6681859 CANADA INC. - and - ALLIANCE ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC. ARRANGEMENT AGREEMENT JANUARY 10,2007
6681859
CANADA INC.
-
and -
ALLIANCE
ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC.
JANUARY
10,2007
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Page
INTERPRETATION
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2
|
|
1.1
|
Definitions
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2
|
1.2
|
Interpretation
Not Affected by Headings, etc.
|
13
|
1.3
|
Currency
|
13
|
1.4
|
Number,
etc.
|
13
|
1.5
|
Statutory
References
|
14
|
1.6
|
Date
for Any Action
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14
|
1.7
|
Prior
Written Notices
|
14
|
1.8
|
Schedules
|
14
|
ARTICLE
2
THE
ARRANGEMENT
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15
|
|
2.1
|
Implementation
Steps by the Corporation
|
15
|
2.2
|
Interim
Order
|
15
|
2.3
|
The
Arrangement
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16
|
2.4
|
Circular
|
16
|
2.5
|
Deposit
of Funds by Acquireco
|
16
|
2.6
|
Preparation
of Filings
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16
|
2.7
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Dissenting
Shareholders
|
18
|
2.8
|
Holdco
Alternative
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18
|
ARTICLE
3
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
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19
|
|
3.1
|
Representations
and Warranties of the Corporation
|
19
|
3.2
|
Representations
and Warranties of Acquireco
|
28
|
3.3
|
Investigation
|
29
|
3.4
|
Survival
|
29
|
ARTICLE
4
REGULATORY
APPROVALS
|
29
|
|
4.1
|
Applications
|
29
|
4.2
|
Competition
Approval
|
30
|
ARTICLE
5
COVENANTS
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30
|
|
5.1
|
Covenants
of the Corporation
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30
|
5.2
|
Covenants
of Acquireco
|
39
|
5.3
|
Covenants
Regarding Non-Solicitation
|
40
|
5.4
|
Notice
by the Corporation of Superior Proposal Determination
|
40
|
5.5
|
Closing
Matters
|
40
|
5.6
|
Cooperation
regarding Reorganization
|
40
|
i
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
(continued)
Page
ARTICLE
6
CONDITIONS
|
40
|
|
6.1
|
Mutual
Conditions Precedent
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40
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6.2
|
Additional
Conditions Precedent to the Obligations of Acquireco
|
41
|
6.3
|
Additional
Conditions Precedent to the Obligations of the Corporation
|
42
|
6.4
|
Notice
and Cure Provisions
|
42
|
6.5
|
Satisfaction
of Conditions
|
43
|
ARTICLE
7
TERMINATION,
AMENDMENT AND WAIVER
|
43
|
|
7.1
|
Termination
|
43
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7.2
|
Effect
of Termination
|
44
|
7.3
|
Expenses
|
45
|
7.4
|
Acquireco
Termination Payment
|
45
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7.5
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Amendment
|
45
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7.6
|
Waiver
|
45
|
ARTICLE
8
GENERAL
|
|
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8.1
|
Notices
|
|
8.2
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Assignment
|
48
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8.3
|
Binding
Effect
|
48
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8.4
|
No
Other Warranties
|
48
|
8.5
|
Separate
Warranties
|
48
|
8.6
|
Entire
Agreement
|
48
|
8.7
|
Remedies
and Waivers
|
48
|
8.8
|
No
Personal Liability
|
48
|
8.9
|
Control
of Other Party’s Business
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48
|
8.10
|
Indemnification
|
48
|
8.11
|
Further
Assurances
|
49
|
8.12
|
Public
Statements
|
49
|
8.13
|
Governing
Law
|
49
|
8.14
|
Invalidity
of Provisions
|
49
|
8.15
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Counterparts
|
49
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EXHIBIT
1 FORM OF PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT 51
SCHEDULE
1.1(A) CRTC REGULATED COMPANIES 57
SCHEDULE
5.1(K) ERISA COMPLIANCE COMPANIES 58
ii
THIS
AGREEMENT is made as of January 10, 2007
BETWEEN:
6681859
CANADA INC., a corporation existing under the laws of Canada
(hereinafter referred to as “Acquireco”)
-
and
-
ALLIANCE
ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC., a corporation existing under the laws of
Canada (hereinafter referred to as the
“Corporation”).
WHEREAS
Acquireco wishes to acquire all of the Shares on a fully diluted
basis;
WHEREAS
SHS and Sumac have entered into the Voting Agreements;
WHEREAS
the Corporation has agreed to propose an Arrangement involving Acquireco and
the
Corporation;
WHEREAS
the Arrangement will be on the terms and conditions set forth in the Plan of
Arrangement attached hereto as Exhibit 1 as it may be amended in accordance
with
the terms of this Agreement;
WHEREAS
the Board of Directors of the Corporation has determined that the consideration
offered under the Arrangement for each Share is fair from a financial point
of
view to the Shareholders, and that it is in the best interests of the
Corporation for it to enter into this Agreement, to take all reasonable actions
to support and implement the Arrangement, and consequently, the Board of
Directors recommends that the Shareholders vote in favour of the Special
Resolution (as defined below);
WHEREAS,
simultaneous with the execution and delivery hereof, CanWest MediaWorks Inc.,
a
corporation existing under the laws of Manitoba (“CanWest”), is
executing and delivering a guarantee dated the date hereof (the “CanWest
Guarantee”) in favor of the Corporation pursuant to which CanWest is
guaranteeing certain of Acquireco’s obligations under this Agreement;
and
WHEREAS,
simultaneous with the execution and delivery hereof, GS Capital Partners VI,
L.P., a Delaware Limited Partnership (“GSCP”), GS Capital
Partners VI Offshore, L.P., a Cayman Limited Partnership
(“GSCPO”) and GS Capital Partners VI GmbH & CO. KG, a
German Limited Partnership (“GSCPG” and, together with GSCP and
GSCPO, the “GS Guarantors”, and the GS Guarantors and CanWest
referred to collectively as the “Guarantors”), are executing
and delivering a guarantee dated the date hereof (the “GSCP
Guarantee” and, together with the CanWest Guarantee, the
“Guarantees”) in favor of the
1
Corporation
pursuant to which the GS Guarantors are guaranteeing certain of Acquireco’s
obligations under this Agreement.
NOW
THEREFORE THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSES THAT in consideration of the
respective covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto
covenant and agree as follows:
ARTICLE
1
INTERPRETATION
1.1
|
Definitions
|
In
this
Agreement, unless there is something in the subject matter or context
inconsistent therewith, the following terms shall have the following meanings,
respectively:
“Acquireco
Disclosure Letter” means that certain letter dated as of the date
hereof and delivered by Acquireco to the Corporation concurrently with the
execution and delivery of this Agreement and signed by Acquireco and the
Corporation;
“Acquireco
Termination Payment” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Acquisition
Proposal” means any merger, amalgamation, take-over bid, tender offer,
arrangement, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution or share exchange
involving the Corporation or any subsidiary, any sale of assets (including
shares of subsidiaries or rights or interests therein or thereto) of the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries representing 20% or more of the
consolidated assets or contributing 20% or more of the consolidated revenue
of
the Corporation and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (or any lease, long
term
supply agreement or other arrangement having the same economic effect), any
sale
of more than 20% of any class of equity securities of the Corporation (or rights
or interests therein or thereto), or similar transactions involving the
Corporation or any subsidiaries of the Corporation having the same economic
effect, or a proposal or offer, or public announcement of an intention, to
do
any of the foregoing, directly or indirectly, or any modification or proposed
modification of any of the foregoing, excluding however, the Arrangement, the
Contemplated Transactions, or any transaction to which the Guarantors or
Acquireco are a party;
“Acquisition
Proposal Assessment Period” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section
0;
“affiliate”
means, in respect of any Person, another Person if:
|
(a)
|
one
of them is the subsidiary of the other;
or
|
|
(b)
|
each
of them is Controlled by the same
Person;
|
“Alternative
Debt Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section
5.2(a)(vii)(B);
“Arm’s
Length” has the meaning attributed thereto under the Tax
Act;
2
“Arrangement”
means an arrangement involving Acquireco and the Corporation pursuant to the
provisions of section 192 of the CBCA on the terms and subject to the conditions
set out in the Plan of Arrangement;
“Articles
of Arrangement” means the articles of arrangement of the Corporation in
respect of the Arrangement to be filed by the Corporation with the Director
on
the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to Acquireco and the
Corporation, acting reasonably;
“Board”
or “Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the
Corporation;
“Books
and Records” means all books and records of the Corporation and its
subsidiaries, including financial, personnel, corporate, operations and sales
books, books of account, sales and purchase records, lists of suppliers and
customers, formulae, business reports, plans and projections and all other
documents, surveys, plans, files, records, correspondence, and other data and
information, financial or otherwise including all data and information stored
on
computer-related or other electronic media;
“Bridge
Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Broadcasting
Legislation” means the Broadcasting Act (Canada), the
Radiocommunication Act (Canada) and all orders, decisions, notices,
policies, circulars and binding guidelines issued thereunder or pursuant thereto
as now in effect and as they may be amended from time to time prior to the
Effective Date;
“Business
Day” means any day on which commercial banks are open for business in
Toronto, Ontario other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day observed as a holiday
in Toronto, Ontario under the Laws of the Province of Ontario or the federal
Laws of Canada;
“Canadian
GAAP” has the meaning ascribed thereto in 0;
“CanWest”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this Agreement;
“CanWest
Guarantee” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this
Agreement;
“Cash
Amount” means $53.00 in cash per Share;
“CBCA”
means the Canada Business Corporations Act as now in effect and as it
may be amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Circular”
means the notice of the Meeting and accompanying management information
circular, including all schedules thereto, to be sent to Shareholders in
connection with the Meeting;
“Class
A Shareholder” means a registered holder of Class A
Shares;
“Class
A Shares” means the Class A Voting Shares in the capital of the
Corporation;
“Class
B Shareholder” means a registered holder of Class B
Shares;
“Class
B Shares” means the Class B Non-Voting Shares in the capital of the
Corporation;
3
“Closing
Date” shall be (i) the first Business Day following the earliest of (a)
any Business Day during the Marketing Period as may be specified by Acquireco
on
no less than three Business Days’ prior notice to the Corporation, (b) the final
day of the Marketing Period or (c) the date following commencement of the
Marketing Period that is three Business Days following the date the Debt
Financing is obtained or (ii) on such other date as Acquireco and the
Corporation may agree; provided that, in each case, each of the conditions
set
forth in Article 6 hereof shall have been satisfied or waived on or by the
Closing Date;
“Commissioner”
means the Commissioner of Competition appointed pursuant to the Competition
Act;
“Compensation
Plans” means the Corporation’s Amended and Restated 1993 Employee Stock
Option Plan, the Corporation’s 1998 Share Compensation Plan, as amended, the
Corporation’s April 1, 2003 Performance Share Appreciation Plan, as amended, the
Corporation’s March 14, 2006 Restricted Share Unit Plan, and the Corporation’s
May 31, 1999 Deferred Share Unit Plan, the Motion Picture Distribution LP
(“MPDLP”) March 14, 2005 Alliance Atlantis Capital Pool Plan,
as amended, the XXXXX Xxxxx 0, 0000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx Equity Bonus Pool Plan,
as
amended, the MPDLP March 4, 2005 Alliance Atlantis Consideration Pool Plan,
as
amended, and the MPDLP Joint Long-Term Incentive Plans (amended and restated
effective September 1, 2006);
“Competition
Act” means the Competition Act (Canada), as now in effect and
as it may be amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Competition
Act Clearance” means the occurrence of either of the
following:
|
(a)
|
the
issuance of an advance ruling certificate (“ARC”) by the
Commissioner under section 102(1) of the Competition Act, in form
and
substance satisfactory to Acquireco acting reasonably, to the effect
that
the Commissioner is satisfied that the Commissioner would not have
sufficient grounds upon which to apply to the Competition Tribunal
for an
order under section 92 of the Competition Act with respect to the
completion of the Arrangement and which ARC shall remain in force,
unamended, at the Effective Date;
or
|
|
(b)
|
the
applicable waiting period under section 123 of the Competition Act
shall
have expired or been earlier terminated or waived and the Commissioner
shall have advised Acquireco in writing (which advice will not have
been
rescinded at the Effective Date) that the Commissioner is of the
view that
there are not sufficient grounds to initiate proceedings before the
Competition Tribunal under the merger provisions of the Competition
Act in
respect of the completion of the Arrangement and such written
communication does not contain any conditions, restrictions or
requirements (other than the normal caveat that such proceedings
may be
initiated at any time up to three years after the transactions have
been
substantially completed) that are not satisfactory to Acquireco acting
reasonably;
|
“Competition
Authorities” means the Commissioner, the United States Department of
Justice and the United States Federal Trade Commission and comparable officials
in other relevant jurisdictions;
4
“Competition
Laws” means the Competition Act and the HSR Act and similar Laws of
other relevant jurisdictions;
“Competition
Tribunal” means the Competition Tribunal established under the
Competition Tribunal Act (Canada), as now in effect and as it may be
amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Confidentiality
Agreements” means, together, the confidentiality agreement dated
December 17, 2006 between the Corporation and CanWest, as amended by letter
dated December 22, 2006 and as further amended by letter dated January 1, 2007,
and the Confidentiality Agreement dated December 16, 2006 between the
Corporation and GS, as amended by letter dated December 23, 2006 and as further
amended by letter dated January 1, 2007;
“Confidential
Material Contracts” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Contemplated
Transactions” means the transactions listed in the Acquireco Disclosure
Letter;
“Control”
means, when applied to a relationship between two Persons, that a Person (the
“first Person”) is considered to control another Person (the
“second Person”) if:
|
(a)
|
the
first Person, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns or exercises
control or direction over securities of the second Person carrying
votes
which, if exercised, would entitle the first Person to elect a majority
of
the directors of the second Person, unless that first Person holds
the
voting securities only to secure an
obligation;
|
|
(b)
|
the
second Person is a partnership, other than a limited partnership,
and the
first Person holds more than 50% of the interests of the partnership;
or
|
|
(c)
|
the
second Person is a limited partnership and the general partner of
the
limited partnership is the first
Person;
|
“Corporation
Expenses” means all of the Corporation’s actual out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated in this Agreement,
including in connection with preparing and negotiating this Agreement (including
regulatory filing fees and attorneys’, accountants’, investment bankers’,
experts’ and consultants’ fees and expenses), up to a limit of
$15,000,000;
“Corporation
Information” means (i) the documents made available to Acquireco or the
Guarantor Representatives on or before the date of this Agreement as described
in Schedule A of the Disclosure Letter and (ii) the Filed CSA
Documents;
“Corporation
Intellectual Property” means Intellectual Property, other than Licensed
Intellectual Property, that has been developed by or for, or is being developed
by or for, the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries or that is owned by the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, in each case that is material to the
conduct of the business of the Corporation and its subsidiaries, on a
consolidated basis, as currently conducted;
“Corporation’s
Documents” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
5
“Court”
means the Ontario Superior Court of Justice;
“CRTC”
means the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission;
“CRTC
Approval” means the approval by the CRTC of (a) the Trust Arrangements
and (b) the reorganization of the CRTC Regulated Companies as described in
sections 8 and 16 through 20 of the Acquireco Disclosure Letter;
“CRTCRegulated
Companies” means those corporations and partnerships listed on Schedule
1.1(a);
“CSAs”
means the Canadian Securities Administrators;
“Debt
Commitment Letter” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Debt
Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Debt
Receipt Failure” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Depositary”
means Computershare Investor Services, Inc., as depositary, or such other
depositary as Acquireco and the Corporation may determine;
“Director”
means the Director appointed under section 260 of the CBCA;
“Disclosure
Letter” means that certain letter dated as of the date hereof and
delivered by the Corporation to Acquireco concurrently with the execution and
delivery of this Agreement and signed by the Corporation and
Acquireco;
“Dissent
Rights” means the rights of dissent in respect of the Arrangement
described in the Plan of Arrangement;
“Effective
Date” means the date upon which the Plan of Arrangement becomes
effective as established by the date of issue shown on the certificate of
arrangement issued by the Director under the CBCA;
“Effective
Time” means 12:01 a.m. (Toronto time) on the Effective
Date;
“Employee
Plans” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“ERISA”
means the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, as now in effect and as it may be amended from time to time prior to
the Effective Date;
“Exclusivity
Agreement” means the exclusivity agreement dated as of December 23,
2006 between the Corporation, SHS and the Guarantors, as amended;
“Fairness
Opinion” means an opinion of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. to the Board
of Directors that, as of the date of such opinion, the consideration under
the
Arrangement is fair from a financial point of view to the
Shareholders;
6
“Filed
CSA Documents” means any documents filed with the CSAs on or before
December 31, 2006, that are publicly disclosed under the profiles on the SEDAR
website for each of (i) the Corporation, (ii) Movie Distribution Income Fund
and
(iii) Score Media Inc.;
“Final
Order” means the order of the Court approving the Arrangement, as such
order may be amended at any time prior to the Effective Date or, if appealed,
then unless such appeal is withdrawn or denied, as affirmed;
“Financial
Statements” means the audited consolidated financial annual statements
of the Corporation as at and for the period ending December 31, 2005 and the
unaudited comparative consolidated interim financial statements as at and for
the period ending September 30, 2006, and the notes thereto, in each case in
the
form in which the Corporation filed them with the CSAs;
“Financing”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Financing
Agreements” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Funding
Commitment Letter” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Governmental
Entity” means any (i) multinational, federal, provincial, state,
regional, municipal, local or other government, governmental or public
department, central bank, court, tribunal (including the Competition Tribunal),
arbitral body, commission, board, bureau or agency, domestic or foreign,
including the Competition Authorities; (ii) any subdivision, agent, commission,
board or authority of any of the foregoing; or (iii) any quasi-governmental
or
private body exercising any regulatory, expropriation or taxing authority under
or for the account of any of the foregoing, including the Toronto Stock Exchange
or any other stock exchange;
“GS
Guarantors” means GSCP, GSCPO and GSCPG;
“GSCP”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this Agreement;
“GSCPG”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this Agreement;
“GSCPO”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this Agreement;
“GSCP
Guarantee” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this
Agreement;
“GuarantorExpenses”
means all of the Guarantors’ and Acquireco’s actual out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated in this Agreement,
including in connection with preparing and negotiating the Agreement and
carrying out its due diligence of the Corporation and its subsidiaries, and
their respective assets and liabilities (including in connection with each
of
the foregoing, regulatory filing fees and attorneys’, accountants’, investment
bankers’, experts’ and consultants’ fees and expenses), up to a limit of
$15,000,000;
“Guarantor
Representatives” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Guarantors”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the recitals to this Agreement;
“High
Yield Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
7
“Holdco
Agreement” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Holdco
Alternative” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Holdco
Election Date” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“HSR
Act” means the Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Antitrust Improvements Act of
1976 (U.S.), as now in effect and as it may be amended from time to time
prior to the Effective Date;
“HSR
Clearance” means expiration or earlier termination of the waiting
period under the HSR Act;
“Initial
Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Intellectual
Property” means any and all intellectual property and intellectual
property rights including patents, copyrights, Trade-marks, and industrial
designs (including registrations of and applications for all of the foregoing
in
any jurisdiction and renewals, divisions, extensions and reissues, where
applicable, relating thereto), trade secrets, confidential information,
technology and software;
“Inter-Affiliate
Transfer” means a transfer of shares or interest in a partnership or
assets of a Person which is a subsidiary of the Corporation to the Corporation
or another affiliate of the Corporation (other than an upstream affiliate of
the
Corporation), but specifically excluding the regulated assets of
AABI;
“Interim
Order” means the interim order of the Court in respect of the
Arrangement, as contemplated by section 0;
“Investment
Canada Act” means the Investment Canada Act (Canada) as now in
effect and as it may be amended from time to time prior to the Effective
Date;
“knowledge
of the Corporation” means the actual knowledge of Xxxxxxx XxxXxxxxx,
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx and Xxxxxx Xxxx;
“Laws”
means all laws, statutes, rules, regulations and by-laws, official directives,
orders, ordinances, judgments, promulgations and decrees,
and the terms and conditions of any grant of approval, permission, authority
or
licence, of any Governmental Entity or self-regulatory authority (including
the
Toronto Stock Exchange);
“Licensed
Intellectual Property” means the Intellectual Property owned by Persons
other than the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries and which the Corporation
or any of its subsidiaries uses, in each case, that is material to the conduct
of the business of the Corporation and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis
as currently conducted;
“Liens”
means any hypothecs, mortgages, liens, charges, security interests, encumbrances
and adverse claims;
“Marketing
Period” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section
5.2(a)(vii);
8
“Material
Adverse Change” or “Material Adverse Effect” means any
change, effect, event, development, occurrence or state of facts that is, or
would reasonably be expected to be, material and adverse to the business,
operations, results of operations, liabilities (including contingent
liabilities), obligations (whether absolute, accrued, conditional or otherwise)
capital, properties, assets or financial condition of the Corporation and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole or that would materially impair the Corporation’s
ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect,
other than any change, effect, event, development, occurrence or state of facts
relating to (i) any change in general economic conditions in Canada or the
United States or any change in Canadian or United States securities, financial,
banking or currency exchange markets; (ii) any change in the trading volume
or
market price of the Class A Shares or the Class B Shares primarily resulting
from a change, effect, event, development or occurrence excluded from the
definition of Material Adverse Change under clauses (i), (iii), (iv) or (v)
hereof; (iii) any change or development resulting from any act of terrorism
or
any outbreak of hostilities or war (or any escalation or worsening thereof)
or
any natural disaster; (iv) any change or development affecting the broadcasting,
entertainment and motion picture distribution industries generally or the
specific industries in which the Corporation and its subsidiaries operate;
or
(v) the announcement of the entering into of this Agreement, the Arrangement,
the Contemplated Transactions or the Debt Financing; provided, however, that
any
such change referred to in clause (i), (iii) or (iv) above
does not primarily relate only to (or have the effect of primarily relating
only
to) the Corporation and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or
disproportionately adversely affect the Corporation and its subsidiaries taken
as a whole, compared to other companies of similar size operating in the
industries in which the Corporation and its subsidiaries operate;
“Material
Contract” means any contract, agreement, commitment (other than any
employment agreement or Employee Plan) or licence (other than a licence issued
