Restrictions on the General Partner’s Authority Except as provided in Article XII and Article XIV, the General Partner may not sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership Group, taken as a whole, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions without the approval of a Unit Majority; provided, however, that this provision shall not preclude or limit the General Partner’s ability to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in all or substantially all of the assets of the Partnership Group and shall not apply to any forced sale of any or all of the assets of the Partnership Group pursuant to the foreclosure of, or other realization upon, any such encumbrance.
Transfer of the General Partner’s General Partner Interest (a) Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, prior to the first day of the first Quarter beginning after the tenth anniversary of the Closing Date, the General Partner shall not transfer all or any part of its General Partner Interest to a Person unless such transfer (i) has been approved by the prior written consent or vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Outstanding Common Units (excluding Common Units held by the General Partner and its Affiliates) or (ii) is of all, but not less than all, of its General Partner Interest to (A) an Affiliate of the General Partner (other than an individual) or (B) another Person (other than an individual) in connection with the merger or consolidation of the General Partner with or into such other Person or the transfer by the General Partner of all or substantially all of its assets to such other Person.
(b) Subject to Section 4.6(c) below, on or after the first day of the first Quarter beginning after the tenth anniversary of the Closing Date, the General Partner may at its option transfer all or any part of its General Partner Interest without Unitholder approval.
(c) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no transfer by the General Partner of all or any part of its General Partner Interest to another Person shall be permitted unless (i) the transferee agrees to assume the rights and duties of the General Partner under this Agreement and to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, (ii) the Partnership receives an Opinion of Counsel that such transfer would not result in the loss of limited liability under the Delaware Act of any Limited Partner 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 already so treated or taxed) and (iii) such transferee also agrees to purchase all (or the appropriate portion thereof, if applicable) of the partnership or membership interest held by the General Partner as the general partner or managing member, if any, of each other Group Member. In the case of a transfer pursuant to and in compliance with this Section 4.6, the transferee or successor (as the case may be) shall, subject to compliance with the terms of Section 10.2, be admitted to the Partnership as the General Partner effective immediately prior to the transfer of the General Partner Interest, and the business of the Partnership shall continue without dissolution.
Transfer of the General Partner’s Partnership Interest (a) The General Partner shall not transfer all or any portion of its General Partnership Interest or withdraw as General Partner except as provided in or in connection with a transaction contemplated by Section 7.1(b), (c) or (d).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in Section 7.1(c) or (d) hereof, the General Partner shall not engage in any merger, consolidation or other combination with or into another Person or sale of all or substantially all of its assets, (other than in connection with a change in the General Partner’s state of incorporation or organizational form) in each case which results in a change of control of the General Partner (a “Transaction”), unless:
(i) the approval of the holders of a majority of the Partnership Units (including the Partnership Units held by the General Partner or an Affiliate thereof) is obtained;
(ii) as a result of such Transaction all Limited Partners will receive for each Partnership Unit an amount of cash, securities, or other property equal to the product of the Conversion Factor and the greatest amount of cash, securities or other property paid in the Transaction to a holder of one REIT Share in consideration of one REIT Share, provided that if, in connection with the Transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer (“Offer”) shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding REIT Shares, each holder of Partnership Units shall be given the option to exchange its Partnership Units for the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which a Limited Partner would have received had it (A) exercised its Exchange Right and (B) sold, tendered or exchanged pursuant to the Offer the REIT Shares received upon exercise of the Exchange Right immediately prior to the expiration of the Offer; or
(iii) the General Partner is the surviving entity in the Transaction and either (A) the holders of REIT Shares do not receive cash, securities, or other property in the Transaction or (B) all Limited Partners (other than the General Partner or any Subsidiary) receive an amount of cash, securities, or other property (expressed as an amount per REIT Share) that is no less than the product of the Conversion Factor and the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property (expressed as an amount per REIT Share) received in the Transaction by any holder of REIT Shares.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b), the General Partner may merge with or into or consolidate with another entity if immediately after such merger or consolidation (i) substantially all of the assets of the successor or surviving entity (the “Surviving General Partner”), other than Partnership Units held by the General Partner, are contributed, directly or indirectly, to the Partnership as a Capital Contribution in exchange for Partnership Units with a fair market value equal to the value of the assets so contributed as determined by the Surviving General Partner in good faith and (ii) the Surviving General Partner expressly agrees to assume all obligations of the General Partner, as appropriate, hereunder. Upon such contribution and assumption, the Surviving General Partner shall have the right and duty to amend this Agreement as set forth in this Section 7.1(c). The Surviving General Partner shall in good faith arrive at a new method for the calculation of the Cash Amount, the REIT Shares Amount and Conversion Factor for a Partnership Unit after any such merger or consolidation so as to approximate the existing method for such calculation as closely as reasonably possible. Such calculation shall take into