EXHIBIT 99.7
___________, 2002
EXCHANGE AGENT AGREEMENT
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The Bank of New York
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00 Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Corporate Trust Administration
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Jarden Corporation, a Delaware corporation formerly known as
Alltrista Corporation (the "Company"), is offering to exchange (the "Exchange
Offer") its 9-3/4% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2012 (the "New Securities"),
which have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"), pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No.
333-________) for an equal principal amount of the Company's outstanding 9-3/4%
Senior Subordinated Notes due 2012 (the "Old Securities"), which were issued in
a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act. The terms and
conditions of the Exchange Offer as currently contemplated are set forth in a
prospectus included in the Registration Statement (the "Prospectus"). The Old
Securities and the New Securities are collectively referred to herein as the
"Securities."
The Company hereby appoints The Bank of New York to act as
exchange agent (the "Exchange Agent") in connection with the Exchange Offer.
References hereinafter to "you" shall refer to The Bank of New York.
The Exchange Offer is expected to be commenced by the Company
on or about _____________. The Letter of Transmittal accompanying the Prospectus
(or in the case of book-entry securities, the Automated Tender Offer Program
("ATOP") of the Book-Entry Transfer Facility (as defined below)) is to be used
by the holders of the Old Securities to accept the Exchange Offer and contains
instructions with respect to the delivery of certificates for Old Securities
tendered in connection therewith.
The Exchange Offer shall expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on _________ or on such subsequent date or time to which the Company may
extend the Exchange Offer (the "Expiration Date"). Subject to the terms and
conditions set forth in the Prospectus, the Company expressly reserves the right
to extend the Exchange Offer from time to time and may extend the Exchange Offer
by giving oral (promptly confirmed in writing) or written notice to you before
9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the business day following the previously
scheduled Expiration Date.
The Company expressly reserves the right to extend or
terminate the Exchange Offer, and not to accept for exchange any Old Securities,
upon the occurrence of any of the conditions of the Exchange Offer specified in
the Prospectus under the caption "The Exchange Offer - Conditions." The Company
will give oral (promptly confirmed in writing) or written notice of any
extension, termination or nonacceptance to you as promptly as practicable.
In carrying out your duties as Exchange Agent, you are to act
in accordance with the following instructions:
1. You will perform such duties and only such duties as are
specifically set forth in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The Exchange
Offer" or as specifically set forth herein; provided, however, that in no way
will your general duty to act in good faith be discharged by the foregoing.
2. You will establish a book-entry account with respect to the
Old Securities at The Depository Trust Company (the "Book-Entry Transfer
Facility") for purposes of the Exchange Offer within two business days after the
date of the Prospectus, and any financial institution that is a participant in
the Book-Entry Transfer Facility's systems may make book-entry delivery of the
Old Securities by causing the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to transfer such Old
Securities into your account in accordance with the Book-Entry Transfer
Facility's procedure for such transfer. In every case, however, a Letter of
Transmittal (or a manually executed facsimile thereof), or an Agent's Message,
properly completed and duly executed with any required signature guarantees and
any other required documents must be transmitted to and received by you prior to
the Expiration Date or the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the
Prospectus must be complied with. The term "Agent's Message" means a message
transmitted by a participant of the Book Entry Transfer Facility to and received
by The Depository Trust Company and forming a part of a confirmation for book
entry transfer, which states that such Book Entry Transfer Facility has received
an express acknowledgment from the participant in such Book Entry Transfer
Facility tendering the Old Securities that such participant has received and
agrees to be bound by the terms of the Letter of Transmittal and that the
Company may enforce such agreement against such participant
3. You are to examine each of the Letters of Transmittal and
certificates for Old Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer into
your account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility) and any other documents
delivered or mailed to you by or for holders of the Old Securities to ascertain
whether: (i) the Letters of Transmittal and any such other documents are duly
executed and properly completed in accordance with instructions set forth
therein; and (ii) the Old Securities have otherwise been properly tendered. In
each case where the Letter of Transmittal or any other document has been
improperly completed or executed or any of the certificates for Old Securities
are not in proper form for transfer or some other irregularity in connection
with the acceptance of the Exchange Offer exists, you will endeavor to inform
the presenters of the need for
fulfillment of all requirements and to take any other action as may be
reasonably necessary or advisable to cause such irregularity to be corrected and
to the appropriate means of resolving the same.