by the CRTC) that is material to the Corporation and its subsidiaries on a
consolidated basis relating to:
|
(i)
|
long-term
and bank indebtedness;
|
|
(ii)
|
co-ownership,
joint venture, partnership or other revenue-sharing
arrangements;
|
|
(iii)
|
program
supply, including any agreements with respect to Licensed Intellectual
Property;
|
|
(iv)
|
distribution
or carriage agreements;
|
|
(v)
|
shareholder
agreements, unanimous shareholder declarations or voting trust, pooling
or
transfer agreements;
|
|
(vi)
|
put
or call agreements relating to equity securities of the Corporation,
other
than where such agreement forms part of an Employee
Plan;
|
|
(vii)
|
Score
Media Inc.;
|
|
(viii)
|
non-competition
agreements or other agreements containing restrictions on the business
that may be carried on by the Corporation and its
subsidiaries;
|
9
|
(ix)
|
financial
risk management contracts, such as currency, commodity or interest
related
hedge contracts;
|
|
(x)
|
the
lease for the Corporation’s head office at 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxx;
and
|
|
(xi)
|
to
the extent not included in any of clauses (i) through (x) above,
any
contract outside the ordinary course of business of the Corporation
or its
Material Subsidiaries, as the case may
be;
|
“material
fact” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the Securities
Act;
“Material
Subsidiaries” means those subsidiaries of the Corporation the business
operations of which are material to the Corporation and its subsidiaries, on
a
consolidated basis, including those subsidiaries listed in section 0 of the Disclosure Letter;
“Meeting”
means the special meeting of Shareholders (including any adjournment or
postponement thereof) to be called and held in accordance with the Interim
Order
to consider and, if deemed advisable, approve the Special
Resolution;
“Offering
Documents” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Options”
means, collectively, the options granted to purchase Shares under the
Compensation Plans which are outstanding and unexercised on the date
hereof;
“OSC”
means the Ontario Securities Commission;
“Other
Competition Act Approvals” shall mean all required approvals under any
Competition Law to the Arrangement (other than, in the case of the Arrangement,
the HSR Clearance and Competition Act Clearance) and to the Contemplated
Transactions;
“Outside
Date” means June 30, 2007 or such later date as may be agreed in
writing between the parties subject to the right of: (a) either party
to postpone the Outside Date by one period of 30 days (and not more than one
period of 30 days in aggregate) if (A) the Competition Act Clearance or the
HSR
Clearance has not been obtained or waived, or (B) the condition in section
0 shall not have been satisfied; and (b) the right
of
Acquireco to postpone the Outside Date by one period of 30 days if the Required
Financial Information has not been provided to Acquireco by June 30, 2007,
in
any such case by giving written notice to the other party to such effect no
later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the date that is five days prior to
the
then current Outside Date provided that in no event can the Outside Date be
extended beyond July 30, 2007;
“Permits”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Person”
includes any individual, firm, partnership, limited partnership, joint venture,
syndicate, sole proprietorship, company or corporation with or without share
capital, unincorporated association, trust, trustee, executor, administrator
or
other legal personal representative, or other entity however designated or
constituted;
“Plan
of Arrangement” means, in relation to the Arrangement, the plan of
arrangement in the form of Exhibit 1 as it may be amended by any amendments
or
variations thereto made in accordance with the provisions hereof or made at
the
direction of the Court in the Final Order;
10
“Proceedings”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Purchase
Rights” means purchase rights granted under the Corporation’s 1998
Share Compensation Plan;
“Qualifying
Holdco” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Qualifying
Holdco Shareholders” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Receivables
Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Regulatory
Approvals” means, collectively, the Competition Act Clearance, the HSR
Clearance, the CRTC Approval and any other approvals of Competition Authorities
required in order to complete the Arrangement;
“Required
Financial Information” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Rule
144A” means Rule 144A under the US Securities Act;
“SEC”
means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
“Securities
Act” means the Securities Act (Ontario), as now in effect and
as it may be amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Shareholder”
means a registered holder of Shares;
“Shares”
means, collectively, the Class A Shares and the Class B Shares;
“SHS”
means Southhill Strategy Inc., a corporation existing under the laws of the
Province of Ontario;
“Special
Resolution” means the special resolution of the Shareholders approving
the Arrangement in accordance with the Interim Order;
“Specified
Person” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“subsidiary”
means a Person that is Controlled by another Person and includes a subsidiary
of
that Person;
“Sumac”
means Sumac Corporation Limited, a corporation existing under the laws of Nova
Scotia;
“Superior
Proposal” means a bona fide written Acquisition Proposal,
whether for consideration per Share payable wholly in cash, wholly in securities
or any combination of cash and securities, (i) to purchase or otherwise acquire,
directly or indirectly, by means of a merger, take-over bid, amalgamation,
plan
of arrangement, business combination or similar transaction, all of the Shares,
or all or substantially all of the assets of the Corporation and its
subsidiaries, and offering or making available to all Shareholders (with no
distinction between the classes) the same consideration in form and amount
per
Share to be purchased or otherwise acquired; (ii) for which financing is then
committed at least to the extent that the financing for the
transactions
11
contemplated
by this Agreement is committed at the date of this Agreement; (iii) that is
not
subject to any due diligence and/or access condition which would allow access
to
the Books and Records, personnel or properties of the Corporation or its
subsidiaries beyond 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the fifth day after which access
is first afforded to the third party making the Acquisition Proposal (provided,
however, that the foregoing shall not restrict the ability of such third party
to continue to review after such period information provided to it by the
Corporation during such five day period); and (iv) that the Board of Directors
has determined in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisors
and
with its outside legal counsel) is reasonably capable of completion without
undue delay taking into account all legal, financial, regulatory and other
aspects of such Acquisition Proposal and the party making such Acquisition
Proposal and such Acquisition Proposal would, if consummated in accordance
with
its terms (but not assuming away any risk of non-completion), result in a
transaction more favourable from a financial point of view to the Shareholders
than the Arrangement (including any adjustment to the terms and conditions
of
the Arrangement proposed by Acquireco pursuant to section 0 of this Agreement);
“Supplemental
Disclosure Letter” means that certain letter dated as of the date
hereof and delivered by the Corporation to Acquireco concurrently with the
execution and delivery of this Agreement and signed by the Corporation and
Acquireco and supplemental to the Disclosure Letter;
“Tax
Act” means the Income Tax Act (Canada) and regulations made
thereunder, as now in effect and as they may be amended from time to time prior
to the Effective Date;
“Tax
Returns” means all returns, reports, declarations, elections, notices,
filings, information returns and statements including all amendments, schedules,
attachments or supplements thereto and whether in tangible, electronic or other
form, filed or required to be filed in respect of Taxes;
“Taxes”
means all taxes, duties, fees, premiums, assessments, imposts, levies and other
charges of any kind whatsoever imposed by any Governmental Entity or payable
under any Laws, together with all interest, penalties, fines, additions to
tax
or other additional amounts imposed in respect thereof, including those levied
on, or measured by, or referred to as income, gross receipts, profits, capital,
transfer, land transfer, sales, goods and services, harmonized sales, use,
value-added, excise, stamp, withholding, business, franchising, property,
employer health, payroll, employment, health, social services, education and
social security taxes, all surtaxes, all customs duties and import and export
taxes, all license, franchise and registration fees and all employment
insurance, health insurance, workers’ compensation and Canada, Québec and other
government pension plan premiums or contributions;
“Term
Loan Financing” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 0;
“Termination
Payment” means $65,000,000;
“Third
Party Acquisition” means any of the following transactions or any
agreement by the Corporation to enter into or support one of the following
transactions: (i) any direct or indirect acquisition through one or
more transactions of (A) all or substantially all of the assets of the
Corporation and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or (B) more than 50% of the
outstanding Class A Shares, (ii) any tender offer, exchange offer, take-over
bid
or agreement that, if consummated, would result in any Person beneficially
owning more than 50% of the outstanding Class A
12
Shares,
(iii) any merger, amalgamation, arrangement, consolidation or other business
combination with the Corporation other than the Arrangement, or (iv) any
recapitalization of the Corporation or similar transaction that, if consummated,
would result in any Person beneficially owning more than 50% of the outstanding
Class A Shares;
“Trade-marks”
means trade-marks, brand names, internet domain names, trade names, slogans,
URLs, brand designs, brand graphics, logos and other indicia of origin, whether
or not registered and the goodwill associated therewith;
“Trust
Agreement” means an agreement in form and substance acceptable to
Acquireco, acting reasonably, to be entered into between Acquireco and the
Trustee in order to give effect to the Trust Arrangements;
“Trust
Arrangements” means arrangements whereby the shares of, or partnership
interests in, the CRTC Regulated Companies and/or the shares of any successor
thereto or of a corporation holding CRTC Regulated Companies shall be deposited
with the Trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement pending approval by the CRTC
of
the acquisition of such shares and partnership interests;
“Trustee”
means the trustee under the Trust Agreement;
“US
Securities Act” means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder, as now in effect and as may be amended
from
time to time prior to the Effective Date; and
“Voting
Agreements” means the voting agreement dated as of the date hereof
between SHS, Xxxxxxx XxxXxxxxx, Xxxxxx XxXxxx and Acquireco and the voting
agreement dated as of the date hereof between Sumac, Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx and
Acquireco, whereby each of the parties thereto other than Acquireco, agrees,
subject to certain conditions, to vote its Shares in favour of the
Arrangement.
1.2
|
Interpretation
Not Affected by Headings, etc.
|
The
division of this Agreement into Articles, sections, and other portions and
the
insertion of headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect
the construction or interpretation hereof. Unless otherwise indicated, all
references to an “Article” or “section” followed by a number and/or a letter
refer to the specified Article or section of this Agreement. The terms “this
Agreement”, “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and similar expressions refer to
this Agreement (including the Schedules and Appendices hereto) and not to any
particular Article, section or other portion hereof and include any agreement
or
instrument supplementary or ancillary hereto.
1.3
|
Currency
|
All
sums
of money referred to in this Agreement are expressed in lawful money of
Canada.
1.4
|
Number,
etc.
|
Unless
the context otherwise requires, words importing the singular shall include
the
plural and vice versa and words importing any gender shall include all
genders.
13
1.5 Statutory
References
Any
reference in this Agreement to a statute includes all regulations made
thereunder, all amendments to such statute in force from time to time and any
statute or regulation that supplements or supersedes such statute or
regulation.
1.6
|
Date
for Any Action
|
In
the
event that any date on which any action is required to be taken hereunder by
any
of the parties hereto is not a Business Day, such action shall be required
to be
taken on the next succeeding day which is a Business Day.
1.7
|
Prior
Written Notices
|
Where
the
Agreement provides that the prior written consent of a Party is required for
any
action unless otherwise expressly provided for herein the response by the other
Party shall not be unreasonably delayed, provided that neither party shall
be
deemed to be in breach for failure to provide such response nor shall any such
failure be deemed to be a consent to the requested action.
1.8
|
Schedules
|
The
Schedules to this Agreement are an integral part of this Agreement.
Schedule
|
Description
|
1.1(a)
|
CRTC
Regulated Companies
|
5.1(k)
|
ERISA
Compliance Companies
|
ARTICLE
2
THE
ARRANGEMENT
2.1
|
Implementation
Steps by the Corporation
|
The
Corporation covenants in favour of Acquireco that the Corporation
shall:
|
(a)
|
as
soon as reasonably practicable, apply to the Court under section
192(4) of
the CBCA for the Interim Order, and thereafter proceed with and diligently
pursue the obtaining of the Interim Order, in all cases acting in
a manner
acceptable to Acquireco, acting
reasonably;
|
|
(b)
|
call
and hold the Meeting as soon as practicable after the date of this
Agreement, but in any event by April 30, 2007, or such other date
as
Acquireco and the Corporation may agree in writing, for the purpose
of
considering the Special Resolution (and, with the consent of Acquireco,
for any other proper purpose as may be set out in the notice for
such
meeting);
|
|
(c)
|
except
as required for quorum purposes, not adjourn (except as required
by
applicable Law), postpone, cancel (or propose the adjournment,
postponement or
|
14
|
cancellation
of) or fail to call the Meeting without the Acquireco’s written
consent;
|
|
(d)
|
use
commercially reasonable efforts to solicit from Shareholders proxies
in
favour of the Special Resolution, including, if so requested by Acquireco
and at its expense, using the services of dealers and proxy solicitation
services;
|
|
(e)
|
subject
to obtaining the approvals required by the Interim Order, as soon
as
reasonably practicable after the Meeting, apply to the Court under
section
192(3) of the CBCA for the Final Order, and thereafter proceed with
and
diligently pursue the obtaining of the Final Order, in all cases
acting in
a manner acceptable to Acquireco, acting
reasonably;
|
|
(f)
|
subject
to obtaining the Final Order and the satisfaction or waiver of the
conditions contained herein in favour of each party, on the Closing
Date
send to the Director for endorsement and filing the Articles of
Arrangement and such other documents as may be required in connection
therewith under section 192(6) of the CBCA to give effect to the
Arrangement;
|
|
(g)
|
|
(h)
|
permit
Acquireco and its counsel to review and comment upon drafts of all
material to be filed by the Corporation with the Court in connection
with
the Arrangement prior to the service and filing of that material
and give
reasonable consideration to such comments and all information regarding
the Arrangement and Acquireco; the Corporation shall also provide
counsel
to Acquireco on a timely basis copies of any notice of appearance
and
evidence served on the Corporation or its counsel in respect of the
application for the Final Order or any appeal therefrom and of any
notice
(written or oral) received by the Corporation indicating any intention
to
appeal the Final Order; and
|
|
(i)
|
not
(i) file any material with the Court in connection with the Arrangement
or
serve any such material, and not agree to modify or amend materials
so
filed or served, or (ii) send to the Director, for endorsement and
filing
by the Director, the Articles of Arrangement, except in either case
as
contemplated hereby or with Acquireco’s prior written consent, such
consent not to be unreasonably withheld or
delayed.
|
2.2
|
Interim
Order
|
The
notice of motion for the application referred to in section 0 shall request that the Interim Order
provide:
|
(a)
|
for
the class of Persons to whom notice is to be provided in respect
of the
Arrangement and the Meeting and for the manner in which such notice
is to
be provided;
|
|
(b)
|
that
the requisite Shareholder approval for the Special Resolution shall
be
two-thirds of the votes cast on the Special Resolution by the Class
A
Shareholders and
|
15
|
the
Class B Shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at
the
Meeting, each voting separately as a class (provided, however, that
the
requisite shareholder approval, and approval of any other parties,
is
subject to the discretion of the
Court);
|
|
(c)
|
that,
in all other respects, the terms, restrictions and conditions of
the
by-laws and articles of the Corporation, including quorum requirements
and
all other matters, shall apply in respect of the
Meeting;
|
|
(d)
|
for
the grant of the Dissent Rights;
and
|
|
(e)
|
for
the notice requirements with respect to the presentation of the
application to the Court for the Final
Order.
|
2.3
|
The
Arrangement
|
The
Articles of Arrangement shall implement the Plan of Arrangement. The
Articles of Arrangement shall include the form of the Plan of Arrangement
attached as Exhibit 1, as amended, to include such terms and conditions as
may
be determined by Acquireco to be necessary or desirable provided that no such
term or condition shall, except as contemplated hereby, be prejudicial to the
Shareholders or other parties to be bound by the Plan of Arrangement (other
than
in an insignificant manner) nor be inconsistent with the provisions of this
Agreement or section 0 of the Plan of Arrangement
attached to this Agreement as Exhibit 1. The Corporation agrees to amend
the Plan of Arrangement at any time prior to the Effective Time in accordance
with section 0 of this Agreement to include such
other terms determined to be necessary or desirable by Acquireco, provided
that
the Plan of Arrangement shall not be amended in any manner which has the effect
of reducing the Cash Amount or which is otherwise prejudicial to the
Shareholders or other parties to be bound by the Plan of Arrangement (other
than
in an insignificant manner) nor is inconsistent with the provisions of this
Agreement. The closing of the Arrangement will take place at the
offices of XxXxxxxx Xxxxxxxx XXX, Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxxx Dominion Bank Tower,
Toronto, at 10:00 a.m. on the Closing Date.
2.4
|
Circular
|
|
(a)
|
As
promptly as reasonably practicable after the execution of this Agreement,
the Corporation shall prepare and complete, in consultation with
Acquireco, the Circular together with any other documents required
by the
CBCA, the Securities Act and other applicable Laws in connection
with the
Meeting and the Arrangement, and the Corporation shall, as promptly
as
practicable after obtaining the Interim Order, cause the Circular
and
other documentation required in connection with the Meeting to be
sent to
each Shareholder and beneficial holder of Shares and filed as required
by
the Interim Order and applicable
Laws.
|
|
(b)
|
The
Corporation shall ensure that the Circular complies with all applicable
Laws and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
Corporation shall ensure that the Circular provides Shareholders
with
information in sufficient detail to permit them to form a reasoned
judgment concerning the matters to be placed before them at the Meeting.
The Corporation covenants that the information to becontained in
the
Circular or any amendment thereto (including any information referred
to
therein or incorporated therein by reference), other than information
furnished to the Corporation by Acquireco, will be complete in all
material respects as at the date thereof and will not contain any
untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required
to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein
not misleading in light of the circumstances in which they are
made. The Corporation shall permit Acquireco and its counsel to
review and comment on drafts of the Circular and other documents
referred
to above in the course of its preparation and shall consider in good
faith
Acquireco’s comments thereon.
|
|
(c)
|
Acquireco
covenants to furnish to the Corporation, on a timely basis, all
information requested by the Corporation that may be required under
applicable Laws to be contained in the Circular or any amendment
thereto
relating to Acquireco and the Guarantors, and Acquireco covenants
that all
such information (including any information referred to therein or
incorporated therein by reference) will be complete in all material
respects as at the date thereof and will not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be
stated
therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein not
misleading in light of the circumstances in which they are
made.
|
|
(d)
|
Each
of the Corporation and Acquireco shall promptly notify each other
if at
any time before the Effective Time it becomes aware that the Circular
contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state
a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the
statements contained therein not misleading in light of the circumstances
in which they are made, or that otherwise requires an amendment or
supplement to the Circular, and the parties shall co-operate in the
preparation of such amendment or supplement as
required.
|
2.5
|
Deposit
of Funds by Acquireco
|
Acquireco
shall, subject to obtaining the Final Order and the satisfaction or waiver
of
the other conditions precedent contained in this Agreement in its favour, on
the
Effective Date and at or before the time of filing with the Director of the
Articles of Arrangement deposit with the Depositary immediately available funds
equal to the aggregate Cash Amount payable pursuant to the
Arrangement.
2.6
|
Preparation
of Filings
|
|
(a)
|
Acquireco
and the Corporation shall cooperate
in:
|
|
(i)
|
the
preparation of any documents reasonably deemed by Acquireco or the
Corporation to be necessary to discharge their respective obligations
under applicable Laws (other than the Regulatory Approvals) in connection
with the Arrangement and all other matters contemplated by this Agreement;
and
|
16
|
(ii)
|
Acquireco
and the Corporation shall cooperate in the taking of all such action
as
may be required under applicable Laws in connection with the Arrangement
and all other matters contemplated by this
Agreement.
|
|
(b)
|
Each
of the parties shall furnish to the other party, on a timely basis,
all
information as may be required to effectuate the foregoing actions,
and
each covenants that, to its knowledge, no information so furnished
by it
in writing in connection with those actions or otherwise in connection
with the consummation of the actions contemplated by this Agreement
will
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the
statements contained therein not misleading in light of the circumstances
in which they are made (other than with respect to any information
relating to and provided by the other or any third party that is
not an
affiliate of one of the parties).
|
|
(c)
|
Each
of the Corporation and Acquireco shall promptly notify each other
if at
any time before the Effective Time it becomes aware that an application
for any order, registration, consent, ruling, exemption, no-action
letter
or approval in connection with the Arrangement or this Agreement,
or any
other filing under applicable Laws (other than Competition Laws)
contains
an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material
fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
contained therein not misleading in light of the circumstances in
which
they are made, or that otherwise requires an amendment or supplement
to
such application or filing, and the parties shall co-operate in the
preparation of such amendment or supplement as
required.
|
|
(d)
|
The
Corporation and Acquireco shall co-operate in the preparation of
presentations, if any, to investors regarding the Arrangement, and
no
party shall issue any press release or other public disclosure document
with respect to this Agreement or the Arrangement (other than its
regular
interim and annual continuous disclosure documents, provided no reference
is made to this Agreement or the Arrangement in such documents other
than
as previously disclosed) without the consent of the other party (which
shall not be unreasonably withheld) and the Corporation shall not
make any
filing with any Governmental Entity with respect thereto (other than
the
Competition Authorities and the Corporation’s regular interim and annual
continuous disclosure documents) without the consent of Acquireco
(which
shall not be unreasonably withheld) and Acquireco shall not make
any
filing with any Governmental Entity (other than the Competition
Authorities) in connection with the Arrangement without the consent
of the
Corporation (which shall not be unreasonably withheld); provided,
however,
that the foregoing shall be subject to each party’s overriding obligation
to make any disclosure or filing required under applicable Laws,
and the
party making such disclosure shall use all commercially reasonable
efforts
to give prior oral or written notice to each other party and reasonable
opportunity to review or comment on the disclosure or filing, and
if such
prior notice is not possible, to give such notice immediately following
the making of such disclosure or filing. This clause 2.6(d)
shall not apply to Movie Distribution Income Fund, Motion Picture
Distribution Inc. or Motion Picture Distribution
LP.
|
17
|
2.7
|
Dissenting
Shareholders
|
The
Corporation shall give Acquireco prompt notice of any written notice of a
dissent, withdrawal of such notice, and any other letters, notices or
instruments received by the Corporation in respect of the Dissent Rights. The
Corporation shall not settle any claim by any present, former or purported
holder of any of its securities in connection with the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement, including the Arrangement, without the prior written consent
of Acquireco.
