Proxy Statement (a) The Company shall file with the SEC, as promptly as practicable after the date hereof, the proxy statement under the Exchange Act to be sent to the shareholders of the Company in connection with the Company Shareholders' Meeting containing all information required by the applicable Law (the "Proxy Statement"), and shall use its best efforts to have the Proxy Statement cleared by the SEC promptly. The Company shall cooperate with Parent and its legal counsel in the preparation of the Proxy Statement and shall notify Parent and its legal counsel of the receipt of any comments of the SEC with respect to the Proxy Statement and of any requests by the SEC for any amendment or supplement thereto or for additional information and shall promptly provide Parent and its legal counsel with copies of all correspondence between the Company and any of the Company Representatives and the SEC. The Company shall give Parent and its legal counsel the opportunity to review the Proxy Statement, including all amendments and supplements thereto, and shall incorporate comments of Parent and its legal counsel with respect thereto, prior to its being filed with the SEC and shall give Parent and its legal counsel the opportunity to review all responses to requests for additional information and replies to comments, and shall incorporate comments of Parent and its legal counsel with respect thereto, prior to their being filed with, or sent to, the SEC. The Company agrees to use its reasonable best efforts, after consultation with Parent and Merger Sub, to respond promptly to all such comments of and requests by the SEC and to cause the Proxy Statement and all required amendments and supplements thereto to be mailed to the shareholders of the Company entitled to vote at the Company Stockholders' Meeting at the earliest practicable time.
(b) The information supplied by the Company for inclusion in the Proxy Statement shall not, at (i) the time the Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto is first mailed to shareholders of the Company and (ii) the time of the Company Shareholders' Meeting, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or fail to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If, at any time prior to the Effective Time, any event or circumstance relating to the Company or any Company Subsidiary or their respective officers or directors, shall be discovered by the Company which should be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement, the Company shall promptly inform Parent. All documents that the Company is responsible for filing with the SEC in connection with the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement will comply as to form and substance in all material aspects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
(c) The information supplied by Parent for inclusion in the Proxy Statement shall not, at (i) the time the Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto is first mailed to shareholders of the Company and (ii) the time of the Company Shareholders' Meeting, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or fail to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If, at any time prior to the Effective Time, any event or circumstance relating to Parent or its officers or directors shall be discovered by Parent which should be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement, Parent shall promptly inform the Company. All documents that Parent is responsible for filing with the SEC in connection with the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement will comply as to form and substance in all material aspects with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
(d) The Board of Directors of the Company shall include in the Proxy Statement, and not subsequently withdraw or modify, or propose to withdraw or modify, in any manner adverse to Parent or Merger Sub, except as set forth in this Section 7.02(d), the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Company (in the form necessary for compliance with the applicable provisions of the Ohio Law) that the shareholders of the Company give the Requisite Shareholder Approval. In the event that the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith, after receiving the advice of outside legal counsel, that the Board of Directors is required by its fiduciary duties under the Ohio Law to withdraw or modify its recommendation, the Board of Directors of the Company shall be permitted to withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Parent and Merger Sub its recommendation to its shareholders that they give the Requisite Shareholder Approval. Notwithstanding such Board of Directors' withdrawal or modification of its recommendation, the Company shall convene and hold the Company Shareholders' Meeting in accordance with Section 7.03.
PROSPECTUS AND PROXY STATEMENTS 3.1 TRUST shall prepare and be responsible for filing with the SEC and any state regulators requiring such filing all shareholder reports, notices, proxy materials (or similar materials such as voting instruction solicitation materials), prospectuses and statements of additional information of TRUST. TRUST shall bear the costs of registration and qualification of shares of the Portfolios, preparation and filing of the documents listed in this Section 3.1 and all taxes and filing fees to which an issuer is subject on the issuance and transfer of its shares.
