VOTING AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 2.4
This VOTING AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of October 13, 2014, by and between Atlas Energy, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“ATLS”), and the individual executing this Agreement on the signature page hereto (the “Stockholder”).
WHEREAS, the Stockholder is a stockholder of Targa Resources Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”);
WHEREAS, the Stockholder owns, beneficially and of record, or controls certain shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), of Parent (the “Parent Shares” and any shares of Common Stock or Rights with respect thereto acquired (whether beneficially or of record) by the Stockholder after the date hereof and prior to the earlier of the Closing or the termination of all of the Stockholder’s obligations under this Agreement, including any shares of Common Stock or Rights acquired by means of purchase, dividend or distribution, or issued upon the exercise of any options or warrants or the conversion of any convertible securities or otherwise, being collectively referred to herein as the “Securities”);
WHEREAS, Parent, Trident GP Merger Sub LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), ATLS and Atlas Energy GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and the general partner of ATLS (“ATLS GP” and together with ATLS, the “ATLS Entities”), propose to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of the date hereof (the “Merger Agreement”; capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the respective meanings specified in the Merger Agreement), pursuant to which, among other things, Merger Sub will be merged with and into ATLS, with ATLS surviving as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent, all upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement (the “Merger”);
WHEREAS, the approval of the Parent Share Issuance by the holders, as of the record date, of a majority of the Parent Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereon as of the record date, provided that the Parent Shares present in person or represented by proxy represents a majority of the Parent Shares entitled to vote on the Parent Share Issuance (the “Approval”), is a condition to the consummation of the Merger; and
WHEREAS, as a condition to the willingness of the ATLS Entities to enter into the Merger Agreement and as an inducement and in consideration therefor, the Stockholder has agreed to enter into this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, intending to be legally bound, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
VOTING; GRANT AND APPOINTMENT OF PROXY
Section 1.1 Voting. From and after the date hereof until the earlier of (x) the consummation of the Merger and (y) the termination of the Merger Agreement pursuant to and in compliance with the terms therein (such earlier date, the “Expiration Date”), the Stockholder irrevocably and unconditionally hereby agrees that at any meeting (whether annual or special and each adjourned or postponed meeting) of the Parent Stockholders at which a vote of the Stockholders on the Parent Stock Issuance is requested, however called, or in connection with any written consent of the Parent Stockholders, the Stockholder (in such capacity and not in any other capacity) will (i) appear at such meeting or otherwise cause all of the Securities to be counted as present thereat for purposes of calculating a quorum and (ii) vote or cause to be voted (including by proxy or written consent, if applicable) all of the Securities (A) in favor of the Approval (and, in the event that the Approval is presented as more than one proposal, in favor of each proposal that is part of the Approval), (B) in favor of any proposal to adjourn or postpone such meeting of the Parent Stockholders to a later date if there are not sufficient votes to obtain the Approval and (C) against any action, proposal, transaction or agreement that would be reasonably likely to (I) result in a breach of any covenant, representation or warranty or any other obligation of the Parent contained in the Merger Agreement or (II) prevent or materially impede, interfere with, delay, postpone or adversely affect the Merger and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement or Parent, Merger Sub, or the ATLS Entities’ ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger (clauses (A) through (C), the “Required Votes”).
Section 1.2 Grant of Irrevocable Proxy; Appointment of Proxy.
(a) From and after the date hereof until the Expiration Date, subject to Section 1.5, the Stockholder hereby irrevocably and unconditionally grants to, and appoints, ATLS and any designee thereof as the Stockholder’s proxy and attorney-in-fact (with full power of substitution), for and in the name, place and stead of the Stockholder, to vote or cause to be voted (including by proxy or written consent, if applicable) its Securities in accordance with the Required Vote; provided that the Stockholder’s grant of the proxy contemplated by this Section 1.2 shall be effective if, and only if, such Stockholder has not delivered to ATLS prior to the meeting at which any of the matters described in Section 1.1 are to be considered, a duly executed irrevocable proxy card directing that the Securities be voted in accordance with the Required Votes; provided, further, that any grant of such proxy shall only entitle ATLS or its designee to vote on the matters specified by Section 1.1(ii), and Stockholder shall retain the authority to vote on all other matters.
(b) The Stockholder hereby represents that any proxies other than as set forth in this Agreement heretofore given in respect of the Securities, if any, are revocable, and hereby revokes such proxies.