2.8
|
Holdco
Alternative
|
|
(a)
|
Subject
to receipt of all required regulatory approvals, Acquireco will permit
Persons (“Qualifying Holdco
Shareholders”) who are, (a) resident in Canada for purposes of
the Tax Act (including a partnership if all of the members of the
partnership are resident in Canada), and (b) registered and beneficial
owners of Shares (directly or indirectly through a Qualifying Holdco)
as
of the date of this Agreement, and (c) shareholders of a corporation
that
meets the conditions described below in this section 0 (a “Qualifying Holdco”) to
elect in respect of such Shares (or Shares held by such Qualifying
Holdco), by notice in writing provided to Acquireco (or the Depositary)
not later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the 10th Business
Day prior to the Effective Date (the “Holdco Election
Date”), to sell such Shares through a Qualifying Holdco (the
“Holdco Alternative”) provided
that:
|
|
(i)
|
such
Qualifying Holdco was incorporated under the CBCA not earlier than
a date
acceptable to Acquireco or will be continued under the
CBCA;
|
|
(ii)
|
such
Qualifying Holdco is a single purpose corporation that has not carried
on
any business, has no employees and has not held and does not hold
any
assets other than Shares and a nominal amount of
cash;
|
|
(iii)
|
at
the Effective Time, such Qualifying Holdco has no liabilities or
obligations of any kind whatever (except to Acquireco and the Corporation
under the terms of the Holdco Alternative and the Voting
Agreements);
|
|
(iv)
|
such
Qualifying Holdco shall have been the sole legal and beneficial owner
of
such Shares since February 15, 2007, or such later date as Acquireco
may
determine in its sole discretion;
|
|
(v)
|
at
all times such Qualifying Holdco is a resident of Canada for the
purposes
of the Tax Act and is not a resident of the United States and has
no
taxable presence in the United
States;
|
|
(vi)
|
all
Qualifying Holdco Shareholders will be required to employ the same
form of
Holdco Alternative, which shall be a Holdco acquisition
model;
|
|
(vii)
|
such
Holdco Alternative will be completed in accordance with applicable
Laws
(including securities Laws) at or prior to the Effective
Time;
|
18
|
(viii)
|
the
Qualifying Holdco Shareholder and, if applicable, its shareholder
and/or
the ultimate principal investor of the Qualifying Holdco Shareholder
will
be required to provide a comprehensive indemnity in favour of Acquireco
and the Corporation, on terms satisfactory to Acquireco, acting
reasonably, in respect of (A) any liabilities of such Qualifying
Holdco
relating to any matter occurring on or before the Effective Time,
and (B)
any breach by the Qualifying Holdco Shareholder, and where applicable,
its
shareholder and/or the ultimate principal investor of the Qualifying
Holdco Shareholder, of any representation, warranty, obligation or
covenant of the Qualifying Holdco Shareholder, its shareholder and/or
the
ultimate principal investor of such Qualifying Holdco Shareholder,
as the
case may be, to Acquireco and the Corporation. For greater
certainty, the term “liabilities” for purposes of this subsection 0 shall include any and all claims,
demands,
proceedings, losses, damages, liabilities, deficiencies, costs and
expenses (including legal and other professional fees), interest,
penalties and Taxes suffered or incurred by Acquireco, the Corporation
and
such Qualifying Holdco, as
applicable;
|
|
(ix)
|
the
entering into or implementation of the Holdco Alternative will not
result
in any delay in completing any other transaction contemplated by
this
Agreement;
|
|
(x)
|
the
Qualifying Holdco Shareholder will be required to pay all of the
reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Acquireco, such Qualifying
Holdco and the Corporation in connection with the Holdco Alternative,
including any reasonable costs associated with any due diligence
conducted
by Acquireco;
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|
(xi)
|
access
to the books and records of such Qualifying Holdco shall have been
provided on or before 15 Business Days prior to the Effective Time
and
Acquireco and its counsel shall have completed their due diligence
regarding the business and affairs of such Qualifying Holdco;
and
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|
(xii)
|
the
terms and conditions of such Holdco Alternative must be satisfactory
to
Acquireco and the Corporation, acting reasonably, and must include
representations and warranties which are satisfactory to Acquireco,
acting
reasonably.
|
|
(b)
|
Any
Qualifying Holdco Shareholder who elects the Holdco Alternative will
be
required to make full disclosure to Acquireco of all transactions
involved
in such Holdco Alternative. In the event that the terms and
conditions of such Holdco Alternative or any transactions involved
in the
Holdco Alternative are not satisfactory to Acquireco, acting reasonably,
or the CSAs, Acquireco will use its commercially reasonable efforts,
for a
period not to exceed 15 Business Days, to assist the Corporation
in
structuring an alternative transaction in a manner satisfactory to
Acquireco, acting reasonably. In the event that the terms and
conditions of or the transactions involved in such Holdco Alternative
are
not satisfactory to Acquireco, acting reasonably, and no alternative
transactionsatisfactory to Acquireco, acting reasonably, can be agreed
upon despite Acquireco having used its commercially reasonable efforts,
no
Holdco Alternative shall be offered and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement shall be completed subject to the
other
terms and conditions hereof.
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|
(c)
|
Each
Qualifying Holdco Shareholder that has elected the Holdco Alternative
will
be required to enter into a share purchase agreement (the “Holdco
Agreement”) providing for the acquisition of all issued and
outstanding shares of the Qualifying Holdco in a form consistent
with the
foregoing. Failure of any Qualifying Holdco Shareholder to
properly elect the Holdco Alternative on or prior to the Holdco Election
Date or failure of any Qualifying Holdco Shareholder to properly
enter
into a Holdco Agreement will disentitle such Qualifying Holdco Shareholder
from the Holdco Alternative.
|
ARTICLE
3
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
3.1
|
Representations
and Warranties of the
Corporation
|
The
Corporation represents and warrants to and in favour of Acquireco as follows
and
acknowledges that Acquireco is relying upon such representations and warranties
in connection with entering into this Agreement and completing the
Arrangement:
|
(a)
|
Organization.
|
|
(i)
|
The
Corporation and each of its Material Subsidiaries has been duly
incorporated under the Laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation,
is
validly existing and has full corporate power and capacity to own
or lease
its properties and assets and conduct its business as currently owned
and
conducted. The Corporation has disclosed in section 000
of the Disclosure Letter the names and
jurisdictions of incorporation of each of its Material
Subsidiaries.
|
|
(ii)
|
All
the outstanding shares in the capital of each Material Subsidiary
have
been validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and, except
as
set forth in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter, are as of the date of this Agreement owned by
the
Corporation, by another subsidiary of the Corporation or by the
Corporation and another subsidiary, free and clear of all Liens.
Except
for its interests in its subsidiaries and except for the ownership
interests set forth in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter and ownership of interests in entities, the ownership
of
which is not material to the Corporation, the Corporation does not
as of
the date of this Agreement own, directly or indirectly, any shares,
capital stock, membership interest, partnership interest, joint venture
interest or other equity interest in any
Person.
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19
|
(b)
|
Articles
of Incorporation and Bylaws. The Corporation
Information contains a complete and correct copy of the Articles
of
Incorporation and Bylaws or equivalent organizational documents,
each as
amended to the date of this Agreement, of the Corporation and each
of its
Material Subsidiaries.
|
|
(c)
|
Capitalization.
|
|
(i)
|
The
authorized capital of the Corporation consists of an unlimited number
of
Class A Shares and Class B Shares. As at December 31, 2006, there
were
1,005,438 Class A Shares and 40,145,955 Class B Shares issued and
outstanding, and Options to acquire 1,780,450 Class B Shares, Purchase
Rights to acquire 6,689 Class B Shares (3,185 of which Class B Shares
are
issued and outstanding), restricted stock units in respect of 60,025
Class
B Shares and, other than as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, deferred stock units in respect of 148,577 Class
B
Shares have been granted and are outstanding. Except for such
Options, Purchase Rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock
units,
the rights of the Class A Shareholders to convert their shares into
Class
B Shares and the rights of the Class B Shareholders to convert their
shares into Class A Shares, in each case in accordance with their
terms,
there are no agreements, options, rights, warrants, rights of conversion
or other rights pursuant to which the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries is, or may become, obligated to issue any shares or
any
securities convertible or exchangeable, directly or indirectly, into
any
shares of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries. All of
the outstanding Shares in the capital of the Corporation are validly
issued, fully paid and non-assessable and have been issued in compliance
with all applicable Laws.
|
|
(ii)
|
There
are no bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of the Corporation
having the right to vote (or convertible into, or exchangeable for,
securities having the right to vote) on the Arrangement or on any
other
matters on which Shareholders may
vote.
|
|
(d)
|
Authority
and No Violation.
|
|
(i)
|
The
Corporation has the requisite corporate power and capacity to execute
and
deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder and
to
complete the Arrangement. The execution, delivery and performance
of this
Agreement by the Corporation and the completion of the Arrangement
by the
Corporation have been duly authorized by its Board of Directors and
no
other corporate proceedings on its part are necessary to authorize
the
execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or the completion
of
the Arrangement by the Corporation other than the approval of the
Circular
by the Board of Directors and the calling of the Meeting and the
receipt
of approval of the Shareholders required by the Interim Order and
the
approval of the Court.
|
20
|
(ii)
|
This
Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Corporation
and
constitutes its legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable
against
it in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency
and
other Laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general principles
of equity.
|
|
(iii)
|
The
Board of Directors has (i) received an oral Fairness Opinion (to
be
followed by a written Fairness Opinion); and (ii) after receiving
the
recommendation of a special committee of directors formed for the
purpose
of, among other things, considering this Agreement and the Arrangement
and
after consultation with its financial and outside legal advisors
(A)
determined unanimously (except for directors abstaining because of
conflict of interests) that the consideration offered under the
Arrangement for each Share is fair from a financial point of view
to the
Shareholders and that the entering into of this Agreement and the
completion of the Arrangement are in the best interests of the
Corporation; and (B) determined unanimously (except for directors
abstaining because of conflict of interests) to recommend that the
holders
of the Shares vote in favour of the Arrangement. As of the date
hereof, all of the Directors have advised that they intend to vote
all
Shares held by them in favour of the Special Resolution and the Circular
will so state.
|
|
(iv)
|
The
execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Corporation do not,
and
the consummation of the Arrangement and the performance of this Agreement
by the Corporation will not:
|
|
(A)
|
conflict
with or violate the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws or equivalent
organizational documents of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries;
|
|
(B)
|
assuming
that all consents, approvals, authorizations and other actions described
in section 000
have been obtained and that all filings and
obligations described in section 000
have been made,
conflict with or violate any Law applicable to the Corporation or
any of
its subsidiaries or by which any property or asset of the Corporation
or
any of its subsidiaries is bound;
or
|
|
(C)
|
except
as set forth in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter, result in any breach of, or constitute a default
(or an
event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would become a
default)
under, or give to others any right of termination, amendment, acceleration
or cancellation of, or create, give rise to or change any rights
or
obligations of any Person under, or result in the creation of a Lien
on
any property or asset of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries
pursuant to any note, bond, mortgage, indenture, contract, agreement,
lease, license, permit, franchise or other instrument or obligation
to
which the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries is a party
or by
which the Corporation or anyof its Material Subsidiaries or any property
or asset of the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries is
bound;
|
except,
with respect to clauses (B) and (C), for any such events or occurrences that
could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate,
a
Material Adverse Effect or materially impair the ability of the Corporation
to
complete the Arrangement.
|
(v)
|
Except
as set out in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, no consent,
approval, license, permit, order or authorization of, or registration,
declaration or filing with, or permit from, any Governmental Entity
is
required to be obtained or made by or with respect to the Corporation
or
any of its subsidiaries in connection with the execution, delivery
and
performance of this Agreement or the consummation of the Arrangement,
other than:
|
|
(A)
|
the
Interim Order and the Final Order and any approvals required
thereby;
|
|
(B)
|
filings
with the Director under the CBCA, with the Toronto Stock Exchange
and
under provincial securities
legislation;
|
|
(C)
|
the
Regulatory Approvals relating to the Corporation;
and
|
|
(D)
|
those,
which if not obtained, could not individually or in the aggregate
be
reasonably expected to be material to the
Corporation.
|
|
(e)
|
Compliance
with Law.
|
|
(i)
|
The
Corporation and each of its Material Subsidiaries is duly qualified
to
carry on business in each jurisdiction in which the character of
its
properties and assets, owned or leased, or the nature of its business
makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be
so
qualified could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. The Corporation and each of its Material Subsidiaries is
in
possession of all franchises, grants, authorizations, licenses, permits,
easements, variances, exceptions, consents, certificates, approvals
and
orders of any Governmental Entity necessary for each of the Corporation
or
any of its Material Subsidiaries to own, lease and operate its properties
and assets and to carry on its business as it is now being conducted
(the
“Permits”), except where the failure to have any of the
Permits have not had and could not reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. Each
of the
Corporation and each Material Subsidiary is in compliance with such
Permits, except where the failure to be in compliance have not had
and
could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the
aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. No suspension or cancellation
of any
of the Permits is pending or, to the knowledge of the Corporation,
threatened, except where the suspension orcancellation of any of
the
Permits have not had and could not reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse
Effect.
|
|
(ii)
|
|
(A)
|
any
Law applicable to the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries
or
by which any property or asset of the Corporation or any of its Material
Subsidiaries is bound; or
|
|
(B)
|
any
note, bond, mortgage, indenture, contract, agreement, lease, license,
Permit, franchise or other instrument or obligation to which the
Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries is a party or by
which the
Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries or any property or
asset
of the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries is
bound;
|
except,
with respect to clauses (A) and (B), for any such conflicts, defaults, breaches
or violations that have not had and could not reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
|
(iii)
|
Each
of the Corporation and its Material Subsidiaries is conducting its
business in compliance with all applicable Laws, except where the
failure
to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
|
|
(f)
|
Absence
of Certain Changes or Events. Except as disclosed in section 00
of the
Disclosure Letter or the Filed CSA Documents, since December 31,
2005
there has not been any Material Adverse Change. During the period
since
December 31, 2005 through the date of this Agreement, except as set
forth
in section 00 of
the Disclosure Letter:
|
|
(i)
|
the
Corporation and its Material Subsidiaries have conducted their businesses
only in the ordinary course consistent with past
practice;
|
|
(ii)
|
there
has not been any material damage, destruction or other casualty loss
with
respect to any material asset owned, leased or otherwise used by
the
Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries, whether or not covered
by
insurance; and
|
|
(iii)
|
except
as disclosed in the Corporation’s Documents, neither the Corporation nor
any of its Material Subsidiaries has taken any action that, if taken
after
the date of this Agreement, would be prohibited by or constitute
a breach
or violation of any of the covenants set forth in section 0, 0, 0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
or 0.
|
21
|
(g)
|
Financial
Statements.
|
|
(i)
|
The
Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Canadian
generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent
basis and
present fairly in all material respects, on a consolidated basis,
the
financial position and the results of operations and the changes
in
Shareholders’ equity and cash flow of the Corporation and its subsidiaries
for the periods and as at the dates thereof (except as may be indicated
expressly in the notes thereto). In the case of unaudited statements,
this
representation is subject to normal, recurring year-end adjustments
that
would be made in the course of an audit and would not be
material.
|
|
(ii)
|
Except
as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, management of the
Corporation (A) has implemented disclosure controls and procedures
designed to ensure that material information relating to the Corporation,
including its subsidiaries, is made known to management of the Corporation
by others within those entities, which disclosure controls and procedures
are, given the size of the Corporation and the nature of its business,
reasonably expected by management to be effective in alerting on
a timely
basis the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial
Officer to material information required to be included in the Filed
CSA
Documents (for the purposes of this section 000
without reference to Movie Distribution Income
Fund or Score Media Inc.), and (B) is not, to the knowledge of the
Corporation, aware of any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees still employed by the Corporation who
have a
significant role in the Corporation’s internal control over financial
reporting that occurred within the three years preceding the date
of this
Agreement.
|
|
(iii)
|
Since
September 30, 2006, to the knowledge of the Corporation, (A) neither
the
Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries nor any director, officer,
employee, auditor, accountant or representative of the Corporation
or any
of its subsidiaries has received or otherwise had or obtained knowledge
of
any material complaint, allegation, assertion or claim, whether written
or
oral, regarding the material accounting or auditing practices, procedures,
methodologies or methods of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries
or
their respective internal accounting controls, including any complaint,
allegation, assertion, or claim that the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries has engaged in questionable accounting or auditing practices,
and (B) no legal counsel representing the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries, whether or not employed by the Corporation or any of
its
subsidiaries, has reported evidence of a material violation of applicable
securities Laws, breach of fiduciary duty or similar violation by
the
Corporation, any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective officers,
directors, employees or agents to the Board of Directors or any committee
thereof or to any director or officer of the
Corporation.
|
22
|
(h)
|
Absence
of Undisclosed Liabilities. Except as disclosed in the Financial
Statements or in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, and other than
indemnification provisions contained in agreements among underwriters
and
financial advisors, the Corporation and its subsidiaries have no
material
obligations or liabilities of any nature (matured or unmatured, fixed
or
contingent) other than those incurred in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice.
|
|
(i)
|
Guarantees.
Except as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter or in the Financial
Statements and other than (i) indemnification provisions contained
in
certain agreements among underwriters and financial advisors, (ii)
cross-guarantees between two or more of the Corporation and its
subsidiaries, (iii) guarantees by the Corporation of obligations
of its
subsidiaries, and (iv) other guarantees and indemnities entered into
in
the ordinary course, neither the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries
has given or agreed to give, nor are they a party to or bound by,
any
guarantee of indebtedness, indemnity or suretyship of other obligations
of
any Person, nor are they contingently responsible for such indemnity
or
suretyship or obligations to the Corporation which, if enforced,
could
reasonably be expected to be material to the
Corporation.
|
|
(j)
|
Restrictions
on Business Activities. There is no arbitral award, judgment,
injunction, order or decree binding upon the Corporation or any of
its
subsidiaries that has or could reasonably be expected to have the
effect
of prohibiting, restricting, or impairing any business practice of
any of
them, any acquisition or disposition of property by any of them,
or the
conduct of the business by any of them as currently conducted, which
would
have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse
Effect.
|
|
(k)
|
Rights
of Other Persons. Except as disclosed in section 00
of the
Disclosure Letter, no Person has any right of first refusal or option
to
purchase or any other right of participation in any of the properties
or
assets in each case that are material to the Corporation and its
subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, owned by the Corporation or
any of
its subsidiaries, or any part
thereof.
|
|
(l)
|
Insurance.
All insurance maintained by the Corporation or any of its Material
Subsidiaries is in full force and effect and in good standing and
neither
the Corporation nor any of its Material Subsidiaries is in default
in any
material respect, whether as to payment of premium or otherwise,
under the
terms of any such insurance nor has the Corporation or any Material
Subsidiary failed to give any notice or present any material claim
under
any such insurance in a due and timely fashion or received notice
or
otherwise has knowledge of any intent of an insurer to either claim
any
default on the part of the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries
or not to renew any policy of insurance on its expiry or to increase
any
deductible or cost.
|
|
(m)
|
Title
to Properties.
|
|
(i)
|
Neither
the Corporation nor any of its Material Subsidiaries owns any real
property. Except as set forth in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter,each of the Corporation and its Material Subsidiaries
has good and valid title to, or valid leasehold interests in, all
its
properties and assets except for such as are no longer used in the
conduct
of its businesses or as have been disposed of in the ordinary course
of
business and except for defects in title, easements, restrictive
covenants
and similar encumbrances or impediments that, in the aggregate, have
not
had and could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. All such properties and assets, other than properties
and assets in which the Corporation or any of its Material Subsidiaries
has leasehold interests, are free and clear of all Liens other than
those
set forth in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter and except for Liens
that, in the aggregate, have not had and could not reasonably be
expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
|
|
(ii)
|
Except
as set forth in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, each of the
Corporation and each Material Subsidiary has complied in all material
respects with the terms of all material leases to which it is a party
and
under which it is in occupancy, and all such leases are in full force
and
effect. The Corporation and each of its Material Subsidiaries
enjoys peaceful and undisturbed possession under all such material
leases.
|
|
(n)
|
Licences.
