UNIT PURCHASE AGREEMENT AMONG TRIMARAN POLLO PARTNERS, L.L.C., CHICKEN ACQUISITION CORP., EPL INTERMEDIATE, INC., EL POLLO LOCO, INC., FS EQUITY PARTNERS V, L.P., FS AFFILIATES V, L.P., PETER STARRETT AND EACH OF THE SELLING MEMBERS SIGNATORY HERETO...
AMONG
TRIMARAN
POLLO PARTNERS, L.L.C.,
CHICKEN
ACQUISITION CORP.,
EL
POLLO LOCO, INC.,
FS
EQUITY PARTNERS V, L.P.,
FS
AFFILIATES V, L.P.,
XXXXX
XXXXXXXX
AND
EACH
OF THE SELLING MEMBERS SIGNATORY HERETO
DECEMBER
26, 2007
This
UNIT PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated as of December 26, 2007 (this “Agreement”), is by
and among TRIMARAN POLLO PARTNERS, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company
(the “Company”); CHICKEN
ACQUISITION CORP., a Delaware corporation (“CAC”); EPL
INTERMEDIATE, INC., a Delaware corporation (“Intermediate”), EL
POLLO LOCO, INC., a Delaware corporation (“EPL”; and
collectively with CAC and Intermediate, and each of their respective
Subsidiaries (as such term is defined below), the “Company Group”);
certain members of the Company (which shall not include any Trimaran Vehicle)
who have agreed to sell Membership Units (as defined below) to Purchasers,
all
of which are listed on Schedule II attached hereto, as amended (collectively,
the “Selling
Members”); FS EQUITY PARTNERS V, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership
(“FSEP V”); FS
AFFILIATES V, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“FSA V”); and
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx, an individual (“Xxxxxxxx”
and
collectively with FSEP V and FSA V, “Purchasers”).
WHEREAS,
the Company is the record and beneficial holder of substantially all of the
outstanding capital stock of CAC, and the indirect parent of Intermediate
and
EPL;
WHEREAS,
the Company desires to sell to Purchasers, and Purchasers desire to purchase
from the Company, certain of the Company’s membership interests (such interests,
the “Membership
Units”) to be issued by the Company (the “Company
Units”), all
on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein;
WHEREAS,
the Selling Members desire to sell to FSEP V and FSA V, and FSEP V and FSA
V
desire to purchase from the Selling Members, certain Membership Units held
by
the Selling Members beneficially and of record as of the date hereof (the
“Member Units”), all
on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; and
WHEREAS,
capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement have the meanings
set
forth in Annex
I attached hereto.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual representations,
warranties and covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto hereby
agree
as set forth below.
ARTICLE
I
PURCHASE
OF THE MEMBERSHIP
UNITS
Section
1.1 Purchase and Sale
of the
Company Units. In accordance with and subject to the
provisions of this Agreement, at the first closing (the “First Closing”), the
Company shall issue, sell and deliver to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser
shall purchase and accept from the Company, the number of Company Units set
forth opposite such Purchaser’s name set forth on Schedule I attached
hereto, in each case free and clear of all Liens, including without limitation
any preemptive, drag-along, tag-along, first refusal or first offer rights
or
other similar rights (other than those set forth under the Amended Operating
Agreement all of which have been waived pursuant to the Waivers (as defined
below) with respect to the Closings).
Section
1.2 Purchase and Sale
of the
Member Units. In accordance with and subject to the provisions
of this Agreement, at the second closing (the “Second Closing”
and,
together with the First Closing, the “Closings”
and each
a
“Closing”),
each Selling Member shall sell, transfer and deliver to each of FSEP V and
FSA
V, and each of FSEP V and FSA V shall
purchase
and accept from such Selling Member, the number of Member Units set forth
opposite such Selling Member’s name on Schedule II attached
hereto, as amended prior to the Second Closing, in each case free and clear
of
all Liens, including without limitation any preemptive, drag-along, tag-along,
first refusal or first offer rights or other similar rights (other than
restrictions on future transfers under the Amended Operating Agreement);
provided that in the event that at the Second Closing the aggregate number
of
Member Units set forth on Schedule II attached
hereto is less than 86,363.64, the Company shall, subject to the provisions
of
this Agreement, issue, sell and deliver to FSEP V and FSA V (pro rata in
proportion to the number of Company Units set forth opposite their respective
name set forth on Schedule I attached
hereto) the number of Company Units (the “Back-Stop Units”)
equal to the difference between 86,363.64 and the number of Member Units
to be
sold to FSEP V and FSA V set forth on Schedule II attached
hereto and Schedule
II attached hereto shall be amended to reflect such issuance and sale
of
Back-Stop Units. The Company shall give FSEP V and FSA V not less
than fifteen (15) days’ prior notice of the Second Closing and shall include in
such notice the number of Member Units that Selling Members have agreed to
sell
at the Second Closing by executing and delivering this Agreement to FSEP
V and
FSA V. FSEP V and FSA V shall only be obligated to purchase Member
Units from Selling Members included in such notice at the Second
Closing.
ARTICLE
II
THE
CLOSINGS
Section
2.1 The
Closings.
(a) The
First Closing shall take place at
the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP (a) three (3) Business
Days after all of
the conditions set forth in Sections 9.1, 9.3, 9.4.1 and 9.4.2 have been
satisfied or waived (other than those conditions which by their terms are
intended to be satisfied at the Closing) or (b) such other date as mutually
agreed upon by Purchaser and the
Company (either of (a) or (b), the “First
Closing Date”).
(b)
The
Second Closing shall take
place at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP (a) three
(3) Business Days after all
of the conditions set forth in Sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4.1 and 9.4.3 have
been
satisfied or waived (other than those conditions which by their terms are
intended to be satisfied at the Closing) and no later than January 31, 2008
or
(b) such
other date as mutually agreed upon by
Purchaser and the Company (either of (a) or (b), the “Second
Closing Date”and,
the First Closing Date and the
Second Closing Date are also referred to herein as a “Closing
Date”).
Section
2.2 Closing
Deliveries.
2.2.1 At the First Closing:
(a) The
Company shall deliver, or cause to
be delivered, to each Purchaser:
2
(i) A
copy of a good standing certificate
for each of the Company,
CAC, Intermediate and EPL, from their respective jurisdictions of formation
or
organization, as applicable, dated not more than five (5) Business Days prior
to
the First Closing Date.
(ii) A
certificate, duly executed by an
authorized officer of the
Managing Member (as such term is defined in the Existing Operating Agreement)
of
the Company, dated the First Closing Date, certifying that the conditions
specified in Section 9.4.1(b) have been fulfilled.
(iii) A
certificate,
duly executed by an
authorized officer of each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL, dated the First
Closing
Date, certifying that the conditions specified in Section 9.4.1(a) and (c)
have
been fulfilled.
(iv) A
certificate of a duly authorized
officer of the Managing
Member of the Company, and of each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL, as to the
incumbency and authority of the person or persons signing this Agreement
or any
other agreements, documents, instruments and writings required to be delivered
bythe
Company, CAC or EPL pursuant to this
Agreement.
(v) The
equity commitment fee set forth
opposite such Purchaser’s
name on Schedule
Iattached hereto, which
shall be paid to Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx & Co. V, L.P.
(b) Each
Purchaser shall deliver,
or cause to be
delivered, to the Company:
(i) The
cash amount to be delivered by such
Purchaser to the Company for the First Closing pursuant to Section
3.1.
(ii) A
certificate, duly executed by an
authorized officer (including ofthe managing member
or general partner)
of such Purchaser, dated the First Closing Date, certifying that the conditions
specified in Section 9.3(a) have been fulfilled.
(iii) A
certificate duly executed by an
authorized officer (including of the managing member or general
partner) of such
Purchaser as to the incumbency and authority of the person or persons signing
this Agreement or any other agreements, documents, instruments and writings
required to be delivered by such Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.
(c) CAC
shall issue to the Company
409,090.91 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, in exchange
for a capital contribution by the Company to CAC in the amount of
$45,000,000.
2.2.2 At the Second Closing:
3
(a) Each
of the Selling Members shall
deliver, or cause to be delivered, to each of FSEP V and FSA
V:
(i) A
duly endorsed membership interest
assignment, in form and substance satisfactory to FSEP V
and FSA V,
evidencing the transfer (pursuant to this Agreement and subject to the receipt
of the applicable Purchase Price therefor) of all of the Member Units being
sold
by such Selling Member to FSEP V and FSA V.
(ii) A
certificate,duly executed by an
authorized officer
or an individual that is an authorized manager or partner (including of the
managing member or general partner) of such Selling Member, dated the Second
Closing Date, certifying that the conditions specified in Section
9.4.3(a) have been
fulfilled.
(b) The
Company shall deliver, or cause to
be delivered, to each Purchaser:
(i) A
copy of a good standing certificate
for each of the Company,
CAC, Intermediate and EPL, from their respective jurisdictions of formation
or
organization, as applicable, dated not more than five (5) Business Days prior
to
the Second Closing Date.
(ii) A
certificate, duly executed by an
authorized officer of the
Managing Member (as such term is defined in the Existing Operating Agreement)
of
the Company, dated the Second Closing Date, certifying that the conditions
specified in Section 9.4.1(b) have been fulfilled.
(iii) A
certificate, dulyexecuted by an authorized
officer of
each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL, dated the Second Closing Date, certifying
that the conditions specified in Section 9.4.1(a) and (c) have been
fulfilled.
(iv) A
certificate of a duly authorized
officer of the Managing
Member of the Company, and of each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL, as to the
incumbency and authority of the person or persons signing any agreements,
documents, instruments and writings required to be delivered by the
Company, CAC or EPL at the Second Closing
pursuant to this
Agreement.
(c) FSEP
V and FSA V shall deliver, or cause
to be delivered, to each Selling Member:
(i) The
cash amount to be delivered by FSEP
V and FSA V to such Selling Member for the Second Closing pursuant to Section
3.2.
(ii) A
certificate, duly executed by an
authorized officer (including of the managing member or general partner)
of FSEP
V and FSA V, dated the Second Closing Date, certifying that the conditions
specified in Section 9.2(a) have been fulfilled.
4
(iii) A
certificate of a duly authorized
officer (including of the managing member or general partner) of FSEP V and
FSA
V as to the incumbency and authority of the person or persons signing any
agreements, documents, instruments and writings required
to be
delivered by FSEP V and FSA V at the Second Closing pursuant to this
Agreement.
(g) If
Back-Stop Units are to be sold, FSEP
V and FSA V shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Company:
(i) A
cash amount equal to the product of
(x) the number of Back-Stop Units being purchased by such Purchaser from
the
Company, if any, and (y) the Per Unit Amount.
(ii) A
certificate, duly executed by an
authorized officer
(including of the managing member or general partner) of such Purchaser,
dated
the Second Closing Date, certifying that the conditions specified in Section
9.3(a) have been fulfilled.
(h) If
Back-Stop
Units are to be
sold,
(i) The
Company shall deliver, or cause to
be delivered, to each Purchaser an equity commitment fee in an amount equal
to
the product of (A) the Back-Stop Price and (B) 0.03, with each Purchaser
entitled to such Purchaser’s
pro rata portion of such equity
commitment fee, determined in accordance with Purchasers’respective
equity commitment fees set
forth opposite such Purchasers’names
on Schedule
Iattached hereto, with
such
commitment fees to be paid to Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx & Co. V, L.P.