3.2 TRUST or its designee shall provide LIFE COMPANY, free of charge, with as many copies of the current prospectus (or prospectuses), statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports and proxy statements for the shares of the Portfolios as LIFE COMPANY may reasonably request for distribution to existing Variable Contract owners whose Variable Contracts are funded by such shares. TRUST or its designee shall provide LIFE COMPANY, at LIFE COMPANY's expense, with as many copies of the current prospectus (or prospectuses) for the shares as LIFE COMPANY may reasonably request for distribution to prospective purchasers of Variable Contracts. If requested by LIFE COMPANY, TRUST or its designee shall provide such documentation (including a "camera ready" copy of the current prospectus (or prospectuses) as set in type or, at the request of LIFE COMPANY, as a diskette in the form sent to the financial printer) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the parties hereto once a year (or more frequently if the prospectus (or prospectuses) for the shares is supplemented or amended) to have the prospectus for the Variable Contracts and the prospectus (or prospectuses) for the TRUST shares printed together in one document. The expenses of such printing will be apportioned between LIFE COMPANY and TRUST in proportion to the number of pages of the Variable Contract and TRUST prospectus, taking account of other relevant factors affecting the expense of printing, such as covers, columns, graphs and charts; TRUST shall bear the cost of printing the TRUST prospectus portion of such document for distribution only to owners of existing Variable Contracts funded by the TRUST shares and LIFE COMPANY shall bear the expense of printing the portion of such documents relating to the Separate Account; provided, however, LIFE COMPANY shall bear all printing expenses of such combined documents where used for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Variable Contracts not funded by the shares. In the event that LIFE COMPANY requests that TRUST or its designee provide TRUST's prospectus in a "camera ready" or diskette format, TRUST shall be responsible for providing the prospectus (or prospectuses) in the format in which it is accustomed to formatting prospectuses and shall bear the expense of providing the prospectus (or prospectuses) in such format (e.g. typesetting expenses), and LIFE COMPANY shall bear the expense of adjusting or changing the format to conform with any of its prospectuses.
3.3 TRUST will provide LIFE COMPANY with at least one complete copy of all prospectuses, statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, exemptive applications and all amendments or supplements to any of the above that relate to the Portfolios promptly after the filing of each such document with the SEC or other regulatory authority. LIFE COMPANY will provide TRUST with at least one complete copy of all prospectuses, statements of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports, proxy statements, exemptive applications and all amendments or supplements to any of the above that relate to a Separate Account promptly after the filing of each such document with the SEC or other regulatory authority.
PROSPECTUS AND PROXY STATEMENTS; VOTING 3.1. At least annually, the Trust or its designee shall provide the Company, free of charge, with as many copies of the current prospectus (describing only the Portfolios listed in Schedule A hereto) for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to existing Policy owners whose Policies are funded by such Shares. The Trust or its designee shall provide the Company, at the Company's expense, with as many copies of the current prospectus for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to prospective purchasers of Policies. If requested by the Company in lieu thereof, the Trust or its designee shall provide such documentation (including a "camera ready" copy of the new prospectus as set in type or, at the request of the Company, as a diskette in the form sent to the financial printer) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the parties hereto once each year (or more frequently if the prospectus for the Shares is supplemented or amended) to have the prospectus for the Policies and the prospectus for the Shares printed together in one document; the expenses of such printing to be apportioned between (a) the Company and (b) the Trust or its designee in proportion to the number of pages of the Policy and Shares' prospectuses, taking account of other relevant factors affecting the expense of printing, such as covers, columns, graphs and charts; the Trust or its designee to bear the cost of printing the Shares' prospectus portion of such document for distribution to owners of existing Policies funded by the Shares and the Company to bear the expenses of printing the portion of such document relating to the Accounts; provided, however, that the Company shall bear all printing expenses of such combined documents where used for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Policies not funded by the Shares. In the event that the Company requests that the Trust or its designee provides the Trust's prospectus in a "camera ready" or diskette format, the Trust shall be responsible for providing the prospectus in the format in which it or MFS is accustomed to formatting prospectuses and shall bear the expense of providing the prospectus in such format (e.g., typesetting expenses), and the Company shall bear the expense of adjusting or changing the format to conform with any of its prospectuses.
3.2. The prospectus for the Shares shall state that the statement of additional information for the Shares is available from the Trust or its designee. The Trust or its designee, at its expense, shall print and provide such statement of additional information to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to any owner of a Policy funded by the Shares. The Trust or its designee, at the Company's expense, shall print and provide such statement to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to a prospective purchaser who requests such statement or to an owner of a Policy not funded by the Shares.