All licences issued by the CRTC that the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries are required to obtain that are related to their respective
businesses or the ownership or operation of their respective properties
and assets have been obtained, are disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter and are currently valid, in full force and effect
and in
good standing in all material respects and no proceedings specific
to the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries are pending (other than renewal
proceedings as a result of expirations in accordance with the terms
thereof) or, to the knowledge of the Corporation, threatened, which
could
reasonably be expected to result in their revocation or
limitation.
|
|
(o)
|
Material
Contracts. Other than those Material Contracts set forth in section 00
of the
Disclosure Letter (“Confidential Material Contracts”),
the Corporation Information includes a complete and accurate list
of, and
copies of, all Material Contracts, all of which are in full force
and
effect and unamended, except where the failure to be in full force
and
effect and unamended could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect. No default exists (or, but for the passage of time
or the
giving of notice, would exist) under any Material Contract on the
part of
the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of
the
Corporation, on the part of any other party to such contracts other
than
defaults which could not reasonably be expected to have, individually
or
in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. Except as
disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, there is no
provision in any Material Contract which would result in the cancellation
or amendment of such Material Contract in any material respect or
create,
give rise to or change any rights or obligations of any Person under
such
Material Contract as a result of the consummation of the
Arrangement. Except as set out in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, there is no provision in any Confidential Material
Contract which would result in the cancellation or amendment of such
Confidential Material Contract in any material respect orwhich would
give
rise to a change of any rights or obligations of any party to such
Confidential Material Contract (other than it being obligated to
the
transferee and having rights against the transferor if the transferee
does
not perform its obligations) in any material respect as a result
of an
assignment or deemed assignment of that contract pursuant to an
Inter-Affiliate Transfer. Except as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, no Confidential Material Contract during 2005
represented or related to or during 2006 is expected to represent
or
relate to more than 5% of the revenue or expenses of the Corporation
and
its subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis. The Corporation has
informed Acquireco of the general nature of the Confidential Material
Contracts to the full extent it is permitted to do so. Neither
the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any material
oral contract.
|
|
(p)
|
Labour
Matters.
|
|
(i)
|
Except
as disclosed in 000
of the
Disclosure Letter, neither the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries
are
parties to any collective bargaining agreements. To the knowledge
of the
Corporation, except as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, (i) neither the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries
is subject to any application for certification or threatened or
apparent
union-organizing campaigns for employees not covered under a collective
bargaining agreement, (ii) there are no current or, to the knowledge
of
the Corporation, threatened strikes or lockouts affecting the Corporation
or any of its subsidiaries or any complaint of unfair labour practice
(other than routine individual grievances), (iii) there are no successor
or related employer applications; and (iv) there are no employee
associations, voluntary recognized or certified unions authorized
to
represent any of the employees of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries.
|
|
(ii)
|
Except
as disclosed in 000
of the
Disclosure Letter or where it could not reasonably be expected to
result
in a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Corporation nor any of
its
subsidiaries is subject to any claim for wrongful dismissal, constructive
dismissal, unjust dismissal or any other tort claim, actual or, to
the
knowledge of Corporation, threatened, or any litigation, investigation,
arbitration or grievance, actual or, to the knowledge of Corporation,
threatened, relating to employment or termination of employment of
employees or independent
contractors.
|
|
(iii)
|
Except
as disclosed in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter or where this could not reasonably be expected
to result
in a Material Adverse Effect, each of the Corporation and its subsidiaries
has operated in accordance with all applicable Laws with respect
to
employment and labour, including any pay equity and, where applicable,
employment equity Laws, and there are no current, pending or, to
the
knowledge of the Corporation, threatened proceedings before any board
or
tribunal with respect to any employment or labour
matters.
|
23
|
(iv)
|
The
Corporation Information includes all material details of all plans
or
arrangements provided for the benefit of employees generally or for
any
particular executive officer including all of the employee benefit,
health, welfare, disability, bonus, deferred compensation, stock
compensation, stock option or purchase or other stock-based compensation
plans or arrangements, retirement plans, post-retirement benefit
plans or
arrangements, pension plans or arrangements applicable to present
or
former employees or directors of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries which are currently maintained or participated in by
the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries and under which the Corporation
or
any of its subsidiaries has any material obligations or liabilities,
but
excluding any statutory or state sponsored employee plans which the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries are required to participate
in or
comply with (collectively, the “Employee
Plans”). Section 000(A)
of the
Disclosure Letter includes a list of all of the Employee
Plans. Except as disclosed in section 000(B)
of the Disclosure Letter, neither the
Corporation nor its subsidiaries sponsor or participate in a defined
benefit pension plan and have never sponsored or participated in
any
defined benefit pension plan.
|
|
(v)
|
Except
as disclosed in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter or where it could not reasonably be expected to
result
in a Material Adverse Effect, all of the Employee Plans have been
established and administered in all respects in accordance with their
terms and applicable Law, are registered where required by Law, and
are in
good standing in all respects, including being fully funded where
required, under, all applicable Laws or other legislative, administrative
or judicial promulgations applicable to the Employee Plans and pursuant
to
any applicable collective agreement and the terms of the Employee
Plans
and, other than routine claims for benefits, there are no actions,
claims,
or proceedings relating to the Employee
Plans.
|
|
(vi)
|
Except
as disclosed in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter, no material amendments to any Employee Plan have
been
promised and no amendments to any Employee Plan will be made or promised
prior to the Effective Date which affect or pertain to the current
or
former employees or directors of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries.
|
|
(vii)
|
Except
as disclosed in section 000
of the
Disclosure Letter, there are no agreements or undertakings by the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries to provide post-retirement
benefits
to any of their respective present or former employees or directors
other
than such as are not, either individually or in the aggregate, material
to
the Corporation and its subsidiaries on a consolidated
basis.
|
|
(viii)
|
24
|
(i)
|
an
accurate list, in all material respects, as of the date of this Agreement,
of the annual salary of all individuals earning annual salary of
$200,000
or more who are employed or retained by the Corporation or any of
its
subsidiaries (other than actors or production personnel) on a full
or part
time basis, notwithstanding that they may have been laid off or terminated
or on a short-term, long-term or parental leave, together with the
location of their employment or
service;
|
|
(ii)
|
an
accurate list, in all material respects, as of the date of this Agreement,
of the date each such individual or entity was hired or retained
by the
Corporation or a subsidiary, as applicable;
and
|
|
(iii)
|
an
accurate list, in all material respects, of the severance or other
arrangements or plans pursuant to each contract entitling any employee,
officer or director of the Corporation or any subsidiary to any bonus,
retention payment, severance payment, change in control payment,
any
acceleration of any right or benefit, including any such right under
any
stock-based compensation plan, or similar entitlement as a result
of the
Corporation entering into this Agreement or completing any of the
transactions which are the subject
hereof.
|
|
(i)
|
all
Tax Returns required to be filed with any taxing authority by or
on behalf
of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries were filed when due
with all
appropriate taxing authorities in accordance with all applicable
Laws and
were correct in all material
respects;
|
|
(ii)
|
the
unpaid Tax liability with respect to those returns identified in
Section
3.1(r) of the Disclosure Letter and any returns filed after their
due date
is not, individually or in the aggregate, in excess of
$5,000,000;
|
|
(iii)
|
the
Corporation and each of its subsidiaries have timely paid (or withheld
and
remitted) to the appropriate taxing authority all Taxes due and payable
(or to be withheld or remitted) by any of them under any applicable
Law;
|
|
(iv)
|
the
charges, accruals and reserves for Taxes with respect to the Corporation
and its subsidiaries reflected on the Financial Statements (whether
or not
due and whether or not shown on any Tax Return but excluding any
provision
for deferred income Taxes) are adequate under Canadian generally
accepted
accounting principles (“Canadian
GAAP”) to cover Taxes accruing through the
dates thereof, and since the dates thereof they have not incurred
any
material liability for Taxes other than in the ordinary course of
business
as disclosed and provided for in their Books and
Records;
|
25
|
(v)
|
the
tax basis of the assets of the Corporation and its subsidiaries by
category including the classification of such assets as being depreciable
or amortizable (collectively, the “Tax Pools”) as
reflected in the Tax Returns of the Corporation and its subsidiaries
is
true and correct in all material respects;
and
|
|
(vi)
|
there
is no proceeding, investigation, claim, re-assessment or audit now
pending
or threatened in writing in respect of any Tax or “tax asset” of the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, and there are no reassessments
of
Taxes of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries that have been
issued
and which remain unpaid or unresolved. For purposes of this
section 00, the
term “tax asset” shall include but is not limited to any net operating
loss, non-capital losses, net capital losses, Tax Pools, investment
tax
credit, foreign tax credit, charitable deduction or any other credit
or
Tax attribute which could reduce
Taxes.
|
|
(s)
|
Intellectual
Property.
|
|
(i)
|
In
respect of any applications or registrations relating to the Corporation
Intellectual Property in Canada and elsewhere, to the knowledge of
the
Corporation, all steps have been taken, including payment of fees
and
timely filing of documentation, that are necessary to obtain valid
and
enforceable registrations and to maintain such registrations and
applications in good standing to the extent such Corporation Intellectual
Property is still in use by the Corporation, except where the failure
to
take such steps could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
|
|
(ii)
|
Except
as stated in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, to the knowledge of
the Corporation, the Corporation or one of its subsidiaries is the
sole
legal and beneficial owner of, and owns all right, title and interest
in
all Corporation Intellectual Property free and clear of all Liens
or other
adverse claims or interests of any kind or nature, except for Liens
that,
in the aggregate, have not had and could not reasonably be expected
to
have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Corporation Intellectual
Property is owned by or registered in the name of any Person other
than
the Corporation or a subsidiary, including, without limitation, any
current or former owner, shareholder, partner, director, executive,
officer, employee or contractor, nor does any such Person have any
interest therein or right thereto, including any license or the right
to
any royalty or other payments where same could reasonably be expected
to
have a Material Adverse Effect. No consent of any Person is necessary
to
make, use, reproduce, license, sell, modify, update, enhance or otherwise
exploit any Corporation Intellectual Property, except where the failure
to
obtain such consent could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
|
|
(iii)
|
To
the knowledge of the Corporation, neither the Corporation nor any
of its
subsidiaries has received notice from any Person that was not a
regular,
|
26
|
full-time,
salaried employee of the Corporation or a subsidiary at the time
such
Person contributed to the creation of any Corporation Intellectual
Property or component thereof, asserting any claims with respect
to any
right, title or interest therein or any violation of any moral rights
in
connection therewith, except where such claim, if determined adverse
to
the Corporation, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
|
|
(iv)
|
The
Corporation or one of its subsidiaries has lawfully acquired the
right(s)
to use the Licensed Intellectual Property in the manner in which
it has
been used and is currently being used by the Corporation or any of
its
subsidiaries and in the manner currently contemplated to be used
in the
future, except where the failure to acquire such right could not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Corporation
or one of its subsidiaries has entered into valid and enforceable
written
agreements pursuant to which the Corporation and any of its subsidiaries
has been granted all licenses and permissions to use, reproduce,
sub-license, sell, modify, update, enhance or otherwise exploit the
Licensed Intellectual Property to the extent required to operate
in all
material respects all aspects of the business of the Corporation
and any
of its subsidiaries as it is being operated at substantially the
same
level of performance as of the date
hereof.
|
|
(v)
|
To
the knowledge of the Corporation, (i) the conduct of the businesses of the
Corporation and its subsidiaries including, the use of any of the
Corporation Intellectual Property does not infringe upon or breach
the
Intellectual Property rights of any other Person and (ii) the use
of any
of the Corporation Intellectual Property does not result in a default
or
give rise to a right of termination, cancellation or acceleration
of any
obligation or loss of any benefit under any Material Contract, and
neither
the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written
notice asserting any of the above, except where such infringements,
breaches, defaults, rights or loss could not reasonably be expected
to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
|
|
(vi)
|
There
are no claims, oppositions, conflicts, proceedings, or investigations
by
any Governmental Entity against any Person, or, to the knowledge
of the
Corporation, any breaches, interferences, infringements, violations
or
appropriations by any Person, relating to any of the Corporation
Intellectual Property, except for such claims, oppositions, conflicts,
proceedings or investigations, if determined adverse to the Corporation,
or any breaches, interferences, infringements, violations or
appropriations that would have or could reasonably be expected to
have a
Material Adverse Effect.
|
|
(vii)
|
The
Corporation and its subsidiaries have the right to use all of the
Corporation Intellectual Property and Licensed Intellectual Property
which
is necessary to conduct their respective businesses as currently
conducted
in all material respects, except where the failure to have such right
has
not
|
27
|
had
and could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
|
|
(t)
|
Restrictive
Covenants. Except as disclosed in section 3.10 of the Disclosure Letter,
the Corporation and
its Material Subsidiaries are not party to or bound or affected by
any
commitment, agreement or document containing any covenant expressly
limiting its ability to compete in any material respect in any principal
line of business of the Corporation after the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by the Arrangement on substantially the
same
basis as presently carried on.
|
|
(u)
|
Non-Arm’s
Length Transactions. Except for contracts made solely between the
Corporation and any subsidiary or between any subsidiaries of the
Corporation, there are no Material Contracts between the Corporation
or
any of its subsidiaries and any Person with whom the Corporation
or any of
its subsidiaries is not dealing, at the date hereof, at Arm’s Length,
other than contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business
on
terms no less favourable to the Corporation and its subsidiaries
than are
available from an Arm’s Length
party.
|
|
(v)
|
Books
and Records. All Books and Records fairly disclose in all material
respects the financial position of the Corporation and its subsidiaries
and all material financial transactions relating to the businesses
carried
on by the Corporation and its subsidiaries have been accurately recorded
in all material respects in such Books and Records. The corporate
minute
books of the Corporation and its subsidiaries contain minutes of
all
meetings and resolutions of the directors and security holders held,
except for those minutes which are not yet finalized. The Corporation
Information contains complete and correct copies of the minutes of
all
such meetings other than meetings of the Board of Directors relating
to
the transactions contemplated hereunder and minutes of meetings of
the
directors of Motion Picture Distribution Inc. held since June 1,
2006
which have not yet been finalized.
|
|
(w)
|
Government
Grants. Except as disclosed in section 3.10 of the Disclosure Letter or the
Financial
Statements, there are no contracts relating to grants or other forms
of
financial assistance, including loans with interest at below market
rates,
received by the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries from any
Governmental Entity.
|
|
(x)
|
Canadian
Securities Legislation. The Corporation is a “reporting issuer” under
applicable Canadian securities legislation in each of the provinces
of
Canada in which such concept exists and is not in default of any
material
requirements of any securities Laws applicable in such jurisdictions
or
stock exchange on which its securities are listed for trading. No
delisting, suspension of trading in or cease trading order with respect
to
the Shares is pending or, to the knowledge of the Corporation, threatened.
The Corporation has filed with securities regulatory authorities
in such
jurisdictions and all applicable self-regulatory organizations, including
the Toronto Stock Exchange, true and complete copies of all documents
required to be filed with such authorities and organizations under
applicable securities Laws or otherwise (such forms, reports, schedules,
statements and other documents, including financial statements are
referred to as the
“Corporation’sDocuments”). The
Corporation’s Documents, at the time filed, did not contain any
misrepresentation (as defined in the Securities Act), other than
as has
been subsequently corrected, and complied in all material respects
with
the applicable securities Laws or other requirements under which
they were
filed. As of the date of this Agreement, the Corporation’s Documents do
not contain any misrepresentation (as defined in the Securities Act).
The
Corporation has not filed any confidential material change report
which at
the date hereof remains
confidential.
|
|
(y)
|
Litigation.
Except as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter, there is no court,
administrative, regulatory or similar proceeding (whether civil,
quasi-criminal or criminal), arbitration or other dispute settlement
procedure, investigation, audit, assessment, inquiry, request for
information, warrant, charge, suit or claim by any Governmental Entity,
or
any similar matter or proceeding (collectively,
“Proceedings”) against or involving the Corporation or
any of its subsidiaries in respect of their respective businesses,
properties or assets (whether in progress or, to the best of the
Corporation’s knowledge after due inquiry, threatened) which, if
determined adversely to the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries,
would
have a Material Adverse Effect, and there is no order, ordinance,
writ,
judgment, decree, injunction, award or order of any Governmental
Entity
outstanding against the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries which
would
have a Material Adverse Effect. There are no suits, claims,
actions or Proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of the Corporation,
threatened against the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, seeking
to
prevent the Arrangement.
|
|
(z)
|
Brokers.
The Corporation and its subsidiaries have not incurred, nor will
they
incur, directly or indirectly, any liability for brokerage or finder’s
fees or agent’s commissions or any similar charges in connection with this
Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby, other than fees
and
expenses payable to RBC Capital
Markets.
|
|
(aa)
|
Corrupt
Practices. Except as set forth in section 3.10 of the Disclosure Letter none
of the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the
Corporation, any of their respective representatives (in each case
acting
in their capacities as such) has any reasonable basis for believing
that,
in the past five (5) years, any of the foregoing Persons has (i)
used any
funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful
expenses relating to political activity, (ii) directly or
indirectly paid or delivered any fee, commission or other sum of
money or
item of property, however characterized, to any finder, agent or
other
party acting on behalf of or under the auspices of a governmental
official
or Governmental Entity, in the United States or any other country,
that
was illegal under any applicable law, (iii) made any payment to any
customer or supplier, or to any officer, director, partner, employee
or
agent of any such customer or supplier, for the unlawful sharing
of fees
to any such customer or supplier or any such officer, director, partner,
employee or agent for the unlawful rebating of charges, (iv) engaged
in
any other unlawful reciprocal practice, or made any other unlawful
payment
or given any other unlawful consideration to any such customeror
supplier
or any such officer, director, partner, employee or agent, (v) taken
any
action or made any omission in violation of any applicable law governing
imports into or exports from the United States or any foreign country,
or
relating to economic sanctions or embargoes, corrupt practices, money
laundering, or compliance with unsanctioned foreign boycotts, including
without limitation: the Arms Export Control Act, the Trading with
the
Enemy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Export
Administration Act, the 1930 Tariff Act and other U.S. customs laws,
the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Export Administration Regulations,
the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Office of Foreign
Assets
Control Regulations, the U.S. Customs Regulations, or any regulation,
ruling, rule, order, decision, writ, judgment, injunction, or decree
of
any governmental authority issued pursuant
thereto.
|
3.2
|
Representations
and Warranties of Acquireco
|
Acquireco
represents and warrants to and in favour of the Corporation as follows and
acknowledges that the Corporation is relying upon such representations and
warranties in connection with entering into this Agreement and completing the
Arrangement:
|
(a)
|
Organization.
It has been duly incorporated or created under the Laws of its
jurisdiction of incorporation, is validly existing and has full corporate
power and capacity to own its properties and assets and conduct its
business as currently owned and
conducted.
|
|
(b)
|
Authority
and No Violation.
|
|
(i)
|
It
has the requisite power and capacity to execute, deliver and perform
its
obligations hereunder and to complete the Arrangement. The execution,
delivery and performance of this Agreement by it and the completion
of the
Arrangement by it have been duly authorized and no other proceedings
on
its part are necessary to authorize the execution, delivery and
performance of this Agreement or the completion of the Arrangement
by
it.
|
|
(ii)
|
This
Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by it and constitutes
its
legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance
with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency and other similar
laws
affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general principles of
equity.
|
|
(iii)
|
The
execution, delivery and performance by it of this Agreement and the
completion by it of the Arrangement will
not:
|
|
(A)
|
result
in a violation or breach of, require any consent to be obtained under
or
give rise to any termination rights or payment obligation under any
provision of:
|
|
(1)
|
its
Articles or Bylaws (or other constating
documents);
|
28
|
(2)
|
any
resolution of its board of directors (or any committee thereof) or
of its
shareholders;
|
|
(3)
|
subject
to obtaining the Regulatory Approvals relating to it, any applicable
Laws;
or
|
|
(4)
|
any
material Contract to which it or its subsidiaries is a party or by
which
any of them is bound or their respective properties or assets are
bound;
or
|
|
(B)
|
give
rise to any right of termination or acceleration of indebtedness,
or cause
any of its third party indebtedness to come due before its stated
maturity
or cause any available credit to cease to be available where such
event
would materially impair its ability to complete or materially prevent
it
from completing the Arrangement.
|
|
(iv)
|
No
consent, approval, order or authorization of, or declaration or filing
with, any Governmental Entity or other Person is required to be obtained
by it in connection with the execution, delivery or performance of
this
Agreement or the completion by it of the Arrangement other than the
Regulatory Approvals relating to
it.
|
|
(c)
|
Sufficient
Funds.
|
|
(i)
|
Acquireco
has delivered to the Corporation copies
of:
|
|
(A)
|
commitment
letters dated January 10, 2007 (the “Funding Commitment
Letter”), pursuant to which each of the Guarantors have
committed, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein,
to
contribute (or cause to be contributed) capital to Acquireco (the
“Initial Financing”);
and
|
|
(B)
|
commitment
letters dated January 10, 2007 (collectively referred to herein as
the
“Debt Commitment Letter” and, together with the Funding
Commitment Letter, the “Financing Agreements”), which
relate to $1,925,000,000 of financing (the “Debt
Financing”) including term loan financing (the “Term Loan
Financing”), interim financing (the “Bridge
Financing”), receivables facility financing,
(“Receivables Financing”) and high yield debt financing
(“High Yield
Financing”).
|
As
used
in this Agreement, the financing referred to under clause (A) above is referred
to as the “Initial Financing”, the financing referred to under
clause (B) above is referred to as the “Debt Financing”, and
the Initial Financing and Debt Financing are collectively referred to as the
“Financing”.
|
(ii)
|
Subject
to its terms and conditions, the Financing, when funded in accordance
with
the Funding Commitment Letter and the DebtCommitment Letter, will
provide
financing sufficient to permit Acquireco to pay the aggregate Cash
Amount
payable pursuant to the Arrangement and to pay related fees and
expenses.
|
|
(iii)
|
As
of the date hereof, none of the Financing Agreements has been withdrawn
and Acquireco does not know of any facts or circumstances that may
reasonably be expected to result in any of the conditions set forth
in the
Financing Agreements to not be satisfied. Except for the
conditions set forth, described or provided in the Financing Agreements,
there are no other conditions precedent to the
Financing.
|
|
(iv)
|
The
Financing Agreements have been duly executed and delivered and, as
at the
date of this Agreement, the Financing Agreements are in full force
and
effect and are legal and binding obligations of the Guarantors, in
the
case of the Funding Commitment Letter, and of Acquireco, in the case
of
the Debt Commitment Letter.
|
|
(d)
|
Investment
Canada Act. Acquireco is a “Canadian” as such term is defined in the
Investment Canada Act.
|
|
(e)
|
Residency.
Acquireco is not a “non-resident” of Canada within the meaning of the Tax
Act.
|
|
(f)
|
Direction
to the CRTC. Acquireco is a “Canadian” within the meaning of the
Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility of
Non-Canadians).
|
3.3
|
Investigation
|
Any
investigation by the Corporation or its advisors or by Acquireco or its advisors
shall not mitigate, diminish or affect the representations and warranties of
Acquireco or the Corporation, respectively. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the
parties hereby confirm that, as at the date hereof, they have not determined
any
representation and warranty to be untrue or incorrect.