(ii) CAC
shall:
(1) issue
to the Company the number of
shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, equal to the number
of
Back-Stop Units to be sold at the Second Closing in exchange for a capital
contribution by the Company to CACin the amount equal
to the product of
(A) such number of Back-Stop Units and (B) the Per Unit Amount (the
“Back-Stop
Price”).
ARTICLE
III
PAYMENT
OF PURCHASE
PRICE
Section
3.1 Payment
of
Purchase Price for the Company Units. At the First
Closing, each Purchaser
shall pay to the Company, in consideration of the Company Units to be purchased
by such Purchaser from the Company pursuant to Section 1.1, a cash amount
equal
to the product of (x) the number of Company Units being purchased by such
Purchaser
from the Company pursuant to
Section 1.1 and (y) the Per Unit Amount, with the result of such calculation
being set forth on Schedule
Iattached hereto (such
result, the “Company
Units Purchase Price”). Payment
of the applicable
Company Units Purchase
Price by each Purchaser to the Company shall be effected by wire transfer
of
readily available funds to such account as the Company designates in writing
to
Purchasers at least five (5) Business Days in advance of the Closing
Date.
5
Section
3.2 Payment
of
Purchase Price for the Member Units. At the Second Closing,
FSEP
V and FSA V shall pay to each Selling Member or the Company, as the case
may be,
in consideration of the Member Units or Back-Stop Units to be purchased by
FSEP
V and FSA V fromsuch
Selling Member or the Company pursuant to Section 1.2, a cash amount equal
to
the product of (x) the number of Member Units or Back-Stop Units being purchased
by FSEP V and FSA V from such Selling Member or the Company pursuant to Section
1.2 and (y)the
Per Unit Amount, with the result of
such calculation being set forth on Schedule
IIattached hereto (such
result, the “Member
Units
Purchase Price”). Payment
of the applicable
Member Units Purchase Price by FSEP V and FSA V to each Selling Member or
the Company shall be
effected by wire transfer of readily available funds to such account as such
Selling Member or the Company, as the case may be, designates in writing
to FSEP
V and FSA V at least five (5) Business Days in advance of the Closing
Date.
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND
WARRANTIES OF THE SELLING MEMBERS
Each
of the Selling Members hereby represents and warrants as of the Second Closing,
severally on its own behalf and not jointly with any other Selling Member,
to
each Purchaser as set forth below, except as set forth in the applicable
disclosure schedules delivered by such Selling Member to Purchasers at the
Second Closing, which exceptions shall be deemed part of the representations
and
warranties hereunder.
Section
4.1 Organization,
Standing, Qualification and Power. Such Selling Member
is duly
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the
jurisdiction in which it is organized and has the requisite power and authority
to own, lease and operate its properties and to
carry on its
business as presently conducted, except as would not reasonably be expected
to
have a material adverse effect on such Selling Member’s
ability to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby.
Section
4.2 Authority;
Execution
and Delivery; Enforceability. Such Selling Member
has the
requisite corporate, limited liability company, partnership or equivalent
power
and authority to execute this Agreement and the Related Documents to which
it is
a party and to consummate the transactions contemplated
hereby and
thereby. The execution and delivery by such Selling Member of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have
been
duly authorized by all necessary corporate, limited liability company,
partnership or equivalent action on
the part of such Selling Member, and the execution and delivery by such
Selling Member of the Related Documents to which it is a party and the
consummation by such Selling Member of the transactions contemplated
thereby
will be duly authorized by all
necessary corporate, limited liability company, partnership or equivalent
action
on the part of such Selling Member prior to the Closing. Such Selling
Member has duly executed and delivered this Agreement and, prior to the
Closing, will have duly executed and
deliveredeach Related Document to which it is a party, and this Agreement
constitutes, and each Related Document to which it is a party will at the
Closing constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Selling
Member enforceable against such
Selling Member in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent
6
conveyance
or other similar laws
affecting the enforcement of creditors’rights
generally and general equitable
principles.
Section
4.3 No
Conflicts; Consents.
(a)
The
execution and delivery by
such Selling Member of this Agreement does not, the execution and delivery
by
such Selling Member of each Related Document to
which it is a party
will not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
andthereby and compliance by such Selling Member with the terms hereof and
thereof will not, conflict with, or result in any violation or breach
of
or default (or an event which, with or
without notice or lapse of time, would give rise to any default) under,or
give
rise to a right of termination, amendment, cancellation or acceleration of
any
obligation or a loss of a benefit under, or result in thecreation
of any Lien on any assets or
properties of such Selling Member under, any provision of (i) the certificate
of
formation or organization or operating or partnership agreement of such Selling
Member; (ii) any material Contract to which such SellingMember
is a party or by which any of its
respective material properties or assets is bound; or (iii) any judgment,
order
or decree of any Governmental Entity (“Judgment”)
or Law applicable to such Selling
Member or its respective material properties or assets except, in each
case of (ii) and
(iii), as would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect
on
such Selling Member’s
ability to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby.
(b)
No
Permit, consent or approval of,
or registration,
declaration or filing with, any Governmental Entity is required to be obtained
or made by or with respect to such Selling Member in connection with the
execution, delivery and performance by such Selling Member of this Agreement
or any Related Document to
which it is a party, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby
and thereby, other than: (i) those the failure of which to obtain or
make would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect
on the ability of such Selling Member
to perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Related Documents
to
which it is a party; and (ii) those that may be required solely by reason
of
Purchasers’(as
opposed to any other third
party’s)
participation
in the transactions contemplated
hereby and by the Related Documents.
Section
4.4 Ownership
of
the Member Units. Such Selling Member
owns,
beneficially and of record, the number of Membership Units listed opposite
such
Selling Member’s
name on Schedule
IIattached hereto, and
such
Selling Member does not own, beneficially or of record, any other membership
or
economic interests or other securities in the Company or any member of the
Company Group. There are no Contracts to which such Selling
Member is a party that
relate to the Member Units, the Membership Units, or any membership or economic
interests or other securities of the Company or any member of the Company
Group,
other than the Existing Operating Agreement and the Existing Stockholder
Agreement. After
giving effect to
the Closing, Purchasers will have good and marketable title to the Member
Units
sold by such Selling Member free and clear of all Liens other than restrictions
after the Second Closing Date arising under state and federal securities
laws and under the Amended
Operating Agreement.
Section
4.5 Proceedings. There
are no pending or, to
the Knowledge of such Selling Member, threatened, Proceedings with respect
to
such Selling Member, its business or its
7
properties
orassets, and to the
Knowledge of such
Selling Member, such Selling Member is not a party or subject to or in default
under any material Judgment binding on such Selling Member, its business
or its
properties or assets, in each of the foregoing cases that would
reasonably be expected to (i) have
a material adverse effect on the ability of such Selling Member to perform
its
obligations under this Agreement, (ii) give rise to any lien or restriction
on
any of such Selling Member’s
Member Units or (iii) give
rise
to any legal restraint on or
prohibition against the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the
Related Documents.
Section
4.6 Brokers
or
Finders. Such
Selling Member has not incurred, and neither such Selling Member nor the
Company
or any member of the
Company Group on such Selling Member’s
behalf will incur, directly or
indirectly, any liability for brokerage or finders’fees
or agents’commissions
or any similar charges or
fees of any intermediary in connection with this Agreement or the Related
Documents or any transaction
contemplated hereby or thereby.
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND
WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
The
Company hereby represents and warrants, as of the First Closing, to each
Purchaser as set forth below, except as set forth in the applicable disclosure
schedules delivered by the Company to Purchasers on the date hereof, which
exceptions shall be deemed part of the representations and warranties
hereunder.
Section
5.1 Organization,
Standing, Qualification and Power. The Company is duly
organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the
jurisdiction in which it is organized and has the requisite power and authority
to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on
its business as
presently conducted. The Company is duly qualified or licensed and in
good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which such qualification
is
necessary because of the nature of the business conducted by it, except
where the failure to be so qualified
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company.
Section
5.2 Authority;
Execution and Delivery; Enforceability. The Company has the
requisite limited liability company power andauthority to execute
this Agreement and
the Related Documents to which it is a party and to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby and thereby. The execution and delivery by the
Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary limited liability company action, and the
execution and delivery by the Company of the Related Documents to which it
is a
party and the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated
thereby will be duly authorized by
all necessary limited liability company action on the part of the Company
prior
to the Closing. The Company has duly executed and delivered this
Agreement and, prior to the Closing, will have duly executed and
delivered
each Related Document to which it is
a party, and, when executed by the counterparties hereto and thereto, this
Agreement constitutes, and each Related Document to which it is a party will
at
the Closing constitute, a legal, valid and binding obligation
of the Company enforceable against the
Company in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance or other similar
laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’rights
generally and general
equitable
principles.
8
Section
5.3 No
Conflicts; Consents.
(a) The
execution and delivery by the
Company of this Agreement does not, the execution and delivery by the Company
of
each Related Document to which it is a party will
not, and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and compliance
by the Company with the terms hereof and thereof will not, conflict with,
or
result in any violation or breach of or default (or an event which,
with or without notice or lapse of
time, would give rise to any default) under, or give rise to a right of
termination, amendment, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or
a loss
of a benefit under, or result in the creation of any Lien on any
assets or properties of the Company
under, any provision of (i) the certificate of formation or Existing Operating
Agreement or Amended Operating Agreement; (ii) except as set forth on
Schedule
5.3(a), any material
Contract to which the Company is a party or by which any of
its respective
properties or assets is bound; or (iii) any Judgment or Law applicable to
the
Company or its respective properties or assets, other than, in the case of
clauses (ii) and (iii) above, any such conflicts, violations, defaults,
rights or Liens that would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company.
(b)
No
Permit, consent or approval
of, or registration, declaration or filing with, any Governmental Entity
is
required to be obtained
or
made by or with respect to the Company in connection with the execution,
delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Related
Document to which it is, or is specified to be, a party, or the consummation
of
thetransactions
contemplated hereby and
thereby, other than: (i) those the failure of which to obtain or make
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company, and (ii) those that may be required solely by reason of
Purchasers’(as
opposed to any other third
party’s)
participation in the transactions
contemplated hereby and by the Related Documents.
Section
5.4 Capitalization. The
Company has issued and
outstanding 1,910,753.49 Membership Units, which are owned,
beneficially and of record,
by the members of the Company (the “Members”),
and in the amounts, listed on
Schedule
5.4. Except as
set forth in this Section 5.4, no membership oreconomic interests of the
Company
are issued or outstanding. All of the Membership Units were validly issued. There
are no outstanding options, warrants, rights, calls, agreements or other
commitments or rights issued by the Company or to which the Company is a
party
or by which the Company is obligated to purchase or acquire any unissued
membership
or economic interests or other
securities, and no other membership or economic interests of the Company
are
reserved for any purpose. Except as set forth on Schedule
5.4, there are no Contracts
to which the Company is a party that relate to the Units, the Membership
Units, or any
membership or economic interests or other securities of the
Company. Except as specified in Schedule
5.4, the Company does
not
own, directly or indirectly, any capital stock, membership interest, partnership
interest, joint venture
interest or other equity interest in any Person.