4. Determination of questions as to the proper completion or
execution of the Letters of Transmittal, or as to the proper form for transfer
of the Old Securities or as to any other irregularity in connection with the
submission of Letters of Transmittal and/or Old Securities and other documents
in connection with the Exchange Offer, shall be made by the Officers (as defined
below) of, or counsel for, the Company at their written instructions or oral
direction confirmed by facsimile. Any determination made by the Company on such
questions shall be final and binding. With the approval of the Chief Executive
Officer, Chief financial Officer, President, any Vice President or Secretary of
the Company (such approval, if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in
writing) or any other party designated in writing, by such an officer
(collectively the "Officers"), you are authorized to waive any irregularities in
connection with any tender of Old Securities pursuant to the Exchange Offer.
5. Tenders of Old Securities may be made only as set forth in
the Letter of Transmittal and in the section of the Prospectus captioned "The
Exchange Offer -- Procedures for Tendering", and Old Securities shall be
considered properly tendered to you only when tendered in accordance with the
procedures set forth therein.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5, Old
Securities which the Officers of the Company shall approve as having been
properly tendered shall be considered to be properly tendered (such approval, if
given orally, shall be promptly confirmed in writing).
6. You shall advise the Company with respect to any Old
Securities received subsequent to the Expiration Date and accept its
instructions with respect to disposition of such Old Securities.
7. You shall accept tenders:
(a) in cases where the Old Securities are registered in two
or more names only if signed by all named holders;
(b) in cases where the signing person (as indicated on the
Letter of Transmittal) is acting in a fiduciary or a representative capacity
only when proper evidence of his or her authority so to act is submitted; and
(c) from persons other than the registered holder of Old
Securities, provided that customary transfer requirements, including payment of
any applicable transfer taxes, are fulfilled.
You shall accept partial tenders of Old Securities where so
indicated and as permitted in the Letter of Transmittal and deliver certificates
for Old Securities to the registrar for split-up and return any untendered Old
Securities to the holder (or such other person as may be designated in the
Letter of Transmittal) as promptly as practicable after expiration or
termination of the Exchange Offer.
8. Upon satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions to the
Exchange Offer, the Company will notify you (such notice, if given orally, to be
promptly confirmed in writing) of its acceptance, promptly after the Expiration
Date, of all Old Securities properly tendered and you, on behalf of the Company,
will exchange such Old Securities for New Securities and cause such Old
Securities to be cancelled. Delivery of New Securities will be made on behalf of
the Company by you at the rate of $1,000 principal amount of New Securities for
each $1,000 principal amount of the corresponding series of Old Securities
tendered promptly after notice (such notice if given orally, to be promptly
confirmed in writing) of acceptance of said Old Securities by the Company;
provided, however, that in all cases, Old Securities tendered pursuant to the
Exchange Offer will be exchanged only after timely receipt by you of
certificates for such Old Securities (or confirmation of book-entry transfer
into your account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility), a properly completed and
duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or manually signed facsimile thereof) with
any required signature guarantees and any other required documents. You shall
issue New Securities only in denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple
thereof.
9. Tenders pursuant to the Exchange Offer are irrevocable,
except that, subject to the terms and upon the conditions set forth in the
Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal, Old Securities tendered pursuant to
the Exchange Offer may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date.
10. The Company shall not be required to exchange any Old
Securities tendered if any of the conditions set forth in the Exchange Offer are
not met. Notice of any decision by the Company not to exchange any Old
Securities tendered shall be given (if given orally, to be promptly confirmed in
writing) by the Company to you.
11. If, pursuant to the Exchange Offer, the Company does not
accept for exchange all or part of the Old Securities tendered because of an
invalid tender, the occurrence of certain other events set forth in the
Prospectus under the caption "The Exchange Offer - Conditions" or otherwise, you
shall as soon as practicable after the expiration or termination of the Exchange
Offer return those certificates for unaccepted Old Securities (or effect
appropriate book-entry transfer), together with any related required documents
and the Letters of Transmittal relating thereto that are in your possession, to
the persons who deposited them.
12. All certificates for reissued Old Securities, unaccepted
Old Securities or for New Securities shall be forwarded by first-class mail.