(c) The Stockholder hereby affirms that the irrevocable proxy set forth in this Section 1.2 is given in connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, and that such irrevocable proxy is given to secure the performance of the duties of the Stockholder under this Agreement. The Stockholder hereby further affirms that the irrevocable proxy is coupled with
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an interest and, except upon the occurrence of the Expiration Date, is intended to be irrevocable. The Stockholder agrees, until the Expiration Date, to vote its Securities in accordance with Section 1.1 above as instructed by ATLS in writing. The parties agree that the foregoing is a voting agreement.
Section 1.3 Restrictions on Transfers. The Stockholder hereby agrees that, from the date hereof until the earlier of (x) the Expiration Date and (y) the date on which the Approval is obtained, it shall not, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of ATLS, (a) sell, transfer, assign, tender in any tender or exchange offer, pledge, encumber, hypothecate or similarly dispose of (by merger, by testamentary disposition, by operation of law or otherwise) (a “Transfer”), either voluntarily or involuntarily, or to enter into any contract, option or other arrangement or understanding with respect to the Transfer of any Securities, (b) deposit any Securities into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or arrangement or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto that is inconsistent with this Agreement, or (c) agree (whether or not in writing) to take any of the actions referred to in the foregoing clause (a) or (b); provided however, the Stockholder shall have the right to Transfer all or any portion of his or her Securities to a Permitted Transferee if and only if such Permitted Transferee shall have agreed in writing, in a manner reasonably acceptable to ATLS, (i) to accept such Securities subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and (ii) to be bound by this Agreement and to agree and acknowledge that such Person shall constitute the Stockholder for all purposes of this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Permitted Transferee” means (A) a spouse, lineal descendant or antecedent, brother or sister, adopted child or grandchild or the spouse of any child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of the Stockholder, (B) any trust, the trustees of which include only the Stockholder or the Persons named in clause (A) and the beneficiaries of which include only the Stockholder or the Persons named in clause (A), or (C) any charitable organization.
Section 1.4 Inconsistent Agreements. The Stockholder hereby covenants and agrees that, except for this Agreement and for so long as this Agreement remains in effect, it (a) shall not enter into any voting agreement or voting trust with respect to its Securities and (b) shall not grant a proxy, consent or power of attorney with respect to its Securities.
Section 1.5 No Obligation to Exercise Rights. Nothing contained in this Article I shall require the Stockholder (or shall entitle any proxy of such Stockholder) to (i) convert, exercise or exchange any Rights, option, warrants or convertible securities in order to obtain any underlying Securities or (ii) vote, or execute any consent with respect to, any Securities underlying such Rights, options, warrants or convertible securities that have not yet been issued as of the applicable record date for that vote or consent.
Section 1.6 [10b5-1 Plan. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, ATLS acknowledges that the Stockholder has a pre-existing planned trading program pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Act (“10b5-1 Plan), and all representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement are subject to the terms of such 10b5-1 Plan.]1
1 | To be included for current officers with 10b5-1 plans. |
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ARTICLE II
REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS
OF THE STOCKHOLDER
Section 2.1 Representations and Warranties. The Stockholder represents and warrants to ATLS as follows: (a) the Stockholder has full legal right and capacity to execute and deliver this Agreement, to perform the Stockholder’s obligations hereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, (b) this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Stockholder and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Stockholder and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Stockholder and no other actions or proceedings on the part of the Stockholder are necessary to authorize this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, (c) this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding agreement of the Stockholder, enforceable against the Stockholder in accordance with its terms, (d) the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Stockholder does not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the compliance with the provisions hereof will not, conflict with or violate any Laws or agreements binding upon the Stockholder or the Securities owned by the Stockholder, nor require any authorization, consent or approval of, or filing with, any Governmental Entity, except for filings with the SEC by the Stockholder, (e) the Stockholder owns, beneficially and of record, or controls the Securities set forth opposite the Stockholder’s name on Exhibit A attached hereto and (f) except for such transfer restrictions of general applicability as may be provided under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the “blue sky” laws of the various states of the United States, the Stockholder owns, beneficially and of record, or controls all of its Securities free and clear of any proxy, voting restriction, adverse claim or other Lien (other than any restrictions created by this Agreement) and has sole voting power with respect to the Securities and sole power of disposition with respect to all of the Securities, with no restrictions on the Stockholder’s rights of voting or disposition pertaining thereto, and no person other than the Stockholder has any right to direct or approve the voting or disposition of any of the Securities.