Section
5.5 Status
as a
Holding Company. The Company is a holding
company and conducts no business and has no material liabilities or material
assets (other than the equity interests of CAC), and is not a party
to any material
Contracts, in each case other than (i) the
9
Existing
Operating Agreement and the
Existing Stockholders Agreement, in each case, and any amendments thereto
and
(ii) as set forth on Schedule
5.5.
Section
5.6 Taxes. Except
as set forth on
Schedule
5.6, (i) the Company has
always been classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income Tax purposes,
(ii) the Company has filed all material Returns required to be filed by it,
all
such Returns are true and complete in all material
respects, and all
material Taxes required to be paid by the Company have been paid, (iii) the
Company has not waived any statute of limitations affecting any material
Tax
liability or agreed to any extension of time during which a material
Tax assessment or deficiency
assessment may be made, which waiver or extension is still outstanding, (iv)
there are no pending material Tax audits of any Returns of the Company, nor
has
the Company received notice of any material unresolved questions or
claims concerning its Tax liability,
and (v) the Company is not, nor has it been, a party to any agreement with
respect to the sharing or allocation of, or indemnification for, Taxes or
similar contract or arrangement, whether written or
unwritten.
Section
5.7 Proceedings. Schedule
5.11sets forth all pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened Proceedings (within the past
year) with respect to which the Company has been contacted in writing by
counsel
for the plaintiff or claimant, arising out of the conduct
of its business
or against any of its assets and that (a) comprise a claim relating to or
involving more than $500,000 (in excess of available insurance coverage)
or more
than $1,000,000 (whether or notcovered by insurance), (b) seeks
any material injunctive relief, or (c)
would reasonably be expected to give rise to any legal restraint on or
prohibition against the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the
Related Documents. The Company is not a party to or subject to or,
to
the Knowledge of the Company, in
material default under any material Judgment binding on the
Company.
Section
5.8 Absence
of
Changes or Events. Except as set forth
on
Schedule
5.8, since September 26,
2007 through the date of this Agreement: (i) noMaterial Adverse Effect
has occurred
with respect to the Company; and (ii) the Company has operated its business
and
operations in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice.
Section
5.9 Valid
Issuance of Company Units. The CompanyUnits,
when issued and sold in
accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, will be validly
issued free and clear of all Liens and any preemptive rights or claims, other
than restrictions arising under state and federal securities laws
and under the Amended
Operating Agreement and the Amended Stockholders Agreement after the
Closing. The issuance and sale of the Company Units does not require
registration under the Securities Act or any similar state or local
Laws.
Section
5.10 AffiliateTransactions.
Except as set forth on Schedule
5.10and for any payments
to
FS, the Company is not a party to any Contracts or transactions with any
of its
Affiliates or with any of the membership or economic interest holders of
the
Company or any of theirAffiliates.
Section
5.11 Brokers
or
Finders. Except
as set forth on Schedule
5.11, the Company has not
incurred, and no member of the Company Group on the Company’s
behalf will incur, directly or
indirectly, any liability for brokerage or finders’feesor
agents’commissions
or any
10
similar
charges or fees of any
intermediary in connection with this Agreement or the Related Documents or
any
transaction contemplated hereby or thereby.
ARTICLE
VI
REPRESENTATIONS
AND
WARRANTIES OF CAC, INTERMEDIATE AND EPL
Each
of CAC, Intermediate and EPL hereby jointly and severally represents and
warrants, as of the First Closing, to each Purchaser as set forth below,
except
as set forth in the SEC Reports (other than any risk factors included in
the SEC
Reports, or any disclosures relating to cautionary, predictive or
forward-looking statements included in the SEC Reports) or in the applicable
disclosure schedules delivered by the Company Group to Purchasers on the
date
hereof, which exceptions and supplements shall be deemed part of the
representations and warranties hereunder.
Section
6.1 Organization,
Standing, Qualification and Power. Each member of the
Company
Group is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the
laws of
the jurisdiction in which
it is organized and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease and
operate its properties and to carry on its business as presently
conducted. Each member of the Company Group is duly qualified or
licensed and in good standing
to do business in each jurisdiction in
which such qualification is necessary because of the nature of the business
conducted by it, except where the failure to be so qualified would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company
Group.
Section
6.2 Authority;
Execution and Delivery; Enforceability. Each
of CAC, Intermediate and EPL has
the corporate power and authority to execute this Agreement and the Related
Documents to which
it is a
party and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby. The execution and delivery by each of CAC, Intermediate and
EPL of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary
corporate action, and the execution and delivery by such Person of the Related
Documents to which it is a party and the consummation by such Person of the
transactions contemplated thereby will be duly authorized by all necessary
corporate action on the part of
such Person prior to the Closing. Each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL
has duly executed and delivered this Agreement and, prior to the Closing,
will
have duly executed and delivered each Related Document to which it
is a
party, and, when executed by the
counterparties hereto and thereto, this Agreement constitutes, and each Related
Document to which it is a party will at the Closing constitute, a legal,
valid and binding obligation of such Person enforceable against suchPerson
in accordance with its terms,
except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent
conveyance or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of
creditors’rights
generally and general equitable
principles.
Section
6.3 No
Conflicts; Consents.
(a) The
execution and delivery by each of
CAC, Intermediate and EPL of this Agreement does not, the execution and delivery
by such Person of each Related Document to which it is, or is
specifiedto be, a party
will not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby and compliance by such Person with the terms hereof and thereof will
not, conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of or default (or
an
11
event
which, with or without notice or
lapse of time, would give rise to any default) under, or give rise to a right
of
termination, amendment, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or
a loss
of a benefit under, or result in the creation of anyLien on any assets
or properties of the
Company Group under, any provision of (i) the certificate of incorporation
or
by-laws of any member of the Company Group; (ii) except as set forth on
Schedule
6.3(a), any material
Contract to which any member of theCompany Group is a
party or by which any
of its respective properties or assets is bound; or (iii) any Judgment or
Law
applicable to any member of the Company Group or its respective properties
or
assets, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above,
any such conflicts, violations,
defaults, rights or Liens that would not reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect on the Company Group.
(b)
No
Permit, consent or approval
of, or registration, declarationor filing with,
any Governmental
Entity is required to be obtained or made by or with respect to any member
of
the Company Group in connection with the execution, delivery and performance
by
each of CAC, Intermediate and EPL of this Agreement or any
Related Document to which it is, or is
specified to be, a party, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby and thereby, other than (i) those the failure of which to obtain or
make
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect on the Company Group, and
(ii) those that may be required solely by reason of Purchasers’(as
opposed to any other third
party’s)
participation in the transactions
contemplated hereby and by the Related Documents.
Section
6.4 Capitalization.
(a)
The
authorized capital stock,
issued and outstanding capital stock, and holders of the issued and outstanding
capital stock, of each member of the Company Group is set forth on Schedule
6.4(a). All such
issued andoutstanding
capital stock has been, and the additional shares of capital stock to be
issued
at the First Closing and, if applicable, the Second Closing by CAC will when
issued pursuant to the terms of this Agreement be, validly issued and fully
paid
and non-assessable. Except
as set
forth on Schedule
6.4(a), there are no (x)
outstanding options, warrants, rights, calls, agreements or other commitments
or
rights issued by a member of the Company Group or to which a member of the
Company Group is a party topurchase or acquire
any unissued capital
stock or other securities from or by any member of the Company Group, and
no
other capital stock of any member of the Company Group is reserved for any
purpose, and (y) Contracts to which any member of the Company Group
is a party that relate to any
shares of capital stock or other securities of any member of the Company
Group.
(b) No
member of the Company Group owns,
directly or indirectly, any capital stock, membership interest,partnership interest,
joint venture
interest or other equity interest in any Person other than another member
of the
Company Group.
Section
6.5 SEC
Reports.
(a) Intermediate
has filed all reports
required to be filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
in the twelve months preceding the
date hereof (the foregoing materials are incorporated hereinby reference
and are
collectively referred to herein as the “SEC
Reports”)
on a timely basis in accordance with the
Contracts
requiring the filing of same. As of their respective dates, or, if
amended or restated prior to the
12
date
hereof, as of the date of the
last such amendment or restatement, the SEC
Reports complied in
all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the
Exchange Act, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations of the
Commission promulgated thereunder, and none of the SEC Reports at
the time
they were filed (and, if amended or
restated, at the time of filing of the last such amendment or restatement)
contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order tomake
the statements therein, in light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The
consolidated financial statements of the Company Group included in the SEC
Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting
requirements
and the rules and regulations of
the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of
filing. Such consolidated financial statements have been prepared
from, and are in accordance with, the books and records of Intermediate and
EPL
in accordance
with GAAP applied on a
consistent basis throughout the periods covered, except as may be otherwise
specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto, and fairly present
in all material respects the financial position of the Company Group
as of and for the dates thereof and
the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject,
in
the case of unaudited statements, to normal year-end audit
adjustments.
(b) The
Company Group maintains a system of internal
disclosure
controls and procedures as required by Rule 15a-15 under the Exchange Act
reasonably designed to ensure that all material information required to be
disclosed by the Company Group in the reports that it files or
furnishesunder
the Exchange Act is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the
rules and forms of the Commission, and that all such material information
is
accumulated and communicated to the Company Group’s
management as appropriate
to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure and to make the certifications required pursuant
to Sections 302 and 906 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002.
Section
6.6 Intellectual
Property.
(a) Schedule
6.6(a)set forth a list of
all material registered or applied for Intellectual Property owned by a member
of the Company Group as of the date hereof. Except as set forth on
Schedule
6.6(a), the Company Group
is the sole and exclusive beneficial (and, with respect to
registrations,
record) owner of all the U.S. domestic Intellectual Property set forth on
Schedule
6.6(a), and, to the
Knowledge of the Company Group, all such Intellectual Property is
subsisting. Except as set forth on Schedule
6.6(a), no member of the
Company Group has received any written notice within the past year from any
other Person challenging in any material respect the right of any member
of the
Company Group to own or use any of the Intellectual Property set forth on
Schedule
6.6(a)or any rights
thereunder, other than as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect on the Company Group. Except for Franchise Agreements
and as set forth on Schedule
6.6(a), no member of the
Company Group has granted any material licenses or
other rights, and no
member of the Company Group has any material obligation to grant licenses
or
other rights, to use any of the Intellectual Property set forth on Schedule
6.6(a)to any other Person,
other than Contracts in which grants of licenses or rights
to use
Intellectual Property are incidental to such Contracts. Except as set
forth on Schedule
6.6(a), no member of the
Company Group has in the last year made any claim in writing or received
actual
written notice of a violation or infringement by
others of its rights
to
13
any
Intellectual Property, other than as
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company Group. All material Internet domain names of the Company
Group have been registered
by the Company Group with an authorized internet registrar, which registrations
are, to the Knowledge of the Company Group, in full force and
effect.
