Rights of Limited Partners Relating to the Partnership A. In addition to other rights provided by this Agreement or by the Act, and except as limited by Section 8.5.C, each Limited Partner shall have the right, for a purpose reasonably related to such Limited Partner’s interest as a limited partner in the Partnership, upon written demand with a statement of the purpose of such demand and at such Limited Partner’s expense:
(1) to obtain a copy of the most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the General Partner pursuant to the Exchange Act, and each communication sent to the stockholders of the General Partner;
(2) to obtain a copy of the Partnership’s federal, state and local income tax returns for each Partnership Year;
(3) to obtain a current list of the name and last known business, residence or mailing address of each Partner;
(4) to obtain a copy of this Agreement and the Certificate and all amendments thereto, together with executed copies of all powers of attorney pursuant to which this Agreement, the Certificate and all amendments thereto have been executed; and
(5) to obtain true and full information regarding the amount of cash and a description and statement of any other property or services contributed by each Partner and which each Partner has agreed to contribute in the future, and the date on which each became a Partner.
B. The Partnership shall notify each Limited Partner in writing of any adjustment made in the calculation of the REIT Shares Amount within a reasonable time after the date such change becomes effective.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 8.5, the General Partner may keep confidential from the Limited Partners, for such period of time as the General Partner determines in its sole and absolute discretion to be reasonable, any information that (i) the General Partner believes to be in the nature of trade secrets or other information the disclosure of which the General Partner in good faith believes is not in the best interests of the Partnership or (ii) the Partnership or the General Partner is required by law or by agreements with unaffiliated third parties to keep confidential.
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.
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.
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.
Outside Activities of Limited Partners Subject to any agreements entered into by a Limited Partner or its Affiliates with the General Partner, Partnership or a Subsidiary, any Limited Partner and any officer, director, employee, agent, trustee, Affiliate or stockholder of any Limited Partner shall be entitled to and may have business interests and engage in business activities in addition to those relating to the Partnership, including business interests and activities in direct competition with the Partnership or that are enhanced by the activities of the Partnership. Neither the Partnership nor any Partners shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement in any business ventures of any Limited Partner or Assignee. Subject to such agreements, none of the Limited Partners nor any other Person shall have any rights by virtue of this Agreement or the partnership relationship established hereby in any business ventures of any other Person, other than the Limited Partners benefiting from the business conducted by the General Partner, and such Person shall have no obligation pursuant to this Agreement to offer any interest in any such business ventures to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or any such other Person, even if such opportunity is of a character which, if presented to the Partnership, any Limited Partner or such other Person, could be taken by such Person.
Other Matters Concerning the General Partner A. The General Partner may rely and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, consent, order, bond, debenture, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.
B. The General Partner may consult with legal counsel, accountants, appraisers, management consultants, investment bankers and other consultants and advisers selected by it, and any act taken or omitted to be taken in reliance upon the opinion of such Persons as to matters which such General Partner reasonably believes to be within such Person’s professional or expert competence shall be conclusively presumed to have been done or omitted in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.
C. The General Partner shall have the right, in respect of any of its powers or obligations hereunder, to act through any of its duly authorized officers and a duly appointed attorney or attorneys-in-fact. Each such attorney shall, to the extent provided by the General Partner in the power of attorney, have full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and duty which is permitted or required to be done by the General Partner hereunder.
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement or any non-mandatory provision of the Act, any action of the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership or any decision of the General Partner to refrain from acting on behalf of the Partnership, undertaken in the good faith belief that such action or omission is necessary or advisable in order to protect the ability of the General Partner, for so long as the General Partner has determined to qualify as a REIT, to (i) continue to qualify as a REIT or (ii) avoid the General Partner incurring any taxes under Section 857 or Section 4981 of the Code, is expressly authorized under this Agreement and is deemed approved by all of the Limited Partners.
Admission of Limited Partners (a) By acceptance of the transfer of any Limited Partner Interests in accordance with Article IV or the acceptance of any Limited Partner Interests issued pursuant to Article V or pursuant to a merger or consolidation pursuant to Article XIV, and except as provided in Section 4.9, each transferee of, or other such Person acquiring, a Limited Partner Interest (including any nominee holder or an agent or representative acquiring such Limited Partner Interests for the account of another Person) (i) shall be admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner with respect to the Limited Partner Interests so transferred or issued to such Person when any such transfer, issuance or admission is reflected in the books and records of the Partnership and such Limited Partner becomes the Record Holder of the Limited Partner Interests so transferred, (ii) shall become bound by the terms of this Agreement, (iii) represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, (iv) grants the powers of attorney set forth in this Agreement and (v) makes the consents and waivers contained in this Agreement, all with or without execution of this Agreement by such Person. The transfer of any Limited Partner Interests and the admission of any new Limited Partner shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement. A Person may become a Limited Partner or Record Holder of a Limited Partner Interest without the consent or approval of any of the Partners. A Person may not become a Limited Partner without acquiring a Limited Partner Interest and until such Person is reflected in the books and records of the Partnership as the Record Holder of such Limited Partner Interest. The rights and obligations of a Person who is a Non-citizen Assignee shall be determined in accordance with Section 4.9 hereof.
(b) The name and mailing address of each Limited Partner shall be listed on the books and records of the Partnership maintained for such purpose by the Partnership or the Transfer Agent. The General Partner shall update the books and records of the Partnership from time to time as necessary to reflect accurately the information therein (or shall cause the Transfer Agent to do so, as applicable). A Limited Partner Interest may be represented by a Certificate, as provided in Section 4.1 hereof.
(c) Any transfer of a Limited Partner Interest shall not entitle the transferee to share in the profits and losses, to receive distributions, to receive allocations of income, gain, loss, deduction or credit or any similar item or to any other rights to which the transferor was entitled until the transferee becomes a Limited Partner pursuant to Section 10.2(a).
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.
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).