3.4
|
Survival
|
For
greater certainty, the representations and warranties of each of the Corporation
and Acquireco contained herein shall survive the execution and delivery of
this
Agreement and shall terminate on the earlier of the termination of this
Agreement in accordance with the provisions hereof and the Effective
Time.
ARTICLE
4
REGULATORY
APPROVALS
4.1
|
Applications
|
The
Corporation and Acquireco covenant to proceed diligently, in a coordinated
fashion, to apply for the Regulatory Approvals.
29
4.2 Competition
Approval
|
(a)
|
The
Corporation, Guarantors and Acquireco shall file any required pre-merger
notifications with the Competition Authorities as soon as
practicable. Counsel for the Corporation and Acquireco shall
cooperate to the extent reasonably necessary to prepare the parties’
pre-merger notifications and the competition analysis and, if requested
by
any of the Competition Authorities, to promptly furnish additional
information. Counsel for the Corporation and Acquireco may exchange
confidential information of the parties on an “external counsel only”
basis in order to prepare filings and to secure clearance of this
transaction under the Competition
Laws.
|
|
(b)
|
Guarantors
and Acquireco shall keep the Corporation well informed of any meetings
or
correspondence with the Competition Authorities, shall provide the
Corporation and its counsel with an opportunity to attend such meetings
and to provide comments on draft correspondence to the Competition
Authorities, and shall provide the Corporation and its counsel with
copies
of correspondence to and from the Competition
Authorities. Guarantors and Acquireco shall advise the
Corporation of any requests from the Competition Authorities for
information, documents or meetings, and Acquireco’s proposed response(s)
to such requests. The Corporation and the Corporation’s counsel shall
cooperate with Acquireco and Acquireco’s counsel in responding to the
Competition Authorities’ requests for information, documents or
meetings.
|
|
(c)
|
If
any of the Competition Authorities advises Guarantors and Acquireco
that
it has concerns about the competitive impact of the transactions
contemplated by the Arrangement or this Agreement, and that Competition
Act Clearance or HSR Clearance will be given if certain steps are
taken to
resolve those concerns, Guarantors and Acquireco shall take any steps
reasonably necessary to secure Competition Act Clearance or HSR Clearance,
including negotiating, offering to take and, if such offer is accepted,
effecting by consent agreement or order, hold separate arrangement,
so as
to enable the transactions contemplated by the Arrangement and this
Agreement to be completed prior to the Outside Date, but for greater
certainty shall not be required to divest any
assets.
|
ARTICLE
5
COVENANTS
5.1
|
Covenants
of the Corporation
|
|
(a)
|
The
Corporation covenants and agrees that, between the date of this Agreement
and the earlier of the Effective Time and the date upon which this
Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article 7, except as set
forth
in section 0 of the Disclosure Letter or as
expressly contemplated by any other provision of this Agreement,
the
Corporation shall, and shall cause each of its subsidiaries to, carry
on
its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice,
and
shall use its reasonable commercial efforts to preserve intact the
present
business organization of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and
to
preserve the current relationships of the Corporation and its subsidiaries
with customers, suppliers,distributors, licensors, employees and
other
Persons with which the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries has
significant business relations. Without limiting the generality of
the
foregoing, except as set forth in section 0
of the Disclosure Letter or as expressly contemplated by any other
provision of this Agreement, neither the Corporation nor any of its
subsidiaries shall, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective
Time, directly or indirectly, do or propose to do, any of the following
except as expressly required by Law or without the prior written
consent
of Acquireco:
|
|
(i)
|
commence
to undertake a substantial or unusual expansion of its business facilities
or an expansion that is out of the ordinary course of business consistent
with past practice;
|
|
(ii)
|
declare
or pay any dividends (other than dividends in the ordinary course
and
consistent with past practice) on or make any other distributions
on or in
respect of the Class A Shares or the Class B
Shares;
|
|
(iii)
|
amend
or otherwise change its articles of incorporation or by-laws (or
equivalent organizational
documents);
|
|
(iv)
|
allot,
reserve, set aside, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant or encumber,
or
authorize or propose the allotment, reservation, setting aside, issuance,
sale, pledge, disposition, grant or encumbrance of, or purchase,
redeem,
or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any shares in its capital
or
the capital of any subsidiary or any options, warrants, convertible
securities or rights to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire
or
exchange into any shares, or any other ownership interest in the
Corporation or any subsidiary (including any phantom interest or
other
right linked to the price of the Shares), except (i) for the issuance
of
Class B Shares pursuant to Options, Purchase Rights, restricted stock
units and deferred stock units issued pursuant to the terms of the
Compensation Plans and which are outstanding on the date of this
Agreement
in accordance with their terms as in effect on the date of this Agreement
and (ii) the settlement for cash by the Corporation of any Performance
Share Appreciation Plan Units outstanding on the date of this Agreement
in
accordance with their terms;
|
|
(v)
|
acquire
(including by merger, amalgamation, plan of arrangement, consolidation
or
acquisition of securities or assets or any other business combination)
any
corporation, partnership, other business organization or any division
thereof or any assets except (i) purchases of film and television
programming and related assets that are made
pursuant to contracts in effect as of the date hereof requiring such
purchases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice
and pursuant to the 2006 programming budget (except as disclosed
in
section 000
of the Disclosure Letter) and (ii) except for
capital expenditures in amounts which are consistent with the 2006
Capital
budget and in amounts no greater than $2 million individually or
$5
million in the aggregate;
|
30
|
(vi)
|
sell,
lease, pledge, dispose of or encumber or authorize the sale, lease,
pledge, disposition or encumbrance of any assets of the Corporation
or any
of its subsidiaries, except sales in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice limited to those transactions involving
the
sale of television programming;
|
|
(vii)
|
assume,
guarantee or endorse, or otherwise become responsible for the obligations
of any Person (other than in respect of an obligation incurred by
a
wholly-owned subsidiary that is not restricted hereunder from incurring
that obligation), make any loans or advances, incur any indebtedness
for
borrowed money or issue any debt securities, or rights, warrants,
calls or
options to acquire any debt securities of the Corporation or any
of its
subsidiaries, except for (i) borrowings under the Corporation’s credit
facilities in effect as of the date hereof in the ordinary course
of
business or (ii) advances made to employees for travel and moving
expenses
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice;
|
|
(viii)
|
repay,
redeem, repurchase or retire, or otherwise make any payment in respect
of,
any indebtedness for borrowed money or any debt securities, or rights,
warrants, calls or options to acquire debt securities of the Corporation
or any of its subsidiaries, other than in the ordinary course of
business
consistent with past practice or as required by their terms as in
effect
on the date of this Agreement;
|
|
(ix)
|
(A)
increase the compensation payable, or benefits provided, to its directors,
officers, or employees except, with respect to non-officer employees,
increases in annual base salary in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice or as expressly required by agreements
or
arrangements in existence as at the date hereof, (B) grant any severance
or termination pay or otherwise pay any amount to which employees
are not
entitled or accelerate any benefits under (other than as required
by
applicable Law or employment agreements, collective agreements, or
severance plans, agreements or arrangements in existence on the date
of
this Agreement), or enter into (except in the ordinary course consistent
with past practice with respect to new hires and promotions), amend
or
modify any employment, bonus, change of control or severance agreement
with, any director, officer or other employee of the Corporation
or any of
its subsidiaries except in the ordinary course of business for payments
of
annual bonuses that shall not exceed $12,000,000 in the aggregate
at
times, in amounts and otherwise on terms and conditions in the ordinary
course of business consistent with past practice in accordance with
the
terms of the 2006 incentive plan, or (C) establish, adopt, enter
into or
amend any collective agreement or benefit plan for the benefit of
any
director, officer or employee, except as required by
Law;
|
|
(x)
|
reclassify,
combine, split or subdivide any of its
shares;
|
31
|
(xi)
|
take
any action or make any change, other than actions or changes required
by
Canadian GAAP or with respect to accounting policies or
procedures;
|
|
(xii)
|
pay,
discharge or satisfy any material claim, liability or obligation
(whether
absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise),
other
than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice;
|
|
(xiii)
|
take
any action to cause any of its representations or warranties set
forth in
Article 3 to be untrue in any respect such that the condition set
forth in section 1)a)i)(1) would not be
satisfied;
|
|
(xiv)
|
amend
or modify in any material respect or terminate any Material Contract
or
enter into any contract or agreement that would be a Material Contract
if
in effect on the date hereof, except for (A) any contract or agreement
for
the sale of goods or services entered into on arm’s length terms with a
customer of the Corporation or any subsidiary and (B) any Material
Contract that does not require payment of or receipt over the remaining
life of such contract of an amount in excess of the greater of $1,000,000
or an amount advised in writing by
Acquireco;
|
|
(xv)
|
enter
into any union recognition agreement, collective agreement, works
council
agreement or similar agreement with any trade union or representative
body;
|
|
(xvi)
|
(A)
cancel any material indebtedness, (B) waive, transfer, grant or release
any claims or potential claims of material value or (C) waive any
benefits
of, or agree to modify in any respect, or terminate, release or fail
to
enforce, or consent to any material matter with respect to which
consent
is required under, any confidentiality, standstill or similar agreement
to
which the Corporation or any subsidiary is a party or of which the
Corporation or any subsidiary is a
beneficiary;
|
|
(xvii)
|
amend,
modify or terminate any insurance policy of the Corporation or any
subsidiary in effect on the date of this Agreement, except for scheduled
renewals of any other insurance policy of the Corporation or any
subsidiary in effect on the date hereof in the ordinary course of
business
consistent with past practice;
|
|
(xviii)
|
license
or commit to license or otherwise acquire or transfer any Intellectual
Property or rights in or in respect thereto, other than in the ordinary
course of business; and
|
|
(xix)
|
announce
an intention, enter into any formal or informal agreement or otherwise
make a commitment to do any of the
foregoing.
|
32
|
(b)
|
The
Corporation and its subsidiaries shall use all reasonable commercial
efforts to comply promptly with all requirements which applicable
Laws may
impose on the Corporation or its
subsidiaries;
|
|
(c)
|
Subject
to compliance with Competition Laws and Broadcasting Legislation,
the
Corporation shall promptly advise Acquireco by telephone and in writing
if
any senior officer of the Corporation becomes aware
of:
|
|
(i)
|
any
event occurring subsequent to the date of this Agreement that would
render
any representation or warranty of the Corporation contained in this
Agreement, if made on or as at the date of such event or the Effective
Date, untrue or inaccurate;
|
|
(ii)
|
any
Material Adverse Change; or
|
|
(iii)
|
any
breach by the Corporation of any covenant contained in this
Agreement.
|
|
(d)
|
Subject
to compliance with Competition Laws and Broadcasting Legislation,
the
Corporation will use all reasonable commercial efforts to consult
on an
ongoing basis with the Trustee in order that the Trustee will become
more
familiar with the Corporation and its subsidiaries as well as with
their
respective financial affairs, including in relation to any commitments,
arrangements or transactions proposed to be entered into that would
be out
of the ordinary course of business or outside the current operating
plan
that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a material liability
or
commitment of any kind and will use all reasonable commercial efforts
so
that such consultations are effected on a basis that will allow sufficient
time for the Trustee to give reasonable consideration to the
same;
|
|
(e)
|
Subject
to applicable Law (including Competition Laws and Broadcasting
Legislation), from the date of this Agreement until the Effective
Time,
the Corporation shall, and shall use all commercially reasonable
efforts
to cause its subsidiaries and respective officers, directors, employees
and agents of the Corporation and its subsidiaries to, afford Acquireco
and its directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors (including
financial advisors, counsel and accountants) collectively,
“Guarantor Representatives”) reasonable access, during
normal business hours and upon reasonable notice by Acquireco to
the
respective officers, employees, agents, properties, assets, offices
and
other facilities, Books and Records of the Corporation and each
subsidiary, and shall furnish Acquireco with such financial operating
and
other data and information as Acquireco or the Guarantor Representatives
may reasonably request; provided, however, that the Corporation
and its subsidiaries may withhold any Confidential Material Contract
or
any other contract or portions thereof which it is expressly restricted
from disclosing as a result of a legally enforceable confidentiality
obligation. If any material is withheld by the Corporation or a
subsidiary in accordance with applicable Law, the Corporation or
such
subsidiary shall inform Acquireco as to the general nature of what
is
being withheld.All information obtained by Acquireco or any other
Person
pursuant to this section 0 shall be kept
confidential in accordance with, and shall be subject to, the
Confidentiality Agreements and the provisions regarding confidentiality
in
the Confidentiality Agreements should apply mutatis mutandis to
Acquireco.
|
|
(f)
|
Between
the date of this Agreement and the earlier of the Effective Time
and the
date upon which this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article
7,
the Corporation shall and shall cause its subsidiaries to perform
all
obligations required or desirable to be performed by the Corporation
or
any of its subsidiaries under this Agreement and shall do all such
other
acts and things as may be necessary or desirable in order to complete
(A)
as soon as reasonably practicable, the Arrangement, and (B) the
Contemplated Transactions, to the extent requested by Acquireco (for
the
avoidance of doubt, the effectiveness of the Contemplated Transactions
shall occur no more than three days prior to the Effective Time),
and,
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Corporation
shall
and where appropriate shall cause its subsidiaries
to:
|
|
(i)
|
recommend
in the Circular and at the Meeting that Shareholders vote in favour
of the
Arrangement, and all public comment by the Corporation in relation
to the
Arrangement shall be made in accordance with section 0 and shall be consistent with and
supportive of such recommendation; and the Corporation shall not
act or
fail to act in any way that might reasonably be expected to discourage
Shareholders from voting in favour of the Special Resolution or that
might
encourage Shareholders to vote against the Special
Resolution;
|
|
(ii)
|
use
all reasonable commercial efforts to encourage each holder of the
Options,
Purchase Rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock units
to
exercise his or her Options, Purchase Rights, restricted stock units
and
deferred stock units of the Corporation to acquire Shares or such
cash
equivalent as may be permitted by the terms of the respective Compensation
Plan prior to the Effective Time and, subject to applicable Laws,
the
Corporation may, at its option, provide financing to the holders
of such
Options or Purchase Rights in respect of the exercise of such Options,
Purchase Rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock units
provided
that the Corporation obtains an irrevocable direction from any such
holder
of Options, Purchase Rights or restricted stock units and deferred
stock
units to the effect that payment for the Shares obtained on exercise
of
such Options, Purchase Rights, restricted stock units and deferred
stock
units pursuant to the Arrangement shall be paid to the Corporation
to the
extent sufficient to repay any such
financing;
|
|
(iii)
|
apply
for and use all reasonable commercial efforts to assist Acquireco
to
obtain all Regulatory Approvals and consents and waivers from any
Persons
required under the terms of any Material
Contracts;
|
|
(iv)
|
defend
all lawsuits or other legal, regulatory or other proceedings challenging
or affecting any matter contemplated by this Agreement or the completion
of the Arrangement; and
|
33
|
(v)
|
use
all reasonable commercial efforts to have lifted or rescinded any
injunction or restraining order or other order relating to the Corporation
which may adversely affect the ability of the Corporation to complete
the
Arrangement.
|
|
(g)
|
Notwithstanding
the covenants of the Corporation contained in section 0 of this Agreement, the Corporation
shall
purchase run-off directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing
protection comparable to the protection provided by policies maintained
by
the Corporation in effect immediately prior to the Effective Date
in
favour of present and former directors and officers and providing
protection in respect of claims arising from facts or events which
occurred prior to the Effective Date for a period of up to six years
from
the Effective Time provided that the Corporation shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to provide such insurance coverage at the lowest
cost
possible and in no event shall the Corporation expend an amount in
excess
of U.S.$2,000,000 for such insurance
coverage.
|
|
(h)
|
The
Corporation covenants and agrees that until the earlier of the Effective
Date and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Article
7,
it and its subsidiaries will take those actions set out in paragraph
8 of
section 0 of the Disclosure Letter and will
(1) duly and timely file all Tax Returns required to be filed by
them,
which shall be correct and complete in all respects, (2) pay, withhold,
collect and remit in a timely fashion all amounts required to be
so paid,
withheld, collected or remitted, and (3) not, without the prior written
consent of Acquireco, (A) make, rescind or change any election relating
to
Taxes, annual Tax accounting period or method of Tax accounting in
any
material respect, (B) except as disclosed in section 00 of the
Disclosure Letter enter into (or offer to enter into) any agreement
(including any waiver) with any Governmental Entity relating to Taxes,
(C)
without the prior written consent of Acquireco, settle (or offer
to
settle) any material Tax claim, audit, proceeding or re-assessment,
(D)
amend any Tax Return or change from most recent practice any manner
of
reporting income or claiming deductions for Tax purposes, or (E)
take any
action or enter into any transaction, other than a Contemplated
Transaction or a transaction effected at the request of Acquireco
pursuant
to section 0 hereof, that would have the
effect of reducing, other than in the ordinary course of business,
or
eliminating the amount of the tax cost “bump” pursuant to paragraphs
88(1)(c) and (d) of the Tax Act otherwise available to Acquireco
and its
successors in respect of the Shares or the non-depreciable capital
properties owned by the Corporation and its subsidiaries including
for
greater certainty the subsidiaries of Motion Picture Distribution
LP as of
the date of this Agreement or acquired by such entities subsequent
to the
date of this Agreement as part of the Contemplated
Transactions.
|
|
(i)
|
The
Corporation shall provide, and shall cause its affiliates to provide,
and
shall use reasonable best efforts to cause its and their officers,
employees, independent auditors, counsel and other representatives
to
provide, all reasonable and timely cooperation in connection with
the
arrangement of the Debt Financing as may be reasonably requested
by
Acquireco (provided, that the Corporation shall not berequired to
provide, or cause any affiliate to provide, cooperation under this
section
00 that
involves
any binding commitment by the Corporation or any of its affiliates
which
commitment is not conditional on the completion of the Arrangement
and
does not terminate without liability to the Corporation or its affiliates
upon the termination of this Agreement), including but not limited
to:
|
|
(i)
|
arranging
for appropriate senior management of the Corporation, each of its
principal business divisions and its affiliates (X) to meet at
reasonable times and on a reasonable number of occasions with rating
agencies, prospective lenders and investors in presentations, meetings,
road shows and due diligence sessions, (Y) to provide reasonable
and
customary management and legal representations to auditors and (Z)
to
provide reasonable and timely assistance with the preparation of
business
projections and similar materials with respect to the Corporation
and each
of its principal business
divisions;
|
|
(ii)
|
otherwise
reasonably cooperating with the marketing efforts of Acquireco and
its
financing sources for any of the Debt
Financing;
|
|
(iii)
|
furnishing
Acquireco and its financing sources with timely financial and other
pertinent information regarding the Corporation and each of its three
principal business divisions (including by preparing such financial
or
other pertinent information that may not exist) that it reasonably
believes to be accurate in all material respects and as may be reasonably
requested by Acquireco and is customary for (a) a high yield bond
offering
in the case of the Corporation’s broadcasting division and (b) a bank book
for a term loan financing, receivable financing and bridge financing,
in
each case, including the audited and unaudited historical financial
statements and financial data, pro forma financial statements and
related material (including appropriate management’s discussion and
analysis) for each of such three business divisions, which in the
case of
the Corporation’s broadcasting division shall be consistent with the
requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder (the “US Securities
Act”) for a registered offering of debt securities as customarily
applied to an offering under Rule 144A under the US Securities Act
(“Rule 144A”) for a private offering of debt securities
(and including, with respect to any audited financial statements,
the
report of the auditors of each such division) (the “Required
Financial Information”);
|
|
(iv)
|
satisfying
the conditions set forth in the Debt Commitment Letter (to the extent
satisfaction of such conditions requires actions by or cooperation
of the
Corporation or any of its affiliates), subject to such provisions
of the
Debt Commitment Letter being in the form provided to the Corporation
prior
to the signing of this Agreement;
|
|
(v)
|
assisting
Acquireco and its financing sources (including by participating in
drafting sessions) in the timely preparation of (A) offering, information
or syndication documents for any of the Financing or any alternative
to
all orany portion thereof (“Offering Documents”),
including but not limited to (X) an offering memorandum, prepared
in
accordance with customary practices for any offering of debt securities
under Rule 144A, as customarily applied to an offering under Rule
144A for
a private offering of debt securities, with respect to any High Yield
Financing (or any alternative thereto) that Acquireco is seeking
to obtain
and (Y) an offering memorandum or prospectus prepared in accordance
with
customary practices for Term Loan Financing, Receivables Financing
and
Bridge Financing (or any alternative thereto) that Acquireco is seeking
to
obtain, including in each case under clauses (X) and (Y) above by
timely
providing the Required Financial Information and such other financial
and
pertinent information (such as tabular, compiled or other financial
data),
as shall exist (or if not existing, using reasonable best efforts
to
prepare such financial or other pertinent information) that the
Corporation reasonably believes to be accurate in all material respects
and as may be reasonably requested by Acquireco, and (B) materials
for
rating agency presentations;
|
|
(vi)
|
if
applicable, facilitating the pledging of collateral and obtaining
surveys
and title insurance as reasonably requested by
Acquireco;
|
|
(vii)
|
if
applicable in connection with the Receivables Financing, cooperation
in
restructuring the ownership of Intellectual Property and internal
and
external licensing agreements, preparation of analyses of receivables,
and
cooperation with surety providers;
|
|
(viii)
|
using
reasonable best efforts to obtain comfort letters from the auditors
of
each of the business divisions and consent from such auditors for
Acquireco and any applicable business division to use any of their
audit
reports (including but not limited to by including such reports in
any
Offering Documents);
|
|
(ix)
|
using
reasonable best efforts to take such corporate actions as shall be
reasonably necessary to permit the consummation of the Debt Financing
and
to permit the proceeds thereof to be made available to Acquireco
on the
Closing Date;
|
|
(x)
|
using
reasonable best efforts to obtain legal opinions as may reasonably
be
requested by Acquireco; and
|
|
(xi)
|
using
reasonable best efforts to provide and execute necessary documents
and
certificates, including officer’s certificates, as may be reasonably
requested by Acquireco.
|
In
no
event shall the Corporation or any affiliate be required to pay any commitment
or similar fee or (except as otherwise expressly contemplated by this Agreement)
incur any liability in connection with the Debt Financing prior to the Effective
Time. Acquireco shall, if this Agreement is terminated pursuant to
section 0, reimburse the Corporation for all
out-of-pocket costs (including legal and accounting fees) incurred in good
faith
by the Corporation and its subsidiaries
34
and
their
respective advisers, agents and representatives in connection with such
cooperation. The Corporation, in consultation with Acquireco, shall
be entitled to engage such advisors, agents and representatives as it believes
are necessary or desirable to carry out these tasks.
