The Pledge The Holders from time to time of the Securities acting through the Purchase Contract Agent, as their attorney-in-fact, hereby pledge and grant to the Collateral Agent, as collateral security for the performance when due by such Holders of their respective obligations under the Purchase Contracts constituting part of such Securities, for the benefit of the Company, a security interest in all of the right, title and interest of such Holders in the Collateral Securities constituting a part of such Securities. Prior to or concurrently with the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the initial Holders and the Collateral Agent shall (i) cause the Collateral Securities to be delivered to the Collateral Agent by Federal Reserve Bank-Wire or by book-entry transfer through the facilities of the Depositary Trust Company, as the case may be, to the account of the Collateral Agent designated by it for such purpose and (ii) take appropriate action so that the applicable Federal Reserve Bank through which such Collateral Securities have been purchased will reflect such transfer and the Pledge by appropriate entries in its records in accordance with Applicable Treasury Regulations. In addition, the execution and delivery hereof by the Purchase Contract Agent and the Collateral Agent shall constitute (i) the notification to the Collateral Agent (as bailee or otherwise) of the Pledge and (ii) an acknowledgment by the Collateral Agent (as third party in possession or otherwise) of the Pledge and of its holding of such Collateral Securities subject to the Pledge, in each case, for purposes of perfecting the Pledge under Applicable Treasury Regulations and other applicable law, as the case may be, including, to the extent applicable, the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted and in effect in any applicable jurisdiction. The pledge provided in this Section 2 is herein referred to as the "Pledge" and the Collateral Securities subject to the Pledge, excluding any Collateral Securities released from the Pledge as provided in Section 4 hereof, are hereinafter referred to as the "Pledged Collateral Securities." Subject to the Pledge, the Holders from time to time of the Securities shall have full beneficial ownership of the Collateral Securities constituting a part of such Securities.
Covenants of the Pledgor 6.1. During the term of this Agreement, the Pledgor covenants to the Pledgee that the Pledgor will:
6.1.1 Not transfer or assign the Pledged Equity, create or permit the existence of any other pledges or other forms of security which may affect the rights or benefits of the Pledgee without prior written consent of the Pledgee;
6.1.2 Comply with laws and regulations with respect to the pledge of rights; present to the Pledgee the notices, orders or suggestions with respect to the Pledge issued or made by relevant government authorities within five (5) days upon receiving such notices, orders or suggestions; comply with such notices, orders or suggestions or, alternatively, at the reasonable request of the Pledgee or with consent from the Pledgee, raise objection and provide statement to such notices, orders or suggestions; and
6.1.3 Timely notify the Pledgee of any event or any received notice which may affect the Pledgor’s right to all or any part of the Pledged Equity, and any event or any received notice which may change the Pledgor’s warranties and obligations under this Agreement or affect the Pledgor’s performance of his obligations under this Agreement.
6.2. The Pledgor agrees that the Pledgee’s exercise of its right to the Pledge obtained from this Agreement as a pledgee shall not be interrupted or inhibited by any legal procedure initiated by the Pledgor or any successor of the Pledgor or any person authorized by the Pledgor or any other person.
6.3. The Pledgor undertakes to the Pledgee that in order to protect or perfect the security interest of the Pledgee hereunder, the Pledgor shall execute in good faith and cause other parties who have interests in the Pledge to execute, all title certificates and contracts, and/or perform and cause other parties who have interests to perform any actions as required by the Pledgee and facilitate the exercise of the rights and authority granted to the Pledgee under this Agreement, and enter into all amendment documents in connection with the equity certificate with the Pledgee or its designated person (natural person/ legal entity) and, within a reasonable period, provide to the Pledgee all notices, orders and decisions about the Pledge as the Pledgee deems necessary.
6.4. The Pledgor undertakes to the Pledgee that he will comply with and perform all the warranties, covenants, agreements, representations and conditions for the benefit of the Pledgee. The Pledgor shall compensate the Pledgee for all losses suffered by the Pledgee due to the Pledgor’s failure to perform in whole or in part his warranties, covenants, agreements, representations and conditions.
6.5. The Pledgor warrants to the Pledgee that the Pledgor will, together with other shareholders, be jointly and severally liable for the obligations hereunder.
6.6. The Pledgor irrevocably agrees that, with respect to the Pledged Equity pledged to the Pledgee by other shareholder of the Domestic Company, he waives the right of first refusal towards any transfer of equity due to the Pledgee’s exercise of such pledge.
TRANSFER BY THE PLEDGORS No Pledgor will sell or otherwise dispose of, grant any option with respect to, or mortgage, pledge or otherwise encumber any of the Collateral or any interest therein (except as may be permitted in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement).
