlier of Executive’s termination of employment or termination of this Agreement.
Termination in Connection with a Change in Control a. For purposes of this Agreement, a “Change in Control” means any of the following events:
Restructuring Transactions On the Effective Date, the Debtor, Newco, GP, Finance Co and Merger Co shall enter into the Consensual Transaction described in Section 3 of the Implementation Plan attached to the Transaction Support Agreement as Exhibit B. On the later of the Effective Date and the Merger Date, the Debtor and Merger Co will enter into a merger agreement under which the Debtor will merge with Merger Co, and following the merger, the Debtor will be the surviving and successor entity. The actions to implement this Plan and the Implementation Plan may include, in accordance with the consent rights in the Transaction Support Agreement: (a) the execution and delivery of appropriate agreements or other documents of merger, amalgamation, consolidation, restructuring, conversion, disposition, transfer, arrangement, continuance, dissolution, sale, purchase, or liquidation containing terms that are consistent with the terms of the Plan and the Transaction Support Agreement and that satisfy the applicable requirements of applicable law and any other terms to which the applicable Entities may agree; (b) the execution and delivery of appropriate instruments of transfer, assignment, assumption, or delegation of any asset, property, right, liability, debt, or obligation on terms consistent with the terms of the Plan and the Transaction Support Agreement and having other terms for which the applicable parties agree; (c) the filing of appropriate certificates or articles of incorporation, reincorporation, merger, consolidation, conversion, amalgamation, arrangement, continuance, or dissolution pursuant to applicable state or provincial law; (d) the execution and delivery of contracts or agreements, including, without limitation, transition services agreements, employment agreements, or such other agreements as may be deemed reasonably necessary to effectuate the Plan in accordance with the Transaction Support Agreement; and (e) all other actions that the applicable Entities determine to be necessary, including making filings or recordings that may be required by applicable law in connection with the Plan.
Change of Control/Change in Management (i) During any period of twelve (12) consecutive months ending on each anniversary of the Agreement Date, individuals who at the beginning of any such 12-month period constituted the Board of Trustees of the Parent Guarantor (together with any new trustees whose election by such Board or whose nomination for election by the shareholders of the Parent Guarantor was approved by a vote of a majority of the trustees then still in office who were either trustees at the beginning of such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason to constitute a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Parent Guarantor then in office;
(ii) Any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act, except that a Person will be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of all securities that such Person has the right to acquire, whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time), directly or indirectly, of more than 35% of the total voting power of the then outstanding voting stock of the Parent Guarantor;
(iii) The Parent Guarantor shall cease to own and control, directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the outstanding Equity Interests of the Borrower; or
(iv) The Parent Guarantor or a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Parent Guarantor shall cease to be the sole general partner of the Borrower or shall cease to have the sole and exclusive power to exercise all management and control over the Borrower.