Notwithstanding
anything provided in this section 00 neither the Corporation
nor its subsidiaries shall
be required to disclose any information the provision of which would breach
privacy laws or any contractual agreements to which the Corporation or any
of
its subsidiaries is a party. Acquireco shall keep, and cause to be
kept by its representatives confidential all non-public or otherwise
confidential information obtained by Acquireco or its representatives pursuant
to this section 00
unless the Corporation otherwise agrees.
Notwithstanding
anything provided in this section 00, the Corporation
has agreed to cooperate in
obtaining the Financing, however, absent wilful breach, no failure by the
Corporation or its subsidiaries to perform any of the actions required in this
section 00 shall be
construed as a breach by the Corporation under this Agreement.
|
(j)
|
The
Corporation shall keep Acquireco informed, on a current basis, of
any
events, discussions, notices or changes with respect to any Tax (other
than ordinary course communications which could not reasonably be
expected
to be material to the Corporation), criminal or regulatory investigation
or action involving the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, so
that
the Guarantors, their members and their respective affiliates will
have
the opportunity to take appropriate steps to avoid or mitigate any
cost or
regulatory consequences to them that might arise from such investigation
or action (including by reviewing written submissions in advance,
attending meetings with Taxing authorities and coordinating and
providing assistance in meeting with
regulators).
|
|
(k)
|
The
Corporation shall cause each of the companies set forth on Schedule
00 and
use
reasonable best efforts to cause such other companies identified
by GSCP
prior to the Closing Date to enter into a letter agreement with GSCP
or
its applicable affiliate, delegate or assignee, as of immediately
prior to
the Closing Date, that is reasonably satisfactory to GSCP and contains
substantially all of the rights described in U.S. Department of Labour
Advisory Opinion 2002-01A in order to comply with the requirements
of
Section 2510.3-101(d)(3)(ii) of
ERISA.
|
|
(l)
|
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary herein, any obligation of the Corporation
in this
Agreement with respect to causing Motion Picture Distribution Inc.
to take
any action or refrain from taking any action shall only be a requirement
for the Corporation to use its reasonable best efforts to cause Motion
Picture Distribution Inc. to take such action or refrain from taking
such
action; provided that no director of Motion Picture Distribution
Inc.
shall be required to take any action in breach of such person’s fiduciary
duties. Acquireco shall strictly enforce its rights under any
existing agreements with Motion Picture Distribution Inc. in furtherance
of Acquireco’s obligations hereunder, including pursuant to section 00.
|
35
|
5.2
|
Covenants
of Acquireco
|
|
(a)
|
Acquireco
covenants and agrees that between the date of this Agreement and
the
earlier of the Effective Time and the date this Agreement is terminated
in
accordance with Article 7, to perform all obligations required or
desirable to be performed by it under this Agreement and to do all
such
other acts and things as may be necessary or desirable in order to
complete, as soon as reasonably practicable, the Arrangement and,
without
limiting the generality of the foregoing,
to:
|
|
(i)
|
use
all reasonable commercial efforts to comply promptly with all requirements
which applicable Laws may impose on Acquireco with respect to the
matters
contemplated by this Agreement and the
Arrangement;
|
|
(ii)
|
apply
for and use all reasonable commercial efforts to obtain all Regulatory
Approvals relating to Acquireco;
|
|
(iii)
|
defend
all lawsuits or other legal, regulatory or other proceedings to which
Acquireco is a party challenging or affecting any matter contemplated
by
this Agreement or the completion of the
Arrangement;
|
|
(iv)
|
use
all reasonable commercial efforts to have lifted or rescinded any
injunction or restraining order or other order relating to Acquireco
which
may adversely affect the ability of the parties to complete the
Arrangement; and
|
|
(v)
|
not
permit any amendment or modification to be made to the Voting Agreements
in any manner that is material and adverse to the shareholders of
the
Corporation, without the prior written consent of the
Corporation;
|
|
(vi)
|
not
take any action to cause any of its representations or warranties
set
forth in Article 3 to be untrue in any material respect such that
the
condition set forth in section 0 would not be
satisfied;
|
|
(vii)
|
(A)
|
Acquireco
shall use its reasonable best efforts to arrange the Debt
|
Financing
on the terms and conditions described in the Debt
|
Commitment
Letter, including using reasonable best efforts
to:
|
|
(1)
|
negotiate
definitive agreements with respect thereto on the terms and conditions
contained therein or on other terms not less beneficial to
Acquireco;
|
|
(2)
|
satisfy
on a timely basis all conditions applicable to Acquireco in such
definitive agreements that are within its control;
and
|
36
|
(3)
|
consummate
the Financing contemplated by the Debt Commitment Letter at the Effective
Time, subject to the Corporation’s compliance with section 0.
|
|
(B)
|
In
the event any portion of the Debt Financing becomes unavailable on
the
terms and conditions contemplated in the Debt Commitment Letter,
Acquireco
shall use its reasonable best efforts to arrange to obtain alternative
financing, including from alternative sources, on terms that are
not less
beneficial to Acquireco (the “Alternative Debt
Financing”) as promptly as practicable following the occurrence
of such event, subject to the Corporation’s compliance with section 0.
|
|
(C)
|
In
the event that (X) any portion of the Debt Financing structured as
High
Yield Financing has not been consummated, (Y) all closing conditions
contained in Article 6 have been satisfied or waived (other than
those
conditions that are by their terms to be satisfied at the Effective
Date)
and (Z) the Bridge Financing (or bridge financing in any Alternative
Debt
Financing) is available on the terms and conditions described in
the Debt
Commitment Letter (or any replacement commitment letter obtained
by
Acquireco), then Acquireco shall borrow under and use the proceeds
of the
Bridge Financing (or such bridge financing in any Alternative Debt
Financing) to replace such affected portion of the High Yield Financing
no
later than the last day of the Marketing
Period.
|
For
purposes of this Agreement, the “Marketing Period” shall mean
the 20 consecutive Business Day period commencing on the later of (X) the date
on which all of the conditions set forth in section 0 and 0 shall have been
satisfied and continue to be satisfied (other than those conditions that are
by
their terms to be satisfied and continue to be satisfied at the Effective Date)
and (Y) the fifth Business Day after the Corporation delivers to Acquireco
the
Required Financial Information and all Offering Documents reasonably requested
with respect to the Debt Financing in accordance with section 0; provided, however, that if the financial statements
included in the Required Financial Information that is available to Acquireco
on
the first day of the Marketing Period would be “stale”, within the meaning of
Rule 3-12 of Regulation S-X, on any day during such 20 Business Day period
if a
registration statement using such financial statements were to be filed with
the
SEC on such date, then the Marketing Period shall be deemed to commence after
the Corporation delivers the Required Financial Information with financial
statements included therein that are not “stale” (and would not become “stale”
during such period) and are otherwise in compliance with relevant
requirements.
37
(D) Acquireco
shall give the Corporation prompt notice upon becoming aware of any material
breach by any party of the Debt Commitment Letter or any termination of the
Debt
Commitment Letter.
|
(E)
|
Acquireco
shall use its reasonable best efforts to enter into definitive credit
or
loan or other agreements and all documentation with respect to the
Financings on the terms and conditions set out in the Financing Agreements
or other terms and conditions not less favourable, in the aggregate,
to
Acquireco as soon as reasonably practicable, and Acquireco shall
deliver
to the Corporation correct and complete copies of such executed definitive
agreements and documentation promptly upon
execution.
|
|
(F)
|
Acquireco
agrees to notify the Corporation promptly, if at any time prior to
the
Effective Time any of the Financing Agreements expires or is terminated
for any reason.
|
|
(G)
|
Acquireco
shall keep the Corporation informed on a reasonably current basis
in
reasonable detail of the status of its efforts to arrange the Financing
and shall not permit any material amendment or modification to be
made to,
or any waiver of any material provision or remedy under the Debt
Commitment Letter, the Finance Agreements or any definitive agreement
or
documentation referred to in this section 0, without the prior written consent of
the
Corporation (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or
delayed).
|
|
(H)
|
Acquireco
shall provide notice to the Corporation promptly upon confirming
the
drawdown dates for the Debt Financing and receiving the proceeds
of the
Debt Financing; and
|
|
(viii)
|
not
permit, without the prior written consent of the Corporation (such
consent
not to be unreasonably withheld), any Person other than the Guarantors
or
one or more of their affiliates to acquire, directly or indirectly,
a
voting or equity interest in Acquireco if it would materially increase
the
risk of obtaining approval of the Arrangement or the Contemplated
Transactions pursuant to the Competition
Act.
|
5.3
|
Covenants
Regarding Non-Solicitation
|
|
(a)
|
The
Corporation shall not, and shall cause each of its subsidiaries not
to,
directly or indirectly, through any officer, director, employee,
representative (including for greater certainty any financial or
other
advisors) or agent of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries:
|
|
(i)
|
solicit,
assist, initiate, encourage or otherwise facilitate (including, without
limitation, by way of furnishing non-public information, permitting
any
visit to any facilities or properties of the Corporation or any subsidiary
or
|
38
|
entering
into any form of written or oral agreement, arrangement or understanding)
any inquiries, proposals or offers regarding an Acquisition
Proposal;
|
|
(ii)
|
engage
in or otherwise facilitate any discussions or negotiations regarding
any
Acquisition Proposal;
|
|
(iii)
|
withdraw,
modify or qualify in a manner adverse to Acquireco, or propose publicly
to
withdraw, modify or qualify in a manner adverse to Acquireco, the
approval
or recommendation by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof
with
respect to this Agreement or the Arrangement (it being understood
that
publicly taking a neutral position or no position with respect to
an
Acquisition Proposal shall be considered an adverse modification,
except
that publicly taking a neutral position or no position with respect
to an
Acquisition Proposal for a period of time not in excess of 10 Business
Days after the first public announcement of such Acquisition Proposal
shall not be considered an adverse modification (such time period,
an
“Acquisition Proposal Assessment Period”) unless such
position continues beyond the expiration of the Acquisition Proposal
Assessment Period);
|
|
(iv)
|
approve
or recommend, or propose publicly to approve or recommend, any Acquisition
Proposal; or
|
|
(v)
|
accept
or enter into or propose publicly to approve or recommend any letter
of
intent, agreement in principle, agreement, arrangement or undertaking
related to any Acquisition Proposal (other than a confidentiality
agreement as permitted pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement).
|
|
(b)
|
Subject
to sections 00,
00 and
0
but notwithstanding section 00 and
any other
provision of this Agreement, nothing shall prevent the Board of Directors
at any time prior to the approval of the Special Resolution by the
Shareholders from considering, discussing or negotiating any bona
fide written Acquisition Proposal not solicited after the date of
this Agreement nor solicited contrary to the Exclusivity Agreement
that
(i) did not result from a breach of section 00 and
(ii) the
Board of Directors determines in good faith (after consultation with
its
financial advisors and outside counsel) is, or is reasonably likely
to
result in, a Superior Proposal if and only if the Board of Directors
determines in good faith, after consultation with outside legal counsel,
that the failure to take such action would be inconsistent with its
fiduciary duties.
|
|
(c)
|
The
Corporation will immediately cease and cause to be terminated any
existing
solicitation, discussion or negotiation with any Person (other than
Acquireco) by the Corporation or any subsidiary or any of its or
their
officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents with respect
to
any potential Acquisition Proposal, whether or not initiated by the
Corporation or any subsidiaries or any of its or their officers,
directors, employees, representatives or agents, and, in connection
therewith, the Corporation will discontinue access to any data
rooms(virtual or otherwise). The Corporation shall not release
any third party from any confidentiality agreement or standstill
agreement
(except to allow such party to propose an Acquisition Proposal to
the
Corporation), provided that the foregoing shall not prevent the Board
of
Directors from considering and accepting any new Acquisition Proposal
that
is determined to be a Superior Proposal that might be made by any
such
third party, provided that the remaining provisions of sections 0 and 0 of this
Agreement are complied with. Within 15 Business Days from the
date hereof, the Corporation shall request the return or destruction
of
all information provided to any third parties who have entered into
a
confidentiality agreement with the Corporation relating to any potential
Acquisition Proposal and shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure
that
such requests are honoured in accordance with the terms of such
confidentiality agreements.
|
|
(d)
|
The
Corporation shall promptly notify Acquireco by telephone, followed
by
notice in writing, of any proposal, inquiry, offer (or any amendment
thereto) or request relating to or constituting a bona fide
Acquisition Proposal received by or communicated to any officer of
director of the Corporation after the date hereof, or of any request
received after the date hereof for non-public information relating
to the
Corporation or any subsidiary in connection with an Acquisition Proposal
or for access to the properties, Books and Records of the Corporation
or
any subsidiary by any Person, and shall provide Acquireco with copies
of
any such proposal, inquiry, offer, request or Acquisition
Proposal. Such notice shall include a description of the
material terms and conditions of any proposal and provide such details
of
the proposal, inquiry or contact as Acquireco may reasonably request
including the identity of the Person making such proposal, inquiry
or
contact. The Corporation shall keep Acquireco reasonably
informed of the status and the material terms and conditions (including
any amendment thereto) of any such Acquisition Proposal, inquiry
or
request.
|
|
(e)
|
If,
prior to the date of the Meeting, the Corporation receives a request
for
material non-public information from a Person who proposes a bona
fide Acquisition Proposal (notice of which has been provided to
Acquireco in accordance with 00) and
is permitted, as contemplated by section
00, to
consider,
discuss or negotiate, then, and only in such case, the Board of Directors
may, subject to the execution by such Person of a confidentiality
agreement which is substantially in the form of the Confidentiality
Agreements, provide such Person with access to information regarding
the
Corporation and its subsidiaries provided, however, that Acquireco
is
provided with a list of or copies of the information provided to
such
Person and is immediately provided with access to the same information
to
which such Person was provided.
|
|
(f)
|
Nothing
contained in this section 0 shall prohibit
the Board of Directors at any time prior to approval of the Special
Resolution by the Shareholders
from:
|
|
(i)
|
making
any disclosure of an Acquisition Proposal to the Shareholders prior
to the
Effective Time if the Board of Directors determines in good faith
(after
consultation with outside counsel) that such disclosure is necessary
for
the Board of Directors to fulfill its fiduciary duties or is otherwise
required under applicable Law; and
|
39
|
(ii)
|
5.4
|
Notice
by the Corporation of Superior Proposal Determination
|
|
(a)
|
The
Corporation shall not accept, approve, recommend or enter into any
agreement relating to an Acquisition Proposal (other than a
confidentiality agreement contemplated by section 0) on the basis that it would constitute
a
Superior Proposal unless (A) it has provided Acquireco with a copy
of the
Acquisition Proposal and five Business Days shall have elapsed from
the
later of (i) the date Acquireco received written notice of the
Corporation’s proposed determination to accept, approve, recommend or
enter into any agreement relating to such Acquisition Proposal, and
(ii)
the date Acquireco received a copy of the Acquisition Proposal, and
(B) it
has paid the Termination Payment pursuant to section 0.
|
|
(b)
|
During
the five Business Day notice period referred to in section 00, the
Corporation
acknowledges that Acquireco shall have the opportunity, but not the
obligation, to offer to amend the terms of this Agreement. The Board
of
Directors will review any offer by Acquireco to amend the terms of
this
Agreement in order to determine in good faith in the exercise of
its
fiduciary duties (after consultation with its advisors and outside
counsel) whether Acquireco’s offer to amend the terms of this Agreement
upon acceptance by the Corporation would result in the Acquisition
Proposal ceasing to be a Superior Proposal. If the Board of Directors
so
determines, it will enter into an amended agreement with Acquireco
reflecting Acquireco’s amended proposal. If the Board of Directors, acting
reasonably and in good faith, continues to believe that the Acquisition
Proposal remains a Superior Proposal and therefore rejects Acquireco’s
amended proposal, the Corporation must terminate this Agreement pursuant
to section 0 prior to or simultaneously with
entering into a definitive agreement with the Person making the Superior
Proposal. For greater certainty, the Corporation shall be entitled
to
adjourn or postpone the Meeting for a period of seven Business Days
from
the date of receipt of an Acquisition Proposal referred to in section
00 if such
Acquisition Proposal is received by the Corporation less than seven
Business Days prior to the date of the Meeting provided, however,
that the
Meeting shall not be adjourned or postponed to a date later than
the third
Business Day prior to the Outside
Date.
|
|
(c)
|
|
(d)
|
The
Board of Directors shall promptly reaffirm its recommendation of
the
Arrangement by press release after (X) any Acquisition Proposal (which
is
determined not to be a Superior Proposal) is publicly announced or
made;
or (Y) the Board of Directors determines that a proposed amendment
to the
terms of thisAgreement would result in the Acquisition Proposal not
being
a Superior Proposal. Acquireco and its counsel shall be given a
reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the form and content
of
any such press release, recognizing that whether or not such comments
are
appropriate will be determined by the Corporation, acting
reasonably. Such press release shall state that the Board of
Directors has determined that the Acquisition Proposal is not a Superior
Proposal.
|
5.5
|
Closing
Matters
|
Each
of
Acquireco (on behalf of itself and the Guarantors) and the Corporation shall
deliver or cause to be delivered at the closing of the Arrangement such
customary certificates, resolutions and other closing documents as may be
required by each other party hereto, acting reasonably.
5.6
|
Cooperation
regarding Reorganization
|
The
Corporation shall, and shall cause each of its subsidiaries to, cooperate with
Acquireco in structuring, planning and preparing any reorganization (including
for tax purposes) of their respective capital, assets and corporate structure
as
Acquireco may reasonably require including in connection with completing the
Contemplated Transactions; provided, however, that (i) such requested
cooperation does not unreasonably interfere with the ongoing operations of
the
Corporation and its subsidiaries, (ii) Acquireco shall pay the implementation
costs and any direct or indirect costs and liabilities thereof, including
employment costs, Taxes and liabilities, that may be incurred to unwind any
such
transaction if the Arrangement is not completed, including actual out-of-pocket
costs and expenses for filing fees and external counsel and auditors which
may
be incurred; (iii) such cooperation does not require the directors, officers,
employees or agents of the Corporation or its subsidiaries to take any action
in
any capacity other than as a director, officer or employee; and (iv) the
effectiveness thereof shall occur not more than three days prior to the
Effective Time; and provided further that no such actions shall be considered
to
constitute a breach of the representations or warranties or covenants
hereunder.