3.3. The Trust or its designee shall provide the Company free of charge copies, if and to the extent applicable to the Shares, of the Trust's proxy materials, reports to Shareholders and other communications to Shareholders in such quantity as the Company shall reasonably require for distribution to Policy owners.
3.4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 above, or of Article V below, the Company shall pay the expense of printing or providing documents to the extent such cost is considered a distribution expense. Distribution expenses would include by way of illustration, but are not limited to, the printing of the Shares' prospectus or prospectuses for distribution to prospective purchasers or to owners of existing Policies not funded by such Shares.
3.5. The Trust hereby notifies the Company that it may be appropriate to include in the prospectus pursuant to which a Policy is offered disclosure regarding the potential risks of mixed and shared funding.
3.6. If and to the extent required by law, the Company shall:
(a) solicit voting instructions from Policy owners;
(b) vote the Shares in accordance with instructions received from Policy owners; and
(c) vote the Shares for which no instructions have been received in the same proportion as the Shares of such Portfolio for which instructions have been received from Policy owners; so long as and to the extent that the SEC continues to interpret the 1940 Act to require pass through voting privileges for variable contract owners. The Company will in no way recommend action in connection with or oppose or interfere with the solicitation of proxies for the Shares held for such Policy owners. The Company reserves the right to vote shares held in any segregated asset account in its own right, to the extent permitted by law. Participating Insurance Companies shall be responsible for assuring that each of their separate accounts holding Shares calculates voting privileges in the manner required by the Mixed and Shared Funding Exemptive Order. The Trust and MFS will notify the Company of any changes of interpretations or amendments to the Mixed and Shared Funding Exemptive Order.
Registration Statement and Proxy Statement (a) Acquirer and the Company shall file with the SEC as soon as is reasonably practicable after the date hereof the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and Acquirer shall file the Registration Statement in which the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus shall be included. Acquirer and the Company shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to have the Registration Statement declared effective by the SEC as promptly as practicable. Acquirer shall also take any action required to be taken under applicable state blue sky or securities laws in connection with the issuance of shares of Acquirer Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement. Acquirer and the Company shall promptly furnish to each other all information, and take such other actions, as may reasonably be requested in connection with any action by any of them in connection with this Section 7.2(a).
(b) If at any time prior to the Effective Time any event shall occur which is required to be described in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus or Form S-4, such event shall be so described, and an amendment or supplement shall be promptly filed with the SEC and, as required by law, disseminated to the stockholders of Acquirer and the Company; provided that no amendment or supplement to the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus or the Form S-4 will be made by Acquirer or the Company without the approval of the other party. To the extent applicable, each of Acquirer and the Company will advise the other, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when the Form S-4 has become effective or any supplement or amendment has been filed, the issuance of any stop order, the suspension of the qualification of the shares of Acquirer Common Stock issuable in connection with the Merger for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or any request by the SEC for amendment of the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus or the Form S-4 or comments thereon and responses thereto or requests by the SEC for additional information.
(c) Acquirer and the Company shall each use all commercially reasonable efforts to cause to be delivered to the other a comfort letter of its independent auditors, dated a date within two business days of the effective date of the Form S-4, in form reasonably satisfactory to the other party and customary in scope and substance for such letters in connection with similar registration statements.
Offer Documents; Proxy Statement The Offer Documents, as filed pursuant to Section 1.1, will not, at the time such Offer Documents are filed with the SEC or are first published, sent or given to stockholders, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated or incorporated by reference therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The information supplied by Parent for inclusion in the Proxy Statement shall not, on the date the Proxy Statement is first mailed to stockholders, at the time of the Stockholders Meeting (as defined in Section 6.1) or at the Effective Time, contain any statement which, at such time and in light of the circumstances under which it shall be made, is false or misleading with respect to any material fact, or shall omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not false or misleading or necessary to correct any statement in any earlier communication with respect to the solicitation of proxies for the Stockholders Meeting which has become false or misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent and Purchaser make no representation or warranty with respect to any information supplied by the Company or any of its representatives which is contained in or incorporated by reference in any of the foregoing documents or the Offer Documents. The Offer Documents, as amended and supplemented, will comply in all material respects as to form with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