(b) Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.6(b), to the knowledge
of the Company Group,
no
Affiliate of any member of the Company Group (other than a member of the
Company
Group), or current or former partner, director, stockholder, officer, or
employee of any member of the Company Group owns any of the material
Intellectual
Property owned, used, or held for
use by the Company Group in the conduct of the business. The Company
Group takes reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of Trade
Secrets.
Section
6.7 Contracts. To
the Knowledge of the
Company Group,each Material
Contract is a valid and binding agreement of the Company Group and is in
full
force and effect. Except as set forth on Schedule
6.7, no member of the
Company Group is in breach or default in any material respect of or under
any
Material Contract and, to
the Knowledge of the Company Group, no other party to any such Material Contract
is in breach or default in any material respect thereunder, in each case,
other
than any breach or default of any Contract that would not reasonably be
expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company Group. No member of the Company Group, except as disclosed on
Schedule
6.7, has received any
written notice of the intention of any Person to terminate any Material
Contract, other than any Material Contract that if terminated
would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company
Group.
Section
6.8 Permits. Except
as set forth on
Schedule
6.8, each member of the
Company Group holds
and is
in compliance with all material permits, licenses, registrations (other than
franchise registrations, which are the subject of Section 6.16, below) and
authorizations (“Permits”)
required under Law for the conduct of
the businessof such Persons
as presently conducted, other than any such Permit the absence of which would
not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company
Group, and during the past two years, no member of the Company Group has
received written
notice of any Proceedings relating
to the revocation or modification of any such Permits.
Section
6.9 Taxes. Except
as set forth on
Schedule
6.9attached hereto, (a)
each member of the Company Group has filed all material Returns required
to be
filed by it; (b) all
such
Returns are true and complete and in all material respects; (c) all material
Taxes required to be paid by any member of the Company Group (collectively,
such
Taxes the “Company
Group Taxes”)
have been paid; (d) no member of the
Company Group has waived
any statute of limitations affecting any material Tax liability or agreed
to any
extension of time during which a material Tax assessment or deficiency
assessment may be made, which waiver or extension is still outstanding; (e)
thereare
no pending material Tax audits of
any Returns of any member of the Company Group and no member of the Company
Group has received notice of any material unresolved questions or claims
concerning its or the Company Group’s
Tax liability; (f) each
memberof
the Company Group has complied in all
material respects with all Laws relating to the payment and withholding of
Taxes; (g) no member of the Company Group is or has been a party to any
agreement with respect to the sharing or allocation of, or indemnification
for, Taxes
14
or
other similar contract or
arrangement, whether written or unwritten; (h) no material written claim
has
been made by any taxing authority in a jurisdiction where any member of the
Company Group has not filed a Return that any such member
of the Company
Group is or may be subject to Tax in that jurisdiction; and (i) the Company
Group has previously delivered or made available to Purchaser complete and
accurate copies of (x) all material audit reports, technical advice memoranda,
letter rulings and
determination letters issued by a Tax authority and received by any member
of
the Company Group after January 1, 2000 relating to Company Group Taxes that
remain in effect and (y) any material closing agreements entered into
after
January 1, 2000 by any member of the
Company Group with any Tax authority that remain in effect on the date
hereof.
Section
6.10 Proceedings. Schedule
6.10sets forth all pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company Group, threatened Proceedings
(within the past year)
with
respect to which the Company Group has received written notice, in each case
arising out of the conduct of its business or against any of its assets and
that
(a) comprise a claim relating to or involving more than $500,000 (in
excess
of available insurance coverage) or
more than $1,000,000 (whether or not covered by insurance), (b) seeks any
material injunctive relief, or (c) would reasonably be expected to give rise
to
any legal restraint on or prohibition against the transactions contemplatedby
this Agreement or the
Related Documents. To the Knowledge of the Company Group, no member
of the Company Group is a party or subject to or in default under any material
Judgment binding on the Company Group.
Section
6.11 Benefit
Plans. Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.11, (i) each Benefit
Plan
has been operated and administered in material compliance with its terms,
ERISA
and the Code, (ii) neither the Company Group nor any of its ERISA Affiliates,
nor to the Knowledge of the Company Group, any other “disqualified
person”or “party
in interest”(as defined in Section
4975 of the Code
and Section 3(14) of ERISA, respectively) with respect to a Benefit Plan
has
breached the fiduciary rules of ERISA or engaged in a prohibited transaction
which
could subject any member of the
Company Group to a material Tax or penalty imposed under Section 4975 of
the
Code or Sections 502(i), (j) or (l) of ERISA, and (iii) no Benefit Plan is
a
Multiemployer Plan or a pension plan (as such term is defined in Section
3(2) of ERISA)
that is subject to
Title IV of ERISA (a “Title
IV
Plan”)
and no Seller nor any ERISA Affiliate
has, since January 1, 2000, maintained or contributed to any Title IV Plan
or
Multiemployer Plan, and (iv) no Benefit Plan provides post-employment health or welfare benefits
to employees of the Company (other than as required by Part 6 of Subtitle
B of
Title I of ERISA or Section 4980B of the Code or under similar state law,
or
benefits in the nature of severance pay with respect to one or more
employment contracts set forth on
Schedule
6.11).
Section
6.12 Absence
of
Changes or Events. Except as set forth
on
Schedule
6.12, since September 26,
2007 through the date of this Agreement, (i) no Material Adverse Effect has
occurred with respect to
the Company Group, (ii) CAC and the Company have not made any dividends or
distributions to stockholders or Members, respectively, and (iii) the Company
Group has operated its business and operations in the ordinary course of
business consistent with past
practice.
15
Section
6.13 Compliance
with Laws. Exceptas set forth
on
Schedule
6.13, each member of the
Company Group is in compliance with applicable Laws, except for instances
of
noncompliance that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected
to have a
Material Adverse Effect on the Company Group.
Section
6.14 Employee
and
Labor Matters.
(a) Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.14(a), there are no (i)
unfair labor practice charges pending against any member
of the Company
Group or to the Knowledge of the Company Group, threatened against any member
of
the Company Group, before the National Labor Relations Board; (ii) arbitration
proceedings arising out of or under any collective bargaining
agreement pending against any member
of the Company Group; and (iii) strikes, lockouts, labor disputes, slowdowns
or stoppages pending against any member of the Company Group, except, with
respect to clauses (i) and (ii), that would not reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse
Effect on the Company Group.
(b) Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.14(b), there are no
pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company Group, threatened lawsuits, charges
or other legal actions
alleging that a Company Group member is not in compliance with applicable
Laws,
rules and regulations respecting employment, except where such lawsuit, charge
or action alleging failure to be in compliance with such applicable Laws
would
not reasonably
be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect on the Company Group.
Section
6.15 Brokers
or
Finders. Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.15and any payments to
FS,
no memberof the Company Group has incurred, and will not incur, directly
or
indirectly, any liability
for brokerage or finders’fees
or agents’commissions
or any similar charges or
fees of any intermediary in connection with this Agreement or the Related
Documents or any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby.
Section
6.16 Compliance
with
Franchise Laws.
(a) EPL
has made all necessary filings and
obtained all authorizations with such Governmental Entities necessary to
carry
on the business of a franchisor offering and selling franchises as
conductedas of the date
hereof, except where the failure to obtain such filings and authorizations
would
not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.16(a), and except for
those matters that would not reasonably be expected to have
a Material Adverse
Effect on the Company Group, all franchise registrations remain in full force
and effect and are not the subject of any existing or, to the Knowledge of
the
Company Group, threatened Proceeding which might, in whole or
in part, result in the termination,
revocation, modification, suspension, conditioning or dissolution of any
such
franchise registration and/or any other circumstance which may impede or
preclude the Company Group’s
ability routinely to renew or amend
(as
the case may be) any such franchise
registration and/or enter into franchise agreements in any jurisdictions
in any
material respect.
(b) Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.16(b), each member of the
Company Group is incompliance, and has
for the immediately
preceding three year period been in compliance, in all material respects
with
the applicable requirements of the FTC Trade
16
Regulation
Rule entitled “Disclosure Requirements
and Prohibitions
Concerning Franchising and
Business Opportunity Ventures”(the “FTC
Rule”),
and is in compliance, and has for the
immediately preceding three-year period been in compliance with the applicable
requirements of Law pertaining to the offer and sale of franchises, except
for any non-compliance
that
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the
Company Group.
(c) Since
January 1, 2000, each uniform
franchise offering circular of the Company Group (each, an “UFOC”),
is in material compliance, as of the
effective date of such UFOC, with the applicable disclosure provisions of
the
FTC Rule and the franchise disclosure Laws of those states with which EPL
has
obtained registration or exemption of franchise offers and sales,
except for any non-compliance
that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on
the
Company Group. Except as set forth on Schedule
6.16(c), and except for any
non-compliance that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect
on the Company
Group, no UFOC contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits
to
state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order
to
make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which
they were made, not
misleading.
(d) Except
as set forth on Schedule
6.16(d), no member of the
Company Group is now subject to a notice of violation of the FTC Rule or
any
franchise registration Law, and no member of the Company Group
is now the subject
of any cease and desist order issued by the Federal Trade Commission regarding
the Company Group’s
franchising
activities.
ARTICLE
VII
REPRESENTATIONS
AND
WARRANTIES OF THE PURCHASERS
Each
Purchaser hereby represents and warrants, as of the First Closing and as
of the
Second Closing, severally on its own behalf and not jointly with each other
Purchaser, to the Company and the Selling Members (as applicable at each
Closing) as set forth below:
Section
7.1 Organization;
Standing; Qualification and Power. Such
Purchaser, if an entity (an
“Entity
Purchaser”),
is duly organized, validly existing
and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized
and has the requisite power and authority to own, lease and
operate its
properties and to carry on its business as presently conducted. Such
Entity Purchaser is duly qualified and in good standing to do business in
each
jurisdiction in which such qualification is necessary because of the
nature
of the business conducted by it,
except where the failure to be so qualified would not materially adversely
affect the ability of such Entity Purchaser to perform its obligations under
this Agreement and the Related Documents and to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby and
thereby.
Section
7.2 Authority;
Execution and Delivery; and Enforceability. Such Entity Purchaser
has
the requisite limited partnership power and authority to execute this Agreement
and the Related Documents to which itis a party and to consummate
the
transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. Xxxxxxxx has the legal
capacity and competence to execute and deliver this Agreement and the Related
Document to which he is a party and to consummate the transactions
contemplated
hereby and thereby. The
execution and delivery by such Entity
17
Purchaser
of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary
limited partnership action, and the execution and delivery by such Entity
Purchaser of the Related Documents to which it is a party and the consummation
by such Purchaser of the transactions contemplated thereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary
limited partnership action on
the part of such Purchaser. Such Purchaser has duly executed and
delivered this Agreement and, prior to the Closing, will have duly executed
and
delivered each Related Document to which it is a party, and, when
executed
by the counterparties hereto and
thereto, this Agreement constitutes, and each Related Document to which it
is a
party will after the Closing constitute, the legal, valid and binding obligation
of such Purchaser enforceable against such Purchaser in accordance
with its terms, except as may
be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance
or
other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’rights
generally and general equitable
principles.
Section
7.3 No
Conflicts;
Consent.