13. You are not authorized to pay or offer to pay any
concessions, commissions or solicitation fees to any broker, dealer, bank or
other persons or to engage or utilize any person to solicit tenders.
14. As Exchange Agent hereunder you:
(a) shall not be liable for any action or omission to act
unless the same constitutes your own gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad
faith, and in no event shall you be liable to a [securityholder,] the Company or
any third party for special, indirect or consequential damages, or lost profits,
arising in connection with this Agreement.
(b) shall have no duties or obligations other than those
specifically set forth herein or as may be subsequently agreed to in writing
between you and the Company;
(c) will be regarded as making no representations and
having no responsibilities as to the validity, sufficiency, value or genuineness
of any of the certificates or the Old Securities represented thereby deposited
with you pursuant to the Exchange Offer, and will not be required to and will
make no representation as to the validity, value or genuineness of the Exchange
Offer;
(d) shall not be obligated to take any legal action
hereunder which might in your judgment involve any expense or liability, unless
you shall have been furnished with indemnity satisfactory to you;
(e) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in
acting in reliance upon any certificate, instrument, opinion, notice, letter,
telegram or other document or security delivered to you and reasonably believed
by you to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person
or persons;
(f) may act upon any tender, statement, request, document,
agreement, certificate or other instrument whatsoever not only as to its due
execution and validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the
truth and accuracy of any information contained therein, which you shall in good
faith believe to be genuine or to have been signed or presented by the proper
person or persons;
(g) may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in
acting upon written or oral instructions from any authorized officer of the
Company;
(h) may consult with counsel of your selection with respect
to any questions relating to your duties and responsibilities and the advice or
opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection
in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by you hereunder
in good faith and in accordance with the advice or opinion of such counsel; and
(i) shall not advise any person tendering Old Securities
pursuant to the Exchange Offer as to the wisdom of making such tender or as to
the market value or decline or appreciation in market value of any Old
Securities.
15. You shall take such action as may from time to time be
requested by the Company (and such other action as you may deem appropriate) to
furnish copies of the Prospectus, Letter of Transmittal and the Notice of
Guaranteed Delivery (as defined in the Prospectus) or such other forms as may be
approved from time to time by the Company, to all persons requesting such
documents and to accept and comply with telephone requests for information
relating to the Exchange Offer, provided that such information shall relate only
to the procedures for accepting (or withdrawing from) the Exchange Offer. The
Company will furnish you with copies of such documents on your request. You are
to mail the Prospectus and the Tender Documents to all of the holders of Old
Securities and participants on the day that you are notified by the Company that
the Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, or as soon as practicable thereafter, and to make subsequent
mailings thereof to any persons who become holders of Old Securities prior to
the Expiration Date and to any persons as may from time to time be requested by
the Company. The term "Tender Documents" means the Letter of Transmittal, Notice
of Guaranteed Delivery, the form of letter to brokers and the form of letter to
clients to be used by holders of Old Securities in order to receive New
Securities pursuant to the Exchange Offer. All mailings pursuant to this Section
1 shall be by first-class mail, postage prepaid, unless otherwise specified by
the Company. All other requests for information relating to the Exchange Offer
shall be directed to the Company, Attention: Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxx.
16. You shall advise by facsimile transmission _____, the
_____ of the Company (at the facsimile number _____), and such other person or
persons as the Company may request, daily (and more frequently during the week
immediately preceding the Expiration Date if requested) up to and including the
Expiration Date, as to the number of Old Securities which have been tendered
pursuant to the Exchange Offer and the items received by you pursuant to this
Agreement, separately reporting and giving cumulative totals as to items
properly received and items improperly received. In addition, you will also
inform, and cooperate in making available to, the Company or any such other
person or persons upon oral request made from time to time prior to the
Expiration Date of such other information as they may reasonably request. Such
cooperation shall include, without limitation, the granting by you to the
Company and such person as the Company may request of access to those persons on
your staff who are responsible for receiving tenders, in order to ensure that
immediately prior to the Expiration Date the Company shall have received
information in sufficient detail to enable it to decide whether to extend the
Exchange Offer. You shall prepare a final list of all persons whose tenders were
accepted, the aggregate principal amount of Old Securities tendered, the
aggregate principal amount of Old Securities accepted and deliver said list to
the Company.