ARTICLE
6
CONDITIONS
6.1
|
Mutual
Conditions Precedent
|
The
obligations of Acquireco and the Corporation hereunder, including the obligation
to complete the Arrangement, are subject to the satisfaction, on or before
the
Effective Time, of the following conditions precedent, each of which may only
be
waived by the mutual consent of Acquireco and the Corporation, and any one
or
more of which, if not satisfied or waived by either party, will permit that
party to terminate this Agreement in accordance with Article 7:
|
(a)
|
the
Special Resolution shall have been approved at the Meeting in accordance
with the terms of the Interim
Order;
|
|
(b)
|
the
Interim Order and the Final Order shall each have been obtained in
form
and on terms satisfactory to each of Acquireco and the Corporation,
acting
reasonably, and shall not have been set aside or modified in a manner
unacceptable to Acquireco and the Corporation, acting reasonably,
on
appeal or otherwise, and
|
40
|
|
(c)
|
the
Competition Act Clearance and HSR Clearance shall have been
obtained;
|
|
(d)
|
there
shall not be in force any injunction, order or decree issued by a
Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction restraining or enjoining
the
completion of the Arrangement; and
|
|
(e)
|
this
Agreement shall not have been terminated pursuant to Article
7.
|
6.2
|
Additional
Conditions Precedent to the Obligations of Acquireco
|
The
obligations of Acquireco hereunder, including the obligation to complete, or
cause to be completed, the Arrangement, are also subject to the fulfilment
of
each of the following conditions precedent (each of which is for Acquireco’s
exclusive benefit and may be waived by Acquireco, and any one or more of which,
if not satisfied or waived, will permit Acquireco to terminate this Agreement
in
accordance with Article 7):
|
(a)
|
(1)
|
each
of the representations and warranties of the Corporation contained
in
sections 0, 0,
0 and 0 shall
be
true and correct in all respects as of the Effective Date as though
made
on and as of such date (except to the extent such representations
and
warranties are by their express terms made as of the date of this
Agreement or another specific date (in which case, such representations
and warranties shall be true and correct as of such
date));
|
|
(ii)
|
each
of the representations and warranties of the Corporation, (other
than
those set forth in clause 0(1)(1)
above) shall
be true and correct without regard to any materiality or Material
Adverse
Effect qualifications contained in them as of the Effective Date
as though
made on such date (except to the extent such representations and
warranties are by their express terms made as of the date of this
Agreement or another specific date (in which case, such representations
and warranties shall be true and correct as of such date)), other
than any
failure of the representations and warranties of the Corporation
to be
true and correct which could not reasonably be expected to constitute,
individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;
and
|
|
(iii)
|
Acquireco
shall have received a certificate of the Corporation addressed to
Acquireco and dated the Effective Date, signed on behalf of the
Corporation by two senior executive officers of the Corporation without
personal liability, confirming the matters in (i) and (ii) above
as of the
Effective Date;
|
|
(b)
|
the
covenants of the Corporation contained in this Agreement to be performed
on or before the Effective Date shall have been duly performed by
the
Corporation in all material respects and Acquireco shall have received
a
certificate of the Corporation addressed to Acquireco and dated the
Effective Date, signed onbehalf of the Corporation by two senior
executive
officers of the Corporation without personal liability, confirming
the
same;
|
|
(c)
|
all
of the Options, Purchase Rights, restricted stock units and deferred
stock
units of the Corporation, shall have vested in accordance with the
provisions of the relevant Compensation Plan or any necessary amendment
thereto, and been exercised at or immediately prior to the Effective
Time
or the Corporation shall have cancelled
same;
|
|
(d)
|
except
as disclosed in section 0 of the Disclosure
Letter, between the date hereof and the Effective Date, there shall
not
have occurred, in the judgment of Acquireco, acting reasonably, a
Material
Adverse Change;
|
|
(e)
|
the
Board of Directors shall have made and shall not have withheld, withdrawn,
modified or qualified in a manner adverse to Acquireco, prior to
the
Meeting, the approval or recommendation by the Board of Directors
or any
committee thereof of the
Arrangement;
|
|
(f)
|
the
Minister of Finance (Canada) shall not have announced any proposal
to
change or amend the Tax Act and there shall not have occurred any
actual
change or amendment to any published administrative position of the
Canada Revenue Agency with respect to the interpretation of the Tax
Act,
which individually or in the aggregate has or could reasonably be
expected
to have any material adverse effect on Acquireco’s ability to increase the
tax cost of the Shares or the non-depreciable capital property of
the
Corporation and its subsidiaries by a bump pursuant to paragraphs
subsection 88(1)(c) and (d) of the Tax Act) and which was not publicly
announced or proposed on or prior to the date of this
Agreement;
|
|
(g)
|
the
Voting Agreements shall not have been terminated and there shall
not have
been a material breach thereof by any of the parties thereto other
than
Acquireco;
|
|
(h)
|
holders
of Shares shall not have exercised the Dissent Rights or similar
rights,
and shall not have instituted proceedings to exercise the Dissent
Rights
or similar rights, in connection with the Arrangement (other than
holders
of Shares representing, in the aggregate, not more than 10% of the
outstanding Shares);
|
|
(i)
|
any
consent or waiver of any Person required under the terms of the
Confidential Material Contracts (other than those listed as items
2, 3 and
4 of section 0 of the Disclosure Letter to
the extent the consent or waiver requirements of such Confidential
Material Contracts were made available to Acquireco prior to the
date
hereof) with respect to (A) the Arrangement or (B) the completion
of any
of the Contemplated Transactions, in each case, shall have been duly
obtained or given, as the case may be, at or before the Effective
Time on
terms satisfactory to Acquireco acting
reasonably;
|
|
(j)
|
there
shall not be pending or threatened in writing any suit, action or
proceeding by any Governmental Entity (other than the CRTC) or any
other
Person:
|
41
|
(i)
|
that
would reasonably be expected to prohibit or restrict the acquisition
by
Acquireco of any Shares, that would reasonably be expected to restrain
or
prohibit the consummation of the Arrangement or the Contemplated
Transactions or seeking to obtain from the Corporation or Acquireco
any
material damages directly or indirectly in connection with the Arrangement
or the Contemplated Transactions,
|
|
(ii)
|
that
would reasonably be expected to prohibit or materially limit the
ownership
or operation by Acquireco of the Corporation or any material portion
of
the business or assets of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries,
|
|
(iii)
|
that
would reasonably be expected to impose limitations on the ability
of
Acquireco to acquire or hold, or exercise full rights of ownership
of, any
Shares, including the right to vote the Shares to be acquired by
it on all
matters properly presented to the shareholders of the
Corporation,
|
|
(iv)
|
that
would reasonably be expected to prohibit Acquireco from effectively
controlling in any material respect the business or operations of
the
Corporation or any of its subsidiaries,
or
|
|
(v)
|
which
arises after the date of this Agreement and is reasonably likely
to have a
Material Adverse Effect on the Corporation or
Acquireco;
|
|
(k)
|
there
shall not be in force any injunction, order or decree issued by a
Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction restraining or enjoining
the
completion of the Contemplated Transactions;
and
|
|
(l)
|
the
Other Competition Act Approvals and CRTC Approval shall each have
been
obtained on or prior to the Outside Date on terms acceptable to
Acquireco.
|
6.3
|
Additional
Conditions Precedent to the Obligations of the Corporation
|
The
obligations of the Corporation hereunder, including the obligation to complete
the Arrangement, shall also be subject to the following conditions precedent
(each of which is for the exclusive benefit of the Corporation and may be waived
by the Corporation and anyone or more of which, if not satisfied or waived,
will
permit the Corporation to terminate this Agreement in accordance with Article
7):
|
(a)
|
each
of the representations and warranties of Acquireco contained in sections
0 and 0 shall
be
true and correct as of the Effective Date as though made on and as
of the
such date (except to the extent such representations and warranties
are by
their express terms made as of the date of this Agreement or another
specific date (in which case, such representations and warranties
shall be
true and correct as of such date)).
|
|
(b)
|
each
of the representations and warranties of Acquireco in this Agreement
(other than those set forth in clause 00 above),
shall be true and correct as of the
date of this Agreement without regard to any materiality qualifications
contained inthem as of the Effective Date as though made on such
date
(except to the extent such representations and warranties are by
their
express terms made as of the date of this Agreement or another specific
date (in which case, such representations and warranties shall be
true and
correct as of such date)), other than any failure of the representations
and warranties of Acquireco to not be true and correct as which could
not
reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to materially
impair Acquireco’s ability to complete, or cause to be completed, the
Arrangement;
|
|
(c)
|
the
Corporation shall have received a certificate of Acquireco addressed
to
the Corporation and dated the Effective Date, signed on behalf of
Acquireco by two senior executive officers thereof without personal
liability, confirming the matters in (i) and (ii) above as of the
Effective Date;
|
|
(d)
|
all
covenants of Acquireco contained in this Agreement to be performed
on or
before the Effective Date shall have been duly performed by Acquireco
in
all material respects, except to the extent such failure to so comply
would not materially impair Acquireco’s ability to complete the
Arrangement; and
|
|
(e)
|
Acquireco
shall, subject to the Corporation obtaining the Final Order and the
satisfaction or waiver of the other conditions precedent contained
in this
Agreement in its favour, on the Effective Date, have deposited the
aggregate Cash Amount payable pursuant to the Arrangement (other
than to
Shareholders exercising Dissent Rights) with the
Depositary.
|
6.4
|
Notice
and Cure Provisions
|
Each
of
Acquireco and the Corporation will give prompt notice to the other of the
occurrence, or failure to occur, at any time from the date hereof until the
Effective Time, of any event or state of which it is aware, which occurrence
or
failure would, or would be likely to:
|
(a)
|
cause
any of its representations or warranties contained herein to be untrue
or
inaccurate in any material respect on the date hereof or on the Effective
Date; or
|
|
(b)
|
result
in its failure to comply with or satisfy in any material respect
any
covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or satisfied
hereunder prior to the Effective
Date.
|
Neither
Acquireco nor the Corporation may elect not to complete the Arrangement by
reason of failure to satisfy the conditions precedent for the benefit of such
party contained in sections (1), 0, 0,
0,
0
or 0, or exercise any termination right in section
0 and 0
arising therefrom
unless, prior to the Closing Date Acquireco has or the Corporation has, as
the
case may be, delivered a written notice to the other specifying in reasonable
detail all such breaches of representations and warranties, covenants or
agreements which Acquireco is, or the Corporation is, as the case may be,
asserting as the basis for the non-fulfilment of the applicable condition
precedent or the exercise of the termination right, as the case may
be. If any such notice is delivered, provided that Acquireco is, or
the Corporation is, as the case may be, proceeding diligently to cure such
matter, if such matter is susceptible to being cured, the other
42
party
may
not terminate this Agreement until the earlier of the expiration of a period
of
30 days from such notice and three Business Days prior to the Outside
Date.
6.5
|
Satisfaction
of Conditions
|
The
conditions precedent set out in sections 0, 0 and 0
shall be
conclusively deemed to have been satisfied, waived or released when, with the
agreement of Acquireco and the Corporation, a certificate of arrangement in
respect of the Arrangement is issued by the Director.
ARTICLE
7
TERMINATION,
AMENDMENT AND WAIVER
7.1
|
Termination
|
This
Agreement may be terminated and the Arrangement may be abandoned at any time
prior to the Effective Time, notwithstanding any requisite approval and
authorization of this Agreement by Shareholders:
|
(a)
|
by
mutual written consent of Acquireco and the Corporation duly authorized
by
the board of directors of Acquireco and the
Corporation;
|
|
(b)
|
by
either Acquireco or the Corporation if the Effective Time shall not
have
occurred on or before the Outside Date; provided, however, that the
right
to terminate this Agreement under this section 00 shall
not be
available to any party whose failure to fulfill any obligation under
this
Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the
Effective Time to occur on or before such
date;
|
|
(c)
|
(A)
by either Acquireco or the Corporation if any Governmental Entity
shall
have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Law which
has
become final and non-appealable and has the effect of making the
Arrangement illegal or otherwise preventing or prohibiting consummation
of
the Arrangement;
|
(B)
by
Acquireco if any Governmental Entity shall have enacted, issued, promulgated,
enforced or entered any Law which has become final and non-appealable and has
the effect of making the Contemplated Transactions illegal or otherwise
preventing or prohibiting consummation of the Contemplated
Transactions;
|
(d)
|
by
either Acquireco or the Corporation if the Special Resolution shall
have
failed to receive the requisite vote for approval at the Meeting
including
any adjournment or postponement thereof in accordance with the Interim
Order;
|
|
(e)
|
by
Acquireco if, prior to the Effective
Time:
|
|
(i)
|
the
Board of Directors shall have withdrawn, withheld, qualified or modified
in a manner adverse to Acquireco its recommendation of this Agreement
(it
being understood that the taking of a neutral position or no position
with
respect to an Acquisition Proposal beyond the Acquisition Proposal
Assessment Period shall be considered an adverse
modification),
|
43
|
(ii)
|
the
Board of Directors shall have approved or recommended, or proposed
publicly to approve or recommend, any Acquisition Proposal,
or
|
|
(iii)
|
the
Board of Directors shall have, after the end of an Acquisition Proposal
Assessment Period, failed to reaffirm its approval or recommendation
of
this Agreement and the Arrangement as promptly as practicable (but
in any
event within 10 Business Days) after receipt of any written request
to do
so from Acquireco;
|
|
(f)
|
by
Acquireco, if there has been a breach of or failure to perform any
representation, warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of the
Corporation set forth in this Agreement, which breach or failure
to
perform by the Corporation would cause the conditions set forth in
section
(1) or 0 not
to
be satisfied;
|
|
(g)
|
|
(h)
|
by
the Corporation in accordance with section 0;
|
|
(i)
|
by
the Corporation, if (a) all of the conditions set forth in sections
0 and 0 have
been
satisfied and remain satisfied or waived by Acquireco (other than
those
conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied at the Effective
Time)
and (b) Acquireco shall not have received the proceeds of the Debt
Financing or any Alternative Debt Financing by the Closing Date;
or
|
7.2
|
Effect
of Termination
|
|
(a)
|
In
the event of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to section
0, written notice thereof shall forthwith
be
given by the terminating party to the other party specifying the
provision
pursuant to which such termination is made, this Agreement shall
be of no
further force or effect, and there shall be no liability under this
Agreement on the part of any party hereto after such termination
(except
that sections 0, 0, 0
and Article 8
and all related definitions set forth in Article 1 and the reimbursement
obligations in sections, 0 and 0 shall
survive any such
termination).
|
|
(b)
|
The
Corporation shall pay the Termination Payment (as liquidated damages
for
the termination of Acquireco’s rights under this Agreement) to Acquireco
if,
|
|
(i)
|
either
(A) Acquireco or the Corporation terminates this Agreement
pursuant to section 0, or (B) Acquireco or
the Corporation terminates this Agreement pursuant to section 0, or (C) Acquireco terminates this
Agreement
pursuant to section 0, and in any such case,
(X) after the date of this Agreement and prior to such termination,
an
Acquisition
|
44
|
Proposal
was made or publicly disclosed, and (Y) within twelve months after
such
termination, the Corporation shall have entered into a definitive
agreement to consummate, or there shall have been consummated, a
Third
Party Acquisition;
|
|
(ii)
|
Acquireco
terminates this Agreement pursuant to section 0;
|
|
(iii)
|
the
Corporation terminates this Agreement pursuant to section 0; or
|
|
(iv)
|
Acquireco
terminates this Agreement pursuant to section 0 due to the wilful breach or fraud
of the
Corporation.
|
Any
payment due under this section 00 shall be paid
by wire transfer of same-day funds to
an account designated in writing by Acquireco (W) in the case of termination
pursuant to clause (i) above, within two business days after date of execution
of such definitive agreement or, if earlier, consummation of such Third Party
Acquisition; (X) in the case of clause (ii) or (iv) within two business days
of
receipt of a notice of termination by Acquireco; and (Y) in the case of
termination pursuant to clause (iii) above, immediately prior to the termination
of this Agreement. In the event that the Corporation has previously paid an
amount to Acquireco pursuant to section 00, the amount payable
pursuant to this section 00 shall be the
difference between the Termination Payment and the amount previously paid to
Acquireco pursuant to section 00.
|
(c)
|
The
Corporation shall reimburse Acquireco for the Guarantor Expenses
actually
incurred in connection with this Agreement if this Agreement is terminated
pursuant to (A) section 0 and after the date
of this Agreement and prior to such termination, an Acquisition Proposal
was made or publicly disclosed prior to such termination, (B) section
0 and the conditions set forth in either
section
0 or section 0
have not been satisfied prior to such date, (C) section 0 or (D) section 0,
in each case, upon demand upon such
termination.
|
|
(d)
|
|
(e)
|
Each
party acknowledges and agrees that if the amounts required to be
paid to
Acquireco or the Corporation, as the case may be, pursuant to section
0 are paid by the Corporation or Acquireco,
respectively, the amounts so paid are in lieu of any damages or any
other
payment or remedy which Acquireco or the Corporation, as the case
may be,
may be entitled to and shall constitute payment of liquidated damages
which are a genuine estimate of the damages which Acquireco or the
Corporation, as the case may be, will suffer or incur as a result
of the
event giving rise to such damages and resultant termination of this
Agreement and are not penalties. Each party irrevocably waives
any right it may have to raise as a defence that any such liquidated
damages are excessive or punitive. For greater certainty, the
parties agree that the payment of the amounts pursuant to section
0 or 0 is the
sole
monetary remedy available to it and itshall not have any alternative
right
or remedy against the other. In no event shall the Corporation
be obligated to make more than one single payment of the Termination
Payment or more than one single payment of the Guarantor
Expenses. The maximum amount payable by the Corporation
pursuant to this Article 7 is
$65,000,000.
|
7.3
|
Expenses
|
Except
as
set forth in section 0, and except that Acquireco
and the Corporation shall each pay half of all Competition Law filing fees,
all
costs and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the
Arrangement shall be paid by the party incurring such costs and expenses,
whether or not the Arrangement is consummated.
7.4
|
Acquireco
Termination Payment
|
In
the
event that this Agreement is terminated pursuant to section 0 due to the wilful breach or fraud by Acquireco,
or
pursuant to section 0 or pursuant to section 0, or pursuant to
section 0 for failure of the condition set forth in section
0 with respect to
a suit, action or proceeding
relating to a Contemplated Transaction, or pursuant to section 0(B), then Acquireco shall pay to the Corporation
an
aggregate amount equal to $65,000,000 (the “Acquireco Termination
Payment”) as promptly as reasonably practicable (and, in any event,
within two Business Days following such termination) by wire transfer of
same-day funds. The receipt of a single payment of the Acquireco
Termination Payment pursuant to this section 0 or a
single payment of the Corporation Expenses pursuant to section 0, as the case may be, shall be the sole and exclusive
remedy of the Corporation and its affiliates against Acquireco, Acquireco’s
affiliates and any of their respective former, current or future general or
limited partners, members or shareholders against any of their respective
former, current or future directors, officers, employees, affiliates, general
or
limited partners, shareholders, managers, members or agents (each a
“Specified Person”) for all breaches of any representation,
warranty, covenant or agreement contained in this Agreement by Acquireco and
the
failure of the transactions contemplated hereby to be consummated, and upon
payment of the Acquireco Termination Payment in accordance with this section
0 or the Corporation Expenses pursuant to section
0, as the case may
be, none of Acquireco, its
affiliates or any of their respective Specified Persons shall have any further
liability or obligation relating to or arising out of this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The maximum amount
payable by Acquireco pursuant to this Article 7 is $65,000,000.
7.5
|
Amendment
|
This
Agreement may be amended by the parties hereto by action taken by or on behalf
of their respective boards of directors at any time prior to the Effective
Time;
provided, however, that, after receipt of approval of Shareholders there shall
be made no amendment that by Law requires further approval by Shareholders
without the further approval of such holders. This Agreement may not be amended
except by an instrument in writing signed by each of the parties
hereto.
7.6
|
Waiver
|
At
any
time prior to the Effective Time, any party hereto may:
45
(a) extend
the time for the performance of any obligation or other act of any other party
hereto;
|
(b)
|
waive
any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties of any other
party
contained herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto;
or
|
|
(c)
|
waive
compliance with any agreement of any other party or any condition
to its
own obligations contained herein. Any such extension or waiver shall
be
valid if set forth in an instrument in writing signed by the party
or
parties to be bound thereby.
|
ARTICLE
8
GENERAL
8.1
|
Notices
|
All
notices and other communications which may or are required to be given pursuant
to any provision of this Agreement shall be given in writing and shall be deemed
to be validly given if delivered personally or by fax, in each case
addressed:
|
(a)
|
if
to Acquireco, at:
|
c/o
CanWest
Media Works Inc.
00xx
Xxxxx, 000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
CanWest
Global Place
Winnipeg,
MB R3B 3L7
Attention: Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Fax
No.: (000)
000-0000
with
a
copy to (which shall not constitute notice):
Osler,
Xxxxxx & Harcourt LLP
Box
50,
One First Canadian Place
Toronto,
ON M5X 1B8
Attention: Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Fax
No.: (000)
000-0000
and
to:
GS
Capital Partners VI, L.P.
00
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
XX 00000
X.X.X.
Attention: Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx
Fax
No.: 000-000-0000
46
with
a
copy to (which shall not constitute notice):
GS
Capital Partners VI, L.P.
Xxx
Xxx
Xxxx Xxxxx
00xx
Xxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
XX 00000
U.S.A.
Attention: Xxx
Xxxxx
Fax
No.: 000-000-0000
with
a
copy to (which shall not constitute notice):
XxXxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx XXX
Xxxxx
0000, Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
XX X0X xX0
Attention: Xxxx
Xxxxxx
Fax
No.: 000-000-0000
with
a
copy to (which shall not constitute notice):
Wachtell,
Lipton, Xxxxx & Xxxx
00
Xxxx
00xx
Xxxxxx
Xxx
Xxxx,
XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxx
Fax
No.: 212-403-2000
|
(b)
|
if
to the Corporation, at:
|
000
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxx
0000
Xxxxxxx,
XX X0X 0X0
Attention: Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx, CEO
Fax
No.: 000-000-0000
with
a
copy to:
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx LLP
0000
Xxx
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
XX X0X 0X0
Attention: Xxxx
Xxxxxx
Fax
No.: 000-000-0000
or
at
such other address at which any party may, from time to time, advise the other
by notice in writing given in accordance with this section 0. The date of receipt of any notice given pursuant
to
this section 0 shall be deemed to be the date of
delivery or faxing thereof.
47
8.2 Assignment
No
party
hereto may assign any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement or
the
Arrangement, provided, however, that Acquireco may assign any of or all its
rights, interests and obligations under this Agreement to any direct or indirect
wholly-owned subsidiary of Acquireco or to any affiliate of Acquireco organized
for the purpose of effecting the Arrangement or the
Contemplated Transactions without the prior written
consent of the Corporation, provided that no such assignment shall (i) relieve
Acquireco of any of its obligations under this Agreement; (ii) require any
consent, approval, license, permit, order or authorization of, or registration,
declaration or filing with, or permit from, any Governmental Entity or other
Person; or (iii) result in any delay in the completion of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement and the Guarantees shall extend to the assignee’s
obligations. Any purported assignment without such consent shall be
void.
8.3
|
Binding
Effect
|
This
Agreement and the Arrangement shall be binding upon and shall enure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted
assigns.
8.4
|
No
Other Warranties
|
The
parties do not rely on and have not been induced to enter into this Agreement
on
the basis of any representations, warranties, covenants, undertakings,
indemnities or other statements whatsoever other than the representations and
warranties contained in this Agreement and the Financing Agreement.
8.5
|
Separate
Warranties
|
Each
of
the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement shall be
construed as a separate and independent representation and warranty and (except
where expressly provided to the contrary) shall not be limited or restricted
by
reference to or inference from the terms of any other representation or warranty
or any other term of this Agreement.
8.6
|
Entire
Agreement
|
This
Agreement and the Financing Agreements set out the entire agreement between
the
parties hereto in relation to the subject matter hereof and thereof and
supersedes any previous written or oral agreements, understandings,
undertakings, representations, warranties and arrangements of any nature between
the parties in relation to the matters set forth in this
Agreement. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
Acquireco acknowledges and agrees that, except as expressly set forth in this
Agreement, no representation, warranty or other assurance has been given by
the
Corporation in respect of any projection, forecast or other forward-looking
information.