(a) The
execution, delivery and performance
by such Purchaser of this Agreement does not, the execution, delivery and
performance by such Purchaser of each Related Document to which it is a party
will not, and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and compliance
by such Purchaser with the terms hereof and thereof will not, conflict with,
or
result in any violation of or default under, or give rise to a right of
termination, cancellation
or acceleration of any
obligation or a loss of a material benefit under, or result in the creation
of
any Lien upon any of the properties or assets owned or used by such Purchaser
under, any provision of (i), with respect to such Entity Purchaser, the
organizational documents of such
Entity Purchaser, (ii) any material Contract to which such Purchaser is a
party
or by which any of its properties or assets is bound, or (iii) any Judgment
or
Law applicable to such Purchaser or such Purchaser’s
properties
or assets, other than, in the case
of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, any such conflicts, violations, defaults,
rights or Liens that would not reasonably be expected to have a material
adverse
effect on the ability of such Purchaser to perform such Purchaser’s
obligations under this Agreement and
the Related Documents and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby
and
thereby.
(b) No
material Permit of, or registration,
declaration or filing with, any Governmental Entity is required
to be obtained or
made by or with respect to such Purchaser in connection with the execution,
delivery and performance by such Purchaser of this Agreement or any Related
Document to which it is a party, or the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby and
thereby, other than those the failure of which to obtain or make would not
reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of
such
Purchaser to perform such Purchaser’s
obligations under this
Agreement
and the Related Documents and to
consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby.
Section
7.4 Proceedings. There
are no (a)
outstanding Judgments against such Purchaser; (b) Proceedings or claims pending
or, to the Knowledge of such Purchaser, threatened
against such
Purchaser; or (c) investigations by any Governmental Entity that are pending
or,
to the Knowledge of such Purchaser, threatened against such Purchaser, that,
in
any case would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse
effect on the ability of such
Purchaser to
18
perform
such Purchaser’s
obligations under this Agreement and
the Related Documents and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby
and
thereby.
Section
7.5 Investment
Intent. Such
Purchaser acknowledges that
the Units have not been, and will not upon issuance be, registered under
the
Securities Act and that the Units may not be resold absent such registration
or
unless an exemption therefrom is available. Such Purchaser
understands thatthe
sale provided for in this Agreement
and the issuance of securities hereunder is exempt from registrationunder
the
Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(2) thereof, and that the
Company’s
reliance on such exemption is based in
part on such Purchaser’s
representations
set forth
herein. Such Purchaser understands that no public market now exists
for the Units or any of the Company or the Company Group’s
securities and that it is uncertain
whether a public market will ever exist for any such Units and securities. Such
Purchaser is
acquiring the Units for its own account, for investment purposes only and
not
with a view toward distribution thereof in violation of the Securities
Act. Purchaser
qualifies as an “accredited
investor”as such term is
defined inRule
501(a) promulgated pursuant to the
Securities Act.
Section
7.6 Brokers
or
Finders. Such
Purchaser has not incurred, and will not incur, directly or indirectly, any
liability for brokerage or finders’fees
or agents’commissions
or any similar charges or fees of any
intermediary in
connection with this Agreement, the Related Documents or any transaction
contemplated hereby or thereby.
Section
7.7 Access
to
Information and Disclosure.
(a) Such
Purchaser has been given full access
to all material
information concerning the Company and the Company Group, their condition
and
prospects to which such Purchaser has requested access. Such
Purchaser has been afforded an opportunity to ask questions of, and
receiveanswers
from, the Company and Company
Group’s
officers, employees, agents,
accountants, and representatives concerning the terms and conditions of this
Agreement and the Related Documents to which such Purchaser is a party, the
purchase of Units contemplated
hereby, the Company and the Company
Group’s
business, operations, financial
condition, assets, liabilities, and all other matters relevant to its investment
in the Units. Such Purchaser has made, either alone or together
with such Purchaser’s
advisors(if
any), such independent investigation
of the Company and the Company Group and related matters as such Purchaser
deems
to be, or such Purchaser’s
advisors (if any) have advised to
be, necessary or advisable in connection with the purchase of the
Units.
(b) Such
Purchaser acknowledges that (i)
there are no representations or warranties by the Company or any member of
the
Company Group other than those expressly set forth in this Agreement or in
the
certificates delivered by
the Company or any member of the Company Group pursuant to this Agreement;
and
(ii) such Purchaser has not relied and will not rely in respect of this
Agreement or the Related Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby
or
thereby upon any other
document or written or oral
information previously furnished to or discovered by it, other than this
Agreement and the certificates delivered by the Company or any member of
the
Company Group pursuant to this Agreement.
Section
7.8 Blue
Sky. The
address set forth in this Agreement
reflects such Purchaser’s
true and correct state of residence
and, if applicable, jurisdiction, and such Purchaser
19
has
no present intention of becoming a
resident of any other state or jurisdiction, all offers or solicitations
of interest about
the Company were made to such Purchaser at that address or elsewhere within
that
state, no offers or other solicitations were made to such Purchaser in any
state
other than that state, and such Purchaser executed this
Agreement within that
state.
Section
7.9 Financing
and Risks. Such
Purchaser will have at each Closing sufficient funds to pay the Purchase
Price
to be paid by such Purchaser at such Closing. By reason of the
business and financial experience of itsmanagement, such Purchaser
has the
capacity to protect its own interests in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement and the Related Documents to which it is a
party. Such Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an
investment
in the Units, and has an adequate
income independent of any income produced from an investment in the Units
and
has sufficient net worth to sustain a loss of all of its investment in the
Units
without economic hardship if such a loss should occur.
ARTICLE
VIII
COVENANTS
Section
8.1 Conduct
of
Business. From
the date of this Agreement through the date of the First Closing, the Company
and CAC, Intermediate and EPL shall, and shall cause each other member of
the
Company Group to, conduct
its business and operations in the ordinary course of business consistent
with
past practice and shall use its reasonable best efforts to in all material
respects preserve intact the employees, customers, suppliers,
relationships and
business of the Company
Group.
Section
8.2 Access
to
Information. From the date of this
Agreement through the date of the Second Closing, the Company and CAC,
Intermediate and EPL shall, and shall cause each other member of the Company
Group to, afford to
Purchasers and their accountants, counsel and other representatives reasonable
access during normal business hours to all of the properties, books, Contracts,
Returns (or other information related or attributable to Taxes), records,
and
executiveofficers
or managers at the director
level or above of the Company and the Company Group, and during such period
shall furnish to Purchasers any information concerning the Company and the
Company Group as Purchasers may reasonably request; provided,
however,
that (i) such access does not
unreasonably disrupt the normal operations of the Company Group and (ii)
neither
the Company nor the Company Group is required to disclose any information
the
disclosure of which is restricted by Contracts of the Company or the Company Group
(except to the
extent, and on the same terms, that disclosure of same has been made to
other holders of equity or economic interests in the
Company).
Section
8.3 Expenses.
(a) Except
as otherwise provided in this Agreement,
all costs,
fees (including any filing fees) and expenses incurred in connection with
this
Agreement and the Related Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby
and
thereby shall be paid by the party incurring such expense; provided,
however,
that if the First Closing occurs, all
such fees and reasonable and documented costs and expenses incurred by
Purchasers and their affiliates and their respective representative and advisors
(other than any advisory fee that may be owed by Purchasers to Jefferies
& Co.) in
connection with their investigation of and investment in the
20
Company
Units and negotiation,
execution, delivery and consummation of this Agreement and the Related Documents
up to a maximum of $500,000 in the aggregate shall be paid
by CAC or EPL
promptly upon demand and delivery of reasonable documentation therefor (whether
at or after the First Closing or the Second Closing).
(b) Notwithstanding
anything contained in
this Agreement to the
contrary, all transfer, documentary, sales, use, registration, value-added
and
other similar Taxes and related amounts (including any penalties, interest
and
additions to Tax) incurred in connection with the transactions
contemplated by
this Agreement shall be paid by CAC
or EPL.
Section
8.4 Section
754
Election. The
Company shall file a valid election,
pursuant to Section 754 of the Code and the applicable Treasury Regulations
thereunder (the “Section
754
Election”),
with the Company's U.S. federal
income tax return
for the taxable year that includes the Purchasers’acquisition
of the Member Units and
effective for such year (unless the Company already has a valid Section 754
Election in effect and filed with the Internal Revenue Service),
together with any other forms
necessary for the completion of a valid Section 754 Election effective as
of
such taxable year; provided that the Company shall, no less than fifteen
(15)
days prior to the anticipateddate of filing of such Section 754
Election, provide a copy of same to
Purchasers, and the form and substance of such Section 754 Election shall
be
subject to Purchasers’prior
written consent (not to be
unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed). The Company shall
not, except as required
by Law, take any action or
position inconsistent with such Section 754 Election on any Return or before
any
taxing authority.
ARTICLE
IX
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
Section
9.1 Conditions
Generally. The
obligation of the parties to this Agreement to consummate each
of the First Closing
and the Second Closing, respectively, in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver in writing by the Company
and Purchasers) at or prior to such Closing of the conditions set
forth below.
(a) All
authorizations, consents, orders or
approvals of, or material declarations or filings with or expiration of waiting
periods imposed by, applicable Law necessary for the consummation of the
transactions contemplated
hereby shall have been obtained or made or shall have occurred, in each case,
except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect
on
the Company or the Company Group, taken as a whole.
(b) No
Law or injunction enacted, entered,
promulgated, enforced or issued by any Governmental Entity preventing the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby shall be in
effect.
Section
9.2 Conditions
to Obligation of Selling Members
at
Second Closing. The obligation of each
Selling Member to consummate the Second Closing in accordance with the terms
of
this Agreement is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver in writing by such
Selling Member) at or prior to such Closing of the conditions set forth
below.
21
(a) The
representations and warranties of
Purchasers set forth in this Agreement or in any Related Documents shall
be true
and correct in all material respects as of the date hereofand as of the Second
Closing Date, as
though made on and as of the Second Closing Date (except for any representation
or warranty that expressly relates to another date, which representation
and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects as of such
date), and Purchasers shall have
performed or complied in all material respects with all obligations and
covenants required by this Agreement tobe performed or complied with by
Purchasers prior to the Second Closing.
(b) Each
of the Investor Members (as defined
in the Amended Operating Agreement) (other than such Selling Member), Purchasers
and the Company shall have duly executed and caused to be delivered to such
Selling Member the Amended Operating Agreement.
(c) Purchasers
shall have made the closing
deliveries set forth in Section 2.2.2(b).
Section
9.3 Conditions
to Obligation of the Company at each Closing. The obligation of the
Company to consummate each ofthe First Closing and,
if applicable,
the Second Closing, respectively, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement
is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver in writing by the Company) at or
prior
to such Closing of the conditions set forth below.
(a) The
representations and warranties of
Purchasers set forth in this Agreement or in any Related Documents shall
be true
and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof and as of date
of
such Closing, as though made on and as of such
Closing (except
for any representation or warranty that expressly relates to another date,
which
representation and warranty shall be true and correct in all respects as
of such
date), and Purchasers shall have performed or complied in
all material respects with all
obligations and covenants required by this Agreement to be performed or complied
with by Purchasers prior to such Closing.