17. Letters of Transmittal and Notices of Guaranteed Delivery
shall be stamped by you as to the date and, after the expiration of the Exchange
Offer, the time, of receipt thereof and shall be preserved by you for a period
of time at least equal to the period of time you preserve other records
pertaining to the transfer of securities. You shall dispose of unused Letters of
Transmittal and other surplus materials by returning them to the Company.
18. For services rendered as Exchange Agent hereunder, the
Company shall pay you a fee of $7,500 plus $1,000 for each extension and
reasonable legal fees and expenses of its outside counsel. The provisions of
this section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
19. You hereby acknowledge receipt of the Prospectus and the
Letter of Transmittal. Any inconsistency between this Agreement, on the one
hand, and the Prospectus and the Letter of Transmittal (as they may be amended
from time to time), on the other hand, shall be resolved in favor of the latter
two documents, except with respect to your duties, liabilities and
indemnification as Exchange Agent.
20. The Company covenants and agrees to fully indemnify and
hold you harmless against any and all loss, liability, cost or expense,
including reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses, incurred without gross
negligence or willful misconduct on your part, arising out of or in connection
with any act, omission, delay or refusal made by you in reliance upon any
signature, endorsement, assignment, certificate, order, request, notice,
instruction or other instrument or document believed by you to be valid, genuine
and sufficient and in accepting any tender or effecting any transfer of Old
Securities believed by you in good faith to be authorized, and in delaying or
refusing in good faith to accept any tenders or effect any transfer of Old
Securities. In each case, the Company shall be notified by you, by letter or
facsimile transmission, of the written assertion of a claim against you or of
any other action commenced against you, promptly after you shall have received
any such written assertion or shall have been served with a summons in
connection therewith. The Company shall be entitled to participate at its own
expense in the defense of any such claim or other action and, if the Company so
elects, the Company shall assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any
such claim. In the event that the Company shall assume the defense of any such
suit, the Company shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel thereafter retained by you, so long as the Company shall
retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to you to defend such suit, and so long
as you have not determined, in your reasonable judgment, that a conflict of
interest exists between you and the Company. The provisions of this section
shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
21. You shall arrange to comply with all requirements under
the tax laws of the United States, including those relating to missing Tax
Identification Numbers, and shall file any appropriate reports with the Internal
Revenue Service.
22. You shall deliver or cause to be delivered, in a timely
manner to each governmental authority to which any transfer taxes are payable in
respect of the exchange of Old Securities, the Company's check in the amount of
all transfer taxes so payable; provided, however, that you shall reimburse the
Company for amounts refunded to you in respect of your payment of any such
transfer taxes, at such time as such refund is received by you.
23. This Agreement and your appointment as Exchange Agent
hereunder shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the
State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely
within such state, and without regard to conflicts of law principles, and shall
inure to the benefit of, and the obligations created hereby shall be binding
upon, the successors and assigns of each of the parties hereto. No other person
shall acquire or have any rights under or by virtue of this Agreement.
24. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which
together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
25. In case any provision of this Agreement shall be invalid,
illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
26. This Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be
modified, amended, rescinded, cancelled or waived, in whole or in part, except
by a written instrument signed by a duly authorized representative of the party
to be charged. This Agreement may not be modified orally.
27. Unless otherwise provided herein, all notices, requests
and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including
facsimile or similar writing) and shall be given to such party, addressed to it,
at its address or telecopy number set forth below:
If to the Company:
---------------------------
000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: 000-000-0000
Attention: Xx. Xxx Xxxxxx
If to the Exchange Agent:
The Bank of New York
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx 00 Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Facsimile: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Corporate Trust
Administration
28. Unless terminated earlier by the parties hereto, this
Agreement shall terminate 90 days following the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, Sections 18 and 20 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement. Upon any termination of this Agreement, you shall promptly deliver to
the Company any certificates for Old Securities or New Securities, funds or
property then held by you as Exchange Agent under this Agreement.
29. This Agreement shall be binding and effective as of the
date hereof.
Please acknowledge receipt of this Agreement and confirm the
arrangements herein provided by signing and returning the enclosed copy.
Jarden Corporation
By:
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Name:
Title:
Accepted as of the date
first above written:
THE BANK OF NEW YORK, as Exchange Agent
By:
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Name:
Title:
