AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT
NO. 3 TO THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT
This
AMENDMENT NO. 3 (this “Amendment”)
to the
Rights Agreement (the “Rights
Agreement”)
dated
as of October 15, 1998, between Stone Energy Corporation, a Delaware corporation
(the “Company”),
and
Mellon Investor Services LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company, as rights
agent (the “Rights
Agent”),
as
amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto dated as of October 28, 2000, and as amended
by Amendment No. 2 thereto dated as of April 23, 2006, is between the Company
and the Rights Agent and is entered into as of June 22, 2006. Capitalized terms
used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to such terms in the Rights Agreement.
WHEREAS,
Section 29 of the Rights Agreement permits the Company to amend the Rights
Agreement in the manner provided therein at any time prior to the Distribution
Date, and there has not been a Distribution Date.
NOW,
THEREFORE, the Rights Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
Section
1. Amendments to Rights Agreement.
The
Rights Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
(a)
Notwithstanding any provision of the Rights Agreement to the contrary, none
of
the execution or the delivery of one or more of the EPL Merger Documents or
the
consummation of one or more of the EPL Merger Transactions shall cause or permit
the Rights to become exercisable, the Rights to become separated from the stock
certificates to which they are attached or any operative provision of the Rights
Agreement to apply to EPL, EPL Merger Sub or any Affiliate or Associate thereof
solely by reason of or in connection with the EPL Merger Documents or the EPL
Merger Transactions, including, without limitation, the designation of EPL,
EPL
Merger Sub or any Affiliate or Associate thereof as an Acquiring Person, the
occurrence of a Distribution Date or the occurrence of a Shares Acquisition
Date.
(b)
The
definition of “Acquiring Person” set forth in Section 1 of the Rights Agreement
is hereby amended to add the following sentence at the end thereof:
“In
addition, and notwithstanding anything in this Rights Agreement to the contrary,
none of EPL, EPL Merger Sub or any of their respective Affiliates or Associates
shall be deemed to be an Acquiring Person solely by virtue of (i) the
announcement of the EPL Merger, (ii) the acquisition of Common Shares of the
Company pursuant to the EPL Merger, (iii) the execution of the EPL Merger
Agreement or the EPL Voting Agreements or (iv) the consummation of the EPL
Merger or of the other transactions contemplated in the EPL Merger Agreement
or
the EPL Voting Agreements.”
(c)
The
definition of “Final Expiration Date” set forth in Section 1 of the Rights
Agreement is hereby amended and restated as follows:
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“Final
Expiration Date” shall mean the earlier of (i) immediately prior to the
Effective Time (as defined in the EPL Merger Agreement) and (ii) the Close
of
Business on September 30, 2008.
(d)
The
following definitions used in this Agreement are hereby added to Section 1
of
the Rights Agreement:
““EPL”
shall mean Energy Partners, Ltd., a Delaware corporation.”
““EPL
Merger” shall have the meaning set forth in the EPL Merger
Agreement.”
““EPL
Merger Agreement” shall mean the Agreement and Plan of Merger among the Company,
EPL and EPL Merger Sub dated [the
date hereof],
as such
agreement may be amended from time to time.”
““EPL
Merger Documents” shall mean the Merger Agreement and the Voting
Agreements.”
““EPL
Merger Transactions” shall mean the transactions contemplated under the EPL
Merger Documents.”
““EPL
Voting Agreements” shall mean each of (i) the Voting Agreement among the
Company, EPL and the EPL stockholders signatory thereto dated the date hereof,
and (ii) the Voting Agreement among the Company, EPL and the Company
stockholders signatory thereto dated the date hereof, as each such agreement
may
be amended from time to time.”
(e)
Section 3(a) of the Rights Agreement is amended to add the following sentence
at
the end thereof:
“Notwithstanding
anything in this Rights Agreement to the contrary, neither a Distribution Date
nor a Shares Acquisition Date shall be deemed to have occurred solely as the
result of (i) the announcement of the EPL Merger, (ii) the acquisition of Common
Shares of the Company pursuant to the EPL Merger, (iii) the execution of the
EPL
Merger Agreement or the EPL Voting Agreements or (iv) the consummation of the
EPL Merger or of the other transactions contemplated in the EPL Merger Agreement
or the EPL Voting Agreements.”
Section
2. Certification. This
Section 2 shall constitute a certificate from an appropriate officer of the
Company for purposes of Section 29 of the Rights Agreement, and the Company
and
the officer of the Company signing this Amendment below, on behalf of the
Company, (i) hereby certify that to their knowledge this Amendment is in
compliance with the terms of Section 29 of the Rights Agreement and (ii) request
and direct that the Rights Agent execute and deliver this Amendment, in
accordance with Section 29.
Section
3. Full Force and Effect.
Except as
expressly amended hereby, the Rights Agreement shall continue in full force
and
effect unamended and in accordance with the provisions thereof on the date
hereof.
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Section
4. Governing Law.
This
Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of
the
State of Delaware applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely
within such State; provided, however, that any provision regarding the rights,
duties and obligations of the Rights Agent shall be governed by and construed
in
accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made
and to be performed entirely within such State.
Section
5. Severability.
If any
term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Amendment is held by a court
of
competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable,
the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this
Amendment shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected,
impaired or invalidated.
Section
6. Counterparts.
This
Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall
be
deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the
same
instrument.
[Signature
Page Follows]
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IN
WITNESS
WHEREOF, the Company and the Rights Agent have caused this Amendment to be
duly
executed as of the day and year first above written.
STONE
ENERGY CORPORATION
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by:
/s/
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, III
Name:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, III
Title:
Senior Vice President, Secretary and
General Counsel
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MELLON
INVESTOR SERVICES LLC, as Rights
Agent
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by:
/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxx
Name:
Xxxxxx Xxxx
Title:
Client Relationship Executive
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