(b) Each
of the Investor Members and Purchasers shall
have duly
executed and caused to be delivered to the Company the Amended Operating
Agreement.
(c) Purchasers
shall have made the closing
deliveries set forth in Section 2.2.1(b), with respect to the First Closing, and
Section 2.2.2(d),
with respect to the Second Closing.
Section
9.4 Conditions
to Obligation of Purchasers.
9.4.1 Each
Closing. The obligation of each Purchaser to consummate each of the
First Closing and the Second Closing, respectively, in accordance with the
terms
of this Agreement is subject to the satisfaction (or waiver in writing by
such
Purchaser) at or prior to such Closing of the conditions set forth
below.
(a) Since
September 26, 2007 through the
applicable Closing Date, there shall not have been an event, change, effect,
development or circumstance that,
22
individually
or in the aggregate, has
had, or would reasonably be expected to have, a Material
Adverse Effect on the
Company Group.
(b) The
representations and warranties of
the Company set forth in (i) Sections 5.1, 5.2 and 5.4 shall be true and
correct
in all material respects as of the date hereof and as of date
of such Closing,
as though made on and as of such Closing, and (ii) this Agreement (other
than
those described in clause (i) above) shall be true and correct (without giving
effect to materiality or “Material Adverse Effect”qualifiers)
in all respects as of the date hereof
and as of the date of such Closing, as though made on and as of such date
(except for any representation or warranty that expressly relates to another
date, which representation and warranty shall be true and correct
in all respects as of such date), in
the case of this clause (ii), except as would not reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and the Company shall have
performed or complied in all material respects with all obligationsand
covenants required by this Agreement
to be performed or complied with by the Company prior to such
Closing.
(c) The
representations and warranties of
CAC, Intermediate and EPL set forth in (i) Sections 6.1, 6.2 and 6.12(i) shall be
true and correct in
all material respects as of the date hereof and as of date of such Closing,
as
though made on and as of such Closing (except for any representation or warranty
that expressly relates to another date, which representation
and warranty shall be true and
correct in all respects as of such date), and (ii) this Agreement (other
than
those described in clause (i) above) shall be true and correct (without giving
effect to materiality or “Material Adverse Effect”qualifiers)
in
all respects as of the date hereof and
as of the date of such Closing, as though made on and as of such date (except
for any representation or warranty that expressly relates to another date,
which
representation and warranty shall be true and correct inall
respects as of such date), in the
case of this clause (ii), except as would not reasonably be expected to have
a
Material Adverse Effect on the Company Group, and CAC, Intermediate and EPL
shall have performed or complied in all material respects withall
obligations and covenants required
by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by CAC, Intermediate and
EPL
prior to such Closing.
9.4.2 First
Closing. The obligation of each Purchaser to consummate the
First Closing in accordance with the terms of this Agreement is subject to
the
satisfaction (or waiver in writing by such Purchaser) at or prior to such
Closing of the conditions set forth below.
(a) Each
of the Investor Members
andthe Company shall have
duly executed and caused to be delivered to such Purchaser the Amended Operating
Agreement.
(b)
Each
of CAC and the
Company, and each ofthe other Persons party thereto, shall have duly executed
and caused to be
delivered to Purchasers the Amended Stockholders Agreement.
(c) The
Company shall have executed and
delivered, and caused Trimaran Management to have executed and delivered,
to
Purchasers an amendment to
the Existing Management Agreement in the form of Exhibit
Aattached
hereto.
23
(d) The
Company and each of its members
shall have waived (the “Waivers”),
pursuant to Section 13.09 (Waivers)
ofthe Existing Operating
Agreement, any and all rights it may have under, and any obligations of any
Selling Member pursuant to, the Existing Operating Agreement with respect
to the
issue and sale by the Company to Purchasers of the Company Units and the
sale
and transfer by the Selling Members
to Purchasers of the Member Units, including without limitation any preemptive
rights pursuant to Article VII thereof, and any restrictions on or rights
arising in connection with the transfer of Membership Units under
Article VIII
thereof.
(e)
Skadden,
Arps, Slate,
Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP, legal counsel to the Company and the Company Group,
shall have delivered to Purchasers an opinion letter, dated the Closing Date,
as
to the matters set forth on
Exhibit
Battached
hereto.
(f)
The
Company shall have
made the closing deliveries set forth in Section 2.2.1(a), and CAC shall
have
taken the actions set forth in Section 2.2.1(c).
9.4.3 Second
Closing. The obligation of each Purchaser to consummate the
Second Closing in accordance with the terms of this Agreement is subject
to the
satisfaction (or waiver in writing by such Purchaser) at or prior to such
Closing of the conditions set forth below.
(a) Purchasers
shall have made such
investigation as they deem necessary or appropriate as to the accuracy and
completeness as of the Second Closing Date of the representations and warranties
of the Company and the
Company Parties set forth in this Agreement (and the Company and the Company
Parties shall have provided to Purchasers such access to the information,
properties and personnel as is requested by Purchasers in accordance with
Section 8.2), andPurchasers
shall have been satisfied
with such investigation in their sole discretion.
(b) The
representations and warranties of
the Selling Members set forth in this Agreement shall be true and correct
in all
materialrespects as of the
date hereof and as of the Second Closing Date, as though made on and as of
the
Second Closing Date (except for any representation or warranty that expressly
relates to another date, which representation and warranty shall betrue and
correct
in all respects as of such date),
and the Selling Members shall have performed or complied in all material
respects with all obligations and covenants required by this Agreement to
be
performed or complied with by the Selling Members prior to the Second
Closing.
(c) Each
Selling Member shall have made the
closing deliveries set forth in Section 2.2.2(a) and the Company shall have
made
the closing deliveries set forth in Section 2.2.2(b), and, if Back-Stop Units
are to be sold at the
Second Closing, the Company shall have made the closing deliveries set forth
in
Section 2.2.2(e)(i) and CAC shall have taken the actions set forth in Section
2.2.2(e)(ii).
ARTICLE
X
TERMINATION
Section
10.1 Termination.
24
(a) This
Agreement may be terminated and the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement abandoned at any time prior to
the
First Closing:
(i) by
mutual written consent of the Company
and Purchasers;
(ii) by
either the Company or Purchasers,
if the First
Closing does not occur on or prior to January 31, 2008; provided that the
right
to terminate this Agreement under this Section shall not be available to
a party
whose material misrepresentation, material breach of warranty
or failure to fulfill any material
obligation under this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the
failure of the First Closing to occur on or before such
date;
(iii) by
the Company, if any of the conditions
set forth in Section 9.1 or 9.3 shall have become
incapable of
fulfillment through no fault of the Company, and shall not have been waived
in
writing by the Company; or
(iv) by
Purchasers, if any of the conditions
set forth in Section 9.1 or 9.4 shall have become incapable of
fulfillment through no
fault of Purchasers, and shall not have been waived in writing by
Purchasers.
(b) In
the event of termination by the
Company or Purchasers pursuant to this Section 10.1, written notice thereof
shall forthwith be given to
the other and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be
terminated, without further action by any party.
Section
10.2 Effect
of
Termination. If
this Agreement is terminated pursuant
to Section 10.1,
this Agreement shall become null and void and of no further force and effect,
except for the provisions of Sections 8.3(a), Article XII and this Article
X. Nothing in this Section 10.2 shall be deemed to release any
party
hereto from any liability for any
material breach by such party of the terms and provisions of this Agreement
or
to impair the right of any party hereto to compel specific performance by
any
other party hereto of its obligations under this Agreement.
ARTICLE
XI
INDEMNIFICATION
Section
11.1 Indemnification.
11.1.1 Indemnification
of Purchaser
Indemnified Parties.
(a) If
the Second Closing shall have been
consummated, each of
the
Selling Members, severally and not jointly, shall indemnify and hold harmless
Purchasers and their respective Affiliates, directors, officers, partners,
managers and employees (other than the Company or any member of the Company
Group)
(collectively, the “Purchaser
Indemnified Parties”)
against any loss, liability, claim,
damage, amount paid in settlement, fine, penalty, costs and expense (including
reasonable legal fees and expenses, but excluding any multiple, special,
punitive, exemplary or
other non-compensatory damage, “Losses”)
to the extent arising from, relating
to or otherwise in respect of:
25
(i) any
breach of any representation or
warranty of such Selling Member made under this Agreement as of the date
hereof
(or, if later, as of the
date of such Selling Member's execution of this Agreement) or as of the Second
Closing; or
(ii) any
breach of any covenant of such
Selling Member contained in this Agreement.
(b) If
the First Closing shall have been
consummated, the
Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Purchaser Indemnified Parties
against any Losses to the extent arising from, relating to or otherwise in
respect of:
(i) any
breach of any representation or
warranty of theCompany made
under this Agreement other than any made as of the Second Closing;
or
(ii) any
breach of any covenant of the
Company contained in this Agreement.
(c) If
the First Closing shall have been
consummated, CAC,
Intermediate and EPL shall indemnify and hold harmless the Purchaser Indemnified
Parties against any Losses to the extent arising from, relating to or otherwise
in respect of:
(i) any
breach of any representation or
warranty of CAC, Intermediate and EPL made under this Agreement
other than
those made as of the Second Closing; or
(ii) any
breach of any covenant of CAC,
Intermediate and EPL contained in this Agreement.
11.1.2 Indemnification
of Company,
Company Group and Selling Members. If the First Closing shall
have been consummated, FSEP V shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company
and
each member of the Company Group, and each Selling Member (together with
their
respective Affiliates, directors, officers, partners, managers and employees,
collectively the “Seller Indemnified
Parties”) against any Losses to the extent arising from, relating to or
otherwise in respect of:
(a) any
breach of any representation or
warranty of any Purchaser
under this Agreement; or
(b)
any
breach of any
covenant of any Purchaser contained in this Agreement.
Section
11.2 Limitations
on Indemnification.
(a) The
representations
and warranties of each
party to this Agreement shall survive the Closing at which such representations
and warranties were made by such party for a period of nine (9) months;
provided,
however,
that, notwithstanding the foregoing,
(i) the representations and
warranties in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4 and 4.6, Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3(a)(i),
5.4
26
and
5.11, Sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.4 and
6.15, and Sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7 and 7.8, shall survive the Closing
in
accordance with their respective statutes of
limitations.
(b) The
Company and each member of the
Company Group shall not be required to indemnify any Person, and shall have
no
liability under this Agreement, (i) with respect to any claim or
series of related claims
against the Company under Section 11.1.1(b)(i) or the Company Group under
Section 11.1.1(c)(i) unless and until the aggregate of all Losses suffered
or
incurred in connection with such claim or series of related claims exceeds
$25,000 (each
below such amount, a “De
Minimis
Loss”),
provided that the aggregate of all
such De Minimis Losses related to claims against the Company or the Company
Group shall not exceed $500,000, (ii) unless and until the aggregate
amount of the indemnification obligations of the
Company and the
Company Group for Losses under this Agreement exceeds an amount equal to
$750,000 (the “Deductible”),
in which event the Company and the
Company Group’s
indemnification obligation shall be
for indemnifiable Losses in excess of the Deductible,
(iii) for any
amounts in excess of $10,000,000 in the aggregate, except, in the case of
clause
(iii), with respect to Section 5.1, 5.2, 5.3(a)(i), 5.4, 5.11, 6.1, 6.2,
6.4 and
6.15, and (iv) with respect to any Back Stop Units or any Member
Units.