Section 2.2 Certain Other Agreements. The Stockholder hereby:
(a) agrees to promptly notify ATLS of the number of any new Securities acquired by the Stockholder after the date hereof and prior to the Expiration Date; provided that any such Securities shall automatically be subject to the terms of this Agreement as though owned by the Stockholder on the date hereof;
(b) agrees to permit ATLS to publish and disclose in the Joint Proxy Statement, other filings with the SEC and in the press release announcing the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the Stockholder’s identity and ownership of the Securities and the nature of the Stockholder’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under this Agreement; provided that ATLS agrees that it shall only publish and disclose the ownership of the Stockholder on an aggregate basis with Parent Shareholders who have entered into a Parent Support Agreement on the date hereof; and
(c) shall and does authorize ATLS or its counsel to notify Parent’s transfer agent that there is a stop transfer order with respect to all of the Securities (and that this
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Agreement places limits on the voting and transfer of such shares); provided that ATLS or its counsel further notifies Parent’s transfer agent to lift and vacate the stop transfer order with respect to the Securities on the earlier of (x) the Expiration Date and (y) the date on which the Approval is obtained.
ARTICLE III
TERMINATION
This Agreement shall terminate and be of no further force or effect upon the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, this Article III and Article IV shall survive any termination of this Agreement. Nothing in this Article III shall relieve or otherwise limit any party of liability for fraud or willful breach of this Agreement.
ARTICLE IV
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 4.1 Expenses. Each party shall bear their respective expenses, costs and fees (including attorneys’, auditors’ and financing fees, if any) in connection with the preparation, execution and delivery of this Agreement and compliance herewith, whether or not the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are effected.
Section 4.2 Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder will be in writing and deemed given if delivered personally or by facsimile transmission, or mailed by a nationally recognized overnight courier or registered or certified mail (return receipt requested), postage prepaid, to the parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as specified by like notice, provided, that notices of a change of address will be effective only upon receipt thereof):
If to ATLS, to:
Atlas Energy, L.P.
0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Attention: | Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx | |
Facsimile: | (000) 000-0000 |
With copies to (which does not constitute notice):
Wachtell, Lipton, Xxxxx & Xxxx
00 Xxxx 00xx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: | Xxxxx X. Xxx, Esq. | |
Facsimile: | (000) 000-0000 | |
Email: | xxxxx@xxxx.xxx |
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If to the Stockholder:
Stockholder (whose name is set forth on the signature page hereto)
0000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile: | (000) 000-0000 |
With a copy to (which does not constitute notice):
Trident Resources Corp.
0000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Attention: | General Counsel | |
Facsimile: | (000) 000-0000 |
Section 4.3 Amendments; Waivers. Any provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived if, and only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and signed (i) in the case of an amendment, by ATLS and the Stockholder, and (ii) in the case of a waiver, by the party (or parties) against whom the waiver is to be effective. No failure or delay by any party in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege.
Section 4.4 Assignment. Subject to Section 1.3, no party to this Agreement may assign any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement, including by sale of stock, operation of law in connection with a merger or sale of substantially all the assets, without the prior written consent of the other party hereto.
Section 4.5 No Ownership Interest. Except as specifically provided herein, all rights, ownership and economic benefits of and relating to the Stockholder’s Securities shall remain vested in and belong to such Stockholder. Nothing in this Agreement shall be interpreted as creating or forming a “group” with any other Person, including ATLS, for purposes of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) of the Exchange Act or any other similar provision of applicable Law.
Section 4.6 No Partnership, Agency, or Joint Venture. This Agreement is intended to create, and creates, a contractual relationship and is not intended to create, and does not create, any agency, partnership, joint venture or any like relationship between the parties hereto.
Section 4.7 Entire Agreement. This Agreement (including Exhibit A hereto) together with the Merger Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the matters therein and supersede all prior agreements and understandings on such matters.
Section 4.8 No Third-Party Beneficiaries. Subject to Section 4.4, the provisions of this Agreement are binding upon, inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns, and no provision of this Agreement is intended to confer any rights, benefits, remedies, obligations or liabilities hereunder upon any Person other than the parties hereto and their respective successors.
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Section 4.9 Jurisdiction; Specific Performance.
(a) Each of the parties irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding with respect to this Agreement and the rights and obligations arising hereunder shall be brought and determined exclusively in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware or, if jurisdiction is vested exclusively in the Federal courts of the United States, the Federal courts of the United States sitting in the State of Delaware, and any appellate court from any such state or Federal court, and hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agree that all claims with respect to any such claim shall be heard and determined in such Delaware court or in such Federal court, as applicable. The parties agree that a final judgment in any such claim is conclusive and may be enforced in any other jurisdiction by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Each of the parties irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any related matter in any Delaware state or Federal court located in the State of Delaware and the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such claim in any such court.
(b) The parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur and that the parties hereto would not have any adequate remedy at law in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached and it is accordingly agreed that, to the fullest extent permitted by Law, the parties hereto shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement, in each case, in accordance with this Section 4.9 in the Delaware Court of Chancery or any state or federal court sitting in the State of Delaware, this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity. To the fullest extent permitted by Law, each of the parties hereto agrees that it will not oppose the granting of an injunction, specific performance and other equitable relief as provided herein on the basis that (x) any party hereto has an adequate remedy at law or (y) an award of specific performance is not an appropriate remedy for any reason at law or equity. Each party hereto further agrees that no other party hereto shall be required to obtain, furnish or post any bond or similar instrument in connection with or as a condition to obtaining any remedy referred to in this Section 4.9(b), and each party hereto irrevocably waives any right it may have to require the obtaining, furnishing or posting of any such bond or similar instrument.
Section 4.10 Waiver of Jury Trial. TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW THAT CANNOT BE WAIVED, EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES AND COVENANTS THAT IT WILL NOT ASSERT (WHETHER AS PLAINTIFF, DEFENDANT OR OTHERWISE) ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY FORUM IN RESPECT OF ANY ISSUE, CLAIM, DEMAND, ACTION OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING IN WHOLE OR IN PART UNDER, RELATED TO, BASED ON, OR IN CONNECTION WITH, THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF, WHETHER NOW EXISTING OR HEREAFTER ARISING AND WHETHER SOUNDING IN TORT OR CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE. ANY PARTY HERETO MAY FILE AN ORIGINAL COUNTERPART OR A COPY OF THIS SECTION 4.10 WITH ANY COURT AS WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF THE CONSENT OF EACH SUCH PARTY TO THE WAIVER OF ITS RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.
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Section 4.11 Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any conflicts of law principles that would result in the application of any Law other than the Law of the State of Delaware
Section 4.12 Interpretation. Unless expressly provided for elsewhere in this Agreement, this Agreement will be interpreted in accordance with the following provisions: (a) the words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereby,” “hereunder,” “hereof,” and other equivalent words refer to this Agreement as an entirety and not solely to the particular portion, article, section, subsection or other subdivision of this Agreement in which any such word is used; (b) examples are not to be construed to limit, expressly or by implication, the matter they illustrate; (c) the word “including” and its derivatives means “including without limitation” and is a term of illustration and not of limitation; (d) all definitions set forth herein are deemed applicable whether the words defined are used herein in the singular or in the plural and correlative forms of defined terms have corresponding meanings; (e) the word “or” is not exclusive, and has the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase “and/or”; (f) a defined term has its defined meaning throughout this Agreement and each exhibit and schedule to this Agreement, regardless of whether it appears before or after the place where it is defined; (g) all references to prices, values or monetary amounts refer to United States dollars; (h) wherever used herein, any pronoun or pronouns will be deemed to include both the singular and plural and to cover all genders; (i) this Agreement has been jointly prepared by the parties, and this Agreement will not be construed against any Person as the principal draftsperson hereof or thereof and no consideration may be given to any fact or presumption that any party had a greater or lesser hand in drafting this Agreement; (j) the captions of the articles, sections or subsections appearing in this Agreement are inserted only as a matter of convenience and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section, or in any way affect this Agreement; (k) any references herein to a particular Section, Article or Exhibit means a Section or Article of, or an Exhibit to, this Agreement unless otherwise expressly stated herein; the Exhibit attached hereto is incorporated herein by reference and will be considered part of this Agreement; (l) unless otherwise specified herein, all accounting terms used herein will be interpreted, and all determinations with respect to accounting matters hereunder will be made, in accordance with GAAP, applied on a consistent basis; (m) all references to days mean calendar days unless otherwise provided; and (n) all references to time mean Houston, Texas time.
Section 4.13 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which is an original, and all of which, when taken together, constitute one Agreement. Delivery of an executed signature page of this Agreement by facsimile or other customary means of electronic transmission (e.g., “pdf”) will be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof.
Section 4.14 Severability. Any provision of this Agreement which is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction will, as to that jurisdiction, be ineffective only to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability, without affecting in any way the remaining provisions hereof in such jurisdiction or rendering that or any other provision of this Agreement invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any other jurisdiction.
[Signature Pages Follow]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed and delivered this Agreement as of the date and year first written above.
ATLS: | ||
ATLAS ENERGY, L.P. | ||
By: | Atlantis Energy GP LLC, its general partner | |
By: |
| |
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
STOCKHOLDER: | ||
| ||
Name: |
[Signature Page to Voting and Support Agreement]
EXHIBIT A
[—] Parent Shares
Exhibit A to Voting and Support Agreement