Term of the Pledge 3.1 The Pledge shall become effective on such date when the pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein is registered with the relevant administration for industry and commerce (the “AIC”). The Pledge shall remain effective until all Contract Obligations have been fully performed and all Secured Indebtedness has been fully paid. The Pledgor and Party C shall (1) register the Pledge in the shareholders’ register of Party C within 3 business days following the execution of this Agreement, and (2) submit an application to the AIC for the registration of the Pledge of the Equity Interest contemplated herein within thirty (30) days following the execution of this Agreement. The parties covenant that for the purpose of registration of the Pledge, the parties hereto and all other shareholders of Party C shall submit to the AIC this Agreement or an equity interest pledge contract in the form required by the AIC at the location of Party C which shall truly reflect the information of the Pledge hereunder (the “AIC Pledge Contract”). For matters not specified in the AIC Pledge Contract, the Parties shall be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. The Pledgor and Party C shall submit all necessary documents and complete all necessary procedures, as required by the relevant PRC laws and regulations and the competent AIC, to ensure that the Pledge of the Equity Interest shall be registered with the AIC as soon as possible after submission for filing.
3.2 During the Term of the Pledge, in the event the Pledgor and/or Party C fails to perform the Contract Obligations or pay Secured Indebtedness, the Pledgee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the Pledge in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Voting Rights in Respect of the Pledged Collateral (i) So long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, to the extent permitted by law, each Pledgor may exercise any and all voting and other consensual rights pertaining to the Pledged Collateral of such Pledgor or any part thereof for any purpose not inconsistent with the terms of this Pledge Agreement or the Credit Agreement; and
(ii) Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an Event of Default, all rights of a Pledgor to exercise the voting and other consensual rights that it would otherwise be entitled to exercise pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subsection shall cease and all such rights shall thereupon become vested in the Administrative Agent, which shall then have the sole right to exercise such voting and other consensual rights.
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE PLEDGOR Unless otherwise permitted by the Principal Finance Documents, during the term of this Agreement, the Pledgor undertakes to the Pledgee:
8.1 subject to Clause 4.3 to use all reasonable efforts to procure that each Account Bank releases any existing lien, including without limitation any pledge existing by operation of its general business conditions (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen), and waives any right of set-off and right of retention in respect of the Accounts by countersigning and returning an acknowledgement of notice of pledge substantially in the form set out in Schedule 3 (Form of Notice of Pledge) to the Pledgor and the Pledgee.
8.2 to instruct each Account Bank to provide the Pledgee following receipt by the relevant Account Bank of a notice pursuant to Clause 5 with all information requested by it in respect of the Accounts and to that extent to release each Account Bank from its obligation to maintain confidentiality (Bankgeheimnis) by delivering a notice of pledge to the respective Account Bank in accordance with the requirements set out in Clause 4.1 or, in the case of any future Account, Clause 8.
Exercise of Rights in Pledged Collateral (i) Without in any way limiting the foregoing and subject to clause (ii) below, the Grantor shall have the right to exercise all voting rights or other rights relating to the Pledged Collateral for all purposes not inconsistent with this Security Agreement, the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document; provided however, that no vote or other right shall be exercised or action taken which would have the effect of impairing the rights of the Lender in respect of the Pledged Collateral.
(ii) The Grantor will permit the Lender or its nominee at any time after the occurrence of a Default, without notice, to exercise all voting rights or other rights relating to Pledged Collateral, including, without limitation, exchange, subscription or any other rights, privileges, or options pertaining to any Capital Stock or Investment Property constituting Pledged Collateral as if it were the absolute owner thereof.
(iii) The Grantor shall be entitled to collect and receive for its own use all cash dividends and interest paid in respect of the Pledged Collateral to the extent not in violation of the Credit Agreement other than any of the following distributions and payments (collectively referred to as the “Excluded Payments”): (A) dividends and interest paid or payable other than in cash in respect of any Pledged Collateral, and instruments and other property received, receivable or otherwise distributed in respect of, or in exchange for, any Pledged Collateral; (B) dividends and other distributions paid or payable in cash in respect of any Pledged Collateral in connection with a partial or total liquidation or dissolution or in connection with a reduction of capital, capital surplus or paid-in capital of an issuer; and (C) cash paid, payable or otherwise distributed, in respect of principal of, or in redemption of, or in exchange for, any Pledged Collateral; provided however, that until actually paid, all rights to such distributions shall remain subject to the Liens created by this Security Agreement; and
(iv) All Excluded Payments and all other distributions in respect of any of the Pledged Collateral, whenever paid or made, shall be delivered to the Lender to hold as Pledged Collateral and shall, if received by the Grantor, be received in trust for the benefit of the Lender, be segregated from the other property or funds of the Grantor, and be forthwith delivered to the Lender as Pledged Collateral in the same form as so received (with any necessary endorsement).
Delivery of the Pledged Collateral (a) Each Grantor agrees to deliver or cause to be delivered as promptly as practicable to the Collateral Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, any and all Pledged Securities (other than any uncertificated securities, but only for so long as such securities remain uncertificated) to the extent such Pledged Securities, in the case of promissory notes or other instruments evidencing Indebtedness, are required to be delivered pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section 2.02.
(b) Each Grantor will cause (i) any Indebtedness for borrowed money owed to such Grantor by any Person (other than intercompany Indebtedness between Grantors and intercompany Indebtedness referred to in the following clause (ii)) having an aggregate principal amount in excess of the Dollar Amount of $5,000,000, to be evidenced by a duly executed promissory note, and (ii) any intercompany Indebtedness made by such Grantor to a Subsidiary of the Company that is not a Grantor to be evidenced by (x) a duly executed global promissory note to which such Subsidiary of the Company that is not a Grantor is a signatory, or (y) at the option of the Grantor, to the extent such Indebtedness is in an aggregate principal amount in excess of the Dollar Amount of $15,000,000, a duly executed promissory note; in each case (i) and (ii) that is delivered to the Collateral Agent, for the benefit of the Secured Parties, pursuant to the terms hereof.
(c) Upon delivery to the Collateral Agent, (i) any Pledged Securities shall be accompanied by stock or security powers duly executed in blank or other instruments of transfer reasonably satisfactory to the Collateral Agent and by such other instruments and documents as the Collateral Agent may reasonably request and (ii) all other property comprising part of the Pledged Collateral shall be accompanied by proper instruments of assignment or transfer duly executed by the applicable Grantor and such other instruments or documents as the Collateral Agent may reasonably request. Each delivery of Pledged Securities shall be accompanied by a schedule describing the securities, which schedule shall be attached hereto as Schedule I and made a part hereof; provided that failure to attach any such schedule hereto shall not affect the validity of such pledge of such Pledged Securities. Each schedule so delivered shall supplement any prior schedules so delivered.
Exercise of the Pledge 8.1. The Pledgor shall not waive, transfer or otherwise dispose the Pledged Equity without prior written consent of the Pledgee, prior to the full performance of the Contractual Obligations.
8.2. The Pledgee shall give a written Notice of Default to the Pledgor when it intends to exercise the Pledge.
8.3. Subject to Article 7.3, the Pledgee may exercise the right to enforce the Pledge when issuing the Notice of Default in accordance with Article 7.3 or at any time thereafter.
8.4. Upon issuing a Notice of Default under Article 7.3, the Pledgee may exercise all remedies for breach of contract under the PRC laws and hereunder, including without limitation, acquiring the Pledged Equity at discounted price, or auction or sale of the Pledged Equity with the proceeds to be paid based on the order agreed in Article 8.6, until all Secured Debts are repaid.
8.5. When the Pledgee enforces the Pledge in accordance with this Agreement, the Pledgor shall not put up any obstacle and shall give necessary assistance so as to facilitate the Pledgee’s realization of the Pledge.
8.6. Proceeds obtained by the Pledgee from exercise of the Pledge shall be applied by the following order: firstly, paying all costs arising out of the disposal of the Pledged Equity and the exercise of its rights and powers by the Pledgee (including the remuneration paying to the attorneys and agents of the Pledgee); secondly, paying taxes payable due to disposal of the Pledged Equity; thirdly, repaying the Secured Debts to the Pledgee. In case of any balance upon netting of such payments, the Pledgee shall refund the balance to the Pledgor or other persons who are entitled to such balance according to relevant laws and regulations, or deposit the same to a notarization authority at the domicile of the Pledgee (and any costs so incurred shall be solely borne by the Pledgor). After the Pledged Equity is converted into money, auctioned or sold, if the proceeds so obtained are insufficient to repay all Secured Debts, the difference shall be paid by the Pledgor.
Additional Pledgors Pursuant to Section 5.11 of the Credit Agreement, each Subsidiary of the Borrower that was not in existence or not a Subsidiary on the date of the Credit Agreement is required to enter in this Agreement as a Subsidiary Pledgor upon becoming a Subsidiary if such Subsidiary owns or possesses property of a type that would be considered Collateral hereunder. Upon execution and delivery by the Collateral Agent and a Subsidiary of an instrument in the form of Annex 1, such Subsidiary shall become a Subsidiary Pledgor hereunder with the same force and effect as if originally named as a Subsidiary Pledgor herein. The execution and delivery of such instrument shall not require the consent of any Pledgor hereunder. The rights and obligations of each Pledgor hereunder shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding the addition of any new Subsidiary Pledgor as a party to this Agreement.