account, among other things, the kind and amount of securities, cash and other property that was receivable upon such merger or consolidation by a holder of REIT Shares or options, warrants or other rights relating thereto, and to which a holder of Partnership Units could have acquired had such Partnership Units been exchanged immediately prior to such merger or consolidation. Such amendment to this Agreement shall provide for adjustment to such method of calculation, which shall be as nearly equivalent as may be practicable to the adjustments provided for with respect to the Conversion Factor. The Surviving General Partner also shall in good faith modify the definition of REIT Shares and make such amendments to Section 8.4 hereof so as to approximate the existing rights and obligations set forth in Section 8.4 as closely as reasonably possible. The above provisions of this Section 7.1(c) shall similarly apply to successive mergers or consolidations permitted hereunder. In respect of any transaction described in the preceding paragraph, the General Partner is required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to structure such transaction to avoid causing the Limited Partners to recognize a gain for federal income tax purposes by virtue of the occurrence of or their participation in such transaction, provided such efforts are consistent with the exercise of the General Partner’s board of directors’ fiduciary duties to the stockholders of the General Partner under applicable law.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b),
(i) a General Partner may transfer all or any portion of its General Partnership Interest to (A) a wholly-owned Subsidiary of such General Partner or (B) the owner of all of the ownership interests of such General Partner, and following a transfer of all of its General Partnership Interest, may withdraw as General Partner; and
(ii) the General Partner may engage in Transactions not required by law or by the rules of any National Securities Exchange on which the REIT Shares are listed to be submitted to the vote of the holders of the REIT Shares.
Restrictions on General Partner’s Authority A. The General Partner may not take any action in contravention of an express prohibition or limitation of this Agreement without the written Consent of the Limited Partners and the Special Limited Partner, and may not (i) perform any act that would subject a Limited Partner to liability as a general partner in any jurisdiction or any other liability except as provided herein or under the Act; or (ii) enter into any contract, mortgage, loan or other agreement that prohibits or restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting, the ability of a Limited Partner to exercise its rights to a Redemption in full, except in each case with the written consent of such Limited Partner.
B. The General Partner shall not, without the prior Consent of the Partners (in addition to any Consent of the Limited Partners required by any other provision hereof), or except as provided in Section 7.3D, amend, modify or terminate this Agreement.
C. The General Partner may not cause the Partnership to take any action which the General Partner would be prohibited from taking directly under the General Partner’s bylaws as in effect from time to time.
D. Notwithstanding Section 7.3B, the General Partner shall have the exclusive power to amend this Agreement as may be required to facilitate or implement any of the following purposes:
(1) to add to the obligations of the General Partner or surrender any right or power granted to the General Partner or any Affiliate of the General Partner for the benefit of the Limited Partners;
(2) to reflect the issuance of additional Partnership Interests pursuant to Sections 4.4B and 5.4 or the admission, substitution, termination, or withdrawal of Partners in accordance with this Agreement (which may be effected through the replacement of Exhibit A with an amended Exhibit A);
(3) to set forth or amend the designations, rights, powers, duties and preferences of the holders of any additional Partnership Interests issued pursuant to Article 4;
(4) to reflect a change that is of an inconsequential nature and does not adversely affect the Limited Partners in any material respect, or to cure any ambiguity, correct or supplement any provision in this Agreement not inconsistent with law or with other provisions, or make other changes with respect to matters arising under this Agreement that will not be inconsistent with law or with the provisions of this Agreement;
(5) to satisfy any requirements, conditions, or guidelines contained in any order, directive, opinion, ruling or regulation of a federal or state agency or contained in federal or state law;
(6) to reflect such changes as are reasonably necessary for the General Partner to maintain its status as a REIT, including changes which may be necessitated due to a change in applicable law (or an authoritative interpretation thereof) or a ruling of the IRS;
(7) to modify, as set forth in the definition of “Capital Account,” the manner in which Capital Accounts are computed; and
(8) to amend or modify any provision of this Agreement to reflect a statutory or regulatory change regarding the federal income tax treatment of the “profits interest” of the Special Limited Partner or to ensure that the receipt of the Special Limited Partner’s profits interest will not result in taxation to the Special Limited Partner. The General Partner will provide notice to the Limited Partners when any action under this Section 7.3D is taken.
E. Notwithstanding Sections 7.3B and 7.3D, this Agreement shall not be amended with respect to any Partner adversely affected, and no action may be taken by the General Partner, without the Consent of such Partner adversely affected if such amendment or action would (i) convert a Limited Partner’s interest in the Partnership into a general partner’s interest (except as the result of the General Partner acquiring such interest), (ii) modify the limited liability of a Limited Partner, (iii) alter rights of the Partner to receive distributions pursuant to Article 5 or Section 13.2A(4), or the allocations specified in Article 6 (except as permitted pursuant to Sections 4.4, 5.4, and Section 7.3D(2)), (iv) materially alter or modify the rights to a Redemption or the REIT Shares Amount as set forth in Section 8.6, and related definitions hereof, or (v) amend this Section 7.3E. Further, no amendment may alter the restrictions on the General Partner’s authority set forth elsewhere in this Section 7.3 or in Section 11.2A without the Consent specified in such section. This Section 7.3E does not require unanimous consent of all Partners adversely affected unless the amendment is to be effective against all partners adversely affected.
Outside Activities of the General Partner (a) Without the Consent of the Limited Partners, the General Partner shall not directly or indirectly enter into or conduct any business other than in connection with the ownership, acquisition, and disposition of Partnership Interests and the management of its business and the business of the Partnership, and such activities as are incidental thereto.
(b) The General Partner and any Affiliates of the General Partner may acquire Limited Partner Interests and shall be entitled to exercise all rights of a Limited Partner relating to such Limited Partner Interests.
Ownership of the General Partner Interest in the Partnership The General Partner is the sole general partner of the Partnership with a 2% general partner interest in the Partnership; such general partner interest has been duly authorized and validly issued in accordance with the Partnership Agreement; and, to counsel’s knowledge, the General Partner owns its general partner interest free and clear of all Liens (except for restrictions on transferability contained in the Partnership Agreement, as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or under applicable securities laws).
Loans from the General Partner; Loans or Contributions from the Partnership or Group Members (a) The General Partner or any of its Affiliates may lend to any Group Member, and any Group Member may borrow from the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, funds needed or desired by the Group Member for such periods of time and in such amounts as the General Partner may determine; provided, however, that in any such case the lending party may not charge the borrowing party interest at a rate greater than the rate that would be charged the borrowing party or impose terms less favorable to the borrowing party than would be charged or imposed on the borrowing party by unrelated lenders on comparable loans made on an arm’s-length basis (without reference to the lending party’s financial abilities or guarantees), all as determined by the General Partner. The borrowing party shall reimburse the lending party for any costs (other than any additional interest costs) incurred by the lending party in connection with the borrowing of such funds. For purposes of this Section 7.6(a) and Section 7.6(b), the term “Group Member” shall include any Affiliate of a Group Member that is controlled by the Group Member.
(b) The Partnership may lend or contribute to any Group Member, and any Group Member may borrow from the Partnership, funds on terms and conditions determined by the General Partner. No Group Member may lend funds to the General Partner or any of its Affiliates (other than another Group Member).
(c) No borrowing by any Group Member or the approval thereof by the General Partner shall be deemed to constitute a breach of any duty, expressed or implied, of the General Partner or its Affiliates to the Partnership or the Limited Partners by reason of the fact that the purpose or effect of such borrowing is directly or indirectly to (i) enable distributions to the General Partner or its Affiliates (including in their capacities as Limited Partners) to exceed the General Partner’s Percentage Interest of the total amount distributed to all partners or (ii) hasten the expiration of the Subordination Period or the conversion of any Subordinated Units into Common Units.
Authority of the General Partner The General Partner shall have the sole and exclusive right to manage the affairs of the Partnership and shall have all of the rights and powers that may be possessed by general partners under the Act. If two or more Persons are serving as General Partners, decisions regarding the management of the Partnership and its business and affairs shall be made by the consent of a majority in number of the General Partners then serving. The rights and powers that the General Partner may exercise include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) invest and reinvest Partnership funds for the purposes set forth in Section 1.4, in any manner deemed advisable by the General Partner;
(b) hold, manage, maintain, improve, repair, alter, mortgage, finance, pledge, encumber and otherwise deal with Partnership property;
(c) execute any and all agreements, contracts, documents, certificates and instruments necessary or convenient in connection with the Partnership’s business;
(d) make loans, sell, exchange, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any Partnership property;
(e) borrow money and issue evidences of indebtedness necessary, convenient or incidental to the accomplishment of the purposes of the Partnership, and secure the same by mortgage, pledge or other lien on any Partnership property;
(f) prepay in whole or in part, refinance, recast, increase, modify or extend any liabilities affecting the Partnership’s property and in connection therewith execute any extensions or renewals of encumbrances on any or all of the Partnership’s property;
(g) make any and all elections for federal, state and local tax purposes;
(h) take, or refrain from taking, all actions not expressly proscribed or limited by this Agreement as may be necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of the Partnership; and
(i) engage in any kind of activity and perform and carry out contracts of any kind necessary or incidental to, or in connection with, the accomplishment of the purposes of the Partnership, as may be lawfully carried on or performed by a partnership under the laws of each state in which the Partnership is then formed or qualified.
Additional Partnership Interests If the Partnership issues Partnership Interests in accordance with Section 4.2 or 4.3, the distribution priorities set forth in Section 5.1 shall be amended, as necessary, to reflect the distribution priority of such Partnership Interests and corresponding amendments shall be made to the provisions of Exhibit B.
Restrictions on Subsidiary Payments to the Company No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except as described in or contemplated by the Time of Sale Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