(c) Each
Selling Member shall not be
required to indemnify any Person, and shall not have any liability, under
this
Agreement, in an amount greater than the applicable Member Units Purchase
Price
received by such Selling
Member.
(d) FSEP
V shall not be required to
indemnify any Person, and shall not have any liability, under this Agreement,
in
an amount greater than in the aggregate the Purchase Price paid by
the Purchasers under
this
Agreement.
(e) Each
party to this Agreement shall take
all reasonable steps to mitigate any of its Losses under this Article XI
as
required by Law upon becoming aware of any event which would reasonably be expected
to, or does, give
rise thereto.
(f) No
Person shall be entitled to recover
any amount under this Agreement for any Loss to the extent such Loss has
been
directly or indirectly remedied by indemnification already paid
to such Person or its
Affiliates pursuant to this Agreement.
(g) The
amount of any Loss for which
indemnification is provided under this Agreement shall be net of any amounts
recovered by the indemnified Person under insurance
policies with
respect to such Loss (but shall include such Person’s
reasonable expenses incurred in
obtaining such recovery and any resulting increase in premiums). If
any Losses are paid and such indemnified Person thereafter receives
a related insurance recovery,
then such Person will pay the amount thereof to the indemnifying Person promptly
after such recovery.
(h) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary
in this Agreement, none of the Company, any member of
the Company Group,
or any of their respective Affiliates, directors, officers, partners, managers
and employees and any signatory to any of the documents set forth in Section
2.2.2(b) (the “Second
Closing Certificates”)
shall have any liability with respect
to any of the
Second Closing Certificates, any of the representations or warranties therein
or
incorporated therein by reference or any of the representations or warranties
set forth in this
27
Agreement
that are given
with respect to the
Second
Closing and each of the Purchasers and Selling Members hereby fully releases
such Persons in connection with such matters, other than for intentional
misrepresentation or fraud.
Section
11.3 Procedures.
(a) An
indemnified Person under this
Agreement (such Person, the “Indemnified
Party”)
must notify the applicable
indemnifying Person (such Person, the “Indemnifying
Party”),
in writing (and in reasonable detail)
of any claim under this
Article XI (a “Claim”)
promptly, after such Indemnified Party
becomes aware of such Claim; provided,
however,
that failure to give such notification
shall not affect the indemnification provided hereunder except to the extent
the
Indemnifying Party shall
have been materially prejudiced as a result of such failure.
(b) If
an Indemnified Party is entitled to
indemnification hereunder because of a Claim asserted against an Indemnified
Party by a third party (a “Third
Party
Claim”),
the Indemnifying Party shall be
entitled to participate in the defense thereof and, if it so chooses in its
sole
discretion, to assume the defense thereof with counsel selected by the
Indemnifying Party; provided;
howeverthat
if the defendants in any such Third Party
Claim include
the Indemnified Party and there exists any actual or potential conflict of
interest between the Indemnified Party and the Indemnifying Party, the
Indemnified Party shall have the right to obtain, at the Indemnifying
Party’s
expense, one separate counsel to
defend such actions on behalf of such Indemnified Party, in which case the
Indemnified Party shall have the right to participate in the defense of such
Third Party Claim (it being understood that the Indemnifying Party
shall not have the right to control
(but shall have the right to participate in) such defense). If the
Indemnifying Party assumes such defense, the Indemnified Party shall have
the
right to participate in the defense thereof and to employ counsel, at
itsown
expense, separate from the counsel
employed by the Indemnifying Party, it being understood that the Indemnifying
Party shall control such defense. The Indemnifying Party shall be
liable for the fees and reasonable documented expenses of one counsel
employed
by the Indemnified Party (which
counsel shall be reasonably acceptable to the Indemnifying Party) for any
period
during which the Indemnifying Party has not assumed the defense
thereof. If the Indemnifying Party chooses to defend or prosecute a
Third
Party Claim, all applicable
Indemnified Parties shall cooperate in the defense or prosecution
thereof. Such cooperation shall include the retention and (upon the
Indemnifying Party’s
request) the provision to the
Indemnifying Party of reasonable access
to the books, records and assets of
the Indemnified Party which evidence or support such Claim or the act,
omission or occurrence giving rise to such Claim and the right, upon prior
notice, to interview any employee, agent or other representative of
the Indemnified
Party related thereto.
Whether or not the Indemnifying Party assumes the defense of a Third Party
Claim, the Indemnified Party shall not admit any liability with respect to,
or
settle, compromise or discharge, such Third Party Claim without theIndemnifying
Party’s
prior written consent. If
the Indemnifying Party assumes the defense of a Third Party Claim, the
Indemnified Party shall agree to any settlement, compromise or discharge
of a
Third Party Claim that the Indemnifying Party may recommend
and that by its terms (i) obligates
the Indemnifying Party to pay the full amount of the liability in connection
with such Third Party Claim and does not result in any financial or other
obligation of the Indemnified Party and (ii) fully and unconditionally
releases the Indemnified Party
in
28
connection
with such Third Party
Claim. Subject to the immediately preceding sentence (which claims
satisfying clause (i) and (ii) thereof shall not require the Indemnified
Party’s
consent), the Indemnifying
Party shall not agree
to
any settlement, compromise or discharge of a Third Party Claim without the
prior written consent of the Indemnified Party and provides for a full
release of the Indemnified Party.
(c) Any
indemnity payments owed by
any party to this
Agreement under this Article XI shall be paid by the applicable party to
this
Agreement in immediately available funds within 10 Business Days after final
determination thereof (provided that, in the case of the Company,
such payments may be made by CAC or
EPL, at the Company's option subject to any existing indebtedness of CAC
and EPL
(but the preceding proviso shall not limit Purchasers' rights
hereunder)). All such indemnity payments shall be made to the
accounts and
in the manner specified in writing by
the party entitled to such indemnity payments.
ARTICLE
XII
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
Section
12.1 Assignment. This
Agreement and the
rights and obligations hereunder are not assignable or transferable by any
party
to this Agreement without
the prior written consent of the Company and Purchasers; provided that
Purchasers may assign their respective rights and obligations hereunder to
any
of their Affiliates without the consent of the other parties so long as such
assignment
does not relieve Purchasers of any
of their obligations hereunder. Any attempted assignment in violation
of this Section 12.1 shall be voidab
initio.
Section
12.2 Notices. All
notices, consents,
waivers or other communications required or permitted to be given hereunder
shall be in
writing and shall be delivered by hand or sent by facsimile or sent, postage
prepaid, by registered, certified or internationally-recognized
overnight courier service guaranteeing next Business Day delivery and
shallbe
deemed duly given when so delivered
by hand or facsimile, or if mailed, upon receipt (or one (1) Business Day
following the day sent in the case of overnight courier service
guaranteeing next Business Day delivery), as follows:
(i)
|
if
to a Selling Member, to such Person’s address for purposes of notice as is
maintained on file with the Company as of the date of such
notice.
|
(ii)
|
if
to the Company or CAC, Intermediate and EPL,
to:
|
x/x Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx, X.X.X. |
0000 Avenue of the Xxxxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx |
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 |
Attn: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx |
Telephone: (000) 000-0000 |
Fax: (000) 000-0000 |
29
With copies to:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP
0 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Telephone: (000) 000-0000
Telecopier: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq. and
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx, Esq.
(iii)
|
if
to the Purchasers, to:
|
FS Equity Partners V, L.P.
FS Affiliates V, L.P.
c/o Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx & Co. V., L.P.
00000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxx 0000
Xxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
Telephone: (000) 000-0000
Telecopier: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxx X. Xxxx
With a copy
to:
Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxx Xxxxxxx, XX 00000-0000
Telephone: (000) 000-0000
Telecopier: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx, Esq.
(iv)
|
or
to such other address as any party to whom notice is to be given
has
furnished to the other parties in accordance
herewith.
|
Section
12.3 Drafting
by
All
Parties. The
provisions of this Agreementshall be construed according to their fair meaning
and neither for nor against any party hereto irrespective of which party caused
such provisions to be drafted. Each of the parties acknowledges that
it hasbeen represented by
an attorney in connection with the preparation, negotiation and execution
of
this Agreement and the Related Documents.
Section
12.4 Counterparts. This
Agreement may be
executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the
same agreement, and
shall become effective when one or more such counterparts have been signed
by
each of the parties and delivered to the other party. This Agreement
may be executed and delivered in counterpart signatures delivered via
facsimile transmission and any such
counterpart so delivered via facsimile transmission shall be deemed an original
for all intents and purposes.
30
Section
12.5 Entire
Agreement. This
Agreement and the Related
Documents contain the entire agreement and understanding between the parties
hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior
agreements and understandings relating to such subject
matter.
Section
12.6 Amendments
and Waivers. This
Agreement may not be
amended or waived except by an instrument in writing signed on behalf of
the
Company, Purchasers and any other party against whom such waiver or amendment
is
to be enforced.
Section
12.7 Consent
to
Jurisdiction. EACH OF THE
PARTIES HERETO IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS
TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS IN THE STATE
OF
DELAWARE, COUNTY OF NEW CASTLE (“DELAWARE
COURTS”)
FOR THE PURPOSES OF ANY SUIT, ACTION
OR OTHER PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, ANY RELATED DOCUMENT
OR ANY TRANSACTION
CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY. SERVICE OF ANY PROCESS, SUMMONS,
NOTICE OR DOCUMENT BY U.S. REGISTERED MAIL TO SUCH PARTY’S
RESPECTIVE ADDRESS SET FORTH ABOVE
SHALL BE EFFECTIVE SERVICE OF PROCESS FOR ANY ACTION, SUIT
OR PROCEEDING WITH RESPECT TO ANY
MATTERS TO WHICH IT HAS SUBMITTED TO JURISDICTION IN THIS SECTION
12.7. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY
WAIVES ANY OBJECTION TO THE LAYING OF VENUE OF ANY ACTION, SUIT OR PROCEEDING
ARISING OUT
OF THIS AGREEMENT, ANY RELATED
DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY AND THEREBY IN THE DELAWARE
COURTS, AND HEREBY AND THEREBY FURTHER IRREVOCABLYAND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES
AND
AGREES NOT TO PLEAD OR CLAIM IN ANY SUCH COURT THAT ANY SUCH ACTION,
SUIT OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN ANY
SUCH COURT HAS BEEN BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM.
Section
12.8 Governing
Law; Waiver of Jury Trial.
(a) THIS
AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND
CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNAL LAWS OF
THE STATE OF
DELAWARE.
(b) EACH
PARTY HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND
UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT IT MAY LEGALLY AND EFFECTIVELY
DO
SO, TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING HEREUNDER.
[Remainder
of page intentionally left blank; Signature pages follow]
31
[Signature
page of the Company, the Company Group and
Purchasers
to Unit Purchase Agreement]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused their duly authorized
representatives to duly execute this Unit Purchase Agreement effective as
of the
date first written above.
TRIMARAN
POLLO PARTNERS, L.L.C.
|
FS
EQUITY PARTNERS V, L.P.
|
||||
By: FS
CAPITAL PARTNERS V, LLC, its
General Partner
|
|||||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
|
||||
Name:
|
Xxxxxx
X.
Xxxxx
|
||||
Title:
|
Vice
President
|
By:
|
/s/
Xxxx X. Xxxx
|
||
Name:
|
Xxxx
X.
Xxxx
|
||||
Title:
|
Managing
Member
|
CHICKEN
ACQUISITION CORP.
|
|||||
FS
AFFILIATES V, L.P.
|
|||||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
|
||||
Name
|
Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
|
By: FS
CAPITAL PARTNERS V, LLC, its General
|
|||
Title:
|
Vice
President
|
Partner |
By:
|
/s/
Xxxx X.
Xxxx
|
||||
Name:
|
Xxxx
X.
Xxxx
|
||||
Title:
|
Managing
Member
|
||||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
||||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X.
Xxxxxx
|
||||
Title:
|
President
|
||||
/s/
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
|
|||||
XXXXX
XXXXXXXX
|
EL
POLLO LOCO, INC.
|
|||||
By:
|
/s/
Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
|
||||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
|
||||
Title:
|
President
|
||||
[Counterpart
Signature Pages of Selling Members Follow]
[Counterpart
Signature page of Selling Member]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Selling Member has caused its duly authorized
representative to duly execute this Unit Purchase Agreement effective as
of the
date first written above.
SELLING
MEMBER NAME
(as
it appears on the Selling Member’s certificate or articles of organization
or formation, as applicable):
|
||
Signature
of authorized representative
|
||
Printed
name of authorized representative
|
||
Title
of authorized representative
|
ANNEX
I
DEFINITIONS
“Affiliate”
of
any
Person means another Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more
intermediaries, Controls, is controlled by, or is under common Control with,
such first Person.
“Amended
Operating
Agreement” means the Existing Operating Agreement, as amended by that
certain Amendment No. 1 to the Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability
Company Operating Agreement of the Company substantially in the form attached
hereto as Exhibit
C.
“Amended
Stockholders
Agreement” means the Existing Operating Agreement, as amended by that
certain Amendment No. 1 to the Stockholders Agreement of CAC substantially
in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit
D.
“Benefit
Plans” means
all “employee benefit plans” (as that term is defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA),
as well as any other bonus, equity, deferred and incentive compensation plan,
employment, severance, or termination plan or agreement, and each other material
employee benefit plan, fund, program or arrangement, in each case, under
which
any member of the Company Group, or any entity that is a member of a “controlled
group of corporations” with or is under “common control” with any member of the
Company Group as defined in Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code (“ERISA Affiliate”),
has any present or future obligations or liability on behalf of any current
or
former employee of any member of the Company Group or the dependents or
beneficiaries of such employees.
“Business
Day” means
any day that is not (a) a Saturday or Sunday or (b) a day on which banking
institutions in New York, New York are required to be closed.
“Code”
means
the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Contract”
means
any
loan or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage, indenture, lease, sublease
or
other agreement, commitment or license, whether written or oral.
“Control”
means
(including, with correlative meanings, “controlled by” and “under common control
with”), with respect to any Person, the possession, directly or indirectly, of
the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies
of a
Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by Contract or
otherwise.
“ERISA”
means
the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
“Exchange
Act” means
the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Annex
I-1
“Existing
Management
Agreement” means that certain Monitoring and Management Services
Agreement, dated as of November 18, 2005, by and between CAC and Trimaran
Management.
“Existing
Operating
Agreement” means that certain Second Amended and Restated Limited
Liability Company Operating Agreement of the Company, dated effective as
of
March 8, 2006.
“Existing
Stockholders
Agreement” means that certain stockholders agreement dated November 18,
2005, by and among the Company, CAC and certain other Persons party
thereto.
“GAAP”
means
United
States generally accepted accounting principles.
“Governmental
Entity”
means any federal, state or local government or any court of competent
jurisdiction, regulatory or administrative agency or commission or other
governmental authority or instrumentality.
“Indebtedness”
means,
with respect to any Person, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of
such
Person, for borrowed money or for the deferred purchase price of property
or
services (other than current trade payables and accrued liabilities incurred
in
the ordinary course of business); (b) all indebtedness or obligations of
such
Person evidenced by notes, debentures or bonds; (c) all obligations of such
Person under interest rate or currency swap transactions (valued at the
termination value thereof); (d) all obligations of such Person under any
conditional sale or other title retention agreements relating to property
or
assets purchased by such Person; (e) all obligations of such Person as lessee
under leases that have been or should be, in accordance with GAAP, recorded
as
capital leases; and (f) all obligations of the type referred to in clauses
(a)
through (e) above of any other Person which is guaranteed directly or indirectly
by such Person.
“Intellectual
Property” means all intellectual property rights, including, without
limitation, patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications,
tradenames, service marks, service xxxx applications, trade dress, logos
and
designs, trade secrets and all proprietary and confidential information,
know
how, inventions, processes and formulae (“Trade Secrets”),
copyrights, copyright registrations and copyright applications.
“Knowledge”
of
a
Person with respect to a matter means the actual knowledge of the officers
and
directors (or equivalent) of such Person with respect to such
matter.
“Law”
means
any
applicable statute, law (including applicable common law), ordinance, rule
or
regulation or Judgment.
“Lien”
means
any
mortgage, lien, security interest, pledge, easement, defect in title, option
to
acquire, right of first refusal, preemptive right, restriction on transfer,
adverse claim or encumbrance of any kind.
“Material
Adverse
Effect” on a Person means any event, change, effect, development or
circumstance that, individually or in the aggregate, (i) directly or indirectly
is materially adverse
Annex
I-2
to
the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operation
of such Person, taken as a whole, or (ii) adversely effects in any material
respect the ability of such Person to perform any of its obligations under
this
Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, but in the
case
of clause (i) excluding any effect to the extent resulting or arising from:
(a)
any change in Law or interpretation thereof; (b) any change in general economic
conditions in the industries or markets in which the Company Group operates
or
affecting United States or foreign economies in general; (c) any change that
is
generally applicable to the industries or markets in which the Company Group
operates; (d) any national or international political or social conditions,
including the engagement by the United States in hostilities, whether or
not
pursuant to the declaration of a national emergency or war, or the occurrence
of
any military or terrorist attack upon the United States, or any of its
territories, possessions, or diplomatic or consular offices or upon any military
installation, equipment or personnel of the United States or any act of God,
other than, in the case of clauses (b) through (d), for events that
disproportionately impact the Company Group as compared to similarly situated
companies in the same or similar industries.
“Material
Contract”
means: (i) a Contract required to be filed (whether or not so filed)
as an exhibit to the SEC Reports; (ii) a Franchise Agreement; (iii) an
employment agreement with any vice president or a more senior corporate officer
of the Company Group, or a consulting Contract involving annual compensation
in
excess of $250,000 (unless terminable without payment or penalty upon no
more
than 90 calendar days’ notice); (iv) a Contract that contains a covenant not to
compete or that prohibits engagement in any type of business in any geographic
area or line of business (other than pursuant to any Franchise Agreement)
or a
Contract that restricts the ability of the Company Group to pay dividends,
incur
Indebtedness or Liens or sell or dispose of material assets; (v) a Contract
(other than employment agreements) with any shareholder, director, officer
or
Affiliate of any member of the Company Group; (vi) a lease or similar Contract
under which: (A) any member of the Company Group is lessee of, or
holds or uses, any machinery, equipment, vehicle or other tangible personal
property owned by any third party involving payment by such member of the
Company Group of more than $500,000 on an annual basis (unless terminable
without payment or penalty upon no more than 180 calendar days’ notice), or (B)
any member of the Company Group is a lessor or sublessor of, or makes available
for use by any third party, any tangible personal property owned or leased
by
such member of the Company Group, involving payment by or to such member
of the
Company Group of more than $500,000 on an annual basis (unless terminable
without payment or penalty upon no more than 180 calendar days’ notice); (vii) a
Contract under which any member of the Company Group has directly or indirectly
incurred Indebtedness or guaranteed Indebtedness, liabilities or obligations
of
any other Person (other than endorsements for the purpose of collection in
the
ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), that is in excess
of
$500,000; (viii) a Contract granting a material Lien upon any of the material
assets of any member of the Company Group; (ix) a Contract (excluding a purchase
order entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice) involving payment by any member of the Company Group of more than
$500,000 on an annual basis; (x) a Contract (including a purchase order)
involving the obligation of any member of the Company Group to pay for products
or services for payment of more than $1,000,000 (unless terminable without
payment or penalty upon no more than 180 calendar days’ notice), other than
purchase orders entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent
with
past practice; or (xi) a Contract executed within
Annex
I-3
the
previous three year period, relating to the acquisition or the disposition
of,
any business, material assets (other than in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice) or the formation of or investment in any joint
venture, partnership or similar agreement with a third party.
“Per
Unit Amount”
means $110.00.
“Person”
means
and
includes an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability
company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture,
an
unincorporated organization or a Governmental Entity (or any department,
agency
or political subdivision thereof).
“Proceeding”
means
any
action, suit, investigation or proceeding before any Governmental Entity
or
arbitrator.
“Purchase
Price” means
the Member Units Purchase Price and the Company Units Purchase Price, taken
together.
“Related
Documents”
means the Amended Operating Agreement, the Amended Stockholders Agreement,
and
the certificates required to be delivered by a party hereto at the Closing
pursuant to this Agreement.
“Returns”
means,
collectively, returns, declarations of estimated Tax, Tax reports, information
returns and statements (including any elections, declarations, schedules
or
attachments thereto, and any amendment thereof) relating to any
Taxes.
“Securities
Act” means
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Subsidiary”
of
any
Person means another Person, an amount of the voting securities of which
is
sufficient to elect at least a majority of its board of directors or other
governing body (or, if there are no such voting interests, more than 50%
of the
equity interests of which) is owned directly or indirectly by such first
Person.
“Tax”
or
“Taxes”
means,
with
respect to any Person, (x) any taxes of any kind, including but not limited
to
all income taxes (including any tax on or based upon net income, gross income,
or income as specially defined, or earnings, profits, or selected items of
income, earnings or profits) and all gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem,
transfer, franchise, license, withholding, payroll, employment taxes,
alternative or add-in minimum taxes, customs duties or other taxes of any
kind
whatsoever, together with any interest, penalties, additions to tax or
additional amounts imposed by any taxing authority (including any U.S. federal,
state, local or foreign government or, in each case, any subdivision thereof)
on
such Person and (y) any liability for the payment of any amounts as a result
of
being a party to any tax allocation or tax sharing agreement or as a result
of
any express or implied obligation to indemnify any other Person with respect
to
the payment of any amounts of the type described in clause (x).
“Treasury
Regulations”
means the Treasury Regulations promulgated under the Code.
Annex
I-4
“Trimaran
Management”
means Trimaran Fund Management, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability
company and
an Affiliate of the Company.
“Trimaran
Vehicle” has
the meaning given to such term in the Amended Operating Agreement.
“Units”
means
either
the Company Units or the Member Units, or the Company Units and the Member
Units
taken together, as indicated by the context in which such term is
used.
Annex
I-5