8.7
|
Remedies
and Waivers
|
|
(a)
|
No
delay or omission by any party to this Agreement in exercising any
right,
power or remedy provided by Law or under this Agreement or any other
documents referred to herein shall affect that right, power or remedy
or
operate asa waiver thereof. The single or partial exercise of
any right, power or remedy provided by Law or under this Agreement
shall
not preclude any further exercise of such right, power or remedy
or the
exercise of any other right, power or remedy. The rights,
powers and remedies provided in this Agreement are cumulative and
not
exclusive of any rights, powers and remedies (express or implied)
provided
by common law, statute, custom or
otherwise.
|
|
(b)
|
Subject
to sections 0 and 0, the
parties agree that irreparable damage
would occur, and that the parties 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. It is accordingly agreed that the parties 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, this being in addition to any other remedy to which they
are
entitled at law or in equity. For purposes of clarity, the
parties hereto agree that the Corporation’s sole and exclusive remedy in
the event of a Debt Receipt Failure shall be the remedy set forth
in
section 0, and that the Corporation shall not
be entitled to enforce specifically the terms of this agreement in
that
circumstance (except with respect to enforcing the payment of the
Acquireco Termination Payment).
|
8.8
|
No
Personal Liability
|
|
(a)
|
No
director or officer of Acquireco shall have any personal liability
whatsoever to the Corporation under this Agreement or any other document
delivered in connection with the Arrangement, the Contemplated
Transactions, the Debt Financing or any other transaction contemplated
by
this Agreement on behalf of
Acquireco.
|
|
(b)
|
No
director or officer of the Corporation shall have any personal liability
whatsoever to Acquireco under this Agreement or any other document
delivered in connection with the Arrangement, the Contemplated
Transactions, the Debt Financing or any other transaction contemplated
by
this Agreement on behalf of the
Corporation.
|
8.9
|
Control
of Other Party’s Business
|
Nothing
contained in this Agreement shall give Acquireco, directly or indirectly, the
right to control or direct the operations of the Corporation and its
subsidiaries prior to the later to occur of (a) the Effective Date and (b)
Acquireco obtaining the Regulatory Approvals.
8.10
|
Indemnification
|
Acquireco
agrees that all rights to indemnification or exculpation existing in favour
of
the directors or officers of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries as
provided in their respective Articles or By-laws as at the date of this
Agreement shall survive the completion of the Arrangement and shall continue
in
full force and effect for a period of not less than six years from the Effective
Date. This section 0 shall survive the
completion of the Arrangement.
48
8.11 Further
Assurances
Each
party hereto shall, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, at the
request of the other party hereto, but without further consideration, do all
such further acts and execute and deliver all such further documents and
instruments as shall be reasonably required in order to fully perform and carry
out the terms and intent hereof.
8.12
|
Public
Statements
|
Each
of
Acquireco and the Corporation agree to consult with each other as to the general
nature of any news release or other public disclosure document with respect
to
this Agreement or the Arrangement (other than regular interim or annual
continuous disclosure filings provided no reference is made to this Agreement
or
the Arrangement other than as previously disclosed) and to use their respective
reasonable commercial efforts not to issue any news release or other public
disclosure document inconsistent with the results of such consultations,
provided that each of the Guarantors (on behalf of itself and its respective
affiliates) also acts in the same manner in favour of the Corporation. Subject
to applicable Laws, each party shall use its reasonable commercial efforts
to
enable the other party to review and comment on all such news releases or other
public disclosure document prior to the release thereof. The Corporation agrees
to issue jointly with the Guarantors a news release with respect to this
Agreement as soon as practicable following the execution and delivery of this
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, CanWest and the Corporation may file
this Agreement on SEDAR. The provisions of this section 0 shall survive termination of this Agreement
in
respect of news releases or public statements relating to the termination of
this Agreement. This section 0 shall not
apply to Movie Distribution Income Fund, Motion Picture Distribution Inc. or
Motion Picture Distribution LP.
8.13
|
Governing
Law
|
This
Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Laws of
the
Province of Ontario and the Laws of Canada applicable therein. Each of the
parties hereby irrevocably attorns and submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction
of the courts of the Province of Ontario with respect to any matter arising
under this Agreement.
8.14
|
Invalidity
of Provisions
|
If
any
term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable
of
being enforced by any rule or Law, or public policy, all other conditions and
provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect
so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated
hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any party. Upon
such
determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable
of being enforced, the parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify
this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely
as
possible in an acceptable manner to the end that the transactions contemplated
hereby are fulfilled to the fullest extent possible.
8.15
|
Counterparts
|
This
Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall
be
deemed to be an original but all of which together shall constitute one and
the
same instrument.
49
- -
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of
the date first written above.
6681859
CANADA INC.
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
|
||
Name: Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
|
|||
Title: Vice-President
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
|
||
Name: Xxxxxx
Xxxxx
|
|||
Title: Director
|
ALLIANCE
ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC.
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
|
||
Name: Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx
|
|||
Title: Chief
Executive Officer
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx XxxXxxxxx
|
||
Name: Xxxxxxx
XxxXxxxxx
|
|||
Title: Executive
Chair
|
50
EXHIBIT
1
FORM
OF PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT
PLAN
OF ARRANGEMENT UNDER SECTION 192
OF
THE CANADA BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT
ARTICLE
1.
INTERPRETATION
1.1
|
Definitions
|
Unless
indicated otherwise, where used in this Plan of Arrangement, the following
terms
shall have the following meanings:
“Acquireco”
means 6681859 Canada Inc., a corporation existing under the laws of
Canada;
“Arrangement”
means the arrangement involving Acquireco and the Corporation pursuant to the
provisions of section 192 of the CBCA on the terms and subject to the conditions
set out in this Plan of Arrangement;
“Arrangement
Agreement” means the arrangement agreement dated as of January 10, 2007
between Acquireco and the Corporation (including the Schedules, Appendices
and
the Disclosure Letter thereto) as amended, modified or supplemented from time
to
time;
“Business
Day” means any day on which commercial banks are open for business in
Toronto, Ontario other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day observed as a holiday
in Toronto, Ontario under the laws of the Province of Ontario, or the federal
laws of Canada;
“Cash
Amount” means $53.00 in cash per Share;
“CBCA”
means the Canada Business Corporations Act as now in effect and as it
may be amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Circular”
means the notice of the Meeting and accompanying management information
circular, including all schedules thereto, to be sent to Shareholders in
connection with the Meeting;
“Class
A Shareholder” means a registered holder of Class A
Shares;
“Class
B Shareholder” means a registered holder of Class B
Shares;
“Class
A Shares” means the Class A Voting Shares in the capital of the
Corporation;
“Class
B Shares” means the Class B Non-Voting Shares in the capital of the
Corporation;
“Compensation
Plans” means the Corporation’s Amended and Restated 1993 Employee Stock
Option Plan, the Corporation’s 1998 Share Compensation Plan, as amended, the
Corporation’s 2006 Restricted Share Unit Plan, and the Corporation’s May 31,
1999 Deferred Share Unit Plan;
51
“Corporation”
means Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., a corporation existing under the
laws of Canada;
“Court”
means the Ontario Superior Court of Justice;
“Depositary”
means Computershare Investor Services Inc., as depositary, or such other
depositary as Acquireco may determine;
“Director”
means the Director appointed under section 260 of the CBCA;
“Dissent
Rights” has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 3.1
hereof;
“Dissenting
Shareholder” means a Shareholder who dissents from the Special
Resolution in compliance with the Dissent Rights and who has not withdrawn
such
exercise of Dissent Rights and is ultimately determined to be paid fair value
in
respect of the Shares so held;
“Effective
Date” means the date upon which this Plan of Arrangement becomes
effective as established by the date of issue shown on the certificate of
arrangement issued by the Director under the CBCA;
“Effective
Time” means 12:01 a.m. (Toronto time) on the Effective
Date;
“Final
Order” means the order of the Court approving the Arrangement, as such
order may be amended at any time prior to the Effective Date or, if appealed,
then unless such appeal is withdrawn or denied, as affirmed;
“Interim
Order” means the interim order of the Court in respect of the
Arrangement contemplated by section 2.2 of the Arrangement
Agreement;
“ITA”
means the Income Tax Act (Canada) as now in effect and as it may be
amended from time to time prior to the Effective Date;
“Letter
of Transmittal” means the letter of transmittal mailed to Shareholders
by the Corporation together with the Circular;
“Meeting”
means the special meeting of Shareholders (including any adjournment or
postponement thereof) to be called and held in accordance with the Interim
Order
to consider and, if deemed advisable, to approve the Special
Resolution;
“Options”
has the meaning ascribed thereto in the Arrangement Agreement;
“Person”
includes any individual, firm, partnership, limited partnership, joint venture,
syndicate, sole proprietorship, company or corporation with or without share
capital, unincorporated association, trust, trustee, executor, administrator
or
other legal personal representative, or other entity however designated or
constituted;
“Plan
of Arrangement” means this plan of arrangement proposed under section
192 of the CBCA, as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in
accordance with the provisions hereof or made at the direction of the Court
in
the Final Order;
52
“Purchase
Rights” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the Arrangement
Agreement;
“Guarantors”
means, together, CanWest MediaWorks Inc. and GS Capital Partners VI,
L.P.;
“Qualifying
Holdco” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Arrangement
Agreement;
“Qualifying
Holdco Shares” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Arrangement
Agreement;
“Qualifying
Holdco Shareholder” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Arrangement
Agreement;
“Shares”
means, collectively, the Class A Shares and the Class B Shares;
“Shareholder”
means a registered holder of Class A Shares or Class B Shares; and
“Special
Resolution” means the special resolution of the Shareholders approving
the Arrangement in accordance with the Interim Order.
1.2
|
Interpretation
Not Affected by Headings,
etc.
|
The
division of this Plan of Arrangement into Articles, sections, and other portions
and the insertion of headings are for convenience of reference only and shall
not affect the construction or interpretation hereof. Unless otherwise
indicated, all references to an “Article” or “section” followed by a number
and/or a letter refer to the specified Article or section of this Plan of
Arrangement. The terms “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and similar
expressions refer to this Plan of Arrangement and not to any particular Article,
section or other portion hereof.
1.3
|
Currency
|
All
sums
of money which are referred to herein are expressed in lawful money of
Canada.
1.4
|
Number,
etc.
|
Unless
the subject matter or context otherwise requires, words importing the singular
shall include the plural and vice versa and words importing gender
shall include all genders.
1.5
|
Statutory
References
|
Any
reference herein to a statute includes all regulations made thereunder, all
amendments to such statute in force from time to time and any statute or
regulation that supplements or supersedes such statute or
regulation.
1.6
|
Date
for Any Action
|
In
the
event that any date on which any action is required or permitted to be taken
hereunder by any Person is not a Business Day, such action shall be required
or
permitted to be taken on the next succeeding day which is a Business
Day.
53
1.7 Time
Time
shall be of the essence in every matter or action contemplated hereunder. All
times expressed herein are local time (Toronto, Ontario) unless otherwise
stipulated herein.
ARTICLE
2.
THE
ARRANGEMENT
2.1
|
Arrangement
Agreement
|
This
Plan
of Arrangement is made pursuant to, is subject to the provisions of and forms
part of, the Arrangement Agreement.
2.2
|
Binding
Effect
|
This
Plan
of Arrangement will become effective at, and be binding at and after, the
Effective Time, on Acquireco, the Corporation, all Qualifying Holdco
Shareholders, all Qualifying Holdcos, the Shareholders (including those
described in section 3.1), all beneficial holders of Shares and all holders
of
Options or other rights under the Compensation Plans.
2.3
|
Effective
Time
|
At
the
Effective Time the following shall occur and shall be deemed to occur
contemporaneously without any further authorization, act or
formality:
|
(a)
|
each
Share outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other
than a
Share described in section 3.1(a) or a Share held by a Qualifying
Holdco
in respect of which the Holdco Alternative has been validly elected)
shall
be transferred by the holder thereof to Acquireco in exchange for
the Cash
Amount, and the name of each such holder will be removed from the
register
of holders of Shares and Acquireco will be recorded as the registered
holder of such Share and will be deemed to be the legal and beneficial
owner thereof free and clear of any liens, claims or
encumbrances;
|
|
(b)
|
all
of the shares outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time
of each
Qualifying Holdco in respect of which the Holdco Alternative has
been
validly elected shall be transferred by the holders thereof to Acquireco
in exchange for an aggregate amount equal to the product of the Cash
Amount and the total number of Shares beneficially owned by such
Qualifying Holdco, and the name of each such holder of shares of
such
Qualifying Holdco will be removed from the register of holders of
shares
of such Qualifying Holdco and Acquireco will be recorded as the registered
holder of such shares of such Qualifying Holdco and will be deemed
to be
the legal and beneficial owner thereof free and clear of any liens,
claims
or encumbrances;
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(c)
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each
Option and Purchase Right outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time, whether or not vested, shall be cancelled;
and
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(d)
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the
Compensation Plans shall be
terminated.
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54
|
Article
3.
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RIGHTS
OF DISSENT
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3.1
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Rights
of Dissent
|
Shareholders
(other than Qualifying Holdcos or Qualifying Holdco Shareholders) may exercise
rights of dissent in connection with the Arrangement with respect to their
Shares pursuant to and in the manner set forth in the Interim Order, section
190
of the CBCA and this section 3.1 (the “Dissent Rights”) as the
same may be modified by the Interim Order or the Final Order. Shareholders
who
duly exercise such Dissent Rights and who:
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(a)
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are
ultimately entitled to be paid fair value for their Shares shall
be deemed
to have transferred such Shares to Acquireco on the Effective Date
contemporaneously with the event described in section 2.3(a) without
any
further act or formality and free and clear of all liens, claims
and
encumbrances, with Acquireco being obligated to pay such Shareholders
in
consideration therefor the fair value of such Shares, which fair
value,
notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the CBCA, if permitted
by the
Court, shall be determined as of the Effective Time, and the name
of each
such Shareholder will be removed from the register of holders of
Shares
and Acquireco will be recorded as the registered holder of the Shares
so
transferred and will be deemed to be the legal and beneficial owner
of
such Shares free and clear of any liens, claims or encumbrances;
or
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(b)
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for
any reason are ultimately not entitled to be paid fair value for
their
Shares shall be deemed to have participated in the Arrangement on
the same
basis as any non-dissenting Shareholder who is not a Qualifying Holdco
or
Qualifying Holdco Shareholder as at and from the Effective Time,
and shall
be deemed to have transferred their Shares to Acquireco under section
2.3(a),
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but
in no
case shall the Corporation, Acquireco or any other Person be required to
recognize such Shareholders as holders of Shares after the Effective Time,
and
the names of such Shareholders shall be deleted from the register of
Shareholders at the Effective Time.
ARTICLE
4.
CERTIFICATES
AND PAYMENTS
4.1
|
Exchange
of Certificates for Cash
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(a)
|
At
or before the time of issuance of the Certificate of Arrangement,
Acquireco shall deposit sufficient cash with the Depositary for the
benefit of Shareholders to give effect to this Plan of
Arrangement. Upon surrender to the Depositary for cancellation
of a certificate which immediately prior to the Effective Time represented
outstanding Shares that were exchanged for cash, together with a
duly
completed and executed Letter of Transmittal and such additional
documents
and instruments as the Depositary may reasonably require, the Shareholder
of such surrendered certificate shall be entitled to receive in exchange
therefor, and the Depositary shall deliver to such Shareholder, the
cash
which such Shareholder has the right to receive under the Arrangement
for
such Shares, less any amountswithheld pursuant to section 4.3 and
any
certificate so surrendered shall forthwith be cancelled. The
cash deposited with the Depositary shall be held in an interest-bearing
account, and any interest earned on such funds shall be for the account
of
Acquireco. For the purposes of this section 4.1(a), references
to “Shareholders” shall exclude Qualifying Holdcos described in section
2.3(b) and shall include Qualifying Holdco Shareholders described
in
section 2.3(b) and such Qualifying Holdco Shareholders shall be considered
to own Shares owned by their Qualifying
Holdcos.
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(b)
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Until
surrendered as contemplated by this section 4.1, each certificate
which
immediately prior to the Effective Time represented Shares shall
be deemed
after the Effective Time to represent only the right to receive upon
such
surrender a cash payment in lieu of such certificate as contemplated
in
this section 4.1, less any amounts withheld pursuant to section
4.3. Any such certificate formerly representing Shares not duly
surrendered on or before the sixth anniversary of the Effective Date
shall
cease to represent a claim by or interest of any former Shareholder
of any
kind or nature against or in the Company or Acquireco. On such
date, all Acquireco cash to which such former holder was entitled
shall be
deemed to have been surrendered to
Acquireco.
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4.2
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Lost
Certificates
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In
the
event any certificate which immediately prior to the Effective Time represented
one or more outstanding Shares that were exchanged pursuant to section 2.3
shall
have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that
fact by the Person claiming such certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed,
the Depositary will issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed
certificate, cash deliverable in accordance with such holder’s Letter of
Transmittal. When authorizing such payment in exchange for any lost,
stolen or destroyed certificate, the Person to whom such cash is to be delivered
shall as a condition precedent to the delivery of such cash, give a bond
satisfactory to Acquireco and the Depositary in such sum as Acquireco may
direct, or otherwise indemnify Acquireco and the Corporation in a manner
satisfactory to Acquireco and the Corporation, against any claim that may be
made against Acquireco and the Corporation with respect to the certificate
alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
4.3
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Withholding
Rights
|
Acquireco,
the Corporation or the Depositary shall be entitled to deduct and withhold
from
any amount payable to any Person under the Plan of Arrangement (including,
without limitation, any amounts payable pursuant to section 3.1), such amounts
as Acquireco, the Corporation or the Depositary is required or permitted to
deduct and withhold with respect to such payment under the ITA or any provision
of federal, provincial, territorial, local or foreign tax laws, in each case,
as
amended. To the extent that amounts are so withheld, such withheld
amounts shall be treated for all purposes hereof as having been paid to the
Person in respect of which such withholding was made, provided that such amounts
are actually remitted to the appropriate taxing authority. To the
extent that the amounts so required or permitted to be deducted or withheld
from
any payment to a Person exceed the cash portion of the consideration otherwise
payable to that Person, Acquireco, the Corporation and the Depositary are hereby
authorized to sell or otherwise dispose of such portion of the consideration
as
is necessary to provide sufficient funds to Acquireco, the Corporation or the
Depositary, as the case may be, to enable it to comply with
55
such
deduction or withholding requirement or entitlement, and Acquireco, the
Corporation or the Depositary shall notify the Person thereof and remit to
such
Person any unapplied balance of the net proceeds of such sale.
ARTICLE
5.
AMENDMENTS
5.1
|
Amendments
to Plan of Arrangement
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|
(a)
|
The
Corporation may amend, modify and/or supplement this Plan of Arrangement
at any time and from time to time prior to the Effective Date,
provided that each such amendment, modification and/or supplement
must (i) be set out in writing, (ii) be approved by Acquireco, (iii)
filed
with the Court and, if made following the Meeting, approved by the
Court,
and (iv) communicated to Shareholders if and as required by the
Court.
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(b)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
may be
proposed by the Corporation at any time prior to the Meeting (provided
that Acquireco shall have consented thereto acting reasonably) with
or
without any other prior notice or communication, and if so proposed
and
accepted by the Persons voting at the Meeting (other than as may
be
required under the Interim Order), shall become part of this Plan
of
Arrangement for all purposes.
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(c)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
that is
approved or directed by the Court following the Meeting shall be
effective
only if (i) it is consented to by each of the Corporation and Acquireco
(in each case, acting reasonably) and (ii) if required by the Court,
it is
consented to by Shareholders voting in the manner directed by the
Court.
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(d)
|
Any
amendment, modification or supplement to this Plan of Arrangement
may be
made following the Effective Date unilaterally by Acquireco,
provided that it concerns a matter which, in the reasonable
opinion of Acquireco, is of an administrative nature required to
better
give effect to the implementation of this Plan of Arrangement and
is not
adverse to the economic interest of any former
Shareholder.
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ARTICLE
6.
FURTHER
ASSURANCES
6.1
|
Notwithstanding
that the transactions and events set out herein shall occur and shall
be
deemed to occur in the order set out in this Plan of Arrangement
without
any further act or formality, each of the parties to the Arrangement
Agreement shall make, do and execute, or cause to be made, done and
executed, all such further acts, deeds, agreements, transfers, assurances,
instruments or documents as may reasonably be required by any of
them in
order further to document or evidence any of the transactions or
events
set out herein.
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56
SCHEDULE
1.1(a)
CRTC
REGULATED COMPANIES
1.
|
HGTV
Canada Inc.
|
2.
|
Life
Network Inc.
|
3.
|
Showcase
Television Inc.
|
4.
|
History
Television Inc.
|
5.
|
Food
Network Canada Inc.
|
6.
|
Alliance
Atlantis Broadcasting Inc. (as a partner in the Historia/Series+
partnership)
|
7.
|
The
Score Television Network Ltd.
|
8.
|
Discovery
Health Channel Canada ULC
|
9.
|
Jasper
Broadcasting Inc.
|
10.
|
Jasper
Junior Broadcasting Inc.
|
11.
|
NGC
Channel Inc.
|
12.
|
ONE:
The Body, Mind & Spirit Channel
Inc.
|
13.
|
3924181
Canada Inc.
|
57
SCHEDULE
5.1(k)
ERISA
COMPLIANCE COMPANIES
History
Television Inc. (100%)
Showcase
Television Inc. (100%)
Life
Network Inc. (100%)
Jasper
Broadcasting Inc. (80%)
Jasper
Junior Broadcasting Inc. (80%)
Discovery
Health Channel Canada ULC (80%)
HGTV
Canada Inc. (80.2%)
Food
Network Canada Inc. (57.6%)
NGC
Channel Holdings Inc. (80%) (this holdco has 80% of the votes of the opco,
NGC
Channel Inc.)
Alliance
Atlantis Broadcasting Inc (100%).
58